Thanksgiving hangover or not? • 213hoops.com

The Clippers look to keep the positive Thanksgiving vibes going on a trip to Minneapolis vs falling Timberwolves.

Game information

Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

When: 4:30 PM PT

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

Expected starting lineups

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

Wolves: Mike Conley – Anthony Edwards – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert

Injuries

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

Wolves: Joe Ingles Out (calf)

The big picture

Nearly a quarter of the way through the season, the Clippers are 12-8, putting them on pace for a 49-win campaign, which would be a shocking feat without Kawhi Leonard. Their defense has increased to 5^th in the NBA, while their offense has dropped to 22nd^n.dwhich isn’t great but has been enough to get the job done. They are winning as a team as they have been able to survive extended absences of not only Kawhi, but leading scorer Norm Powell and backup center Mo Bamba. It’s been a fun, enjoyable group with a few notable exceptions—cough, Kevin Porter Jr. and rotation player Kai Jones cough – who plays hard and has only really felt outclassed by the Celtics and Rockets. There’s plenty of season left, but this team is legitimately tough and tough to deal with.

The antagonist

The wolves, on the other hand, have had a very disappointing season, with fans booing the team at recent home games. After reaching the Western Conference finals last year and hoping for a repeat this season, the Wolves are just 8-10 to start the year with a 13th seed.^th ranked offense and 12^th ranked defense. Being close to the top 10 on both sides of the ball suggests things aren’t too bad, and the Wolves have a positive point differential. But things look worse than that on the court, where Julius Randle doesn’t mesh well with Rudy Gobert or Anthony Edwards on offense, and the team sorely misses Karl-Anthony Towns’ rebounding and size on defense. The Wolves certainly have the talent to turn things around and there are games where they look very good. But Mike Conley’s age, Jaden McDaniels’ inability to shoot and Donte DiVincenzo’s regression after a career year are all danger signs for the Wolves, and whether they can be overcome remains to be seen.

Notes

Winning the turnover battle: The wolves actually score the ball quite effectively (8^th in True Shooting), but have an average offense because they turn the ball over at 23^rd worst rate in the NBA. The Clippers are in a similar boat as their offense is 16th^th in True Shooting but 28^th in giving the ball away. Thus, if the Clippers can just keep their turnovers down while forcing their usual number of turnovers on the other end, they have a very good chance to win. This is of course easier said than done, but it is a relatively straightforward path to victory.

Harden’s Shooting Momentum: James Harden has put together three of his most efficient shooting performances of the season back-to-back, culminating in his stunning 43-point outing against the hapless Wizards on Wednesday. The Wolves are a completely different animal than the Wizards, even with their slide on defense this year, but Harden is 13-26 from three over the past three games and is very difficult to stop when he gets rolling from deep. He certainly won’t keep shooting at that clip forever, but if he continues to roll for another few games, he could help push the Clippers further over .500. The Wolves have a ton of defenders to throw at him — Ant Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker — so a decline would be understandable. But maybe the beard can continue to surprise.

Miller Time: Jordan Miller continues to impress. In the five games since entering the rotation, he is averaging 9 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1 steal while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.5% from three. He’s still a bit raw defensively, but the tools flash sharply and the effort is never in doubt. On offense, Miller’s determination to shoot, pass or drive stands in stark contrast to two of his counterparts on the bench – Kevin Porter Jr. and Terance Mann – and has allowed him to be effective even against other teams’ right rotations. It will be very difficult to take him out of the rotation even when Norm returns and I think cases could be made for him to play over Mann (not what I would do) or Porter Jr. (yes) in a healthy rotation.