Spiraling Clippers face make-or-break road trip

The Los Angeles Clippers' season is off to a disappointing 3-8 start despite playing eight of their first 11 games at home. Friday, they'll embark on an 11-day, seven-game road trip that could salvage — or doom — their dreams of contending.

On their road trip, the Clippers will travel nearly 7,000 miles, on a trip that includes two back-to-back games for their struggling team. They'll do it without two starters. Bradley Beal is out for the season with a hip injury, while Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely with injuries to his ankle and foot.

The L.A. Clippers are relying heavily on James Harden

While the season is only a month old, the Clippers are in danger of falling well behind in the Western Conference standings. They're in 12th place despite a home-heavy schedule and have lost six straight games. The Dallas Mavericks, who they play Friday, have had a disastrous season that saw them fire their general manager this week — and they're only a half-game behind the Clippers.

With two players out, the Clippers have been leaning on 36-year-old James Harden, who has played 35.6 minutes per game in November. As always, Harden is doing damage from the foul line, where he's 21-for-23 in his last five games, but he's also shooting 40.8 percent on threes and averaging 25 points. Even with Harden, the Clippers are second-to-last in the NBA in free-throw attempts.

The Clippers' only other outside shooting threat at volume is Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is nursing some injuries. They're getting a consistent double-double from center Ivica Zubac, but he's also responsible for anchoring the defense — one that fell apart against Nikola Jokic on Wednesday.