Las Vegas Summer League: Clippers vs Jazz Game Preview and Open Thread

The Los Angeles Clippers will play their second game of the Las Vegas Summer League on Sunday, looking to defeat the Utah Jazz to improve their record to 2-0. After a string of several sub-par Summer League showings, the Clippers are back this season with a competitive roster that actually has a chance to compete in the Summer League playoffs. It’s not exactly important, but it’ll be fun if they can advance and we can see them play in more games.

The main players for the Clippers are rookie Sindarius Thornwell, second-year big man Brice Johnson, and veteran point guard Kendall Marshall. Thornwell led the team with 26 points in his debut on Friday against the Lakers, mostly scoring on aggressive drives to the rim and free throws. Johnson was probably the Clippers’ most impressive player, however, scoring at will in the post and making plays from the elbow as the Clippers came back from a double-digit deficit. While Marshall’s contributions may be more low-key, it’s incredibly value to have a solid, experienced guard in this league. Last season, the Clippers struggled immensely due to their young guards’ inability to run the offense—that wasn’t a problem on Friday.

The Clippers’ other main prospect participating, Jawun Evans, had a limited impact in low minutes on Friday. He was only able to join the team on Thursday when the Clippers’ trade to acquire him from the Philadelphia 76ers could be made official, so he hasn’t had a lot of practice time with the team.

For the Utah Jazz, the star of the show is rookie guard Donovan Mitchell. He led the Jazz through the Utah Summer League and was their leading scorer on Saturday, posting 19 points in a 72-63 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Jazz also notably have Joel Bolomboy (a roster player), Tony Bradley (the 28th pick in last month’s draft), and Travis Leslie (the former Clippers second round pick).

The game will be shown at 5:00 PM Pacific Time on NBATV.