He’s perfectly fine is the word from team sources. Taylor injured his knee Saturday night at Houston and had to be helped off the court, though he returned to the game in the third quarter.
Taylor has been a dynamic, dizzying force for the Clips in the dregs of spring basketball. His size will continue to present challenges defensively, and he’s not a natural distributor — but he’s also only 22 years old. There’s no reason to believe that more minutes, a little time at guard camp, and a productive summer league won’t improve those skills.
So far as his efficiency, he’s jumped from a 6.0 to a 10.43 on Hollinger’s PER scale in a matter of days. I know Hollinger takes a lot of flack in these parts for being less than generous to the Clippers as a franchise, but the man’s system is the most accurate metric right now in the advanced basketball analytics world. There simply isn’t an NBA statistician out there who is more right, more often.
What accounts for Taylor’s jump up the scale? I think it’s akin to a major leaguer with a limited number of plate appearances who goes on a tear. When a batter is 15 for 80 on the season with 5 walks, his OBP is a meager .235. If he goes 8 for his next 12, with 3 walks, that OBP balloons to .310 less than a week later.
