Las Vegas Summer League: Clippers Face Heat In Second Round of Tournament

Choosing a headline for this preview was tricky—it’s the Clippers’ first game of the Summer League tournament, though technically it’s the second round, as the Clippers earned a first-round bye. So would it be more Clipperish of them to lose today, or on Saturday? The second round, or their second round?

Win or lose, this won’t be the Summer Clippers’ last game. If they’re successful against the Miami Heat today, they’ll continue in the tournament on Saturday, with potential games on Sunday and Monday if they continue winning. Should they lose to the Heat today, they’ll play a single consolation game tomorrow.

For the Clippers, I’m not sure if Montrezl Harrell will continue to play, but I’m assuming that he will not. The third-year big man made a single appearance in the team’s third game, but is not on the official Summer League roster and didn’t even have his name on his jersey. Without him, the usual suspects will lead the way—prospects Jawun Evans, Sindarius Thornwell, and Brice Johnson, along with Summer League standouts Kendall Marshall and Jamil Wilson. Isaiah Hicks will be in line for big minutes without Harrell, as the Clippers’ best non-Brice big man and a current roster player.

David Michineau, the Clippers’ second-round pick from 2016, left their game Monday night with a strained hamstring. After struggling last summer and in the Clippers’ first two games of this summer, he was off to an excellent start in their third before getting hurt. It’s unclear if Michineau will return for this game.

Miami has been led this week by Bam Adebayo, Zach Auguste, Okaro White, London Perrantes, and Lamond Murray, Jr., who are all averaging double digit points per game. Adebayo and Perrantes both missed Miami’s first-round game against the Washington Wizards. They were led in scoring by undrafted free agent Justin Robinson, a 5’8” point guard (even smaller than Evans!), who averaged 19 points per game last year as a senior at Monmouth. It may be that for Miami to be competitive in this game, they’ll need surprise scoring from Robinson or another one of their supporting players.

The game is at 3:30 PM on ESPN2.