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Three reasons why the LA Clippers will beat the Lakers on Christmas

By Garrett Chorpenning

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 22: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers laughs with Kawhi Leonard #2 leading the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in a 112-102 Clippers win in the LA Clippers season home opener at Staples Center on October 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 22: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers laughs with Kawhi Leonard #2 leading the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter in a 112-102 Clippers win in the LA Clippers season home opener at Staples Center on October 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 17: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers looks on before the game against the Phoenix Suns on December 17, 2019, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 17: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers looks on before the game against the Phoenix Suns on December 17, 2019, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The LA Clippers are finally healthy

The LA Clippers have played 32 games so far this season, and they haven’t had their full roster available for a single game. Despite that, as well as a serious lack of practice, they’ve gone 22-10 with one of the most difficult schedules in the NBA.

Tonight, for the first time, the Clippers will be at full strength. How’s that for timing?

I wrote a bit about this yesterday, which you can read here. For now, I’ll keep things brief.

LA has battled injuries all season long, and they’ve been close to having a completely healthy roster. There have been several games where they’ve been short just one player, whether that be due to load management or some random injury. Just three of the 16 players that have suited up for the Clippers have appeared in all 32 games: Maurice Harkless, Montrezl Harrell and Ivica Zubac.

In addition to that, according to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Clippers got in their first practice of the season with all of their players healthy and available yesterday afternoon. So not only will they all be back, but there should be some extra chemistry between the players as well.

It’s difficult to say exactly how this team will look together. In a sense, it’s like the first game all over again. There will certainly be turnovers and missed opportunities, but the Clippers have never had this much talent available at once. This won’t be the best they’ve looked, but it’ll be close.

I would expect them to stick with the usual starting group, which features Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Harkless and Zubac.

After that, look for Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet, JaMychal Green and Rodney McGruder to come off the bench.

Since they’re playing the Lakers and have two full days to rest before their next game, I would also expect Leonard and George to play near-season-highs in minutes. As much as anyone tries to minimize this game, everyone knows how important it is and how much it means to both teams.

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