Clippers head coach Ty Lue will assess if he'll rest players against the Golden State Warriors.
The Los Angeles Clippers likely played themselves into the ninth seed in the West following a 116-97 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The win for the Blazers put them at eighth in the West, setting them up to play the Phoenix Suns in the Play-In tournament. At nine, the Clippers would play the Golden State Warriors in the Play-In tournament. The winner of that game would play the loser of Blazers-Suns.
There is some hope for the Clippers, but they would need to beat the Warriors on Sunday, the final day of the regular season, and need the Blazers to lose to the Kings, who are tied for the worst record in the West.
Ty Lue Speaks
After the loss to the Blazers, Clippers head coach Ty Lue was asked about the possibility of resting players in the regular season finale against the Warriors.
“Not necessarily. Sacramento beat Golden State tonight. So, anything can happen. We’ll see going forward, see how the guys feel, and we’ll just kinda go from there," he said.
It's not a given that the Clippers will face the Warriors in the Play-In tournament, but the Blazers have an incentive to give their best effort against the Kings, while the Kings are at the bottom of the West for a reason.
The Blazers are 3-0 against the Kings this year, though all three games have been relatively competitive, with the Blazers winning by seven, five, and one point. They haven't played since January 18.
As mentioned by Lue, the Kings did upset the Warriors on Friday, though Steph Curry was on a minutes restriction and did not play in the final six minutes of the game.
Clippers Outlook
The Clippers could see Sunday as an opportunity to give Kawhi Leonard, Bennedicth Mathurin, and Darius Garland a break while giving nothing away to their likely Play-In opponent.
They could also look to get into a rhythm after two straight losses, where neither game was all that competitive.
The Clippers are 2-1 against the Warriors this year, though they haven't played since March 2. The Clippers were healthy in that contest, though Garland was coming off the bench and hadn't been slotted into the starting lineup just yet.
The Warriors were without Steph Curry and Kristaps Porzingis, who have played just eight minutes together since Porzingis was acquired.
All Western Conference games tip off at the same time on Sunday.