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I don’t know about you all, but the Clippers should just wear black on their road if they’re trying to win. After getting blasted in preseason away games at Golden State and at Utah, the Clippers switched from red to black and got a win at the new Golden 1 Center, defeating the Sacramento Kings 92-89.
The Clippers led by as many as 21 points, and this served as the last tuneup for Los Angeles until they go to Portland on October 27 to take on the Trail Blazers in their season opener. The win over the Kings evened their preseason record at 3-3. Here’s a quick look at some things from the game:
- Los Angeles PG Chris Paul didn’t do much scoring (8 points, 2-of-6 from the field), but he showed that his thumb is fine, grabbing 4 rebounds to go with a game-high 8 assists and 3 steals. And though Paul wasn’t looking for his shot, he still managed to outscore starting Sacramento PG Garrett Temple (7 points, 3-of-8 FGs).
- Los Angeles SG J.J. Redick had an important bounce-back game, scoring a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Redick also made 3-of-6 threes after missing all 6 threes the night before in Utah. There’s really no need to worry about Redick, an 11-year veteran who was the most accurate three-point shooter in the league a season ago. But he had a slow preseason until Wednesday night, so it’s good for him to get back on track.
- Luc Mbah a Moute started at SF for the Clippers again last night, and I would expect him to be the starter at Portland next week. Mbah a Moute’s impact defensively is why he would be an asset as a starter, but the focus this preseason has been on his offense. He took 8 shots tonight, making 4 of them (including a three) for 9 points. Mbah a Moute took 8+ shots in a game only once all of last season, and he finishes the preseason making 12-of-20 shots from the field (60 percent):
- In all three Clippers wins this preseason, the bench has let the opponent back into the game, only to contain the threat with a close 4th quarter win. I’d understand if it was rookies and training camp invitees playing a role in that nonsense, but Xavier Munford and Dorell Wright were released last week, while 1st round PF Brice Johnson was injured two weeks ago. Tonight, it was a 21-point 4th quarter lead that got all the way down to 3, with the Kings outscoring the Clippers 24-13 in the final period. Los Angeles shot 4-of-16 (25 percent) from the field while Jamal Crawford, Marreese Speights, and Austin Rivers each had 2 turnovers.
Jamal Crawford is the preseason MVP because he kept three different games from going into overtime.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) October 19, 2016
- At least to start the season, the Clippers gave themselves a nice logistical advantage. They are one of four teams to play their preseason finale on October 18, along with the Kings, Cavaliers, and Thunder. But the Cavaliers have ring night on October 25, while the Kings and Thunder will both play on October 26. Oklahoma City also went overseas this preseason. So not only did the Clippers play only 6 preseason games, but they are the only team in the league with 9 days until their season opener. On the other hand, the Trail Blazers play two more preseason games (at Utah, at Golden State) before opening the season at home against the Jazz on October 25. That’s right – Portland plays three games (one that counts) before the Clippers head up north. We’ll see if that means anything next week, especially with none of you being satisfied with the Clippers’ preseason coming into Wednesday night!
Tonight's game in Sacramento is the preseason finale for the Clippers. How do you feel about their preseason?
— ClipperBlog (@clipperblog) October 18, 2016
Yes, the preseason is meaningless, but you can learn things from watching people go through the motions.
The 2nd unit lacks structure and identity. This has been a problem during the entire Doc era. Just look at how Utah’s 2nd unit played. They moved the ball and moved off the ball. They played team basketball.
The Clippers still aren’t using Blake as the initiator of the pick and roll. This is one of the most frustrating failures of any coaching staff in the entire NBA.
If Blake ends up leaving the first thing his new coaching staff will do is use him as a Point Forward in pick and roll action. Mike f**king Dunleavy talked about this very thing 7 years ago.
How does a coaching staff fail to maximize the talent of its franchise player? The Warriors maximized the talent of its 2nd round PF. And people wonder why the Warriors evolved and the Clippers stagnated. It’s not about making 3’s, it’s about getting the most out of your roster.
Having Blake bring the ball up the floor and pass it to CP on the wing only to set a pick for CP isn’t playing Point Forward.
How about setting a f**king pick FOR Blake? It doesn’t just have to be DJ setting the pick. Some of their best action is when a play breaks down and CP ends up setting a pick for Blake.
How this isn’t one of their 3 go-to actions is beyond me and makes the rest of the NBA happy as hell.
For some reason I don’t think BG will leave. I think he’ll stay for the money and Los Angeles and think that the Clippers will build around him.
CP3 will be gone. Maybe they’ll trade CP3 to the bulls for Rondo and someone.
Oh, so now you think Blake will stay?
You’re the same guy who wanted to trade him to Denver.
You’re the same guy who wanted to trade him two months ago to OKC for Enes Kanter.
In the end it doesn’t matter. If the Clippers keep following the exact same script every single year then Doc will be the one who goes.
Blake can take his game to another level if they start setting picks FOR him instead of having him drift further and further away from the rim after he sets the pick.
I’ve been saying this for 3 f**king years now. Once Blake started being a threat with his jumper they should have tried it. But, nope. Still not doing it.
I do think they should trade him, but I also think he’ll stay.
Without CP3 the Clippers become a lottery team. I think BG will stay because of the money, the Clippers will be his team and he’ll believe he can convince players to play with him.
I probably did say before he would leave, but that’s only if he cares about winning. The might be a lot more to gain for him personally by being the sole face of the franchise.
The Clippers were 13-6 without Chris Paul two years ago. That equates to a 55 win season.
The Clippers were starting Darren Collison and Jamal Crawford because J.J. was hurt as well. Blake Griffin finished 3rd in MVP voting that year because he showed how great he was without Chris Paul.
If Chris Paul were to be traded, signed and traded, or left in Free Agency the Clippers would be able to acquire a better starting PG than Darren Collison.
Of course you think the Clippers should trade Blake Griffin, you’re a Lakers fan.
To me, the most interesting thing about the preseason is the Houston Rockets. They’re 5-1. No team is doing better than that and only Golden State is doing as well. They still have one more preseason game at San Antonio, and they really haven’t beaten anybody good. The only good team they played was Memphis and Memphis beat them 134-125, so they still might turn out to be not much. But so far, they’re interesting.
Rockets have a good team and are going to score a lot with Mike D’antoni, probably not the best playoff team, but they’ll win games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them and OKC finish above the Clippers in the standings.
Thanks to Elton Brand for everything he gave to the game and to our LA Clippers!