LAKERS GAME PREVIEW: GAME 55 VS. CLIPPERS

February 20, 2026 at 7:45 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

After what felt like the longest eight-day midseason break, Lakers basketball is finally back. The pause is over, and now comes a very busy stretch, less than two months packed with games until the end of the regular season. The Lakers will play 28 games in 52 days after the break, including five back-to-backs.

Because of snow in Vienna, I am stuck at Oslo airport with time to kill. The upside is that I got extra time to watch Clippers–Nuggets, so you get a slightly more extensive preview today.

The key storyline going into this restart is the health of Luka Dončić and the state of his hamstring. JJ Redick confirmed that both Dončić and Austin Reaves had a full practice yesterday. Both were back in their usual playful and upbeat mood, and more importantly, the Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the post All-Star stretch fully healthy for the first time this season. That is something we simply have not seen so far.

The first opponent out of the break is the familiar one. The Los Angeles Clippers. The cross-town rivals took the last two meetings after the Lakers won the first matchup of the season, so there is a score to settle.

But this is not the same Clippers team the Lakers saw before the break. The deadline reshaped them in a surprising way. James Harden is now running the show in Cleveland, and Ivica Zubac is headed to Indiana as the future pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton. The three-headed beast the Lakers dealt with in previous matchups no longer exists. The Clippers will also be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, so we will see what that means for the availability of Kawhi Leonard. However, these new Clippers should not be taken lightly. They are in the middle of a surge. Since moving two of their top three players, they have beaten three Western Conference contenders: the Nuggets, the Rockets, and the Timberwolves.

Regardless, this preview is more about the Lakers than it is about the opponent. If they want to change the narrative and be viewed as a real threat in the West, now fully healthy, they need to make a serious run. It should start tonight with a win.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Lakers (33-21) vs Clippers (27-28) game facts
Rest: LAL on 8 days of rest; LAC on 0 days of rest

Ranking: LAL 15th in Point Diff (-0.2), LAC 18th in Point Diff (-0.9)

LAL vs LAC 2025-26 record: 1-2 (see Game 17 observations here, see Game 27 observations here, see Game 43 observations here )

LAL injuries: none

LAC injuries: Darius Garland (OUT), Bradley Beal (OUT). Additional updates expected later due to back-to-back.

LAL projected starting five: Luka Dončić (G), Marcus Smart (G), Austin Reaves (G), LeBron James (F), Deandre Ayton (C)

LAL key reserves: Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Luke Kennard

LAC projected starting five: Kris Dunn (G), Derrick Jones Jr. (F), Kawhi Leonard (F), John Collins (F), Brook Lopez (C)

LAC key reserves: Bennedict Mathurin, Jordan Miller, Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, Kobe Sanders

LAC rotation:

Key storyline: What does the starting five and rotation look like when fully healthy?
Games after a long layoff are always tricky, so we will see which team is in better rhythm and plays with more energy. A rested and possibly rusty Lakers team, or a bit tired but maybe in-rhythm Clippers.

The first thing to watch for the Lakers will be the starting lineup. I assume Austin Reaves will be off his minutes restriction and back in the starting group, likely replacing Jake LaRavia. I have written a lot about the Lakers’ lineups and the possible post All-Star tweaks to find the best combinations around the star trio.

Lakers Lineups Deep Dive: A Testing Ground for the Summer Rebuild
Iztok Franko
·
Feb 18
Lakers Lineups Deep Dive: A Testing Ground for the Summer Rebuild
I’m traveling this week, enjoying Norway and its icy cold winter, with tons of snow and long cross-country skiing sessions. I actually planned to take a full week off from content. But I couldn’t help myself. Somewhere between climbs on the cross-country skis and trying not to freeze my face off, I found my mind drifting back to the Lakers.

Read full story
If Marcus Smart is the fifth starter, the Lakers need to start building continuity with this group. The lineup of Luka Dončić, Reaves, Smart, LeBron James and Deandre Ayton has played only 26 possessions together so far this season.

