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The 16-6 Los Angeles Clippers come to town at the end of a road trip to play their third game in four nights and second game of a back-to-back. Last night they lost 124-120 in Brooklyn with their stars playing heavy minutes. Whether they all play tonight is the question.
From SportsLine.com:
Kawhi Leonard has finally accepted playing both ends of a back-to-back for the Los Angeles Clippers and Paul George has done so this season, but don't be shocked if Coach Ty Lue sits one or both of them in a huge trap/letdown game possibility Wednesday night in Cleveland. The Cavs are listing center Andre Drummond, who is playing at an All-Star level, as questionable.
The Clippers played one of the marquee games of the regular season Tuesday night in a potential NBA Finals preview at the Brooklyn Nets and lost 124-120 as 1.5-point betting favorites (I recommended Brooklyn). Leonard had 33 points but played 39 minutes (tying a season high) and George had 26 points in 36 minutes. Add that heavy workload to the fact that Wednesday is the finale of a six-game road trip through the Eastern Conference, and, well, this writer will be very surprised if Lue doesn't rest at least one of his stars.
I believe Nance has been ruled out for the Cavs.
From The Athletic (which ranks the Clippers #2 in their Power Poll):
The offense of the LA Clippers has been ridiculous, and the early season defensive problems are long gone. Clippers have won nine of their last 10 games, and during that stretch, they’ve gone from having the 23rd-ranked defense in the first 10 games to having the fifth-best defense in the next 11 games. That brings them all the way to tied for 10th in defense on the season and climbing. They’re shooting the 3-pointer better than any other team in the NBA, and their two stars are playing MVP level to start out the season. Ty Lue has these guys destroying right now.
Needs a makeup assignment: They technically need another creator at some point. Ball movement has been great, and the stars have shined. The Clippers will need Lou Williams or somebody else to create some easy buckets down the road.
Why are they ranked here? The Clippers are rolling and capable of grabbing No. 1 soon. Can’t crush them for losing to Atlanta without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George but can’t boost them either.
So the question is whether they sit George or Leonard or both. After playing 39 minutes last night I won’t be surprised if Kawhi sits this one out.
The Clippers have an older team. Lou Williams, averaging under 10 ppg this year, is 34. Nick Batum and Reggie Jackson, both starters, are 32 and 30. Batum played 38 minutes last night and Jackson 35. Marcus Morris Sr, who played 31 minutes last night off the bench, is 31.
Leonard had 33 points last night against the Nets but was outdone by Kyrie Irving who had 39 on 15-for-23 from the field. Durant was 11-for-13 for 28 points and Harden had a line of 23/11/14 as the Nets’ starts outshone the Clippers’ stars.
Leonard is having another great year with a line of 26.3/5.2/5.4 and is shooting 50.7%. Paul George has a very similar line and is hitting 45.3% of his three-point attempts. Last night Leonard, George, Batum and Morris combined for 96 of their 120 points. They’re a top-heavy, star-dependent team so if any of their stars sits out it might open the door for the Cavs, who were off yesterday.
The Clippers are 7th in points per game but only 26th in points in the paint and 22nd in fast break points. They like to score from deep, ranking 12th in 3-point rate and 1st in 3-point percentage at 41.6%. You can’t give them open 3’s. They have seven players not on the injured list who are shooting north of 39% on 3’s.
To have a shot the Cavs need to aggressively defend the perimeter and if they get beat off the dribble count on Allen, McGee or Drummond (if he plays) to defend the layup. These older guys playing their third game in four nights at the end of a road trip are going to want to shoot 3’s all night. The Clippers rank 23rd in free throw attempts per possession, suggesting they don’t love to attack the rim.
Kyrie got 39 last night on 23 shots. I don’t know who was guarding him but Sexton could have a good game given his quickness and the age and possible fatigue factor of the Clippers. Their starting PG, Patrick Beverly, was out last night with a knee injury - no word yet on tonight. His backup, Reggie Jackson, is 30 and played 35 minutes last night.
Defensively the Clippers are 4th in opponents’ points per game. Serge Ibaka, age 31, starts at center but only averages 25 minutes. The Clippers are an excellent defensive rebounding team, ranking 2nd in rebound percentage.
So I guess it comes down to whether Drummond plays for the Cavs, whether Leonard and/or George gets the night off, and how tired the rest of the 30-somethings are playing their third match in four days and coming off heavy minutes in Brooklyn last night. The Clippers are playing their sixth game in nine days, all on the road, and they don’t have young legs anymore. The ages of their starters last night were 32, 30, 31, 30, and 29. The main guys off the bench were 31, 34, and 23.
I agree with SportsLine - with the Clippers at the end of a road trip and looking forward to getting home, this could be a huge letdown/trap game. The Cavs need to bring youthful intensity right from the jump and make it clear that if the Clippers want a W they’re going to have to fight tooth and nail for 48 minutes. They might not think it's worth the effort.
The Cavs need to run as much as possible to force the Clippers to get up and down the court. The plan should be to come at them in waves and run them off their feet. In the halfcourt offense keeping moving the ball from sideline to sideline, making them play defense. Get them so tired their 3-point shots aren’t falling and they have to desire to take it to the rim against our bigs.
On another subject, Fred Van Vleet of the Raptors scored 54 points last night, an NBA record for an undrafted player. Van Vleet is listed at 6'1", 197. Darius Garland is 6'1", 192. FVV will be 27 this month and is in his 5th year in the league. I've said before that I can see some VanVleet in Garland - chunky little point gaurds who can shoot and pass. Once Garland figures out when he can get his shot off and when he can't he has a chance to be another FVV or even a little more.
