LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Injury Updates, Expected Lineups, and Game Prediction

The LA Clippers had a forgettable game in their previous outing, as they were defeated by a margin of 51 points by the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, they pretty much lost the game at the half-time whistle as they were down by 50 by the end of two quarters. Of course, it will indeed be exciting to see if they can bounce back from such a poor performance.

However, it still won’t be an easy task when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. The Blazers are fresh off of a victory against 2020 NBA champions LA Lakers, and they will visit the Staples Center in hopes of getting their third straight victory. That said, let’s take a look at the expected lineups and injury updates for both sides.

LA Clippers injury updates and predicted lineup

The biggest issue that the Clippers are facing as of now is the absence of their superstar Kawhi Leonard. He is listed out for the Wednesday night clash against Damian Lillard and co. Luckily, apart from Leonard, no new player has picked up any injuries as of now.

With Leonard leaving a huge spot in their roster, the Clippers have placed trust in Luke Kennard and have promoted him as a starter. So the expected lineup for the team vs the Blazers should be Patrick Beverley (G), Luke Kennard (G), Paul George (F), Nicolas Batum (F), and Ivica Zubac (C).

Portland Trail Blazers injury updates and predicted lineup

The Blazers got their revenge on the Lakers for knocking them out in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are balling out in the first few games of the season, but can they keep this level of performance for the remainder of their campaign? That remains to be a million-dollar question.

Regardless, as of now, they need to focus on their matchup against the Clippers. So far, only Gary Trent Jr. is listed doubtful for the fixture in the recent injury report. Considering that, the expected lineup for the Blazers is Damian Lillard (G), CJ McCollum (G), Robert Covington (F), Derrick Jones Jr. (F), and Jusuf Nurkic (C).

Game prediction

The Blazers have an upper hand against the Clippers due to the absence of Kawhi Leonard. At the end of the day, replacing Kawhi is not an easy task and because of him being sidelined, the Blazers are the favorites to win this fixture.