The Portland Trail Blazers will host Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers tonight in the second contest of their five-game homestand. The Blazers will look to take their frustrations out on the 13th-seeded Clippers, who find themselves buried in both on-court and off-court dramatics.
Before the season began, optimism surrounding the Clippers’ ceiling was tempered by questions about their health. One-third of the NBA season has come and gone, and the skepticism has been validated, though injuries have not been the driving force. Off-court issues have instead dominated the narrative, allowing the Clippers to quietly slip to 8-21.
During that skid, the Clippers resorted to firing Chris Paul amid disagreements with coaches and teammates. They soon found that Paul was not the root of their failures. They’re still searching for stability 29 games into the season.
Amidst all of the turmoil and chaos of the Clippers’ season, two constants remain: Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are both still really good at basketball. With Ivica Zubac out to injury, and Bradley Beal sidelined for the remainder of the season, the Clippers will lean even harder on their remaining stars.
At the time of the Blazers’ and Clippers’ first matchup, the Blazers were beating their opponents with a combination of fresh legs and math. They led the league in field goals attempted by a wide enough margin that their shooting volume exceeded their shooting percentages. While Portland still ranks fifth in the NBA at 91 field goal attempts per game, that advantage has narrowed, with the Blazers now only two attempts above the league average.
The Clippers, however, sit at 29th in the league in field goals attempted. Kawhi Leonard’s inhuman efficiency has, to this point, done enough to mitigate their slow pace (if 8-21 qualifies as “enough”). However, it is still an exploitable weakness. The Blazers have been going deep in their rotation, granting spot minutes to end-of-the-bench contributors like Rayan Rupert and Yang Hansen. To win, the Blazers must lean on early-season habits and try to out-pace the Clippers’ skill, as they did in their first meeting.
Portland Trail Blazers (12-18) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (8-21) – Fri. Dec 26 – 7pm Pacific
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Trail Blazers injuries: Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, Damian Lillard, Blake Wesley, Matisse Thybulle. (out). Kris Murray, Robert Williams III (day-to-day).
Clippers injuries: Derrick Jones Jr, Ivicia Zubac, Bradley Beal (out).
Revenge Game. The Blazers’ previous two defeats ended in heartbreak. After pouring energy into late-game comebacks against both the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, poor execution in crunch time prevented them from closing out either game. To win this matchup, the Blazers use the first three quarters to do something other than digging a large hole.
Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers rely on Kawhi Leonard doing Kawhi Leonard things as a means of winning basketball games. In their most recent victory over the Houston Rockets, Leonard dropped 41 points on 70% shooting. Over his last ten, Kawhi has averaged 27.1 points and 7.3 rebounds on 47.6% from the field and 98.1% from the line (must be nice). Toumani Camara and Kris Murray must meet the moment defensively to minimize any potential Kawhi-splosion (real phrase).
Despite continued turmoil, the Clippers have dismissed any trade inquiries involving Kawhi Leonard, James Harden or Ivicia Zubac, According to Ashish Mathur of Dallas Hoops Journal, the Clippers believe that, once forward Derrick Jones Jr. returns from injury, the team still has a chance to be competitive:
The Clippers are 6-20. They are in 14th place in the Western Conference standings, but since their 2026 first-round pick goes to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the front office doesn’t want to blow up the roster, sources said.
LAC still believes it can make a run for a play-in spot once forward Derrick Jones Jr. comes back from his knee injury, sources said.
Leonard is making $50 million this season. He’s averaging 25.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 48.7% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 97.4% from the free-throw line in 16 games.