November 13th – November 19th (1W-1L)
Game 1: [@Denver Nuggets] – [L 108-111]
Key Statistics:
Despite Russ struggling from the field, he and Norm were the only 2 with a positive +/-, yet Russ played the 2nd fewest minutes, only playing more than PJ Tucker.
76.9% of 3ptFGM came off assists, yet to close the game, multiple possessions ended in isolation 3s.
Gave up 58 PITP
Only 10 turnovers, a bright spot since the Harden trade, but the team gave up 19 points off turnovers highlighting the awful defense.
Key Takeaways:
Great effort against a great team, despite poor shooting performance from Kawhi and Russ.
Bones is out of the lineup, even though he was playing his best ball of his young career, Lue played only an 8-man roster that could’ve used another offensive spark at times.
The 4 “stars” were staggered more than in past games, which helps the overall flow on offense, but doesn’t help in late game situations.
PG shot the ball well, until the 4th when he took 5 iso, contested, off-balance 3s… Surely the team could have run a play for PG who was 4/6 from beyond the arc in the first 3 quarters, at least for the final play… the team must do a better job getting easy shots.
Going super small against the most dominant center since Shaq and having to send doubles to the best post-passer of all time should be illegal. Shocking to watch the Nuggets get the easiest buckets all game all in the last 6 min, while the Clippers played iso ball leading to extremely contested shots. Lue stated he was encouraged by the small ball lineup… no clue what 4th quarter he watched. THERE IS NO POINT TO SMALL BALL IF YOU PLAY ISO.
Game 2: [Houston Rockets] – [W 106-100]
Key Statistics:
Only 17 min for Russ…
Gave up 52 PITP, 19 fastbreak points, and 26 points off turnovers
Key Takeaways:
It was an ugly possession that led to it, but Harden hitting the clutch 3 was lovely to see. Harden’s best game as a Clipper by far leading the team in +/- for the first time
Would love to see Kawhi set himself apart, other than the Lakers game, Leonard has been extremely passive even when shooting the ball well.
Signing Danel Theis should take the center load off Zu while Mason is on the shelf, and should keep Ty from overusing the super small lineup.
This was the best defensive game since Harden’s arrival and, hopefully, a good sign of what’s to come.
Big Picture:
The Clippers won a game with Harden, a clutch game too! It wasn’t pretty, but it was nice to see Harden playing with confidence. Very disappointed with Ty Lue’s treatment of Russ since the Harden trade, add on the rumors swirling about how the front office never had faith in Russ as a lead guard and always planned on having Harden take over the reins. Westbrook has been the shining light of this team since he joined late last year. His leadership and energy are intoxicating as a fan, and it’s obvious that if he is thriving, the team thrives around him. This was the case last year when he joined, during the postseason, and early to start this regular season. Even during bad games, Russell’s head is held high and he is playing at 110%… What an absolute saint he is to volunteer to play off the bench knowing the team needed a change (even though Harden fits even better in that type of role, see the last 3 blog posts or listen to ESPN’s Zach Lowe on the issue). Ty Lue has talked multiple times about how the team is learning how to play with Harden at the head, which sounds ridiculous. It should not be Kawhi, PG, Russ, and the rest of the team sacrificing to play with Harden, it should be Harden sacrificing to play with them. While it was against lesser opponents, the Clippers looked the best they had in years before the trade happened, they played with energy, pace, and defensive intensity and it would be very encouraging to see that return.
The Clippers now hold the top spot in isolation frequency, despite only avr 1.00ppp. The Clippers are still the worst team in transition.
What to Expect Next Week:
4 Games, Monday @ Spurs, Wednesday @ Spurs, Friday vs Pelicans, Saturday vs Mavericks
The 2 games against the Spurs should be the exact type of games to follow up Friday’s win against the Rockets with 2 more. The team’s first game against the Spurs was a perfect game and it will be hard to replicate, but decisive wins are expected and a must to get back on track after the 6 game losing streak. The Clippers then have a back-to-back against some tough Western Conference teams. The team matches up well against the Pels, who are not a very strong shooting team, so the Clippers should have no excuse for defensive rotations. And lastly, the team plays a rematch against Luka and the Mavs who embarrassed the Clippers earlier. While it’s the second half of a back-to-back, there is no excuse to let the Mavs cruise past them. Not expecting a win, but absolutely expecting a fight.
Feel free to join the discussion, and share your questions, thoughts, and predictions on the team this week, or the upcoming games for next week in the comments below.
West Coast Hoops 