L ATIMES.COM/SPORTS TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2019D3
All times Pacific
OCTOBER22 Lakers........................7:30 p.m.
24 at Golden State..........7:30 p.m.
26 at Phoenix.......................7 p.m.
28 Charlotte....................7:30 p.m.
30 at Utah............................7 p.m.
31 San Antonio................7:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER3 Utah................................6 p.m.
6 Milwaukee........................7 p.m.
7 Portland.....................7:30 p.m.
11 Toronto.......................7:30 p.m.
13 at Houston..................4:30 p.m.
14 at New Orleans.................5 p.m.
16 Atlanta.......................7:30 p.m.
18 Oklahoma City............7:30 p.m.
20 Boston............................7 p.m.
22 Houston.....................7:30 p.m.
24 New Orleans....................6 p.m.
26 at Dallas....................5:30 p.m.
27 at Memphis.....................5 p.m.
29 at San Antonio...........5:30 p.m.
DECEMBER1 Washington.................7:30 p.m.
3 Portland...........................7 p.m.
6 at Milwaukee..............5:30 p.m.
8 at Washington..................3 p.m.
9 at Indiana........................4 p.m.
11 at Toronto.........................4 p.m.
13 at Minnesota....................5 p.m.
14 at Chicago........................5 p.m.
17 Phoenix......................7:30 p.m.
19 Houston.....................7:30 p.m.
21 at San Antonio............5:30 p.m.
22 at Oklahoma City.............4 p.m.
25 at Lakers.........................5 p.m.
28 Utah..........................7:30 p.m.
31 at Sacramento.................2 p.m.
JANUARY2 Detroit.......................7:30 p.m.
4 Memphis..................12:30 p.m.
5 New York..................12:30 p.m.
10 Golden State...............7:30 p.m.
12 at Denver.........................5 p.m.
14 Cleveland...................7:30 p.m.
16 Orlando......................7:30 p.m.
18 at New Orleans.........12:30 p.m.
21 at Dallas.....................5:30 p.m.
22 at Atlanta...................4:30 p.m.
24 at Miami..........................5 p.m.
26 at Orlando.......................3 p.m.
28 at Lakers.........................7 p.m.
30 Sacramento...............7:30 p.m.FEBRUARY
1 Minnesota ................12:30 p.m.
3 San Antonio...............7:30 p.m.
5 Miami........................7:30 p.m.
8 at Minnesota....................5 p.m.
9 at Cleveland...............4:30 p.m.
11 at Philadelphia..................4 p.m.
13 at Boston.........................5 p.m.
22 Sacramento.............12:30 p.m.
24 Memphis...................7:30 p.m.
26 at Phoenix.......................6 p.m.
28 Denver.......................7:30 p.m.MARCH
1 Philadelphia.............. 1 2:30 p.m.
3 at Oklahoma City..............5 p.m.
5 at Houston.......................5 p.m.
8 Lakers......................12:30 p.m.
10 at Golden State...........7:30 p.m.
13 Brooklyn....................7:30 p.m.
14 New Orleans...............7:30 p.m.
16 Dallas.........................7:30 p.m.
18 at Denver.........................6 p.m.
20 Phoenix.....................7:30 p.m.
23 at New York......................4 p.m.
25 at Brooklyn......................4 p.m.
27 at Detroit.........................4 p.m.
28 at Charlotte......................4 p.m.
30 Indiana......................7:30 p.m.APRIL
2 at Sacramento.................7 p.m.
4 Oklahoma City..........12:30 p.m.
7 at Utah.............................7 p.m.
8 Chicago......................7:30 p.m.
11 Golden State...............5:30 p.m.
13 Minnesota..................7:30 p.m.
15 at Portland.......................7 p.m.CLIPPERS’ 2019-20 SCHEDULE
All times PacificOCTOBER
22 at Clippers.................7:30 p.m.
25 Utah..........................7:30 p.m.
27 Charlotte....................6:30 p.m.
29 Memphis...................7:30 p.m.NOVEMBER
1 at Dallas.....................6:30 p.m.
3 at San Antonio.................4 p.m.
5 at Chicago.......................5 p.m.
8 Miami........................7:30 p.m.
10 Toronto.......................6:30 p.m.
12 at Phoenix........................6 p.m.
13 Golden State....................7 p.m.
15 Sacramento...............7:30 p.m.
17 Atlanta.......................6:30 p.m.
19 Oklahoma City............7:30 p.m.
22 at Oklahoma City.............5 p.m.
23 at Memphis.....................5 p.m.
25 at San Antonio...........5:30 p.m.
27 at New Orleans...........6:30 p.m.
29 Washington................7:30 p.m.DECEMBER
1 Dallas...............................1 p.m.
3 at Denver.........................6 p.m.
