Game #2: LAC @ JAZZ [0-1] Friday 10/27 6:30 PM—CHANNEL 5 [NOTE TIME]

[og15]

That was a tough game and Utah played excellent at home. No need for doom & gloom. We didn’t play all that great and still almost won. Would love to have that last sequence back or even the last few seconds & have Westbrook pass it to Batum for the 3. Oh well. I think there’s still a few games left in this season??

I don't think most realize that Utah is pretty Jekyll and Hyde with home and away. Like I said, last season, they were 20-13 at home when Lauri played. They were also 12-21 on the road with him. They go from a 50 win team at home to a lottery team on the road. Altitude might help, sure, but losing to this current iteration of them at home is not equivalent to losing to a "not very good team".

[KL2]

What superstar hasn’t been locked up from someone they shouldn’t ever be locked up by? It wasn’t Leonard’s finest play but it’ll likely happen again before he hangs them up. The thing about superstars is how they respond to something like this? Leonard usually makes you forget it happened. What other player on the team knows what it takes to win a championship? He’ll frustrate the hell out of you at times but I like our chances with the ball in his hands than not?

Same goes for the team. Sunday will be telling if they correct the mistakes and practice what they’ve preached all camp or have another season of bad habits.

Same goes for the coach. All the talk about getting younger and more athletic only to rely on the old guys as if his job depends on it. Or boasting of a new offense only to rely on the predictable old?

Everyone has something to prove on this team

[esqtvd]

That was a tough game and Utah played excellent at home. No need for doom & gloom. We didn’t play all that great and still almost won. Would love to have that last sequence back or even the last few seconds & have Westbrook pass it to Batum for the 3. Oh well. I think there’s still a few games left in this season??

I don't think most realize that Utah is pretty Jekyll and Hyde with home and away. Like I said, last season, they were 20-13 at home when Lauri played. They were also 12-21 on the road with him. They go from a 50 win team at home to a lottery team on the road. Altitude might help, sure, but losing to this current iteration of them at home is not equivalent to losing to a "not very good team".

I'm more concerned about Kawhi's brain-dead last possession, Zubac's 2 rebs in 20 minutes, Russ's 4 asst/5 TOs, and Batum having to go 30 minutes.

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

[Bobbymcgee]

When Russ isn't doing well, the team reverts to Leonard and George taking turns bailing out the team because no one else is involved. This is why I want to see Harden on the team. He can play point guard and shoot the ball as well. With Harden, the Clippers should be fine having a never-ending black hole at the PF spot. In fact, I think with Leonard, George, and Harden on the floor together, whoever plays PF should be pretty wide-open.

[og15]

That was a tough game and Utah played excellent at home. No need for doom & gloom. We didn’t play all that great and still almost won. Would love to have that last sequence back or even the last few seconds & have Westbrook pass it to Batum for the 3. Oh well. I think there’s still a few games left in this season??

I don't think most realize that Utah is pretty Jekyll and Hyde with home and away. Like I said, last season, they were 20-13 at home when Lauri played. They were also 12-21 on the road with him. They go from a 50 win team at home to a lottery team on the road. Altitude might help, sure, but losing to this current iteration of them at home is not equivalent to losing to a "not very good team".

I'm more concerned about Kawhi's brain-dead last possession, Zubac's 2 rebs in 20 minutes, Russ's 4 asst/5 TOs, and Batum having to go 30 minutes.

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Yea, those were not great results, but since it's just one game, not much to say at this moment.

Lots of things can happen in one game, so I don't really get concerned about statistics in one game. Some games you'll suck on the glass, some games you'll miss open shots, some games you'll turn it over. I'll be concerned if consistent patterns develop, not if something happens in a single game.

When we're at 15-20 games we'll see if there are any patterns developing, and it won't be until at least 10 games before we start getting any real picture.

I know it happens every year and it will still happen this year because people can't help it, but there's just not much purpose in making proclamations from every single game over the first 10-15, good or bad.

