Clippers Injury Report vs. Warriors: Both Teams Near Full Strength in Play-In Clash

The Los Angeles Clippers host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday in the first of their hopefully two games in the Play-In Tournament. A loss ends their season, while a win sets up another do-or-die game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Another win there makes the Clippers the No. 8 seed and matches them up against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

First things first, the Clippers will have their hands full dealing with Steph Curry and the Warriors. For the first time in a while, the Warriors will be at full strength, with Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, and Al Horford all healthy at the same time. All four veterans are off the injury report, and head coach Steve Kerr hinted at the possibility of Curry playing well over 30 minutes for the first time since his return from injury.

Kawhi Leonard & Steph Curry Off the Injury Report Ahead of Clippers vs. Warriors

Fortunately for the Clippers, they are also looking good on the injury front. The only player on their injury report other than Bradley Beal and Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who have already been ruled out for the season, is Isaiah Jackson.

The backup center was upgraded to questionable ahead of Wednesday after he missed the last eight games of the season with an ankle sprain. Since the Clippers are desperate for more center depth, one has to assume that Jackson will give it a go and see how he feels. If he can give the Clippers solid 15 minutes off the bench, he could change the calculus for LA.

The most important thing, however, is the fact that Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland are off the injury report. Leonard missed the regular-season finale on Sunday for precautionary reasons. He was listed on there with an ankle sprain, as he has been dealing with it for the last few weeks of the season.

Sitting out in the final game of the season allowed Leonard to get some rest. The five days of rest should help Leonard be as fresh as possible against the Warriors. The star forward will push 40 minutes and should have a relatively favorable matchup, given the lack of elite perimeter defenders in Golden State's rotation.

Similarly, Garland will also play as many minutes as he can handle. In the two crucial Portland games over the last two weeks, the dynamic point guard averaged 39 minutes. So, he can certainly ramp up his workload when the team needs him to. We can expect him to play a ton of minutes as the Clippers are desperate for his shot creation and shot-making.

Ideally, the Clippers can secure the win without having to push their stars too hard in terms of minutes and workload. If they advance, being as fresh as possible against the Suns, who will have a rest advantage, will be crucial in their playoff pursuit. Whether the Clippers can have their cake and eat it too, however, remains to be seen.

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