Which players on the Clippers roster will be a part of their regular rotation, and what will their roles be?
STARTERS
PG John Wall
SG Paul George
SF Kawhi Leonard
PF Nicolas Batum
C Ivica Zubac
BENCH ROTATION
Robert Covington
Reggie Jackson
Luke Kennard
Norman Powell
DEEP BENCH – VETERANS
Moses Brown
Amir Coffey
Terance Mann
Xavier Moon
Marcus Morris
Jason Preston
DEEP BENCH – DEVELOPING YOUTH
BJ Boston
Moussa Diabite
LIKELY TO BE WAIVED
Michael Devoe
Juwan Morgan
Lucas Williamson
POSITION BATTLES
The plan is for Nicolas Batum to start at power forward. Batum’s versatility and high IQ makes him an ideal fit alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. But the team does have other options if Batum declines or suddenly reverts to being as ineffective as he was in Charlotte. Robert Covington is a lockdown defender who could take some of the burden off Kawhi on that end. The team could also decide to go a bit smaller with more shooting by using Luke Kennard.
John Wall has been resurrected and is expected to be the starting point guard. But it’s been 5 years since Wall was consistently healthy. If Wall falters, Reggie Jackson will be ready to step in. Jackson has experience starting and has played his best basketball since joining the Clippers. If Wall can regain his form, the Clippers will all of a sudden be very deep at the position.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
The Clippers are loaded with capable swingmen. Someone is bound to get left out, and hopefully whoever that is will handle their reduced role in stride. Players like Marcus Morris, Terance Mann, Norman Powell, BJ Boston, and Amir Coffey might find extended minutes hard to come by. But this depth will also be helpful; Leonard will certainly take the occasional night off and George may as well.
The loss of Isaiah Hartenstein will open up some minutes behind starter Ivica Zubac. It’s assumed that the Clippers will just decide to play more small ball rather than use a traditional center, given their surplus of big wing players. However, the Clippers do have two young athletic big men in Moses Brown and Moussa Diabite who might be called upon for certain matchups. If Zubac were to miss any time, Brown might suddenly find himself in the rotation.