Clippers Check-In: 2-7 and 13th in the West After a 1-2 Week, Skid Snapped as the Offense Finds Its Footing

Weekly Features

Nov 9

By Clipper Nation Insider (@ClipNationIns) | Nov. 9, 2026 | Weekly Features

The LA Clippers went 1-2 last week (Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, 2026) and are 2-7, 13th in the Western Conference, after snapping a seven-game losing streak with a 139-123 win over New Orleans on Sunday. They lost to Toronto 125-118 and to Miami 117-116 in overtime, both after leading through three quarters, then beat the Pelicans with a season-high 139 points. The week was a +8 point differential (373 scored, 365 allowed), the first positive week of the season. The Clippers made 45 threes to their opponents' 28 and committed 15.3 turnovers a game, well under their season average. What cost them two games was the free-throw line, where opponents made 83 to LA's 66, and the fourth quarter, which LA lost 104-84. The week ahead opens Tuesday at Phoenix (6 PM PT), then home games against Oklahoma City and Charlotte.

Clippers record and West standings (as of Nov. 9, 2026)

Record: 2-7, one game removed from a seven-game losing streak.
West standing: 13th, 3.5 games behind 10th-place Dallas (6-4), the last play-in spot, and 1.5 games behind both New Orleans (4-6) and Phoenix (3-5).
Pacific Division: 4th, ahead of only Sacramento (1-9). The Lakers (9-2) lead the division and the conference.
Last week: 1-2, 373 points scored and 365 allowed (124.3 to 121.7 per game).

Last Monday's Check-In ended on "turnovers falling but the defense is leaking." One week later, both halves moved the right way. Opponents shot 48.1% from the field and 28.6% from three, down from 50.8% and 40.2% the week before, and the Clippers' season net rating improved from -7.4 to -4.0 on Basketball-Reference.

Clippers results last week: Nov. 2 to Nov. 8

Date	Game	Result	LAC TOs	Opp. pts off TOs	Key number
Mon, Nov. 2	vs Raptors (Intuit Dome)	L 125-118	15	21	Led 91-78 after three, lost Q4 47-27; Toronto 31 of 48 FT
Wed, Nov. 4	vs Heat (Intuit Dome)	L 117-116 OT	20	23	Blew a 20-point lead; offensive boards 12-6 Miami
Sun, Nov. 8	vs Pelicans (Intuit Dome)	W 139-123	11	14	34 assists on 46 baskets, bench 59-38

Turnovers are team totals from ESPN box scores.

Raptors 125, Clippers 118. The Clippers led for 94% of the game and by 16 at one point, then lost the fourth quarter 47-27. Toronto went 19 of 26 at the line in the fourth and 31 of 48 for the game, against LA's 21 of 27. Scottie Barnes had 22 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists, and Immanuel Quickley scored 27. Kobe Sanders led LAC with 26 on 5 of 11 from three. Darius Garland had 7 turnovers, 4 of them in the fourth. Max Strus made his season debut.

Heat 117, Clippers 116 (OT). The Clippers' 43-point second quarter built a 20-point lead, and LA shot better from the field (48% to 43%) and from three (16 of 43 to 10 of 40). Miami won anyway on 12 offensive rebounds to LA's 6, a 54-40 paint edge and Klay Thompson's three with 1.0 second left in overtime. Bam Adebayo scored 35, Thompson 30 and Giannis Antetokounmpo 27. Garland scored 26 on 10 of 14 but had 6 turnovers.

Clippers 139, Pelicans 123. A team averaging a league-worst 20.1 turnovers entering the night committed 11 against the NBA's steals leader. LA assisted on 34 of 46 baskets, shot 55% and went 16 of 38 from three. Garland had 24 points and 10 assists with 2 turnovers, Brook Lopez scored 20 on 8 of 11, and Gradey Dick and Keaton Wagler scored 15 each off the bench.

What's working for the Clippers

1. The three-point line, at both ends. LA made 45 of 116 threes (38.8%) this week, and opponents made 28 of 98 (28.6%). That is a 51-point edge from deep in three games. For the season the Clippers shoot 38.7% from three, 2nd in the NBA behind Golden State (39.5%), per Basketball-Reference. The defensive side is the bigger change: a week earlier, opponents made 40.2% of their threes.

2. Ball movement. The Clippers assisted on 93 of 131 field goals this week (71%), including 34 on 46 against New Orleans. Garland averaged 8.3 assists for the week and Strus had 13 assists in three games off the bench.

3. The offense overall. Basketball-Reference now has LA at a 111.8 offensive rating (19th), up from 107.4 (25th) a week ago. The Clippers averaged 124.3 points this week, against 112.4 for the season, and Sunday's 139 is a season high.

4. Brook Lopez. Lopez scored 52 points on 21 of 32 shooting (65.6%) in three games, and a +16, best among the starters. For the season he is at a .651 effective field-goal percentage. With Isaiah Jackson out Sunday, Lopez played 26 minutes through five fouls and still scored 20.

5. The young bench. Wagler was +22 for the week in 19.3 minutes a night and went 9 of 16 from the field, 6 of 9 from three, after shooting 8 of 34 the week before. Dick was +20 and shot 13 of 21. Both were central to the 59-38 bench edge against New Orleans.

What's not working for the Clippers

1. Fourth quarters. LA lost the fourth 47-27 to Toronto and 29-20 to Miami, after leading both games through three quarters, then won it 37-28 against New Orleans. For the week that is 104-84 in fourth quarters. When the Clippers lead after three this season, they are 2-2. Our Friday Film Room on the fourth-quarter collapses breaks down both losses possession by possession.

2. The free-throw line. Opponents made 83 of 109 free throws this week; the Clippers made 66 of 85. The 24-attempt gap was mostly one night, Toronto's 48 attempts, but New Orleans also got 35. LA was called for 84 fouls to its opponents' 73.

3. Second chances and the paint. Opponents outscored LA 168-154 in the paint and grabbed 35 offensive rebounds to LA's 29. Miami's 12-6 edge on the offensive glass produced the possession sequence that sent the game to overtime.

4. Garland's turnovers, in the losses. Garland had 7 and 6 turnovers in the two losses, then 2 in the win. He averages 21.2 points and 7.0 assists on a .554 effective field-goal percentage, but also 5.1 turnovers per game. The team is still at 19.1 turnovers per game and a 16.7% turnover rate, both 29th, ahead of only Charlotte. Sunday proved the 11-turnover version of this team scores 139. The question is whether that is the new floor or a one-night spike.

5. The defensive rating. Despite the better three-point defense, the Clippers' 115.8 defensive rating ranks 23rd, down from 19th a week ago, because opponents kept scoring at the rim and the line.

Clippers rotation minutes last week

Player	GP	Min/G (week)	Week +/-
Darius Garland	3	35.7	-30
Derrick Jones Jr.	2	33.0	+1
Rui Hachimura	2	31.5	+10
Kris Dunn	3	29.7	+13
Brook Lopez	3	27.7	+16
Kobe Sanders	3	26.0	+5
Max Strus	3	21.7	0
Isaiah Jackson	2	19.5	-19
Keaton Wagler	3	19.3	+22
Gradey Dick	3	17.7	+20
Baba Miller	3	12.7	+8

Minutes and plus-minus from ESPN box scores. Jones and Hachimura did not play against Toronto, when Sanders and Dick started. Jackson missed New Orleans with left groin soreness.

Three rotation notes. First, Strus is back: after a right plantar fascia tear, he debuted Nov. 2 and played all three games, going 7 of 22 from three with 13 assists. Second, Wagler's minutes dropped from 24.0 to 19.3 a night, yet his week was his most efficient so far. Third, Garland's 35.7 minutes and -30 tell the same story as the turnovers: when he is careless, LA loses; when he is clean, as he was Sunday, the offense is the best it has looked all season.

Clippers injury report and notes

Isaiah Jackson: day-to-day, left groin soreness. Missed Sunday's game. ESPN lists Nov. 10 as an estimated return.
Bradley Beal: out, right knee (injury management on the official report). ESPN's estimated return is Nov. 29, an estimate, not a team timeline.
Brandon Ingram: out, right heel surgery (partial Achilles tear).
Yanic Konan Niederhäuser: out, right Lisfranc surgery.
Jordan Miller: out, left rotator cuff surgery.
Max Strus: active. Made his season debut Nov. 2 against Toronto.

The Strus return is the first injury good news of the season to show up in a box score. With Jackson and Niederhäuser both out Sunday, the Clippers had no backup center, which is worth watching against Phoenix's frontcourt.

Clippers schedule this week: Nov. 9 to Nov. 15

Tue, Nov. 10 at Phoenix Suns, 6 PM PT. Storyline: can the offense carry over against a bottom-four defense? Phoenix (3-5) has a 120.2 defensive rating, 27th in the NBA, and hosts San Antonio on Monday night, so the Suns are on the second night of a back-to-back. Devin Booker averages 25.3 points, and Mark Williams is out after left shoulder labrum surgery. LA's 139 on Sunday came against a below-average defense too; this is the chance to prove that was not a one-off. Our Keys to the Match publishes about an hour before tip.

Fri, Nov. 13 vs Oklahoma City Thunder, 7:30 PM PT. Storyline: the turnover test, round two. OKC (8-2) has the NBA's best defensive rating (105.5) and the 3rd-lowest turnover rate (11.6%). The Thunder beat LA 108-101 on Oct. 25 when the Clippers turned it over 26 times. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 29.9 points, and Chet Holmgren is out at least 8 to 10 weeks with a small patellar tendon tear, per Basketball-Reference's injury report. If LA keeps the giveaways near Sunday's 11, this is a closer game than the records say.

Sun, Nov. 15 vs Charlotte Hornets, 1:30 PM PT. Storyline: the only team turning it over more than LA. Charlotte (3-7) averages 19.2 turnovers, 96.3 points and a 101.0 offensive rating, all last in the NBA. Brandon Miller (20.6 points) and Kon Knueppel were both listed out for Charlotte's Monday game, so check the report before the weekend. This is the most winnable game on the schedule, and the kind LA has to bank to climb toward the play-in.

Bottom line

Record: 2-7. West: 13th. Week: 1-2, +8. Net rating: -4.0, up from -7.4. The Clippers fixed the three-point defense and, for one night, the turnovers, and the result was the best offensive game of the season. Two leads that died in the fourth quarter, mostly at the free-throw line, are why it was not a 3-0 week. Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Charlotte are a fair test of whether Sunday was the start of something.

Sources

christopher martinez