The Clippers are coming off a brutal loss last night to the youthful Blazers, and now have to turn around and play a back to back against the 3-1 Suns, who beat them on opening night a week ago.
Game Information
Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
When: 7:30 PM PT
How to Watch: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV
Projected Starting Lineups
Suns: Tyus Jones – Bradley Beal – Devin Booker – Kevin Durant – Jusuf Nurkic
Clippers: James Harden – Norman Powell – Derrick Jones Jr. – Terance Mann – Ivica Zubac
Injuries
Suns: Bradley Beal Questionable (Elbow), Josh Okogie Out (Hamstring)
Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), Mo Bamba Out (Knee), PJ Tucker Out (Away from team)
Notes
Rest Advantage, Suns: The Suns haven’t played since Monday, and didn’t have far to travel since they were home that game. They should be very well rested and prepped for this game. The Clippers, by contrast, played just last night in a close-fought contest where their key players all played big minutes. Sometimes rested teams come out a little sloppy, so hopefully the Clippers can jump on the Suns early and build a lead. It will be hard for them to make a big push later in the game with their tired legs.
Getting Harden Going: While James Harden has been excellent as a playmaker thus far this season, he’s been incredibly inefficient as a scorer. He does have the burden of being the primary offensive threat, so teams lead up heavily on him, but still, I’d really like to see the Clippers try to get him some easier looks to get him in a better scoring rhythm. If the Clippers are going to surprise this year, they’ll need more than playmaker Harden – they’ll need some 30-point scoring Harden games as well.
