The Clippers visit the Lakers at 1-0 with five players out, a situation the franchise knows from the Clipper Triangle years. The cure back then was the draft, and this front office has given up two of its future firsts.
Injuries have shaped this franchise before.
The early Los Angeles years were defined by injuries to Derek Smith, Norm Nixon and Marques Johnson, and they ended in a 12–70 finish in 1987. The current list is long too. Strus, Ingram, Konan Niederhauser and Beal each carry an estimated return of November 8, and Jordan Miller is not expected back until March 2. The difference is that the healthy players are producing: Garland scored 30 against the Kings and Lopez added 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 121-96 win.
The last recovery ran through the draft, and that path is closed.
What lifted the team out of 1987 was a 1989 trade for Ron Harper plus draftees Ken Norman, Danny Manning, Charles Smith and Loy Vaught, a group that contended into the early 1990s. This front office can't follow that plan. The 2029 and 2030 firsts were forfeited in the Leonard case, the 2027 and 2028 firsts are swaps, and the 2027 second belongs to Utah. The young players on hand are Keaton Wagler, a 19-year-old rookie whose debut Clipperholics praised, Cam Christie on a two-way deal, and Kobe Sanders. Growth will have to come from them and from roughly $11.5M of room under the tax.
October 23 has been kinder to the Braves than to the Clippers.
The franchise is 2-4 on this date. Both wins came long ago: 108-105 over Philadelphia in Buffalo in 1976 and 132-127 over Denver in San Diego in 1979. The last three games on this date, against New Orleans in 2018, Memphis in 2021 and Phoenix in 2022, were all losses.
The Lakers are still the measuring stick.
The Clippers shared a building with the Lakers from 1999 until moving to Intuit Dome in 2024-25, and they still haven't reached a Finals, despite the Lob City division titles in 2013 and 2014. Tonight's opponent went 53-29 last season and has Luka Doncic, who averaged 33.5 points, while LaRavia, Thiero and Carr are out for the Lakers. The teams meet again on October 28 in Inglewood, so Tyronn Lue gets two looks at the matchup within a week, both before his four injured regulars are due back.
Have the Clippers ever played in the NBA Finals?
No. They first reached the conference finals in 2021 and are the oldest North American pro franchise never to play in a championship game.
Do the Clippers own their 2029 and 2030 first-round picks?
No. Both were forfeited outright as part of the penalties in the Kawhi Leonard salary-cap-circumvention case.
