The Los Angeles Clippers travel to Milwaukee on Monday night to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the Clippers’ second game of a back-to-back. The Clippers are in the thick of things in the Western Conference but will have to survive over the next several weeks without former MVP Russell Westbrook as he recovers from a fractured hand. The Bucks are tied for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the front-running Celtics.

Bucks Back on Track

Here come the Milwaukee Bucks as they storm back up the Eastern Conference standings and the team gets more and more comfortable under the tutelage of new head coach Doc Rivers. On Saturday night, the Bucks won their fifth straight game in a 113-97 blowout win over the Bulls in Chicago. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with a dominant performance. The former MVP finished with 46 points and 16 rebounds and became the winningest Bucks player ever with 489 wins including playoffs.

“We’re winning games, but for us, it’s not about right now,” said coach Doc Rivers, who’s 8-7 since replacing the fired Adrian Griffin. “Our whole key is getting ready. That’s the first thing I told them. We still have work to do, we’re still pushing, we got to get better. It’s nicer to get wins than to lose, but we’re not where we want to be yet.”

The Bucks are on the fast track to jump into the second spot in the Eastern Conference and secure home-court advantage against anyone other than the Celtics. They come into this game ranked second in the NBA in scoring offense. They are sixth in field goal shooting and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage. The Bucks are fifth in the NBA in 3-point field goals made per game. The Bucks are 19th in scoring defense this season. They are 11th in field goal defense and eighth in 3-point defense. The Bucks are 9th in total rebounds per game and eighth in fewest turnovers per game.

Challenging Back-to-Back

The Los Angeles Clippers are battling for one of the top spots in the Western Conference and have benefitted from healthy seasons from perennial all-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. On Friday night, however, the Clippers were hit by the injury bug yet again, this time former MVP Russell Westbrook. Westbrook will be lost for several weeks while recovering from a fractured hand suffered in the win over the Wizards on Friday. On Sunday, the Clippers played their first game without Westbrook taking on the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves on the road. The Clippers’ defense dug in against the Timberwolves and the Clips pulled out an 89-88 win. Kawhi Leonard led the way with 32 points in the victory.

The Clippers are 6-3 in the second game of back-to-backs this season including four straight wins. They come in ranked ninth in the NBA in scoring this season. The Clippers are fifth in field goal shooting and third in 3-point shooting. They are just 14th in 3-point field goals made per game, however. On the defensive end, the Clippers are 10th in scoring defense. They are 10th in field goal defense and 9th in 3-point defense. The Clippers are just 23rd in total rebounds per game this season and 9th in turnovers per game.