USATSI_15400765 — © Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

LA Clippers vs. San Antonio Spurs: Preview, How to Watch and Betting Info

The Clippers will face off against DeMar DeRozan and the Spurs in their first of back-to-back matchups.

Author:
Mason Bissada
Publish date:
Mar 24, 2021 10:12 AM EDT

The LA Clippers will take on the San Antonio Spurs for the first game of their back-to-back matchups on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.

LA will once again be down two starters, as Patrick Beverley (right knee soreness) and Serge Ibaka (lower back tightness) did not travel with the team for the two-game road trip. For the Spurs, standout guard Lonnie Walker IV will be out with right wrist soreness, and veteran forward Rudy Gay is questionable to play with left foot soreness.

The Spurs have once again exceeded expectations this season, sitting comfortably as the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a 22-18 record. They hold the no. 10 defense and the no. 20 offense, and they beat teams by avoiding mistakes as often as possible. San Antonio turns the ball over less than any other team in the NBA, giving up the ball on just 11.3% of their possessions (the Clippers aren’t far behind them, ranking fourth in that category at 13.4% turnover rate).

LA will have to deal with DeMar DeRozan, who has had another solid season with the Spurs. He’s averaging 20.6 points on 49.8% shooting, and also leads his team in assists at 7.4 per game. His three-point shot is still essentially non-existent (he makes 31% of his 1.8 attempts per game), but he continues to find ways to be effective in the midrange.

Wednesday’s game will mark the last game for LA before the trade deadline passes on Thursday at 12 p.m. The team could look slightly different for Thursday night’s second matchup with San Antonio.