There I go again trying to take credit for Michael Shagrin’s recap. Apologies. These are Michael’s thoughts. – D.J.
This game will be talked about. It will be talked about a lot. So many narratives were eloquently parsed together in this game, from the ascension of the Clippers, to the lack of true post play for the Thunder, and finally on to Blake Griffin checking another box on his OKC hit list. The Clippers played near their ceiling, so tonight’s Two Takeaways double as what a highly functioning Clippers team should look like in the Playoffs.
The Clippers came on strong in the fourth, but the Grizzlies were able to hold on to the win, 94-85. Here’s Andrew Han breaking down what it means:
The Clippers didn’t do a whole lot right versus the Grizzlies in a 94-85 loss. But that’s not where we’re starting. We’re beginning with the key positive from the game: the Clippers, with 6:58 left in the fourth quarter, managed to cut a 17 point Memphis lead to 3 points. Within that 19-5 run, a lineup of Paul-Bledsoe-Butler-Griffin-
The Clippers are peaking at the right time (that’s so Chris Paul) as they head towards the final stretch of the regular season. Our guy Michael Shagrin takes a look at what happened in last night’s blowout victory.
Coming off the first five game winning streak since 2006, the Clippers were as hungry on both ends of the court tonight as they had been all season. During the undefeated home stand, the Clippers scrapped together victories in spite their failing to overcome the deficiencies that have plagued the team all season. In just the last two games, the Clippers demonstrated swiss cheese interior defense against Utah, and a reliance on the CP3 Houdini act against a Portland squad missing LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Clippers finished off their homestand undefeated by taking care of the Jazz, 105-96. Here’s Nick Flynt with the Lob City Ledger over at ESPNLA.com:
In the first half, Griffin dominated his matchup against Paul Millsap offensively by forcing the issue in the post with awkward flip shots and quick passes when the defense sagged to help. In the second half, however, Griffin found himself frustrated on both ends against Millsap’s raised aggression. Overall, a solid but unbalanced effort.