How the rest of the rotation looks, and especially the sub patterns of the three stars, will be just as interesting as the starting group. With Luke Kennard in the mix, the Los Angeles Lakers now have a more balanced bench. Two shooters in Kennard and Rui Hachimura. Two defensive-minded wings in Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt. And a lob-catching big in Jaxson Hayes.

Lakers on offense | Clippers on defense

The Clippers will miss Harden’s playmaking, especially with Darius Garland still not available. Defensively, however, they are much tougher on the perimeter.

Kris Dunn is one of the most physical and pesky defenders in the league. His matchups with Dončić are always on the edge, often one whistle away from boiling over. Derrick Jones Jr. is another strong point-of-attack defender who can pressure the ball and chase over screens. With those two handling primary assignments, Leonard can operate as a roaming help defender, using his length to jump passing lanes and create chaos.

No Ivica Zubac is where the opportunity lies for the Lakers. Thirty-seven-year-old Brook Lopez, who played 31 minutes last night, does not have the foot speed to stay in front of Dončić, and even less so in front of Reaves in space. His backup, rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser, has only 35 games under his belt. We will see whether Ty Lue decides to trap the Lakers’ ball handlers or go small for extended stretches. Whatever the coverage, the center position, once an area of strength, is now a pressure point. That is where the Lakers must attack. We have seen Deandre Ayton dominate lesser frontcourts on several occasions this season, so this could be a real opportunity for him to regain some lost confidence and restart on a strong note.

The center spot might be the only real hole in an otherwise very aggressive Clippers defense. Over the last few games, Dunn, Leonard and co. have forced turnovers at a league-best rate and allowed just 102, 102, and 96 points in matchups against the Rockets twice and the Timberwolves. That same defense held Nikola Jokić to 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting last night in a win over the Denver Nuggets. Ball control and limiting turnovers, could once again be the deciding factor for the Lakers, who have had their share of struggles this season against highly aggressive perimeter defenses.

Clippers on offense | Lakers on defense

Without Harden and with Garland still out, the Clippers do not have a true point guard or natural on-ball organizer to run the offense. Leonard is playing at an incredibly high level, most recently highlighted by his 31-point outburst in 12 minutes at the All-Star Game. But he is not the type of player who will consistently organize the offense and create for others the way Harden did.

Not only do the Clippers lack playmaking, but without Harden and Zubac, the team that used to be difficult to defend because it had three different pressure points is now much easier to scheme against. In the last game before the break, the Rockets doubled and blitzed Leonard from the start, holding him to just eight points through three quarters before he exploded for 19 in the final period. Houston also mixed in zone, which created real problems for the Clippers’ offense, especially in the minutes Leonard was on the bench. The Nuggets also sent two defenders at Leonard for most of the game last night, while also playing zone in the second half.

I would expect a similar plan from the Lakers. Send early doubles at Leonard and force others to beat you. Especially because they will likely challenge Dunn and Jones Jr., two players with reputations as unreliable shooters, to prove they can consistently make them pay. The Clippers are not a good passing team, so scrambling defense or zone that forces quick decisions and extra passes is another way to test them.

The X-factor could be the newly acquired scoring forward Bennedict Mathurin. The 23-year-old is a talented but inconsistent scorer who can either shoot you out of a game or win one on his own, as he showed last night with a 38-point outburst against the Denver Nuggets.

Final thoughts
The Lakers should not underestimate this version of the Clippers. They may no longer have Harden or Zubac, but they are younger, longer, more athletic, and back to playing scrappy defense reminiscent of the team that finished third in defensive rating last season.

Unlike many teams in a similar position, they have no incentive to tank. Their wins against the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves attest to that. That should be enough of a warning to start the post-break stretch fully motivated and focused from the opening tip.

