LOS ANGELES - Before embarking on a lengthy seven-game road trip, the Los Angeles Clippers will “host” the Los Angeles Lakers on their shared home court. After the Lakers won the first two matchups of the season by a combined eight points, the Clippers will be looking to return the favor on Tuesday night.
The rivalry between the Clippers and the Lakers became more prominent than ever after the Lakers traded for former New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis in 2019 and the Clippers responded by acquiring forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the same offseason.
Since then, the two teams have played each other 17 times in the regular season with the Clippers winning 13 of those 17 meetings. Is it worth it to see if the Clippers had a particularly poor record before that?
Lately, the Clippers have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams after a six-game losing streak in early November left the team surrounded with nothing but question marks. Since the Clippers’ 111-108 loss to the Nuggets on November 14, Los Angeles has won 24 of its last 31 games and holds the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
More recently, the Clippers are coming off of two impressive wins against the No. 2 seed Oklahoma City Thunder and the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are just 17-25 on the season, but the Clippers were down by as many as 18 points and came back to win the game 125-114.
With stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George having rough shooting nights against Brooklyn, it was the other star duo of James Harden and Russell Westbrook that propelled the Clippers to victory. Harden finished the game with 24 points and 10 assists while Westbrook added 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block off the bench. After facing a 114-103 deficit, the Clippers went on a 22-0 scoring run to secure the 11-point victory.
If the Clippers want to extend their winning streak and end their homestand with a victory, they cannot underestimate a Lakers team that has had their number this year. The Lakers are 5-3 in their last eight games, but have come away with quality wins over the Toronto Raptors, Thunder and Dallas Mavericks in that span. In this recent eight game stretch, the Lakers have scored 125 points or more four times, so defense must be a focal point if the Clippers expect to come up with a victory.
In particular, the Clippers will have to find a way to contain LeBron James, who has had two excellent showings against his intra-city rival this season. In the first matchup, the Lakers won 130-125 in overtime and James finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. In the second meeting, the Lakers came out on top by three points and James had another near-triple double with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Clippers will also be looking for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to shoot the basketball better than in the previous meeting against the Lakers. The two were a combined 14-35 from the field 6-18 from the three-point line. Both Leonard and George also did not get to the free-throw line much in the previous meeting, shooting four free throws combined.
Overall, Leonard and George are both having sensational individual seasons heading into this matchup and both Clippers and general NBA fans should be more excited about their consistent availability.Out of the 41 games the Clippers have played this year, Leonard has played in 37 games and George has played in 39, both on pace to qualify for All-NBA teams with the new 65-game rule. It has been a struggle for the Clippers to keep their stars on the court over the last few years as neither Leonard nor George have played more than 57 games in a season since joining the Clippers. This season will likely buck that trend.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook have also filled tremendous needs for Los Angeles this season. After a shaky start with the Clippers, Harden is averaging 17 points, five rebounds and nine assists per game. Harden has been able to step into the role of being a true point guard for the Clippers while also still being able to provide sufficient scoring.
Westbrook has also embraced his sixth man role and since his disappointing stint with the Lakers, he has played great basketball for the Clippers. This season, Westbrook is averaging 11 points per game, six rebounds per game and five assists per game. While those numbers may not be eye-popping to the average NBA fan, it is important to note that Westbrook has played in every game for the Clippers and is shooting 47% from the field. During Westbrook’s tenure with the Lakers, he never shot the ball above 45% as he struggled to fit in with their roster.
Despite the Lakers leading the all-time series between the two franchises 152-85, the Clippers have essentially owned this rivalry over the last five seasons and will be looking to add another chapter to their dominance over the Lakers on Tuesday night.