4 at Utah.............................6 p.m.
6 at Portland.................7:30 p.m.
8 Minnesota..................6:30 p.m.
11 at Orlando........................4 p.m.
13 at Miami..........................5 p.m.
15 at Atlanta.........................3 p.m.
17 at Indiana.........................4 p.m.
19 at Milwaukee....................5 p.m.
22 Denver.......................6:30 p.m.
25 Clippers...........................5 p.m.
28 at Portland.......................7 p.m.
29 Dallas........................6:30 p.m.JANUARY1 Phoenix......................7:30 p.m.
3 New Orleans...............7:30 p.m.
5 Detroit.............................7 p.m.
7 New York....................7:30 p.m.
10 at Dallas.....................5:30 p.m.
11 at Oklahoma City..............5 p.m.13 Cleveland...................7:30 p.m.
15 Orlando......................7:30 p.m.
18 at Houston..................5:30 p.m.
20 at Boston...................4:30 p.m.
22 at New York................4:30 p.m.
23 at Brooklyn......................5 p.m.
25 at Philadelphia...........5:30 p.m.
28 Clippers...........................7 p.m.
31 Portland.....................7:30 p.m.FEBRUARY
1 at Sacramento..................7 p.m.
4 San Antonio...............7:30 p.m.
6 Houston.....................7:30 p.m.
8 at Golden State...........5:30 p.m.
10 Phoenix......................7:30 p.m.
12 at Denver.........................7 p.m.
21 Memphis....................7:30 p.m.
23 Boston.....................12:30 p.m.
25 New Orleans....................7 p.m.
27 at Golden State..........7:30 p.m.
29 at Memphis.....................5 p.m.MARCH
1 at New Orleans.................5 p.m.
3 Philadelphia.....................7 p.m.
6 Milwaukee..................7:30 p.m.
8 at Clippers................12:30 p.m.
10 Brooklyn....................7:30 p.m.
12 Houston.....................7:30 p.m.
15 Denver.............................6 p.m.
16 at Utah.............................6 p.m.
18 Utah................................7 p.m.
21 at Charlotte......................4 p.m.
22 at Detroit.........................3 p.m.
24 at Toronto...................4:30 p.m.
26 at Cleveland.....................4 p.m.
28 at Washington..................5 p.m.
30 at Minnesota....................5 p.m.APRIL
1 Indiana.......................7:30 p.m.
4 at Sacramento.................7 p.m.
5 Oklahoma City............6:30 p.m.
7 Chicago......................7:30 p.m.
9 Golden State..............7:30 p.m.
12 Minnesota..................6:30 p.m.
14 Sacramento...............7:30 p.m.
15 at Phoenix........................7 p.m.LAKERS’ 2019-20 SCHEDULE
Williamson on Nov. 27. Lonzo
Ball, Brandon Ingram and
Josh Hart, who were traded
for Davis, will play the Lak-
ers in Los Angeles for the
first time Jan. 3.
Other marquee home
games for the Lakers will be
against the Golden State
Warriors on Nov. 13 and
April 9; the Houston Rock-
ets with James Harden and
Russell Westbrook on Feb. 6
and March 12; the Boston
Celtics on Feb. 23; the Phila-
delphia 76ers on March 3;
and the Milwaukee Bucks
and reigning MVP Giannis
Antetokounmpo on March 6.
Expectations for the
Clippers are as high as
they’ve ever been, though
they’ll have to navigate 82
games and all the expected
and unexpected drama that
comes with that.
The Clippers will play 13
sets of back-to-back games,
a key number for Leonard,
who helped bring “load man-
agement” — the strategic
sitting out of certain games
— into the mainstream.
Eleven of those 26 games will
be against teams that made
the playoffs a season ago, in-
cluding Utah, San Antonio
and Houston.
NBA teams have an aver-
age of 12.4 sets of back-to-
back games on their sched-
ule, down 36% from five
years ago. No team has more
than 14, and no team has
fewer than 11. The Lakers will
play only 12 sets of back-to-
back games.
No team will play four
games in five nights for the
third consecutive season,
and none will have eight
games in 12 days for the sec-ond consecutive season.
Leonard will return to To-
ronto on Dec. 11 after leading
the Raptors to their first
NBA title. The trip to To-
ronto will be the fourth game
on the first of two six-game
trips this season. The Rap-
tors visit Staples Center on
Nov. 11, part of a stretch when
the Clippers play 12 of their
first 17 games at home.
George, whom the team
acquired from the Thunder,
will be back in Oklahoma
City on Dec. 22 and March 3.
The Thunder, who will have
former Clippers Danilo Gal-
linari and Shai Gilgeous-Al-
exander, come to Los Ange-
les for the first time Nov. 18.
Player movement this
summer created a schedule
full of players returning to
arenas to take on their for-
mer teams.
The Thunder’s Chris
Paul is back in Houston on
Oct. 28 while the Rockets’
Westbrook will be in Okla-
homa City for the first time
Jan. 9. Kyrie Irving goes back
to Boston on Nov. 27, Jimmy
Butler is in Philadelphia on
Nov. 23, and Kemba Walker
will return to Charlotte on
Nov. 7.
Of the Clippers’ 26 na-
tionally televised games,
four will be 7 p.m. starts at
Staples Center, part of a
leaguewide mandate in an
effort to boost television rat-
ings for games played on the
West Coast. The NBA re-
duced the number of
7:30 p.m. starts on nation-
ally televised games from 57
to 33 this season.Times staff writer Broderick
Turner contributed to this
report.Clippers join Lakers as marquee team on NBA schedule
[NBA,from D1]On a veteran Rams team
with perhaps only a half-
dozen roster spots up for
grabs, competition for a cor-
nerback job is heating up.
Aqib Taliband Marcus
Peters are established start-
ers with multiple Pro Bowl
selections between them.
Nickell Robey-Colemanis
the starting slot corner, and
Troy Hill has proved a valu-
able rotational player and
spot starter. And the Rams
invested a third-round pick
in David Long.
That leaves one open
spot, and Kevin Peterson,
Darious Williams and Dom-
inique Hatfield are the main
contenders to make a team
that has designs on a return
to the Super Bowl.
“It’s a positive problem
for us with the depth that we
do have,” coach Sean McVay
said, adding, “These young-
er players are continuing to
ascend, and they’re going to
force some difficult deci-
sions here in a couple weeks,
which is a good thing.”
Peterson, 25, intercepted
a pass in the Rams’ 14-3 loss
to the Oakland Raiders in
Saturday’s preseason
opener. He made the play al-
most exactly one year from
the day he suffered a season-
ending knee injury in the
2018 preseason opener
against Baltimore.
“It felt great to be out
there with my guys again,”
Peterson said. “Seeing the
guys get to the Super Bowl
last year, seeing how hard
they worked, seeing what it
takes to be able to get to that
—and I’m just doing my re-
hab the whole time. ... I’m
just excited to be out there
with my guys.”
Peterson played at Okla-
homa State and was signed
by the Chicago Bears as an
undrafted free agent in 2016.
The Rams signed him to
their practice squad, and he
was promoted to the roster
late in the 2017 season.
With McVay resting
starters in the 2017 regular-
season finale against the
San Francisco 49ers,
Peterson earned a start. He
made the most of the oppor-
tunity, intercepting two
passes by 49ers quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Peterson was looking for-
ward to competing for a
larger role last year, but the
knee injury ended his sea-
son. He set his sights on be-
ing ready for training camp.
“Just aim for training
camp and come out full
blown,” he said. “Go out
there and ball, don’t even
worry about it, get the confi-
dence and everything.“Come into training
camp knowing I’m not wor-
ried about the knee any-
more, I’m just coming out
here playing.”
Talib and Peters have set
the tone for the cornerbacks,
Peterson said.
“They’re leaders; they
know the game like crazy,”
he said. “They’re some of the
best competitors that I’ve
ever been around. They
don’t make excuses about
anything. They just go out
and ball.”
Williams, 26, played in
college at Alabama Birming-
ham and signed with the
Ravens after the 2018 draft.
The Rams claimed him off
waivers last October, and he
played in one game.
McVay said Williams
made an impression last
season during practices
when he worked against the
starting offense as a mem-
ber of the scout team. Now
that he has become accli-
mated to coaches and has
“continuity in the system,”
Williams is thriving. He in-
tercepted a pass in a joint
practice with the Chargers
and played well against the
Raiders.
“His play and his confi-
dence have really shown up,”
McVay said.
Hatfield, 24, played at
Crenshaw High and Utah
before signing with the
Rams as an undrafted free
agent in 2017. He has played
in 21 games, mainly on spe-
cial teams.
Dont’e Deayon and Ra-
mon Richards are other cor-
nerbacks who will play dur-
ing the preseason.Rookies learn ropes
Rams starters will not
play in preseason games, a
boon for rookie offensive
linemen David Edwards
and Bobby Evans.
Each played both tackle
spots and also guard against
the Raiders, a scenario that
probably will repeat Sat-
urday against the Dallas
Cowboys at Aloha Stadium
in Honolulu.
Practicing against team-
mates Aaron Donald, the
two-time NFL defensive
player of the year, and veter-
an Michael Brockerspre-
pared them well, the rookies
said.
“Going against guys like
that,” Evans said, “you ain’t
got no choice but to get bet-
ter.”
Said Edwards: “They’re
the best of the best, right? ...