From SportsLine.com:
Kawhi Leonard has finally accepted playing both ends of a back-to-back for the Los Angeles Clippers and Paul George has done so this season, but don't be shocked if Coach Ty Lue sits one or both of them in a huge trap/letdown game possibility Wednesday night in Cleveland. The Cavs are listing center Andre Drummond, who is playing at an All-Star level, as questionable.
The Clippers played one of the marquee games of the regular season Tuesday night in a potential NBA Finals preview at the Brooklyn Nets and lost 124-120 as 1.5-point betting favorites (I recommended Brooklyn). Leonard had 33 points but played 39 minutes (tying a season high) and George had 26 points in 36 minutes. Add that heavy workload to the fact that Wednesday is the finale of a six-game road trip through the Eastern Conference, and, well, this writer will be very surprised if Lue doesn't rest at least one of his stars.
I believe Nance has been ruled out for the Cavs.
From The Athletic (which ranks the Clippers #2 in their Power Poll):
The offense of the LA Clippers has been ridiculous, and the early season defensive problems are long gone. Clippers have won nine of their last 10 games, and during that stretch, they’ve gone from having the 23rd-ranked defense in the first 10 games to having the fifth-best defense in the next 11 games. That brings them all the way to tied for 10th in defense on the season and climbing. They’re shooting the 3-pointer better than any other team in the NBA, and their two stars are playing MVP level to start out the season. Ty Lue has these guys destroying right now.
Needs a makeup assignment: They technically need another creator at some point. Ball movement has been great, and the stars have shined. The Clippers will need Lou Williams or somebody else to create some easy buckets down the road.
Why are they ranked here? The Clippers are rolling and capable of grabbing No. 1 soon. Can’t crush them for losing to Atlanta without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George but can’t boost them either.
So the question is whether they sit George or Leonard or both. After playing 39 minutes last night I won’t be surprised if Kawhi sits this one out.
The Clippers have an older team. Lou Williams, averaging under 10 ppg this year, is 34. Nick Batum and Reggie Jackson, both starters, are 32 and 30. Batum played 38 minutes last night and Jackson 35. Marcus Morris Sr, who played 31 minutes last night off the bench, is 31.
Leonard had 33 points last night against the Nets but was outdone by Kyrie Irving who had 39 on 15-for-23 from the field. Durant was 11-for-13 for 28 points and Harden had a line of 23/11/14 as the Nets’ starts outshone the Clippers’ stars.
Leonard is having another great year with a line of 26.3/5.2/5.4 and is shooting 50.7%. Paul George has a very similar line and is hitting 45.3% of his three-point attempts. Last night Leonard, George, Batum and Morris combined for 96 of their 120 points. They’re a top-heavy, star-dependent team so if any of their stars sits out it might open the door for the Cavs, who were off yesterday.
The Clippers are 7th in points per game but only 26th in points in the paint and 22nd in fast break points. They like to score from deep, ranking 12th in 3-point rate and 1st in 3-point percentage at 41.6%. You can’t give them open 3’s. They have seven players not on the injured list who are shooting north of 39% on 3’s.
To have a shot the Cavs need to aggressively defend the perimeter and if they get beat off the dribble count on Allen, McGee or Drummond (if he plays) to defend the layup. These older guys playing their third game in four nights at the end of a road trip are going to want to shoot 3’s all night. The Clippers rank 23rd in free throw attempts per possession, suggesting they don’t love to attack the rim.
Kyrie got 39 last night on 23 shots. I don’t know who was guarding him but Sexton could have a good game given his quickness and the age and possible fatigue factor of the Clippers. Their starting PG, Patrick Beverly, was out last night with a knee injury - no word yet on tonight. His backup, Reggie Jackson, is 30 and played 35 minutes last night.
Defensively the Clippers are 4th in opponents’ points per game. Serge Ibaka, age 31, starts at center but only averages 25 minutes. The Clippers are an excellent defensive rebounding team, ranking 2nd in rebound percentage.
So I guess it comes down to whether Drummond plays for the Cavs, whether Leonard and/or George gets the night off, and how tired the rest of the 30-somethings are playing their third match in four days and coming off heavy minutes in Brooklyn last night. The Clippers are playing their sixth game in nine days, all on the road, and they don’t have young legs anymore. The ages of their starters last night were 32, 30, 31, 30, and 29. The main guys off the bench were 31, 34, and 23.
I agree with SportsLine - with the Clippers at the end of a road trip and looking forward to getting home, this could be a huge letdown/trap game. The Cavs need to bring youthful intensity right from the jump and make it clear that if the Clippers want a W they’re going to have to fight tooth and nail for 48 minutes. They might not think it's worth the effort.
The Cavs need to run as much as possible to force the Clippers to get up and down the court. The plan should be to come at them in waves and run them off their feet. In the halfcourt offense keeping moving the ball from sideline to sideline, making them play defense. Get them so tired their 3-point shots aren’t falling and they have to desire to take it to the rim against our bigs.
On another subject, Fred Van Vleet of the Raptors scored 54 points last night, an NBA record for an undrafted player. Van Vleet is listed at 6'1", 197. Darius Garland is 6'1", 192. FVV will be 27 this month and is in his 5th year in the league. I've said before that I can see some VanVleet in Garland - chunky little point gaurds who can shoot and pass. Once Garland figures out when he can get his shot off and when he can't he has a chance to be another FVV or even a little more.
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