RECAP: Clippers Can’t Find Their Groove Against Portland Trail Blazers, 116-97
One could say that the Blazers are a bad matchup for the Clippers. They are long and quick against a team with only one active center on our roster.
One could say the Clippers had a very long stretch of games and were fatigued.
But none of that matters when the other team simply wants it more.
That was the case in an embarrassing 116-97 defeat for the Clippers.
Deni Avdija and Jrue Holiday both seemed to want the win more than the entire Clippers roster. We came out with some fight, but never did it consistently. Play after play, the Blazers beat us to loose balls and rebounds. One bright spot for the Clips was the tenacious defense and scrappiness of Jordan Miller. It’s great to see him get regular minutes, and it’s well deserved. His ceiling is still quite high as he seems to figure out how to dodge defenses with more savvy every game.
Brook Lopez, aka “Splash Mountain”, played with his whole heart and all 7’1″ of him. He is consistent, willing to do whatever it takes, and competes hard every night.
Kawhi managed to get another 20-plus point game, continuing his record. He had 24 points and 8 rebounds, but for a guy who will likely make the All-NBA First Team, we needed more in that fourth quarter, especially on defense.
Darius Garland was mostly ineffective towards the end of the game, though he did finish with 19. Benedict Mathurin is in some kind of slump. I can’t tell if it’s a nagging injury or a lack of confidence, but he doesn’t look like the same player he’s been for us since he joined the team. He’s hesitant with his shots, and his decision-making has been awful.
Unfortunately, the rest of the team couldn’t do much to stop the massive run Portland went on in the 4th. Avdija dominated the game with a massive 35 points, 15 of which came in the fourth to seal the 116-97 victory. This loss puts us in a tie for 8th with Portland and, unfortunately, gives them the tiebreaker. Number 9 is likely where we land now.
We will have to win two games in a row to stay in the playoff hunt.
The good news? We have overcome much worse odds than that.
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