LA Clippers look to start Grammy trip off right in New Orleans

The LA Clippers go to New Orleans on Saturday to begin their annual Grammy trip. Here is to watch for versus the Pelicans.

The LA Clippers have looked great in their last couple of games. Granted, they were against likely non-playoff teams. Today, the Clippers head to New Orleans to face a team that will be fighting for a playoff seed towards the end of the year.

Here’s the thing though. The team we see on the court today won’t really look like the Pelicans towards the end of the year. Jrue Holiday is out for his sixth straight game and is a likely trade candidate. J.J. Redick will miss the game with a hamstring injury. Jahlil Okafor is also out. Obviously, the biggest name of all who won’t play is Zion Williamson.

The Clippers are just barely avoiding the first-overall pick as he plans to make his long-awaited debut on the 22nd.

Their main point of scoring will come from Brandon Ingram who has made a case for himself to earn his first All-Star nod this season. Ingram is averaging 25.8 points per game and has looked unstoppable at times.

For the Clippers, Maurice Harkless would usually get that assignment, but he is questionable to play after tweaking his back last game. In other injury news, Paul George will again miss the game as he rehabs his hamstring strain. He is apparently close to returning though as he is traveling with the team  during their five-game trip.

While he has been out, Kawhi Leonard has been nothing short of electric. Of the last four games, his lowest scoring output has been 30 points which came against the Denver Nuggets. He’s shooting lights out, averaging 57% shooting in those same four contests. Kawhi should have no problem today playing at a similar level.

With the Pelicans being so short-handed, this is just another opportunity to knock out their opponent early and get some early rest. The Clippers just need to be careful as this is an early game for them with tip-off happening at 12:30 PST.

We’ll be tweeting the game so make sure to follow along and to check back here for your post-game coverage!