USATSI_14169105 — John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

LA Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors: Preview, How to Watch and Betting Info

The LA Clippers will play the first leg of their two-game series with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

Author:
Garrett Chorpenning
Updated:
Jan 6, 2021 8:42 PM EST
Original:
Jan 6, 2021

The LA Clippers suffered a tough loss on Tuesday night, falling 116-113 at home to the San Antonio Spurs despite mounting a valiant comeback in the second half. The team seemed eager to put the game behind them, and fortunately, they'll get the chance to do that on Wednesday when they take on the Golden State Warriors.

Tonight's contest will be the first of LA's two-game "series" with the Warriors, as they'll play them again this coming Friday as part of the league's effort to cut down on travel amid the coronavirus pandemic. As such, this upcoming stretch should give us our best look yet at how Tyronn Lue makes coaching adjustments on a game-to-game basis.

One player that will certainly be on Lue's radar is Stephen Curry. The two-time MVP has been red-hot over his last five contests, averaging 37.0 points per game and connecting on 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts. Those figures include the career outing he had on Sunday as well, when he dropped a career-high 62 points on the Portland Trail Blazers.

Another point of concern for the Clippers: Golden State's pace. The Warriors currently rank first in that category, while LA comes in at No. 29. Considering how exhausted the Clippers have looked at times this season, it seems fair to suggest that they'll struggle to keep up with Golden State's offense — not to mention they'll be playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

That said, Golden State's defense has been atrocious to begin the season, and the Clippers have one of the most efficient offenses in the league. If LA can slow things down and get into a rhythm early on, this could be another blowout in their favor.

Fortunately, the Clippers will have their full roster available on Wednesday night for the first time all season. Prior to tip-off, Lue confirmed that Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris Sr. would all be active, which is significant for several reasons.

George's return was mostly anticipated, but this will be the first time that Leonard has played both games of a back-to-back since 2017. Moreover, this will be Morris' 2020-21 season debut for LA.