Garners elevated minutes in blowout Preston finished Sunday's 122-99 loss to the Cavaliers with 12 points (6-12 FG, 0-3 3Pt), eight assists, three rebounds and one steal in 37 minutes. Impact Since the Clippers were without co-stars Paul George (knee) and Kawhi Leonard (knee) for the second half of a back-to-back set and held out four other rotation players with injuries, head coach Tyronn Lue was forced to look to some of his deep reserves to fill minutes. When the Clippers fell into a big second-half hole, Lue essentially shut down most of the healthy rotation regulars who were available, resulting in players like Preston taking on even more playing time than anticipated heading into the night. Preston -- who hadn't logged more than 16 minutes in any of his prior 11 appearances for the NBA club on the season -- ended up receiving more than double that amount of playing time and was able to come away with an inflated stat line as a result. Assuming George, Leonard and Reggie Jackson (Achilles) are all back in action Tuesday in Chicago, however, Preston will likely find himself back outside of Lue's rotation.
JANUARY 30, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
