Clippers lean on Kobe Sanders off the bench, for better or worse

The Clippers' rotation looks odd at first glance, and the Clippers depth chart shows why. Kris Dunn starts on 8.5 points a game, while Kobe Sanders is the first man off the bench and plays 24.2 minutes a game, more than starting center Brook Lopez at 23.4.

The expected five for Sunday's game against the Charlotte Hornets is Darius Garland, Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Rui Hachimura and Lopez. It is built around defense and shooting rather than scoring, and it has to work around five players who are out. All figures here cover the games each player has played this season, at the time of writing, and the Clippers are 2-8 in their last 10 games.

Below we run through who starts, who comes next, who is missing and where the shooting sits, with the numbers from the depth chart as the evidence.

The Clippers play the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday 15 November 2026, and the expected starters are Garland, Dunn, Jones Jr., Hachimura and Lopez. The five comes from recent starts, minus anyone ruled out, so it reads as a lineup built around who is available rather than a settled first choice. Our Clippers v Hornets preview has the game details.

Confirmed lineups come about 30 minutes before tip-off, so treat this five as the expected group until then. It allows for everyone on the injury report, which means all five absent players are already left out of it. You can follow every team's confirmed five on our NBA starting lineups page once they are announced.

Garland is the clear lead of the group. He plays 32.6 minutes a game and tops the Clippers in both scoring (20.4 points) and assists (6.9) across 10 games. Hachimura and Jones Jr. follow him on minutes, at 29.6 and 29.1, with Dunn next on 28.5.

Dunn is the odd name in the starting five if you only read the scoring column. His 8.5 points a game are the lowest of the five starters, and below Sanders, Strus and Wagler off the bench. But his 2.3 steals a game are far above anyone else on the roster: the next best among the starters is 1.1 from Hachimura and Jones Jr.

He also adds 4.3 assists, second on the team behind Garland's 6.9, and 4.0 rebounds from the guard spot. Dunn shoots 49.2% from the field and 41.7% from three over 10 games, so he is not a drag on the offense when he does take shots. He is a guard who makes plays without needing the ball scored through him.

The scorers around him do the heavy lifting. Lopez gives 13.6 points on 57.0% shooting, and Jones Jr. adds 11.1 points while hitting 47.2% from three. For the wider picture, see the full Clippers rotation and minutes.

The first players off the bench are Sanders, Max Strus, Keaton Wagler and Isaiah Jackson. The depth chart gives their rotation minutes as 24.2 for Sanders, 18.9 for Strus, 18.5 for Wagler and 16.4 for Jackson. Sanders is the sixth man by that order, and his 24.2 minutes a game in the season averages are above Lopez's 23.4.

There is one thing to flag. The rotation list and the season averages do not match for everyone, because the rotation list carries projected minutes for the game. Strus is listed at 18.9 minutes in the bench order but averages 22.0 in the stats table over 4 games. Wagler is at 18.5 against 23.2, and Jackson is at 16.4 against 20.4. Each figure below is used only as the page gives it.

Sanders is a steady rather than a spectacular option: 9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game over 10 games, with 1.0 steals. Wagler scores more, at 12.2 points a game, and Strus matches Sanders at 9.8 points in far fewer games.

The Clippers list 5 players on the injury report, and all five are listed as out. Who is out for the Clippers matters for the lineup because the expected five is built to allow for every one of them. You can also check the league-wide list on our NBA injuries page.

The two names that stand out are Bradley Beal and Brandon Ingram. Ingram is expected back on 19 November and Beal on 29 November, so both are missing for the Hornets game. Neither has a minutes or scoring figure on the page this season, so the numbers cannot tell us what they would add.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is expected back on 17 November, two days after the Hornets game. Jordan Miller has the longest dated absence, expected back on 2 March, and Nick Martinelli has no return date. Martinelli has played 5 games at 4.4 minutes a game, so his place in the rotation is small.

Jones Jr. is the best three-point shooter in the rotation at 47.2%, followed by Lopez at 43.3% and Dunn at 41.7%. All three are in the expected starting five. Hachimura sits at 36.7% and Garland at 35.3%, so the first three starters shoot better from deep than the scoring leader.

Off the bench it is flatter. Gradey Dick shoots 42.1% from three on 15.4 minutes a game, while Wagler and Sanders both shoot 35.4%. Strus is at 30.0% over only 4 games, which is a short run.

Wagler's number to watch is his field goal rate. He scores 12.2 points a game, fourth on the team, but shoots 32.9% from the field over 10 games, the lowest of any regular in the rotation. He is getting the minutes and the shots, and not yet making the most of them.

Two figures are best ignored. Jackson shows 100.0% from three and Martinelli 66.7%, but Martinelli plays just 4.4 minutes a game over 5 games, and Jackson's 100.0% is far too small a sample to compare with the rest.

The confirmed five lands about 30 minutes before tip-off against the Hornets. If it matches Garland, Dunn, Jones Jr., Hachimura and Lopez, the depth chart read holds. A different name in the first five would show up straight away in the bench order, since the rotation list ranks every available player by minutes.

Check the sixth man too. Sanders is first off the bench on 24.2 minutes, ahead of Strus, Wagler and Jackson, and that order is the clearest sign of how the rotation is being set up. You can see how each player's numbers compare on our player stats page, and the Clippers roster has everyone on the squad.

For the latest on who starts, who sits and who is out, keep the Clippers starting lineup and bench order open before the game.

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