Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before Saturday’s preseason game that with Max Strus (foot injury) out, he wants to experiment with starting lineups to see how well different groups mesh.
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So, he paired Darius Garland, Derrick Jones Jr. and Rui Hachimura with Brook Lopez and Cam Christie to start their second preseason game against the Toronto Raptors in Vancouver.
Lue might not want to do this again.
With former Clippers star Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench in gray sweats, the Clippers’ unusual lineup struggled to get on track, scoring just four points (baskets by Lopez and Christie) in the first 5:52 of the game and lost, 114-106, at Rogers Arena.
The Clippers looked out of sync the entire game, whether it was the starters or the bench players on the court, and trailed 24-18 after the opening quarter and 57-44 at halftime.
Although they stayed within single digits of Toronto during the second quarter, the Clippers couldn’t keep it that way as the Raptors opened a 20-point lead in the third. RJ Barrett buried a 3-pointer and Immanuel Quickley followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 75-55.
By the fourth, both teams emptied their bench. The Clippers’ reserves managed to trim the lead to 99-91 with 4:45 left but couldn’t sustain the run as the Raptors quickly regained a 12-point lead before settling for an eight-point victory.
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Garland, who picked up a technical foul in the second quarter, scored 11 points and had four assists in 19 minutes. He did not play in the second half.
Hachimura scored a team-high 14 points and had three rebounds, while rookie guard Keaton Wagler added nine points.
Rookie Baba Miller had 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting to go with four rebounds, two steals and one blocked shot.
Barrett led the Raptors with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Quickley added 18 points and Scottie Barnes had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Leonard was officially traded to Toronto in September after the teams agreed to pause the June agreement while they waited for the NBA to conclude its investigation into the Clippers for salary cap rule violations. Leonard reportedly is still “ramping up” his conditioning and wasn’t prepared to play. His next opportunity to play against his former team is in a regular-season game on Nov. 2 at the Intuit Dome.
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