Clippers Listed Healthy as Pelicans Chase Fifth Straight at Intuit Dome

The clippers will host the New Orleans Pelicans at the Intuit Dome on Sunday, March 1, with Kawhi Leonard listed fully healthy while the Pelicans try to extend a four-game win streak to five games.

Clippers' Leonard cleared; minutes management remains a question

Kawhi Leonard, 34, is listed as fully healthy and was off the injury report a day in advance of Sunday’s game, having missed Los Angeles’s matchup with the Timberwolves on Thursday with an ankle issue and not played since last Sunday against the Magic. Leonard has not logged more than 33 minutes in any game since the All-Star break, and coach Ty Lue has been deliberate about keeping his workload down during this stretch.

Pelicans missing key wings, leaning on Saddiq Bey

New Orleans travels to Los Angeles on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Jazz in Utah on Saturday and will likely be without Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, and Dejounte Murray for the March 1 game. Zion Williamson sprained his ankle the night before, and Trey Murphy III has been out since the All-Star break with a shoulder contusion. That absence has put more responsibility on Saddiq Bey; Bey averaged a combined 10 assists and rebounds per game in February and recorded Over 8. 5 rebounds plus assists in four of his last six outings.

Clippers depth and recent form

Los Angeles enters the game in the middle of a three-game skid but has some recent individual bright spots. Bennedict Mathurin has averaged 21. 3 points per game over his first five contests since joining LA last month, and Brook Lopez has cleared Over 9. 5 points in three of his last five games. The Clippers are also 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games, a trend bettors have noted heading into the clash at the Intuit Dome.

The schedule looms large: the Clippers face a brutal March stretch with 18 games, including four sets of back-to-backs and no consecutive days of rest, making load management for Leonard and others a key factor for the team’s rotation and minutes. New Orleans, meanwhile, is trying to hang on to momentum—four straight wins—and will test Los Angeles on Sunday while short-handed.