Los Angeles Clippers (48-34, West 8th seed 2018-19)
In a summer of blockbuster moves across the NBA, the Clippers busted the most block. Their stunning acquisition of Kawhi Leonard via free agency and Paul George via trade has the potential to reshape the Western Conference.
The once-moribund Clippers have been competitive since the Lob City era. More recently, they’ve been viewed as one of the Association’s best-run franchises in the tenure of Steve Ballmer as owner and Jerry West as a front office consultant.
They’ve gone all-in on the present.
Leonard (26.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.3 apg), the reigning Finals MVP who carried the Toronto Raptors to a championship breakthrough in June, teased several suitors before deciding on the Clippers as long as he had a superstar to play alongside. L.A. obliged by trading forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a haul of draft picks for Oklahoma City forward Paul George (28.0, 8.2, 4.1), a former Fresno State standout who appeared in the Stan Sheriff Center with the Bulldogs in 2009 (13 points in a 69-43 loss to Hawaii).
Unfortunately, George won’t be suiting up in his return; he’s sitting out the whole preseason after undergoing offseason surgery on both shoulders. Leonard is expected to sit as well, it was reported this week.
The Clippers’ roster succeeded collectively last year without a superstar. The holdovers include a veteran volume scorer in guard Lou Williams, a relentless inside threat in forward Montrezl Harrell and a defensive bulldog in point guard Patrick Beverley.
Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless was added in a multi-team trade and is considered a key role player on the wing.
Houston Rockets (53-29, West 4th seed 2018-19)
Threes, dunks and free throws. That’s what you can expect from the NBA’s most analytically driven franchise, which has all but eliminated the mid-range game under general manager Daryl Morey.
The Rockets swung a blockbuster offseason trade to pair superstar James Harden (36.1 ppg, 7.5 apg, 6.6 rpg in 2018-19) with a fellow former NBA MVP in Russell Westbrook (22.9, 10.7, 11.1), his old Oklahoma City Thunder backcourt teammate. Aging point guard Chris Paul was dealt to OKC to make room for Westbrook.
Houston, under coach Mike D’Antoni, has turned 20 3-pointer games in to a regularity. That should continue with Harden and Westbrook leading a cadre of volume chuckers like Eric Gordon, Gerald Green and Ryan Anderson. Big man Clint Capela has feasted on alley-oops from Harden when teams extend their defense out on shooters.
Westbrook, who’s averaged a triple-double spanning the past three seasons, is expected to sit out today’s game after missing Monday’s preseason opener against the Shanghai Sharks in Houston, a 140-71 rout. However, Harden played 21 minutes and put up a triple-double of 10 points, 17 assists and 10 rebounds. “The Beard” is expected to play today.
Rockets guard Austin Rivers, the son of Clippers coach Doc Rivers, is in Honolulu for the preseason for the second time in three years; he was in Honolulu with the Clippers for the first of their three straight training camps in 2017.
A free-agent acquisition, rookie Chris Clemons out of Campbell University, was third all-time in NCAA Division I scoring at 3,225 points. The explosive 5-foot-9 guard was the second-half star Monday, pouring in 21 points.
Shanghai Sharks (23-23, 12th in CBA in 2018-19)
Chinese hoops legend and NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming owns this Chinese Basketball Association franchise, which has regularly played the Rockets and other NBA teams in recent preseasons.
CBA teams are allowed two foreign players, who are often their teams’ best players — and that looks to be the case this year for the Sharks. They have former NBA big man Donatas Motiejunas — a Lithuanian who played four years for the Rockets (2012-16) — and wing James Nunnally, a former All-Big West second-teamer out of UC Santa Barbara who’s traveled the world as a pro. Last year, the most notable foreign addition was Argentinian Luis Scola, a former Rockets teammate of Yao’s.
In Monday’s 140-71 loss to the Rockets in Houston’s Toyota Center, the 7-foot Motiejunas led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds. He played 38 minutes and was the focal point of the Sharks’ offense almost every play he was on the floor.
Nunnally struggled to 4-for-23 shooting but was nonetheless the Sharks’ No. 2 option against the Rockets, finishing with 16 points in 39 minutes.
Yao, 39, played for the Sharks as a teenager before making the leap to the NBA as the top overall draft pick in 2002. The eight-time all-star retired in 2011 having played his whole NBA career with the Rockets.
This is the second straight year an overseas team came to the Stan Sheriff Center for an NBA preseason game. The Clippers faced the Sydney Kings of Australia’s National Basketball League in 2018, winning 110-91.
