What was supposed to be the easy part of the Clippers five-game road trip ended in losses to a pair of depleted teams over the weekend. Now comes the hard part. The Clips have played the Warriors tough this season, losing three games by a combined 14 points, but blown fourth quarter leads in two of those outings continue to haunt LA.
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LOOK AHEAD
The Clippers are a difficult bunch to figure out. Are they the team that won 25 of their first 34 games after Blake Griffin was sidelined, learning to play small and move the ball? Are they the team that routinely crumbled in the final minutes of games against top teams? They certainly hope they’re not the team that failed to show up last weekend. The Clippers couldn’t beat the severely undermanned Memphis Grizzlies or New Orleans Pelicans, letting the likes of Ray McCallum and Luke Babbitt upstage them during a pair of losses.
It felt like more than a bad stretch that could be quickly dismissed after the Clippers lost for the fourth time in five games. They’ve always been comforted by the thought of rounding into form for the playoffs upon Griffin’s return, but the calendar is no longer an ally. The Clippers must also confront the possibility that they’re mentally soft. They have not been dominant at home. They’ve lost fourth quarter leads to the Warriors twice, Spurs and Thunder. And they haven’t handled lesser opponents easily.
INJURIES
Forward Jeff Green took an inadvertent Zach Randolph elbow to the head on Saturday and left the game. He sat out the next night in New Orleans and is questionable to play when the Clips visit Golden State.
Warriors center Andrew Bogut missed the last two games with a toe injury and is questionable for Wednesday’s contest. Also, Finals MVP Andre Iguodala isn’t expected back until early next month as he mends from a left ankle sprain.
KEY MATCHUP
The Warriors split the final two games of their road trip and did so with Stephen Curry nearly invisible. The best pure shooter in the game struggled like never before in games with San Antonio and Minnesota. Curry was harassed into going just 1 of 12 from three-point range and 4 of 18 overall against the Spurs on Saturday. Not a coincidence Golden State managed just 79 points in the loss. Curry was cold again on Monday, missing seven of nine threes and 11 of 17 overall, but Golden State managed to outlast the Wolves in spite of the 19-point outing. Curry has such a high standard for himself, that even a two-game blip like this one is grabbing attention. “For me, I’m not going to get too high, too low. ... I’m not going to stop shooting,” he said following the Minnesota game. And it’s easy to imagine Curry breaking out this slide sooner rather than later. So the Clippers better watch out.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Spurs may have given the rest of the NBA a defensive blueprint on how to beat the defending champs. San Antonio held the Warriors to a season-low point total, using a bruising defense to slow Curry. If the defensively-challenged Timberwolves can nearly pull it off, the Dubs should expect to see more down the stretch. But few teams have the talent of the Spurs to pull it off, and the Clippers have shown recently, they are not one of those clubs.
And the Clippers may have more issues following losses to Memphis and New Orleans over the weekend. Those teams were missing key pieces and still managed to outplay the Clips. It’s possible those were traps. The Clips did play San Antonio to start the trip, ripped Houston the next night, and had the Warriors to end the trip. But at this point in the season, teams would like to be gearing up for the postseason. The Clips are in the playoffs, but look to be ready for a first round exit.
Golden State 117, Los Angeles 108
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