Comments

LakerTom says

February 20, 2026 at 7:45 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

After what felt like the longest eight-day midseason break, Lakers basketball is finally back. The pause is over, and now comes a very busy stretch, less than two months packed with games until the end of the regular season. The Lakers will play 28 games in 52 days after the break, including five back-to-backs.

Because of snow in Vienna, I am stuck at Oslo airport with time to kill. The upside is that I got extra time to watch Clippers–Nuggets, so you get a slightly more extensive preview today.

The key storyline going into this restart is the health of Luka Dončić and the state of his hamstring. JJ Redick confirmed that both Dončić and Austin Reaves had a full practice yesterday. Both were back in their usual playful and upbeat mood, and more importantly, the Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the post All-Star stretch fully healthy for the first time this season. That is something we simply have not seen so far.

The first opponent out of the break is the familiar one. The Los Angeles Clippers. The cross-town rivals took the last two meetings after the Lakers won the first matchup of the season, so there is a score to settle.

But this is not the same Clippers team the Lakers saw before the break. The deadline reshaped them in a surprising way. James Harden is now running the show in Cleveland, and Ivica Zubac is headed to Indiana as the future pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton. The three-headed beast the Lakers dealt with in previous matchups no longer exists. The Clippers will also be playing on the second night of a back-to-back, so we will see what that means for the availability of Kawhi Leonard. However, these new Clippers should not be taken lightly. They are in the middle of a surge. Since moving two of their top three players, they have beaten three Western Conference contenders: the Nuggets, the Rockets, and the Timberwolves.

Regardless, this preview is more about the Lakers than it is about the opponent. If they want to change the narrative and be viewed as a real threat in the West, now fully healthy, they need to make a serious run. It should start tonight with a win.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Lakers (33-21) vs Clippers (27-28) game facts
Rest: LAL on 8 days of rest; LAC on 0 days of rest

Ranking: LAL 15th in Point Diff (-0.2), LAC 18th in Point Diff (-0.9)

LAL vs LAC 2025-26 record: 1-2 (see Game 17 observations here, see Game 27 observations here, see Game 43 observations here )

LAL injuries: none

LAC injuries: Darius Garland (OUT), Bradley Beal (OUT). Additional updates expected later due to back-to-back.

LAL projected starting five: Luka Dončić (G), Marcus Smart (G), Austin Reaves (G), LeBron James (F), Deandre Ayton (C)

LAL key reserves: Rui Hachimura, Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt, Luke Kennard

LAC projected starting five: Kris Dunn (G), Derrick Jones Jr. (F), Kawhi Leonard (F), John Collins (F), Brook Lopez (C)

LAC key reserves: Bennedict Mathurin, Jordan Miller, Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, Kobe Sanders

LAC rotation:

Key storyline: What does the starting five and rotation look like when fully healthy?
Games after a long layoff are always tricky, so we will see which team is in better rhythm and plays with more energy. A rested and possibly rusty Lakers team, or a bit tired but maybe in-rhythm Clippers.

The first thing to watch for the Lakers will be the starting lineup. I assume Austin Reaves will be off his minutes restriction and back in the starting group, likely replacing Jake LaRavia. I have written a lot about the Lakers’ lineups and the possible post All-Star tweaks to find the best combinations around the star trio.

Lakers Lineups Deep Dive: A Testing Ground for the Summer Rebuild
Iztok Franko
·
Feb 18
Lakers Lineups Deep Dive: A Testing Ground for the Summer Rebuild
I’m traveling this week, enjoying Norway and its icy cold winter, with tons of snow and long cross-country skiing sessions. I actually planned to take a full week off from content. But I couldn’t help myself. Somewhere between climbs on the cross-country skis and trying not to freeze my face off, I found my mind drifting back to the Lakers.

Read full story
If Marcus Smart is the fifth starter, the Lakers need to start building continuity with this group. The lineup of Luka Dončić, Reaves, Smart, LeBron James and Deandre Ayton has played only 26 possessions together so far this season.

