The Clippers could use it. Their last game was a 133-110 loss at Phoenix, and it was over early: down 11 after 1 quarter, 17 at the half and 27 after 3, against a Suns team playing the second night of a back-to-back. The 38-point fourth quarter came long after the result was settled. The Clippers were down 5 players that night once Cam Christie's ankle kept him out, and the defense couldn't hold up.
The one good stretch for LA was a 139-123 win over New Orleans that ended a 4-game losing streak. Even the losses before that weren't all blowouts. They fell 117-116 to Miami and 125-118 to Toronto, both at home. The real problem is on defense. They've given up 124 or more in 4 of their last 6 games, counting Phoenix, and OKC has 4 games of 114 or more in its last 5. The Thunder's only recent dud was a 119-98 loss in Houston.
Both teams are thin up front, so this game may come down to which bench holds up. OKC is without Holmgren, Sorber and Jaylin Williams, so its frontcourt rotation goes very deep into the roster. The Clippers are missing Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot) and Brandon Ingram (Achilles), with Bradley Beal still out with his knee and Jordan Miller lost to rotator cuff surgery. Christie's ankle is the one to watch this week. Shai is the best player on the floor. The question is whether a beat-up Clippers team can make him do it all himself for 48 minutes on the back end of a road trip.
