Camp is over and the game is today. It is Clippers game day in Honolulu. Tyronn Lue’s team plays the Golden State Warriors at 1 p.m. HST (4 p.m. PT) at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, with NBA TV carrying the game. The final 24 hours brought real news: Kobe Sanders was ruled out, Bradley Beal will sit, Isaiah Jackson said he expects to start, and Steve Kerr laid out exactly how long his stars will play.
Here is the latest heading into tipoff, beyond what we covered in Saturday’s preview.
Clippers Game Day: Who Is Out
The Clippers’ list of unavailable players grew on Saturday:
- Kobe Sanders (left hip impingement): ruled out for Sunday, according to SI’s Joey Linn. ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported that Sanders was limited to individual work in Saturday’s practice. His next chance to play is Saturday, October 10, against Toronto in Vancouver.
- Bradley Beal (right knee inflammation): will not play in the opener, according to the Southern California News Group. ESPN listed him as day-to-day.
- Brandon Ingram: out while recovering from heel surgery and a partially torn Achilles tendon.
- Jordan Miller (shoulder) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot): both unavailable.
Losing Sanders thins the wing group further. That means more minutes behind the starters for players like Gradey Dick, Keaton Wagler and Yuki Kawamura. The full background on the Ingram injury is in our Media Day story.
Isaiah Jackson: “I Think I’m Going to Be in the Starting Role”
The biggest lineup question all week has been at center, and Jackson gave his own answer on Saturday. “I think I’m going to be in the starting role,” he said, according to ESPN.
Jackson has run with the first unit since the start of camp, alongside Darius Garland, Max Strus, Derrick Jones Jr. and Rui Hachimura, while veteran Brook Lopez worked with the second group. That arrangement was covered in our Day 3 report. Lue has said the groups can change, and no official starting five had been announced as of Sunday morning.
Jackson came over from Indiana in a trade last February. In 17 games off the bench for the Clippers, he averaged 7.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 15.8 minutes. A strong preseason would help him keep the job when Konan Niederhauser returns and Lopez pushes for minutes.
Beal’s Comeback Story
Beal will not play today, but his first media session in nearly a year was one of the most striking moments of camp. He fractured his left hip in a freak accident six games into last season and needed surgery. The recovery tested him more than any of his previous injuries.
“I was very nervous, very not trusting of myself,” Beal said of his first jump after surgery, according to the Southern California News Group. “I literally had to learn to walk all over again, run all over again, how to put pressure back on this side comfortably.”
He says the confidence is back now. “I can still do my step-backs. I can dunk a basketball. I didn’t think I was going to be able to do that,” Beal said. “To be able to do that and do it explosively, I feel unbelievably more confident in that.”
Lue has seen video of Beal dunking. He is on a two-year, $13.2 million deal with a player option for the second year, and the team gave him back his No. 3 jersey. The right knee inflammation has slowed his ramp-up, but the Clippers see him as a bench scorer who can also handle the ball.
Warriors Minutes Plan: Stars Play the First Half Only
Kerr laid out his plan clearly on Saturday after the Warriors’ fifth and final practice at BYU-Hawaiʻi in Lāʻie. “Steph, Dray and Al first half only,” Kerr said, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “Probably between 12 and 16 minutes, somewhere in there.”
That means Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Al Horford will be done by halftime. Every available Warrior is expected to play, including the team’s three two-way players. Golden State is already without Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, who are rehabbing, and Kristaps Porzingis, who did not travel to Hawaiʻi because of a health issue.
The Warriors are protecting legs for a reason. After today they play Tuesday at home against the Lakers and Wednesday in Portland, three games in four nights with two flights. “Not a huge fan, but we get it,” Kerr said of the schedule.
Two more Warriors storylines to watch:
- Draymond Green in the 5-out offense. Kerr wants Green to stop trailing plays. “It’s the biggest adjustment for him,” Kerr said. “We’re telling him every play, ‘Get down the floor.'”
- Brandin Podziemski on Garland. Podziemski pointed to Garland as a player whose rhythm he has learned to read. He will be the point-of-attack defender in a new scheme being taught by assistant Frank Vogel.
What to Watch From the Clippers
- The opening five. Whether Lue starts Jackson at center or goes with Lopez.
- Rebounding. Lue’s top priority all week for a smaller roster. Watch the defensive glass against Horford and Green.
- The second half. With Golden State’s stars sitting, the second half becomes an audition for Wagler, Kawamura and the rest of the bench.
- Garland’s rhythm. His first game action as the Clippers’ primary creator with Ingram out.
Lue’s camp themes, effort, toughness and rebounding by committee, are covered in our Day 2 report. Today is the first chance to see whether they show up in a game.
Watch: Lue, Jackson and Hachimura on the Final Day of Camp
The Clippers’ official media availability from Saturday features Lue, Jackson and Hachimura:
Game Info and What’s Next
- Today, Sunday, Oct. 4: Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors, Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, 1 p.m. HST / 4 p.m. PT (NBA TV)
- Saturday, Oct. 10: vs. Toronto Raptors in Vancouver
- Wednesday, Oct. 14: vs. Denver Nuggets, Intuit Dome
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: regular-season opener vs. Sacramento Kings, Intuit Dome
This is the sixth time since 2017 the Clippers have held camp in Hawaiʻi, and today it ends with a game. Follow InfanityTV for Clippers game day coverage and the full result from Honolulu tonight.
