By Rowan Kavner, Clippers.com
Los Angeles – Apart from losing rookie first-round pick Brice Johnson to a herniated disc in Wednesday’s game, the Clippers should be feeling healthy and well-rested after using the past four days to practice and get ready for their third preseason game.
With both training camp and the first week of the preseason wrapped up, the Clippers’ (1-1) veterans and newcomers are starting to understand one another on the court as they prepare to host the Jazz (1-1) on Monday night.
Raymond Felton said with it still being so early in the season, this is the time to be building chemistry and camaraderie with his new teammates. “Basically, we’re still in training camp,” Felton said. “You have to take these preseason games and the last two, three weeks we have as training camp. We’re still working on a lot of things.”
Here are three things to watch as the Clippers take on the Jazz.
Starting Lineup – In the preseason opener in Golden State, it was the one the Clippers were accustomed to, with Luc Mbah a Moute starting at the three and the normal four starters around him. One night later, it was a three-guard lineup featuring Austin Rivers and Raymond Felton next to Chris Paul, and despite the lack of experience with it, the look worked as the Clippers started strong and got the win against Toronto.
Head coach Doc Rivers could choose to go back to the original look to try to get the usual starting five in rhythm, or he could make another tweak. With no shootaround before Monday’s game, that won’t be evident until around the time the Clippers take the floor.
Austin At The 3? – Whether or not the Clippers use a three-guard lineup to start some regular season games remains to be seen, but they tried it out with some success in their last preseason game, putting Austin Rivers at the three.
Head coach Doc Rivers has said that’s obviously not something they can do every night and will depend on the matchup, but where Austin gets his minutes will be something to watch moving forward. The thought is Austin’s defense can minimize the opposing wing’s advantage off the dribble, even if that opposing wing might be physically bigger. Then, Austin’s quickness can cause problems on the other end.
While there are some threes in the league such as LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony who use their size to post-up, many others are face-up players the Clippers feel Austin can handle.
“It’s one of those things, they’ve been mentioning it, they want me guarding the quicker ones, that way Chris doesn’t have to do it all that – which is already kind of a known thing going into the season – but the three was definitely new,” Austin said. “I’m excited.”
Feeling Fresh – J.J. Redick was getting antsy this week, getting the night off Wednesday and a couple practice days off just to stay fresh. Really, the entire team should be feeling that way with four days off between games as they enter Monday’s matchup.
That time gave the Clippers plenty of practice opportunities after a back-to-back to start the preseason.
“I just like the back-to-back games,” Doc Rivers said. “You can make adjustments and then you have these big chunks of practice. I like the rhythm of it. It’s really good.”
Redick said he hopes to return the court Monday, and he feels fine physically.
NOTES: Utah forwards Derrick Favors (left knee) and Gordon Hayward (finger) and guard Alec Burks (rehab) have already been ruled out … Chris Paul is third in the NBA with eight assists per game in the preseason, despite being the only player in the top 14 to average fewer than 20 minutes per game thus far … This will be the first of two preseason games this week for the Clippers, who will host the Trail Blazers on Thursday.
