The LA Clippers face off against the Portland Trail Blazers tonight. They’ll hope to get another win despite not being fully healthy.
The LA Clippers are getting ready to play the Portland Trail Blazers; if they win, they’ll go 4-1 for the first time since 2017-18. This is far from a given, though, since Marcus Morris will still be missing time with a sore knee.
As of writing, Kawhi Leonard‘s status has not yet been announced as he recovers from a facial laceration delivered by Serge Ibaka‘s elbow. If he can’t play, the road will be just a bit harder for the good guys.
All eyes will, of course, be on Paul George and Damian Lillard. Both have insisted that, despite their social media beef during and after the bubble, there’s no real feud between them. Nonetheless, we’re sure to be looking for who can get the better of the other.
Last season, these teams met twice, and the LA Clippers took home all three wins, scoring an average of 115 points per game and allowing 105. If we’re missing Leonard, PG will have to step up big time. He’s no stranger to that; statistically last season, he was our best performer versus Portland, putting up a statline of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game on .57/.69/.75 shooting. That’s not a typo – in the two games he played against Portland, PG went 9/13 from deep.
Outside of the Mavericks game, when nobody on the team performed well, PG is proving himself worthy of the extension he signed, and I fully expect him to be capable of carrying the team to a win if his superstar partner can’t go.
Mook’s absence is concerning, as we still haven’t seen him all season. In his place, Nicolas Batum has been doing a little bit of everything, putting up 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Hard to complain about that, especially from a vet min addition!
If there’s a Kawhi Leonard sized hole in the starting lineup, Luke Kennard will likely get the nod to start in his place. After a slow start to the season, Kennard had a solid game yesterday against the Timberwolves, with shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from deep. That sort of contribution is exactly what the team expected when they traded for him, and it will help keep us afloat if Kawhi needs more time to recover. If Kawhi can go, Kennard’s shooting will be a welcome addition to the bench.
UPDATE:
It was announced before the game that Kawhi Leonard will indeed be available and starting against the Portland Trail Blazers. With that in mind, we’ll see Luke Kennard’s scoring and playmaking providing an extra spark off the bench.
The LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers tip off at 10PM EST, 7PM PST. Be sure to follow along with Clipperholics during and after the game!