Those guys are just different
dudes. They definitely do a
really good job of preparing
us because you’re able to try
different stuff, see what
works, and then, hey, if this
works, let’s roll with it.”RAMS REPORTCompetition at
cornerback hot
By Gary KleinThe Chargers were elimi-
nated by the Patriots in the
divisional round of the play-
offs in January. They
reached that point with a se-
ries of late-fourth-quarter
triumphs, the most notable
coming in December at
Pittsburgh and at Kansas
City.
Lynn has said the Char-
gers just as easily could have
been 7-9 instead of 12-4.
They finished tied atop
the AFC West with the
Chiefs, who got the title via a
tiebreaker.
“Everybody always
wants to say Super Bowl, but
I think it starts off with the
division,” cornerback Casey
Haywardsaid. “We have a
really good division. The
Chiefs have won the past
three years, and I think it
starts there.
“We need to try to win our
division and then focus on
everything else after that.
We have the [Indianapolis]
Colts in Week 1, but we’re so
far away from there that we
have a chance to get better
and better each and every
day.”
The Chargers haven’t
won the AFC West since- A division title brings
with it the opportunity to
host at least one playoff
game. Last season, an ex-
tended travel schedule
might have caught up to the
Chargers by mid-January.
With the franchise now
The Chargers are going
to win the next Super Bowl.
At least that’s what
Melvin Ingramannounced
in the spring, the edge
rusher going on an all-out
blitz as a prognosticator.
His bold words during
minicamp were immediately
tempered by coach Anthony
Lynn, who reminded In-
gram and everyone else that
the Chargers didn’t even win
their division last season.
Known for his raging con-
fidence, Ingram was ex-
pressing a desire that per-
meates the team’s locker
room.
Most of the rest of the
Chargers, however, have tak-
en a more measured ap-
proach regarding what will
happen in 2019.
“I think you just look up
and go, ‘Oh, yeah, we’ll just
go out and win 12 games
again,’ ” quarterback Philip
Riverssaid. “That doesn’t
just happen. We also know
how hard it was to win those
12.
“There was a handful
that could’ve gone either
way that we found a way to
do that. I think our guys
know. I think we have the
right attitude. Guys are hun-
gry. We also know how we felt
leaving that locker room in
New England coming up
short.”
approaching a decade since
its most recent postseason
game at home, Rivers indi-
cated he’s more concerned
about building belief than
forecasting how this season
will finish. “It’s a little-by-lit-
tle deal,” he said. “In training
camp, you build it. In meet-
ing rooms, you build it. In the
locker room, you build it.
You build starting in pre-
season games, going against
the Rams in practice, going
against the [New Orleans]
Saints in practice.
“All those things. You
build it as the year goes. I
think that trust, love and to-
getherness is something
that goes. It doesn’t just
stop. ... I think that kind of
carries, as we saw all
through [last] season. It’s
just a matter of going and
doing it.”Search continues
for depth at receiver
After one preseason
game, the Chargers’ search
for needed depth at receiver
continues.
In a 17-13 loss at Arizona
on Thursday, none of the
young contenders did much
to separate from the pack.
Malachi Duprehad two
catches for 32 yards, and Ar-
tavis Scotthad one for three
yards.
Dupre, who appeared in
one game last season with
Arizona, signed in late July.Scott is in his third year with
the Chargers but has not
played in the regular season.
As for the team’s top two
receivers, Keenan Allenhas
been to the Pro Bowl the last
two seasons and Mike
Williamsappears ready to
take another step forward.
A first-round pick in 2017,
Williams said his progres-
sion feels promising in camp.
“The first year, it was
kind of slow. I missed a lot of
time [because of injury],” he
said. “Then the second year,
being out there a lot more, I
got a lot of looks. I got a lot of
balls in my hands, made a lot
of plays.
“I feel like Year 3 is going
to be a lot better. I’m looking
forward to it, and this is what
we are doing right now, get-
ting that chemistry back to
where it was and getting
ready for Year 3.”
Williams finished 2018
with 43 receptions for 664
yards and a team-best 10
touchdowns.Etc.
The Chargers signed de-
fensive end Thomas Costi-
gan, who played at Bryant
University. He took the ros-
ter spot of tight end Andrew
Vollert, who was waived/in-
jured after tearing a knee lig-
ament last week. ... Into the
third week of training camp,
the Chargers had their only
scheduled night practice
Monday in Costa Mesa.TO CHARGERS QUARTERBACKPhilip Rivers, it is more important at this stage to build belief than fore-
cast how the season will finish. “It’s a little-by-little deal. ... You build it as the year goes,” he says.
Allen J. SchabenLos Angeles TimesCHARGERS REPORT
Rivers preaches caution
By Jeff Miller