John Collins to start, youth to play as LA tries to dig out of a 3-7 hole

INGLEWOOD, CA – The LA Clippers went to a slow start to their season with only three wins in the first 10 games. After their fourth straight loss on Saturday night, Tyronn Lue and the team made changes for Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks that are expected to continue as the season progresses.

John Collinswho came off the bench in the first nine games of the season, the game started on Monday and is expected to be the team’s new starting power forward, is a strong candidate to start Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Hawks instead Bradley Beal.

In addition to Collins now starting, Kris Dunn also started Monday to try to give the Clippers the defensive edge they’ve been missing.

“We had a hard time rebounding the basketball,” Tyronn Lue said. “And for his career, statistically, he’s been a really good rebounder. So we’re just putting him next to (Ivica Zupac) so he can rebound the basketball. We like his athleticism, we like his energy, and we had to go bigger. We were small with Brad, KD, DJ and James, so we’ll see how that goes tonight.”

And Collins’ start won’t be just one game.

“I’ll be dealing with it for a while,” Lue added at the end of his press conference.

Tyronn Lue, on the reasoning of John Collins (do @TomerAzarli) and if it’s going to be long-term (moi): “We’re struggling to turn down basketball and career, statistically speaking, he’s been a really good rebounder. … I’ll be at it for a while.” pic.twitter.com/J7ZDKSkbzpi

— Justin Russo (@FliBiKnite) November 11, 2025

The Clippers lost the game against the Hawks 105-102, despite blowing a 17-point lead in the first quarter and missing multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead in the final minutes. Despite losing their fifth game in a row, they finally showed the spark needed to break out of their current rut.

James Harden recorded 35 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and two blocks in the Clippers’ loss. Ivica Zubac added 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in the loss, while Derrick Jones Jr. and Chris Dunn each scored 11 points with two steals.

The Hawks had six players score in double figures, while reserve Whit Krejci had a career-high 28 points and eight 3-pointers.

The starting lineup change comes as the Clippers have struggled defensively to start the season, boasting the NBA’s sixth-worst defensive rating entering Monday’s game, allowing 119 points per 100 possessions with a -5.4 net rating.

In 586 minutes in 46 games during the 2024-25 regular season, the four-man lineup of James Harden, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr. and Ivica Zubac produced a 113.7 offensive rating and 104.5 defensive rating for a +9.2 net rating.

That lineup primarily featured Norman Powell early in the season, but it was very effective and a big reason the Clippers are hovering around the fifth and sixth seeds in the Western Conference before Kawhi Leonard returns against the Hawks on January 4, 2025.

Tyronn Lue said goal of launching Dunn and Jones Jr. Together, he should have started the game better in defense.

“It’s just to try to start the game with a defensive mindset with two of the best defenders in the league,” Lue added. “Let’s start that way, and then we’re going to shut out KD for about six minutes and then just go from there. But the way our defense struggled, just thinking about putting our best defenders on the floor to start the game is pretty important.”

Tyronn Lue, starting lineup tonight: “I thought they did a good job, especially defensively. … They did a great job of just believing, moving the basketball, moving bodies, and then we weren’t as good with that in the second half.” pic.twitter.com/vrzZHVmk6S

— Justin Russo (@FliBiKnite) November 11, 2025

Lue has always expressed his preference to play together in groups over a roughly 10-game sample, but the Clippers appear to have pulled the plug on several rotations just nine games into the season. Cam Christie and Kobe Brown are surprising but welcome additions to the rotation, something Lue said the team has been working on in practices and morning walks.

John Collins’ role as a starter appears to be over, and now the challenge is to figure out how to get the best out of him with the players he will be sharing the field with.

“We just (want) JC to get used to playing with the starters and those guys who understand how to use him. I liked that little stretch for about a minute and a half when he played the five, so we’ve got to keep working on that as well.”

Unfortunately, it also appears that the Clippers may be without Bradley Beal for a while. The guard suffered a hip injury during a recent game against the Phoenix Suns and was ruled out before Monday’s game.

The Clippers said Beal is undergoing evaluations to determine the severity of his hip injury, with updates to be provided as they become available.

“Yes, sir,” Tyronn Lue said twice when asked if there was any concern about Beal’s absence extending beyond one game.

In six appearances so far, Bradley Beal is averaging just 8.2 points and 1.7 assists per game, while shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three. Moreover, the Clippers have struggled to acclimate Beal on the defensive end, where he has arguably struggled the most.

The Clippers play their final home game for the next two weeks on Wednesday night when the Denver Nuggets come to town. They will then hit the road for seven games in 15 days, including a pair of back-to-back sets.