The Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Atlanta Hawks at Staples Center on Saturday.

The Hawks (4-7) come into this matchup losing four of their last five games and it's clear that the absences are really starting to hurt this team. Losing John Collins to a 25-game suspension was obviously a major detriment but they're now without Kevin Huerter too. Those were supposed to be some of the most valuable young pieces on this team and it's hard for them to compete with so much talent missing from their wings. Trae Young is doing all he can though, leading the way with 27.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. That's truly scary and it's amazing to watch this kid make pull-up three's from right around halfcourt.

The Clippers (7-5) record is nothing special at this point but it's imperative to look at the games rather than the results. One thing this team knew they'd have to deal with is load management for Kawhi Leonard and that's really the only thing slowing them down. Los Angeles is now 0-3 in the three games that Leonard sat out and that says a lot about how important he is to this team. The most recent loss to the New Orleans Pelicans marked the debut of Paul George though and he came back in serious fashion. PG-13 led the team with 33 points in 24 minutes of action, indicating that he's fully healthy from his ailing shoulders. We still haven't seen George and Leonard take the floor together though but this is likely to be the start of a very successful season for these two in what's expected to be their duo debut.

While these teams did split their two-game season series last year, Los Angeles has won five of their last six games over Atlanta in total.