The Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to be a bit of an underrated darling this season. With fewer expectations but a level of star talent, NBA nerds argued they could surprise. Well, their season got off to that kind of promise, anyway. The Clippers won three of their first five games. Then they said, “Hello darkness, my old friend.” Over their next 22 games, they managed to win just three. With no control over their own picks and a roster looking like one of the worst in the league, it got really
dark in Clipperland. They have righted the ship a bit, winning three in a row. That means, just like with the Utah Jazz, the Detroit Pistons can’t afford to take this team lightly. Of course, the Pistons took the Jazz lightly and lost. They also seemed relatively disgusted with their level of effort. We will see if that self-recrimination and an off day for practice have helped them lock back in. Otherwise, this will be turning into a pretty sad end-of-the-year road trip.
Game Vitals
When: 9 p.m. ET
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, California
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network Detroit
Odds: Pistons -3
Projected Lineups
Detroit Pistons (24-7)
Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren
Los Angeles Clippers (9-21)
James Harden, Kris Dunn, Kawhi Leonard, John Collins, Brook Lopez