How the rest of the rotation looks, and especially the sub patterns of the three stars, will be just as interesting as the starting group. With Luke Kennard in the mix, the Los Angeles Lakers now have a more balanced bench. Two shooters in Kennard and Rui Hachimura. Two defensive-minded wings in Jake LaRavia and Jarred Vanderbilt. And a lob-catching big in Jaxson Hayes.

Lakers on offense | Clippers on defense

The Clippers will miss Harden’s playmaking, especially with Darius Garland still not available. Defensively, however, they are much tougher on the perimeter.

Kris Dunn is one of the most physical and pesky defenders in the league. His matchups with Dončić are always on the edge, often one whistle away from boiling over. Derrick Jones Jr. is another strong point-of-attack defender who can pressure the ball and chase over screens. With those two handling primary assignments, Leonard can operate as a roaming help defender, using his length to jump passing lanes and create chaos.

No Ivica Zubac is where the opportunity lies for the Lakers. Thirty-seven-year-old Brook Lopez, who played 31 minutes last night, does not have the foot speed to stay in front of Dončić, and even less so in front of Reaves in space. His backup, rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser, has only 35 games under his belt. We will see whether Ty Lue decides to trap the Lakers’ ball handlers or go small for extended stretches. Whatever the coverage, the center position, once an area of strength, is now a pressure point. That is where the Lakers must attack. We have seen Deandre Ayton dominate lesser frontcourts on several occasions this season, so this could be a real opportunity for him to regain some lost confidence and restart on a strong note.

The center spot might be the only real hole in an otherwise very aggressive Clippers defense. Over the last few games, Dunn, Leonard and co. have forced turnovers at a league-best rate and allowed just 102, 102, and 96 points in matchups against the Rockets twice and the Timberwolves. That same defense held Nikola Jokić to 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting last night in a win over the Denver Nuggets. Ball control and limiting turnovers, could once again be the deciding factor for the Lakers, who have had their share of struggles this season against highly aggressive perimeter defenses.

Clippers on offense | Lakers on defense

Without Harden and with Garland still out, the Clippers do not have a true point guard or natural on-ball organizer to run the offense. Leonard is playing at an incredibly high level, most recently highlighted by his 31-point outburst in 12 minutes at the All-Star Game. But he is not the type of player who will consistently organize the offense and create for others the way Harden did.

Not only do the Clippers lack playmaking, but without Harden and Zubac, the team that used to be difficult to defend because it had three different pressure points is now much easier to scheme against. In the last game before the break, the Rockets doubled and blitzed Leonard from the start, holding him to just eight points through three quarters before he exploded for 19 in the final period. Houston also mixed in zone, which created real problems for the Clippers’ offense, especially in the minutes Leonard was on the bench. The Nuggets also sent two defenders at Leonard for most of the game last night, while also playing zone in the second half.

I would expect a similar plan from the Lakers. Send early doubles at Leonard and force others to beat you. Especially because they will likely challenge Dunn and Jones Jr., two players with reputations as unreliable shooters, to prove they can consistently make them pay. The Clippers are not a good passing team, so scrambling defense or zone that forces quick decisions and extra passes is another way to test them.

The X-factor could be the newly acquired scoring forward Bennedict Mathurin. The 23-year-old is a talented but inconsistent scorer who can either shoot you out of a game or win one on his own, as he showed last night with a 38-point outburst against the Denver Nuggets.

Final thoughts
The Lakers should not underestimate this version of the Clippers. They may no longer have Harden or Zubac, but they are younger, longer, more athletic, and back to playing scrappy defense reminiscent of the team that finished third in defensive rating last season.

Unlike many teams in a similar position, they have no incentive to tank. Their wins against the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves attest to that. That should be enough of a warning to start the post-break stretch fully motivated and focused from the opening tip.

Log in to Reply

Reader Interactions

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply