Clippers continue playoff push against formidable opponents

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Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues. It’s unclear if he’ll return for the game against Memphis on Friday night. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

With or without coach Tyronn Lue patrolling the sideline, the Clippers will play yet another meaningful game against another tough Western Conference foe in the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at the Intuit Dome.

They are now the seventh seed in the West, which would put them in the play-in tournament. But they are only 3½ games behind the fifth-seeded Grizzlies and entered Thursday one game behind the sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors. The Clippers (39-30) own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Grizzlies (2-0) and Warriors (3-0).

The Clippers also play Oklahoma City at home on Sunday. The Thunder (57-12) have the best record in the NBA. o, the Clippers are looking to take a stand in these games, knowing how important each win is to their chances of inching up in the uber-tough West and securing a playoff spot.

“All three teams that we have this week are ahead of us as far as with better records, two of them in the Western Conference. They were statement games,” guard Norman Powell said. “You want to go out there and play and show that we can compete and beat these teams. This is playoff time. I think we have 12 games left. …

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“So it’s all about positioning and playing your best brand of basketball. Down the stretch of games and getting ready for the playoffs, it’s always good to have the top teams that have kind of solidified their one, two, three spots in the postseason, to go and see where we’re at and see where we can improve to go out there and be the team that we need to be going down this last stretch.”

Lue has missed four of the last six games because of back issues, the last against Cleveland on Tuesday night, and assistant Brian Shaw has been at the helm in his place. The Clippers say Lue’s status for the game against the Grizzlies is to be determined Friday.

Shaw, a former coach of the Denver Nuggets, has led…

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Publish date : 2025-03-20 23:15:00

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