Los Angeles Clippers veteran Nic Batum previews the upcoming Play-In game against the Golden State Warriors.
For the second straight game, the Los Angeles Clippers will face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
This back-to-back wasn't scheduled by the NBA, it just happened to work out this way as the two teams closed the regular season against each other, and found themselves eighth and ninth in the West, putting them head-to-head in a win-or-go home Play-In game.
The Clippers won the regular season finale, 115-110, though Kawhi Leonard didn't play for Los Angeles and Draymond Green didn't play for the Warriors.
Both teams are expected to have everyone available in the lineup on Wednesday as they look to extend their seasons.
Nic Batum Speaks
Speaking after Sunday's victory against the Warriors, Clippers veteran Nic Batum asked what the team learned from the game.
"That is weird. We knew there was a good chance we would play them Wednesday, and now we will. Wednesday is going to be a different game. Their guys are going to play more, our guys are going to play more. We're going to need everybody," he said.
Batum said that he wanted the young guys on the team to play their game and play with confidence.
Batum played 23 minutes against the Warriors on Sunday, finishing with nine points, two rebouds and two assists.
Only Bennedict Mathurin played more than 30 minutes for the Clippers. Darius Garland led all starters, playing 27 minutes.
For the Warriors, no one played more than 30 minutes, but Steph Curry played 29 minutes.
Young Players Stepping Up
Both teams have veterans on the roster, though the Warriors have more championship experience. Curry, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Green all have won titles. Kawhi and Brook Lopez have won titles for the Clippers.
On Sunday, Jordan Miller made an impact off the bench for the Clippers, scoring 14 points and adding four rebounds and six assists. Mathurin is only 23 years old, but has playoff experience, making the NBA Finals last season with the Indiana Pacers. He led the Clippers with 20 points on Sunday.
Rookie Kobe Sanders is another young player who is expected to get minutes off the bench for Los Angeles.
While the Clippers will need their young players to step up, they will rely on their veterans like Kawhi, Lopez, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr, John Collins, and Batum, along with Darius Garland, who is only 26, but has playoff experience with the Cleveland Cavaliers.