On Friday night, the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies will meet for the second time in three days.
Thanks to their victory on Wednesday, the Clippers are now in fifth place in the Western Conference. Memphis, meanwhile, moved to three and a half games behind top-seeded Denver and just two games in front of third-seeded Sacramento. This quick rematch will get started at 8:00 PM EST.
Updates Injury for Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies
The Clippers are jockeying for potential home-court advantage in what appears to be a first-round series date with the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference playoffs.
The recent knee injury suffered by star Paul George, who will likely miss the rest of the regular season, has made things more difficult for LA.
The Clippers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 141-132 on Wednesday night, a game they desperately needed to win. Since the Clippers’ other star player, Kawhi Leonard, was sidelined for personal reasons, this victory is all the more impressive.
- Kawhi Leonard – Questionable
According to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, Leonard’s status for Friday’s game against the Grizzlies due to a personal matter is in question.
Leonard missed Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies due to personal reasons, and his status for Friday appears to be similarly uncertain.
The Clippers are likely to start Terance Mann again if he is once again sidelined.
On Wednesday night against Memphis, Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Clippers and have his best game since joining the team.
Westbrook took charge of the Los Angeles Lakers in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard’s absences (knee and personal injuries, respectively). His 36 points and five three-pointers made were both season highs.
While Westbrook’s minutes could be reduced with Leonard’s return for Friday’s rematch with Memphis, the veteran point guard should still be able to contribute significantly to the team’s statistical output with George out for the rest of the regular season.
For injury, Paul George remains out while Marcus Morris Jr. and Kawhi Leonard are listed as day-to-day.
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The Grizzlies have a slim chance of winning the Western Conference with six games left in the season. The race for second place is far from over, though, and the Grizzlies will need a strong finish to hold off the Sacramento Kings.
The Grizzlies’ defense on Wednesday night was terrible, as they let the Clippers score over 140 points while losing. Memphis’ seven-game winning streak was snapped by the Clippers despite 36 points from Ja Morant.
The Grizzlies did play the game without Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane, Tyus Jones, and John Konchar because some of them were sick or tired from playing the night before.
Because his supporting cast wasn’t very good, Morant took more shots than he had in any of the previous three games.
Since the Memphis point guard returned from a nine-game suspension earlier this month, he has improved his scoring average each game.
For injury, Konchar Jr., Jones, Jackson Jr., and Bane are all listed as questionable with various injuries. Still sidelined is C Steven Adams.
