There’s an inter-conference matchup this weekend at the Intuit Dome, as the Toronto Raptors head to Hollywood, and the House That Ballmer Built to take on the L.A. Clippers.
The Raps entered the 2024-25 season with internal development in mind, and thus far, it’s been as expected. Toronto has, however, seen a massive leap from sophomore Gradey Dick amid an otherwise middling early season.
The Clippers, meanwhile, received a gut punch on the eve of the season in the form of Kawhi Leonard’s latest mysterious knee ailment. In its new digs in Inglewood, L.A. — at least internally — is expected to compete for a top-10 spot in the Western Conference this year and will need a strong season from James Harden to achieve that.
With an NBA League Pass special on the slate this Saturday in Los Angeles, check out our Raptors vs. Clippers predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for November 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET.
Matchup Raptors vs Clippers Overview
- Teams: Toronto Raptors vs. L.A. Clippers
- Date: Saturday, November 9, 2024
- Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Intuit Dome
Win Probabilities:
The tip for the winner in the game between the Toronto Raptors and the L.A. Clippers is the Los Angeles Clippers.
Projected Final Score:
Our predicted final score for this NBA matchup is Clippers.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
Ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, skepticism around the Clippers was entirely justified.
Last year’s team was old, unimpressive, often injured, and, other than a few weeks long stretch in which they captured lightning in the bottle, never looked all that threatening compared to the Western Conference’s true powers.
And yet, that team in Los Angeles became even less intriguing over the summer when Kawhi Leonard’s running mate, Paul George, ran for Philadelphia and a new chapter alongside Joel Embiid. In came high-flying Derrick Jones Jr. on the mid-level exception, and while the former Dunk Contest champion proved to be a useful rotation player in Dallas, Paul George he is not.
When Leonard was shelved ahead of the season, the outlook was bleak. Yet, a couple of weeks into the season, the Clippers have been… pleasantly surprising? James Harden’s been an impactful, winning player — the kind arguably not seen since Brooklyn or his first few weeks in Philly — with the former MVP nearly averaging a triple-double thus far.
The Beard has been partnered brilliantly with Ivica Zubac, who has been feasting down low and meshing well with Harden in the two-man game, hearkening back to Harden’s days haunting opposing defenses in pick-and-rolls with Clint Capela.
With Norman Powell appearing to be a bona fide Sixth Man of the Year candidate, Terance Mann back to his pestering best, and Kris Dunn healthy and impactful as one of the league’s best perimeter defenders, Los Angeles has seemingly evolved from a two-man show into a scrappy rotation reminiscent of the season that preceded Leonard and George’s arrival.
Though the Clippers’ offense hasn’t been overly efficient — they are in the bottom 10 in true shooting percentage and on the fringes of the top 10 in adjusted offensive rating — they have proven to be a tough out. With an adjusted defensive rating around the top five and a similar net rating, they have the hallmarks of a good team in what is a still young season.
While Los Angeles deserves credit for framing itself as a solid, if not spectacular, team early on this year, the Raptors can’t be extended the same grace.
Toronto came into the year with almost its entire rotation consisting of young, still developing players and has seen arguably its three most impactful players miss time already. While Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley have dealt with injuries, however, it’s enabled an early sophomore season leap from Gradey Dick.
The sharpshooting wing was entirely unimpressive as a rookie, averaging 8.5 points per game on 49/36/86 splits — splits which were frankly more concerning than the points total, with limited ways for his offensive game to grow otherwise. Incredibly, Dick has proven that to be incorrect as he takes a massive step forward to start his second season.
In the starting lineup from the first game of the season, Dick has averaged just under 22 points per game on 54/38/93 shooting. Though the shooting splits are more closely representative of the player he was thought to be as a prospect, the way he’s getting buckets in 2024 is genuinely exciting. He’s scoring at all three levels routinely and has a genuinely exciting package of finishes at the rim.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, Dick’s growth is basically where the optimism ends. With Barnes and Bruce Brown out for the foreseeable future, it’s difficult to envision improved efficiency for an offense that’s on the fringes of the top 20 in adjusted rating and true shooting. Worse still, they’re around the bottom five in net rating due to a hideous defense that’s allowing nearly 120 points per 100 possessions.
On a macro level, that’s completely fine. This season is about internal development for the Raptors, and they’re getting that — with Dick being the best example. On a micro level, however, it bodes very poorly for Saturday’s matchup with the Clippers.
L.A.’s tough defense will be able to limit RJ Barrett, Dick, and company sufficiently enough for its professional offense to get the job done. The Clippers aren’t going to wow anyone by scoring at will this season, but against one of the league’s worst defensive units, simply spamming Harden and Zubac in the two-man game is enough.
Count on the Clips to be victorious on Saturday.
How to Make Toronto Raptors vs. L.A. Clippers Picks
Ready to make picks on the Toronto Raptors vs. L.A. Clippers matchup on Saturday, November 9? Make sure to head over to Sportzino.com, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend and so much more!
