Clippers Check-In: 1-5 and 13th in the West After an 0-3 Week, Turnovers Falling but the Defense Is Leaking

Written by christopher martinez

By Clipper Nation Insider (@ClipNationIns) | Nov. 2, 2026 | Weekly Features

The LA Clippers went 0-3 last week (Oct. 26 to Nov. 1, 2026) and are 1-5, 13th in the Western Conference, on a five-game losing streak. They lost to the Lakers 103-87, at Minnesota 127-101 and at Golden State 124-112, getting outscored by an average of 18.0 points. The good news is real: turnovers dropped every game, from 24 to 18 to 14. The bad news is bigger: opponents shot 50.8% from the field and 40.2% from three for the week, and the Clippers' defense now ranks 19th in the NBA. The week ahead is three straight home games at Intuit Dome, starting tonight against the Toronto Raptors at 7 PM PT.

Clippers record and West standings (as of Nov. 2, 2026)

  • Record: 1-5 (1-1 home, 0-4 road), losers of five straight.
  • West standing: 13th, 5.0 games behind 6-0 Memphis and 2.5 games behind 10th-place Minnesota (4-3), the last play-in spot.
  • Pacific Division: 4th, ahead of only 0-6 Sacramento. The Lakers (5-2) lead the division, and Golden State (4-3) has won four straight.
  • Last week: 0-3, 300 points scored and 354 allowed.

The prior Check-In (Oct. 26) called the team "1-2, short-handed, still competitive." After this week, the "still competitive" part needs an asterisk. Two of the three losses were by 16 and 26.

Clippers results last week: Oct. 26 to Nov. 1

Date Game Result LAC TOs Opp. pts off TOs Key number
Wed, Oct. 28 vs Lakers (Intuit Dome) L 103-87 24 31 Fast breaks 24-6 LAL, paint 48-28 LAL
Fri, Oct. 30 at Timberwolves L 127-101 18 28 Paint 62-42 MIN, LAC 1 of 9 from three in Q4
Sun, Nov. 1 at Warriors L 124-112 14 16 Threes 22 of 49 GSW vs 14 of 39 LAC

Lakers 103, Clippers 87. The Lakers did it without Luka Doncic. The Clippers shot 26 of 74 (35.1%), and 24 turnovers fed 31 Lakers points. Keaton Wagler led LAC with 21 points, getting there with 10 of 12 free throws on 4 of 15 shooting.

Timberwolves 127, Clippers 101. Minnesota played without Anthony Edwards and still scored 62 in the paint on 51 of 95 shooting with 32 assists. Darius Garland scored 24 on 10 of 22 with 5 turnovers.

Warriors 124, Clippers 112. Golden State played without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 37 on 13 of 19, and the Warriors' 22 threes produced a 24-point edge from deep in a 12-point game. Kris Dunn had 7 steals and zero turnovers. Rui Hachimura scored 24 on 10 of 16.

What's working for the Clippers

1. Ball security is trending the right way. Turnovers went 24, 18, 14 across the week, after 18, 26 and 26 in the first three games. That is 56 in three games (18.7 per game) after 70 in the first three (23.3 per game). Opponent points off turnovers fell with it: 31, then 28, then 16. The season number is still the worst in the league (21.0 per game and an 18.4% turnover rate, both 30th per Basketball-Reference), so this is a trend, not a fix.

2. The free throw line. LAC went 62 of 68 (91.2%) at the line this week, including 25 of 27 against the Lakers and 18 of 19 at Golden State. For the season the Clippers shoot 82.0% (6th).

3. Shooting accuracy, when the shots get up. For the season LAC makes 38.6% of its threes, 5th in the NBA. Derrick Jones Jr. is at 52.0% on 4.2 attempts per game and a 66.8% true shooting percentage. Brook Lopez is at 64.1% TS in 21.8 minutes.

4. Kris Dunn's hands. Dunn has 18 steals in six games (3.0 per game), including 7 at Golden State, and the Clippers rank 3rd in the NBA at 11.3 steals per game. Basketball-Reference credits him with a +4.2 box plus-minus, best among Clippers playing regular minutes.

What's not working for the Clippers

1. Defense without the steal. Opponents are shooting 49.4% from the field (29th) with a 57.0% effective field-goal percentage (28th). This week it was worse: opponents made 132 of 260 shots (50.8%) and 49 of 122 threes (40.2%), with 80 assists in three games. The Clippers force mistakes, but when they don't, the other team gets a clean look.

2. The paint and the break. Opponents outscored LAC 154-118 in the paint and 62-28 in fast-break points across the three games. Minnesota's 62 paint points were the low point. The Clippers did win the paint 48-44 at Golden State, which is the one positive sign.

3. The offense overall. Basketball-Reference has the Clippers at a 107.4 offensive rating (25th), a 114.8 defensive rating (19th) and a -7.4 net rating (22nd), scoring 106.5 points per game (29th). The offense shoots threes well and free throws well but loses too many possessions and makes only 49.3% of its twos (27th).

