James Harden Out
Kawhi Lenard Out
Bogdan Bogdanovic Out
Draymond Green Questionable
Seth Curry Questionable
Alex Toohey Questionable
Jimmy Butler III Out
Moses Moody Doubtful
The Warriors finish up their preseason at home against the Clippers. The interstate rivalry should be a good way to close out the preseason. With some of the stars already listed as out today, this should be a game focused on the backups. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Both of these teams have made some drastic overhauls to their rotations, and seeing how they continue to settle in will be critical for the regular season.
The Clippers were one of the busiest teams in the league this off-season. They acquired Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, John Collins, and Bradley Beal. Considering the only major sacrifice they made to bring in this core was losing Norman Powell, it seems like a solid tradeoff. Overall, this team is loaded with veteran talent who can play both ways. The defense on this team is going to be intimidating. With Kawhi leading it, you’ve got Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Nicolas Batum, and Brook Lopez all coming off the bench, along with a variety of scorers in the starting lineup. On paper, this team appears to be one of the most well-constructed in the league, but of course, basketball isn’t played on paper. The main issue with this team is its age. The average age of the roster is the oldest in the league at 28, with several players well into their thirties. The team has the talent, but whether they can keep up throughout the season remains to be seen, but tonight they still look incredibly dangerous.
The Warriors are right behind the Clippers in terms of age. Sitting as the second-oldest team with an average age of 27, this group has similar issues as the Clippers, but their strongest aspect is definitely offense. Curry doesn’t look like he’s slowed down even a bit, still able to hit shots from anywhere. With Green and Butler likely out for this game, it’ll be the Curry show again, and it’s been working. They’ve managed to fend off Portland twice and beat the Lakers once. It’s been a strong team full of high-IQ players and potent scorers. Talent-wise, I wouldn’t say they’re in the same league as the entire Clippers roster, but the top-end talent is evenly matched. It’ll be an interesting matchup to see who can rally their role players better.
This matchup should be close. Since it's the last preseason game for both teams, I doubt they'll take it too seriously. We’ll probably see Curry leave the court earlier than in recent games, and the deep benches on both sides will likely see the court by the third quarter. Still, there's a lot to like about these benches, but the Clippers appear much deeper. They have seasoned NBA vets who will likely handle most of the workload late in the game, giving them an edge. That's why I’m backing the Clippers moneyline, the over on 224.5 points, and the Clippers +2.5 spread.
Money line: LAC (+124) / GSW (-148)
Total Points: 224.5
Spread: +2.5 LAC (-102) / -2.5 GSW (-118)
Podz has had a somewhat rocky start to the preseason, but in this last game, he should get a decent amount of playing time. He’s already averaging about 20 minutes per game, but with this being the final preseason game, he might take on some of the workload from Curry, who will likely be benched early. If that happens, Podz should be in a good position to reach four assists. He’s already hit this line in three of his four preseason games, so if he gains full control of the offense, hitting that mark should be very doable.
John Collins already looks like a great addition to the Clippers. He’s been an effective scorer and a strong secondary rebounder. However, with Kawhi and Harden out tonight, there should be a few more rebounding opportunities available. He’s been around the 5-rebound mark in all his preseason games, so with a little more space and less competition, reaching five boards seems well within his wheelhouse.