A Defensive Slugfest in LA • 213hoops.com

The Clippers, fresh off two wins at home, will try to pick up a third straight win, this time without l.scorer Norm Powell against the visiting Orlando Magic.

Game information

Where: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California

When: 7:30 PM PT

That’s how you see: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570

Expected starting lineups

Magic: Jalen Suggs – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Tristan da Silva – Franz Wagner – Goga Bitadze

Cutting machines: James Harden – Amir Coffey – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Ivica Zubac

Injuries

Magic: Paolo Banchero Out (Oblique), Wendell Carter Jr. Questionable (Foot)

Cutting machines: Norm Powell Out (Hamstring), Kawhi Leonard Out (Knee), PJ Tucker Out (Away from Team), Cam Christie Out (G-League), Trentyn Flowers Out (G-League)

The big picture

The Clippers’ seesaw continues as they are now one game over .500 after a fun win last night against the Warriors. Their defense has bounced back in wins over the Jazz and Warriors, who are now in 6th place^th
in the NBA after a brief stint outside the top 10. Unfortunately, their offense has gone the other way, ranking 22nd.^n.d in the league. The Clippers just can’t get both sides of the ball in top-tier shape at the same time, and as expected, lean more toward a gritty, defense-first-type squad. If they keep getting the James Harden of the last two games—fewer turnovers, more downhill drives, great playmaking—they might be able to muster enough offense to keep winning. As Harden goes, so does the Clippers’ offense, so hopefully he can continue to improve as we head into the holidays.

The antagonist

The Magic are 9-6, third in the Eastern Conference, despite missing star Paolo Banchero for most of the season and starting center Wendell Carter Jr. for several weeks as well. The Magic thrives for two reasons. First, their defense is fantastic, ranking second best in the entire NBA. They are young, long and physical on the rim and are a very solid rebounding team. It is extremely difficult to string together positive offensive possessions against the Magic’s defense. Second, Franz Wagner is having a breakout season in his fourth season, averaging career highs in points (22.9), rebounds (5.5), assists (5) and steals (1.4) while holding the turnover low (1.9) and scores with excellent efficiency (57.1 True Shooting). The Magic’s offense is still bad, but Franz’s ability to get buckets and make plays for others just keeps them afloat for their defense to do the rest. They are tough every single game and Franz is a force going downhill.

Notes

Norm out: The Clippers announced yesterday that Norm Powell would miss today’s game with a hamstring strain. Norm is the Clippers’ leading scorer this year and first in threes made by a mile – their already below-average offense and shooting will take a big hit as a result of his absence. The first question to ask is: how long will Norm be out? Hamstring injuries are notoriously difficult, so while the Clippers haven’t made a formal announcement that he’ll miss any amount of time, I’d expect Norm to miss more than just the one game. It is possible that the absence is only a game or a couple, it is also possible that it is more than a handful. We just have to wait and see and hope it turns out well.

Replacement of norm: The second question is, of course, who will replace Norm? There are three likely candidates to step into Norm’s place in the starting unit. First is Amir Coffey, who is the most similar type of player (shooter who can slash and is mostly off-ball). The other is Terance Mann, who began the year as the starter and is familiar with that unit, but has had an uneven campaign at best. The final option is Kevin Porter Jr., who has had a few good games mixed in with many bad ones, but seems to have the confidence of the coaching staff. Coffey makes the most logical sense and I think he is the frontrunner to take the starting role as long as Norm is out.

The bench adjustments: Of course, if Coffey (or Mann or Porter) goes to the starting unit, that also opens up a spot on the bench. Ty Lue could trim the rotation to the 9 and just play the two guys who don’t start, Nic Batum and Mo Bamba, but he’s been trying to play the 10 most of the season and has a few good candidates to step into. The most logical, again, is Jordan Miller, especially if it’s Coffey who starts, since he’s a similar build and plays somewhat similar to Coffey. Another option is Bones Hyland, who might make the most sense if Porter Jr is going to the starting unit. Finally is Kobe Brown, who makes less sense at the position but offers more rebounding and playmaking. I think Jordan will get the shot – which should make a lot of fans happy. Let’s see what he does with the opportunity.