The Clippers have won two games in a row, including an excellent win over [the Knick](https://213hoops.com/clippers-vs-knicks-preview-back-at-intuit/)s on Monday night, and face another tough test with the Minnesota Timberwolves coming to town.
#### **Game Information**
**Where**: Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California
**When**: 7:30 PM PT
**How to Watch**: FanDuel Sports SoCal, AM 570
#### **Projected Starting Lineups**
**Timberwolves:** Anthony Edwards – Donte DiVincenzo – Jaden McDaniels – Julius Randle – Rudy Gobert
**Clippers**: Darius Garland – Kris Dunn – Derrick Jones Jr. – Kawhi Leonard – Brook Lopez
#### **Injuries**
**Timberwolves:** None
**Clippers**: Jonn Collins Out (Neck), Yanic Konan Niederhauser Out (Foot), Bradley Beal Out (Hip)
#### **The Big Picture**
The Clippers have done it! After starting the season a dreadful and embarrassing 6-21, they’ve gone 26-11 since then to [get all the way back up to .500](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7103822/2026/03/10/clippers-win-500-knicks/). Their win on Monday night also gave them the same record as the Golden State Warriors, and due to a tiebreaker the Clippers are now officially in 8th in the Western Conference. This might not all sound like much considering their preseason expectations as a title contender and a seeming lock for a top-six seed, but when viewing through the prism of how the Clippers looked after the first third of the season, this turnaround is remarkable. In the process, the Clippers have worked their way up to 17th in net rating, with the 18th ranked defense and 12th rated offense in the NBA. They’re just a good team now, on both ends.
#### **The Antagonist**
The Wolves are also a very good team, sitting at 3rd in the Western Conference (by a hair) with the 10th best offense and 9th best defense in the NBA. The trade for Ayo Dosunmu has given them a bit more juice off the bench, and the resulting demotion of Mike Conley has also made them only reliant on one aging player in Rudy Gobert (having a terrific season). Anthony Edwards is awesome, Jaden McDaniels is an excellent wing defender, and not many teams have a 1-2 punch off the bench better than Naz Reid and Dosunmu. Their lack of consistency and crunch time collapses are really the only true drawbacks for Minnesota, a team that stands firmly in the second tier of the Western Conference and poses at least an outside thread to make the NBA Finals.
#### **Notes**
**Darius Garland, Good Player**: The Clippers have 4 wins and 0 losses when Darius Garland suits up for them. The Clippers’ new star guard is averaging 17 points and 5.8 assists in just 25.8 minutes per game while shooting a blistering 42.9% from three on 7 attempts per game. His speed, quick twitch agility in the halfcourt, and shooting has unlocked the Clippers’ offense, and the difference in the team when he’s on the court and off is extremely noticeable. To that point, the Clippers are an insane +55 in the 103 minutes Garland has been on the court – they are just crushing teams in his minutes. He should get even better as he gets his legs back under him and gains reps with his teammates, but it’s been an incredibly encouraging first four games for Garland’s Clippers tenure.
**The Size Difference**: The Timberwolves are one of the biggest teams in the NBA, and the Clippers without John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are one of the smallest. Size isn’t everything, but it is important in the NBA, and the Clippers need to be physical on defense, move the ball on offense, and tough on the glass to keep the Wolves’ physical advantage from grinding them down. The Wolves have been a tough matchup for the Clippers for years due to their size and athleticism, but this is a younger, more athletic Clippers’ team than we’ve seen since before the Kawhi era, and I’m curious how they’ll match up with the Wolves now.