4. Keaton Wagler's finishing. The rookie went 8 of 34 from the field this week. For the season he is shooting 28.1% overall and 24.0% on twos. The upside is his foul drawing: 7.0 free throw attempts per game at 88.1%, a 0.737 free throw rate. Wagler is 19 and playing 25.0 minutes a night; the finishing at the rim is the next step.

5. Garland's turnover load. Garland carries a team-high 31.0% usage rate and averages 20.8 points and 6.3 assists, but also 5.2 turnovers. He had 5, 5 and 3 this week. Sunday's 3 tied his season low, and Garland on a three-turnover night is what the new ball-security trend looks like.

Clippers rotation minutes last week

Player GP Min/G (week) Week +/-
Darius Garland 3 30.0 -47
Kris Dunn 3 28.3 -19
Rui Hachimura 2 28.0 -32
Derrick Jones Jr. 3 27.3 -24
Kobe Sanders 3 27.0 -39
Keaton Wagler 3 24.0 -40
Isaiah Jackson 3 21.0 -30
Brook Lopez 3 20.7 -34
Gradey Dick 3 11.3 -29
Baba Miller 3 9.3 -3
Cam Christie 3 8.3 +1

Minutes and plus-minus from ESPN box scores. Hachimura missed the Lakers game with left quad soreness.

Three rotation notes. First, Kobe Sanders' minutes went up as our Oct. 30 on/off feature asked (27, 24 and 30 this week, after 21.3 per game through four), but the results did not follow: he was -16 at Minnesota and -18 at Golden State, even with 16 points on 4 of 6 from three Sunday. Second, Gradey Dick's minutes shrank from 19 to 12 to 3. Third, Lopez is still at about 21 minutes despite being one of the team's most efficient scorers.

Clippers injury report and notes

  • Bradley Beal: out, right knee (injury management on the official report).
  • Brandon Ingram: out, right heel surgery (partial Achilles tear). Recalled from a G League assignment with the San Diego Clippers on Sunday, per RotoWire.
  • Max Strus: out, right plantar fascia tear. Also spent the weekend with San Diego and was recalled Sunday, per RotoWire. He has not made his season debut.
  • Yanic Konan Niederhäuser: out, right Lisfranc surgery.
  • Jordan Miller: out, left rotator cuff surgery (re-evaluation set at six months after August surgery).
  • Derrick Jones Jr.: listed day-to-day by ESPN with a right knee issue heading into tonight. He played 26 to 28 minutes in all three games last week.

The Ingram and Strus G League work is the most encouraging injury news of the season so far. No return date has been announced by the team. ESPN lists Nov. 8 as an estimated return for Beal, Ingram, Strus and Niederhäuser, which is a placeholder estimate, not a team timeline. The official NBA injury report for tonight had not been submitted as of Monday morning.

Clippers schedule this week: Nov. 2 to Nov. 8

All three games are at Intuit Dome, where LAC is 1-1. There are no games Nov. 5 to 7.

Mon, Nov. 2 vs Toronto Raptors, 7 PM PT. Storyline: steals against a team that doesn't give the ball away. Both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back (Toronto lost 131-125 at the Lakers on Sunday). Toronto is 3-3 with a 108.2 defensive rating (5th) and an 11.8% turnover rate, 3rd-lowest in the league, so the Clippers' steal-driven defense will have fewer chances. Former Clipper Kawhi Leonard is out with left knee inflammation (the Raptors said Oct. 29 he is expected to miss at least three to four weeks), and Jakob Poeltl is listed day-to-day with a left shoulder issue. Scottie Barnes leads Toronto at 24.8 points per game. Our Keys to the Match publishes about an hour before tip.

Wed, Nov. 4 vs Miami Heat, 7:30 PM PT. Storyline: can the paint defense handle Giannis Antetokounmpo? Giannis is averaging 28.2 points and 12.3 rebounds on 58.6% shooting for Miami (2-4). The Heat play fast (103.6 pace, 3rd) and defend poorly (117.3 defensive rating, 24th), which is a chance for a struggling Clippers offense. Miami plays at the Lakers on Monday first.

Sun, Nov. 8 vs New Orleans Pelicans, 6 PM PT. Storyline: the opposite test of Golden State. New Orleans (2-4) takes the lowest share of its shots from three in the NBA (32.8% of attempts) and ranks 4th in free throws per field-goal attempt. Zion Williamson averages 20.7 points on 64.4% shooting. After a week of losing the three-point line, this is a paint-and-foul-line game, the area where opponents are already hurting LAC most.

Bottom line

Record: 1-5. West: 13th. Week: 0-3. Net rating: -7.4. The turnover problem that defined the first week is getting smaller, 24 to 18 to 14. The problem that replaced it is defense: opponents shot 50.8% and made 40.2% of their threes last week. Three home games against Toronto, Miami and New Orleans are the best chance yet to end the losing streak before the trip to Phoenix on Nov. 10.

Sources

christopher martinez
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