A Long March Finally Dooms the Clippers
On a positive note, the Clippers played more games than any other team in the NBA in March.
In 14 games and no more than one day off in between, their record stood at 8-6. The Clippers were among the league’s top offenses, averaging nearly 124 PPG. Kawhi continued his streak of 20-point games, Darius Garland shone as our offensive leader, and it looked like we had another lock for a 6th man of the future in Benedict Mathurin. And… maybe that is all true. However, in the last two games against the Blazers and Spurs, respectively, we sadly looked like a shadow of that team at home. Was it exhaustion? Probably. The Spurs are also a solidly cohesive team with or without Wemby. The Blazers? Also, not scrubs.
More than anything, our lack of a backup center and a reliable, perennial 2nd All-Star was exposed.
Yes, DG was an All-Star, but he is going to have to prove it to convince me he’s a lock there. Brook Lopez turned 38 years old during this stretch, and there’s nothing but love and respect for his performance and effort. We know that what we are asking of him as our starter is a lot at this point, but without a backup, it’s really too much. Nic Batum gave us what he could, but again, he is 38.
That brings me to John Collins, who Ty Lue is trotting out as our small-ball center.
Collins has improved a lot on the defensive end for us, but he’s still a barely average defender and leaves us exposed at the rim. He often loses track of his man and struggles to keep up with smaller players along the perimeter. Lue mentioned the lack of practice for that small-ball unit, and is not sure whether that’s the issue or just a manpower issue. We should get a glimpse of this in the upcoming Kings game.
The Blazers are currently LA’s main rivals for the 8th seed, and blowing that game felt like one of the biggest losses of the season.
It ensured we would not have the tiebreaker. We do play them one more time, so hopefully we can find a way to overcome our lack of size and amp up our physicality. Offensively, in both games, their perimeter defense seemed smothering, exposing our reliance on dribble penetration and Mathurin’s ability to attack and draw fouls.
In the Spurs game, no Clipper could contain Deni Avdija from anywhere on the court, and Jrue Holiday dropped a season high 7 threes on our perimeter defense. Darius Garland struggled mightily with turnovers and offense in both games. In the loss to the Blazers, he had 20 points but shot 7-for-17, and in the Spurs game, he scored 11.
Tomer Azarly, Clutch Points Reporter:
“Darius Garland left before the locker room was open to media today, making it a second straight game he left without speaking. Garland shot 12-of-34 in the last 2 games with 6 turnovers in back-to-back Clippers losses.”
DG has to be better for this team to succeed, particularly in making quick decisions with the ball and avoiding turnovers.
If he wants to be a long-term leader of this team, he should also consider walking away from criticism by leaving before questions arise.
No one likes to talk after a loss, but leaders step up. He can be one, but it starts with being the face of the franchise in good and bad times.
We move on to the Kings next, with a strong feeling that rest and practice will do the Clippers good.
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Categorized:Clippers