Hawks vs. Clippers Game Preview
The long-awaited pairing of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will take form Saturday night, and the Atlanta Hawks have the fortune of welcoming it to the NBA. Already a dangerous team on both sides of the ball with Leonard as the sole focal point, the Clippers will add to their lineup another All Star capable of dominating any given game on either end of the floor. George made his season debut Thursday night against the Pelicans and didn’t look the slightest bit out of step with the pace he set last season. He finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, and four assists on 10-of-17 shooting in the loss – an ominous sign for the rest of the league.
Part of the fun of his and Leonard’s partnership is that it isn’t yet clear how it will look. In theory, the two should complement one another perfectly on both ends of the floor, but until seen in practice, the exact interplay between them remains an exciting mystery. Atlanta will be the first to put the duo to the test after dropping its seventh game of the season in Phoenix Thursday night, though the Hawks will have their hands full even beyond the Clippers’ two superstars.
Game Time: Saturday, November 16, 2019, 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
TV: FOX Sports Southeast, FOX Sports West
Streaming: NBA League Pass, FOX Sports Go
What makes L.A. so devastating, on paper, is its depth Leonard and George – nearly every rotation player is a capable scorer or defensive weapon. Even if a team manages survive the opening stretch against the two superstars, it still has Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell to contend with off the bench. Where most teams would lean heavily on Leonard and George to defend opposing wing scorers, the Clippers have the luxury of sticking Moe Harkless or Rodney McGruder on primary threats and letting the stars conserve energy.
In the backcourt, Patrick Beverley devotes himself fully to making opposing point guards uncomfortable. He is one of the NBA’s preeminent irritants and will likely spend most of the night hounding Trae Young. Beverley makes opposing guards work harder for their shots and touches than perhaps any defender in the league, and Young already exerts a massive amount of energy on offense even against sane defenders. Beverley will make him go to even greater lengths, and the Hawks will once again feel the absence of Kevin Huerter (missing his second straight game with a shoulder sprain) and the lack of playmakers behind Young in the rotation.
On the other end of the floor, L.A.’s wings will pose a daunting test for rookies De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish (DeAndre’ Bembry will likely spend time on one of the two as well). It doesn’t always matter how well a team defends George or Leonard, they are good enough to burn even the best defensive efforts and most carefully crafted gameplans. The rookies will have to stay disciplined and lean on their help defenders to have much of a chance stopping their All-Star counterparts.
Despite elite top-end talent and enviable depth, the Clippers have occasionally looked vulnerable early in the season. They own a tidy 7-5 record and the NBA’s ninth-best point differential, but neither the offense nor the defense has risen to the level their talent would suggest. They take the fourth-lowest share of 3-pointers in the NBA and have begun the year cold from beyond, but a knack for getting to the foul line has kept their offense above average. L.A. ranks third in the NBA in pick-and-roll frequency, and for good reason – Leonard and Williams are two of the more indefatigable pick-and-roll operators in the league while Montrezl Harrell is a terrorizing downhill finisher.
Some of those marks will change now that George has returned, though part of the beauty of his game is his ability to fit in without reorienting his team’s approach. May still go through an adjustment period of sorts, but the odds are this team hits its stride sometime in the near future. That process will begin Saturday night, when the stars that shook the NBA offseason will finally align for the first time.
