Max Strus limped off on a non-contact play in the opening minutes against the Warriors and will undergo testing. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue gave no diagnosis but sounded worried: "he kind of hobbled off and limped off. So that's never good to see when it's a non-contact play."
Yuki Kawamura played little against the Warriors, but Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said yes when asked if the guard will get more opportunity down the line. Rui Hachimura said Kawamura looked a little nervous but did what he needed to in his short stint.
Rui Hachimura is being asked to carry the Clippers' scoring. Tyronn Lue said he asked him whether he could average 18 points a game: "We're going to need everything... because we're starting the season so shorthanded." Hachimura said the staff wants him aggressive.
The Clippers' playoff starters will play around 18 to 20 minutes on Oct. 4, Tyronn Lue said at practice. After that, for the last two games, "we gotta, you know, crank it up a little bit."
Isaiah Jackson says he feels "100% back" from his Achilles injury and thinks he'll start at center for the Clippers. Tyronn Lue says Jackson suits Darius Garland, who worked on his toe all summer, as a "speed roller," but Brook Lopez can still be involved. "We don't quite know."
Max Strus and Rui Hachimura have picked up Tyronn Lue's system quickest of the Clippers' new players, Lue said at practice, and he is excited to see what he can run for them. Hachimura says roles are settled: "Everybody have roles now... we did a meeting about it too."