The Clippers’ six-game road trip had an uneven start in Atlanta Tuesday. On the one hand, the energy and defensive effort were definitely good enough to earn a win. However, the Clippers couldn’t score enough to keep up with Trae Young and a deep Hawks team. Scoring hadn’t been a problem for the no. 1 offense in the league, but it’s something that this depleted roster will have to work harder at.
Not only are the missing players the three best players on the team (quibble if you must about that rating of Patrick Beverley), their absence has resulted in an imbalance of perimeter players and bigs, given that all three are guards or wings.