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What to watch for as LA Clippers host Golden State Warriors

By Brian Cullen

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 24: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers drives to the basket against the Golden State Warriors on October 24, 2019 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 24: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers drives to the basket against the Golden State Warriors on October 24, 2019 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 05: Basketball on the floor while the “l” play the LA Clippers at Staples Center on January 5, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Lakers won 117 to 107. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 05: Basketball on the floor while the “l” play the LA Clippers at Staples Center on January 5, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Lakers won 117 to 107. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

The LA Clippers host the Golden State Warriors for the first time Friday night. Here are some things to keep an eye out for.

The two division rivals, if we can still call them that, will meet for the second time this season on Friday. This time in Staples Center. It will be the second match between the two teams since they met in San Francisco on October 24th. In that game, the LA Clippers spoiled Steph Curry and the Warriors regular-season opener in the brand new Chase Center with a 141 to 122 blowout.

A lot has changed for both teams since their last battle. Clippers have gotten their second star Paul George back into the lineup, and the Warriors have lost superstar point guard Steph Curry possibly for the remainder of the season, among other injuries to their key players. This second meeting still finds both teams without some of their best players this season. Thursday afternoon the Clippers announced Paul George would be out due to a strained hamstring. On Friday Golden State listed D’Angelo Russell as out for the game, while Draymond Green remains questionable.

Aside from PG being out, the Clippers will have most of their team ready for action, and thus one step closer to being a full squad again. This leads us to our list…

1. Cohesion

Since the game against the Knicks, the Clippers have had four days off including two days of practice- something the team hasn’t been able to do more than a couple of times as a full squad. The Clippers should be not only well-rested but also more collected-looking. The team is one of the bottom six teams in the league in terms of turnovers per game, per NBA.com.

The team held practice on both Wednesday and Thursday leading into the game. Despite Paul George being ruled out, the rest of the team should be ready to go and look like they are starting to click. Running schemes will better acclimate the ball handlers to where everyone else will be and cut down on errant passes, as well as letting the wings and big prepare for the rock at any time. With the lack of practice time, this team almost seems to have been getting by on pure talent, it’ll be a different beast when that talent has a plan.

They are coming off two less than ideal defensive games- after the game, some players talked about a lack of communication on that end of the floor. After some quality practice, those woes should be fixed somewhat.

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