Clippers vs. Pelicans Game Notes

The Clippers take on the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday at the Smoothie King Center hoping to salvage a split on their two-game southwest trip. The game will start at 5:00 p.m. PST. Here's what to watch for:

The Clippers were let down by their offense in a hard-fought loss to the Houston Rockets Wednesday. The refereeing was admittedly out of control to end the game, but the Clippers couldn't put enough consecutive scores together down the stretch to beat Houston. After a slow start, the Rockets have the best defensive rating in the NBA (98.5 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the last five games.

Fortunately, the Pelicans are somewhat of a disaster in team defense. They rank 28th in the league this season in defensive rating at 113.1. That has improved slightly to 112.1 over the last five games, but still not nearly in the Rockets' stratosphere. A Clippers team that has struggled to consistently generate offense should benefit from playing against such a lax defense.

The team is running low on perimeter bodies. Kawhi Leonard will be sitting out, continuing what should be a season-long trend of avoiding back-to-backs. Patrick Beverley will also be sitting out with a sore left calf, and Landry Shamet remains out after suffering a high ankle sprain Monday. That means the Clippers will be without three of their opening night starters.

Fortunately, reinforcements are on the way in the form of Paul George. The All-NBA guard is set to make his Clippers debut today, though that still leaves two openings in the starting lineup. My guess is that Moe Harkless, who started in place of Shamet yesterday, will continue to slot in as the small forward. George will be the shooting guard, and Lou Williams starts at point guard to give the starting lineup some offensive punch.

Montrezl Harrell played 38 minutes against Houston, while Williams played 41. There's no way around playing Williams his usual 30 minutes if the Clippers hope to score, particularly with Leonard sitting out, but Doc Rivers should be able to use Ivica Zubac for longer stretches against New Orleans. The Pelicans start a traditional five in Derrick Favors and bring Jahlil Okafor off the bench, both of whom play to Zubac's strengths. Rivers has expressed concern about the minutes he has been subjecting Harrell to, and this would be a perfect night to ease the burden on his small-ball center.

Brandon Ingram is off to a smoking offensive start for New Orleans, averaging 25.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on 53.7% shooting from the field. He has historically gotten up to play premier wing players, such as Kevin Durant and George. Presumably, George won't get the primary assignment on Ingram in his first game back – Harkless seems tailor-made for the role – but it would be interesting to see one of the league's best wing defenders take on one of this season's upstart young players.

Ingram is a game-time decision, so that matchup may not come to fruition. Josh Hart and Lonzo Ball are also out for New Orleans, and Okafor is questionable, per ESPN.