Clippers at Warriors, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, 5:30 PM PT, Chase Center (ClipperVision, NBCS-BA)
The Clippers (1-4, four straight losses) visit the Golden State Warriors (3-3, three straight wins) tonight, and Golden State will be without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis. The game turns on one lever: Clippers ball security. LA is averaging 22.4 turnovers (112 in five games), and Golden State's opponents are averaging 18.5. If the Clippers protect the ball and stop losing the paint and the glass, this is the best chance yet to end the skid. CNI pick: Clippers 112, Warriors 108, with the pick flipping to Golden State if LA commits 20 or more turnovers or the Warriors grab 16 or more offensive rebounds.
Availability (NBA official injury report, Nov. 1): Warriors: Stephen Curry (right knee injury management) and Draymond Green (bilateral low back injury management) out on the front end of a back-to-back; Kristaps Porzingis out (not with team); Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody out; Gui Santos probable (left knee tendinitis). Clippers: Bradley Beal, Brandon Ingram, Max Strus, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser out. Projected Clippers starters per Yahoo Sports: Darius Garland, Kris Dunn, Rui Hachimura, Derrick Jones Jr. and Isaiah Jackson, with Keaton Wagler, Kobe Sanders, Brook Lopez and Gradey Dick off the bench. Both teams play again Monday.
1. Ball security: get under 16 turnovers
The number: 18, 26, 26, 24, 18. Those are the Clippers' turnover totals in five games, 22.4 per game, and they have given up 30.6 points per game off those turnovers (153 total). Darius Garland has five or more turnovers in four straight games (5.6 per game).
Why it decides tonight: Golden State's opponents are averaging 18.5 turnovers (111 in six games), and Memphis coughed it up 27 times. The Warriors average 9.8 steals and turned Lakers mistakes into 25 points Friday. Without Curry, Golden State's half-court offense is thinner, so live-ball turnovers are its easiest points. Friday at Minnesota, 18 Clippers turnovers became 28 Wolves points in a 26-point loss.
Success looks like: 8 or fewer turnovers at halftime and Garland moving it early against Podziemski and Melton pressure instead of forcing the first read. Failure: a 6-plus turnover first quarter and Warriors run-outs before the defense sets.
2. The defensive glass against Lendeborg
The number: 15.5. That is Golden State's offensive rebounds per game (93 in six games). In its only game without Curry and Green, a 131-122 loss at Phoenix on Oct. 24, it grabbed 19. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg averages 19.8 points, a team-high 7.8 rebounds and 3.3 offensive rebounds.
Why it decides tonight: With Green and Porzingis out, the Warriors lean on Lendeborg, Al Horford and Gui Santos up front, which means more small-ball crashing from the wing. Clippers opponents have averaged 12.6 offensive rebounds (11, 8, 15, 17, 12). Add second shots to the turnover problem and LA loses the possession battle twice.
Success looks like: Golden State at 12 or fewer offensive rebounds, Isaiah Jackson and Derrick Jones Jr. finishing possessions, guards crashing to help. Failure: Lendeborg living on putbacks the way he did in a 26-point, 9-rebound night at Phoenix.
3. Win the paint back
The number: Minus 78. The Clippers have lost the paint four straight games (Lakers -10, Thunder -28, Lakers -20, Timberwolves -20), and opponents are averaging 56 paint points. LA's own paint scoring has gone 56, 48, 36, 28, 42.
Why it decides tonight: Golden State averages 43.3 paint points and has allowed 49.3, and the missing Green and Porzingis are its two best interior defenders. Horford is a 40-year-old drop big, so Garland and Wagler can turn the corner and get to the rim or the line. Defensively, the Clippers need Jackson (7 rebounds and 4 blocks in 22 minutes Friday) on the floor to stop the bleeding.
Success looks like: Golden State held to 48 or fewer paint points and the Clippers winning the paint for the first time since opening night. Failure: another 60-plus paint night against, which is how Phoenix scored 60 on this same Warriors-without-stars lineup.
4. Limit the three-point volume
The number: 40.2. That is Golden State's three-point attempts per game (241 in six games), made at 39.0 percent. In the three-game win streak it went 22-of-44, 11-of-35 and 22-of-46.
Why it decides tonight: Even without Curry, Kerr's motion offense runs shooters (Melton, Podziemski, Georges Niang) off actions. The Clippers held their first four opponents to 28.8 three-point attempts per game, then Minnesota launched 43 and made 18. Rotations after offensive rebounds are where those clean kick-out looks come from, so this key is tied to key 2.
Success looks like: Golden State under 38 attempts or under 35 percent. Failure: a hot start from Melton, who scored 25 on 8-of-13 shooting at Phoenix the last time Curry and Green both sat.
5. Wagler and Sanders: second creators who protect Garland
The number: Keaton Wagler is drawing 7.8 free-throw attempts per game and has made 34 of 39, but is 10-of-41 from the field over the four-game skid. Kobe Sanders is plus-14 in 109 minutes this season; Hachimura is minus-25 in 120 minutes.
Why it decides tonight: Garland (22.0 points per game) is the only Clipper above 14.4 points, and Friday no one else scored more than 13. A second ball handler cuts Garland's turnover load (key 1), and Wagler's foul-drawing is the cleanest path to points against a Warriors frontline missing its two best rim protectors.
Success looks like: Wagler at 8-plus free-throw attempts, Sanders at 25-plus minutes and staggered Garland-Sanders handling. Failure: long Garland-only stretches, where the turnovers and the minus numbers have piled up.
CNI prediction: Clippers 112, Warriors 108
Golden State without Curry, Green and Porzingis is a depth matchup the Clippers can win, and the Warriors lost their only other game without both stars. The Clippers have the healthier top of the rotation tonight, but they have not shown they can protect the ball or the glass. Contingency: if the Clippers commit 20 or more turnovers or Golden State grabs 16 or more offensive rebounds, flip it: Warriors 114, Clippers 109.
Sources
ESPN game page and injury report, Clippers at Warriors, Nov. 1, 2026
ESPN box scores: LAC vs SAC (Oct. 21), LAC at LAL (Oct. 23), LAC at OKC (Oct. 25), LAL at LAC (Oct. 28), LAC at MIN (Oct. 30)
ESPN box scores: GS at LAL (Oct. 21), MEM at GS (Oct. 23), GS at PHX (Oct. 24), DEN at GS (Oct. 26), GS at MIN (Oct. 28), LAL at GS (Oct. 30)
Yahoo Sports: Clippers vs Warriors injury report and game preview