The NBA is coming back July 30 and not a moment too soon for basketball fans who have been deprived a proper conclusion to the 2019-20 season since Rudy Gobert’s positive coronavirus test March 11 that set off the worldwide cascade of sports league cancellations. Now, the NBA will look to finish what it started with a 22-team “bubble” at the Disney Resorts in Orlando, an eight-game finish to the regular season and four best-of-7 playoff rounds to determine a champion. We take a look at each of the teams involved as we move closer to the official return and today we’ll look at the Los Angeles Clippers team in our Sports Intel preview:

LA Clippers Team Preview 2019-2020 Re-Boot

(44-20, 2nd in West, 5.5 behind No. 1)

Where we left off:  The Clippers got the season off on the right foot when they took down the LA Lakers in their first game, 112-102 (The Lakers got their revenge later on in the season).  That set the pace for a season that has seen a lot of great things and superior talent all the way around.  The Clippers boast one of the best starting five in the league and took seven victories in the last ten games ahead of the season suspension.  The fact that they have also had to content with a lot of injuries at the same time only proves how strong the squad is.

Remaining schedule: July 30, LA Lakers; Aug. 1, New Orleans Pelicans; Aug. 4, Phoenix Suns; Aug. 6, Dallas Mavericks; Aug. 8, Portland Trail Blazers; Aug. 9, Brooklyn Nets; Aug. 12, Denver Nuggets; Aug. 14: Oklahoma City Thunder.

Projected starting lineup: PG: Patrick Beverley, SG: Paul George, SF: Kawhi Leonard, PF: Marcus Morris Sr., C: Ivica Zubac

Key injuries, absentees:  Beverly is questionable since he is coming out of quarantine, G Lou Williams (quarantine), C Montrezl Harrell (could join later), Zubac (questionable)

Odds to Win Title: 33/1

Can they win it all?  Eight games stand between the Clippers and the NBA Championship.  Unfortunately, despite the team still counting on several of its starters, a few of those games will most likely be played without some of the best talent.  The Clippers are still in good shape overall, though, to make a deep run.  That run, unfortunately for the team, won’t be enough to allow them to capture the season victory.  There are too many moving parts right now and getting into a rhythm is going to be extremely difficult.

That’s all from the Sports Intel team in this LA Clippers preview as we finally re-boot the 2019-2020 season. We don’t think they will lift the trophy this time round, but reasonably long odds in the NBA betting market makes it a bit more tempting.