Obviously we can't make a conclusion on a player based on one two games, it's about the big picture and consistency. Every teams role players are going to have none statistically impressive games. Jazz have a 7'1 C, a 7'0 PF and a 6'9 SF, and a 6'11 backup big, so they certainly can be a tough rebounding matchup.

Both teams had 14 tov, Clippers in the big picture lost the game on the glass. Okay, something to think about and learn from, maybe it was a matchup to go with more size, maybe not, but the first games are also where you learn and adjust.

We all know Russ is turnover prone, it's not going away because he's shooting less. We also know that while he's a playmaker, he's not a game manager, so he's not the guy that's going to settle guys down and organize everyone if things start getting out of hand. He's just kinda go, go. The high turnover games are going to happen, we just hope they are fewer and further between, that's all.

Rebounding wise, if Zubac or Roco are not rebounding consistently over 10, 15 games, okay, but obviously Zubac has grabbed like 12-13 rebs/36 for the last 6 years, so he's not going to forget how to rebound. Even 02-03 Ben Wallace had multiple single rebound games playing 30+ minutes, so yea, Zubac might have a low rebound game, it's basketball, it happens.

Covington was too small on the glass in this one. He played 19 minutes, so only so much time to accumulate stats. He's not really going to be a guy we primarily judge his impact by scoring. He's a catch and shoot, cut and roll once in a while guy, sometimes they will miss more of their open shots and they won't score much, sometimes they will make a lot. Consistent scoring is not the expectation for this type of player. He made some solid second passes, he had active hands like he always does, and he did compete on the glass but Utah was too big. That's fine.

[esqtvd]

I don't think most realize that Utah is pretty Jekyll and Hyde with home and away. Like I said, last season, they were 20-13 at home when Lauri played. They were also 12-21 on the road with him. They go from a 50 win team at home to a lottery team on the road. Altitude might help, sure, but losing to this current iteration of them at home is not equivalent to losing to a "not very good team".

I'm more concerned about Kawhi's brain-dead last possession, Zubac's 2 rebs in 20 minutes, Russ's 4 asst/5 TOs, and Batum having to go 30 minutes.

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Yea, those were not great results, but since it's just one game, not much to say at this moment.

Lots of things can happen in one game, so I don't really get concerned about statistics in one game. Some games you'll suck on the glass, some games you'll miss open shots, some games you'll turn it over. I'll be concerned if consistent patterns develop, not if something happens in a single game.

When we're at 15-20 games we'll see if there are any patterns developing, and it won't be until at least 10 games before we start getting any real picture.

I know it happens every year and it will still happen this year because people can't help it, but there's just not much purpose in making proclamations from every single game over the first 10-15, good or bad.

Obviously we can't make a conclusion on a player based on one two games, it's about the big picture and consistency. Every teams role players are going to have none statistically impressive games. Jazz have a 7'1 C, a 7'0 PF and a 6'9 SF, and a 6'11 backup big, so they certainly can be a tough rebounding matchup.

Both teams had 14 tov, Clippers in the big picture lost the game on the glass. Okay, something to think about and learn from, maybe it was a matchup to go with more size, maybe not, but the first games are also where you learn and adjust.

We all know Russ is turnover prone, it's not going away because he's shooting less. We also know that while he's a playmaker, he's not a game manager, so he's not the guy that's going to settle guys down and organize everyone if things start getting out of hand. He's just kinda go, go. The high turnover games are going to happen, we just hope they are fewer and further between, that's all.

Rebounding wise, if Zubac or Roco are not rebounding consistently over 10, 15 games, okay, but obviously Zubac has grabbed like 12-13 rebs/36 for the last 6 years, so he's not going to forget how to rebound. Even 02-03 Ben Wallace had multiple single rebound games playing 30+ minutes, so yea, Zubac might have a low rebound game, it's basketball, it happens.

Covington was too small on the glass in this one. He played 19 minutes, so only so much time to accumulate stats. He's not really going to be a guy we primarily judge his impact by scoring. He's a catch and shoot, cut and roll once in a while guy, sometimes they will miss more of their open shots and they won't score much, sometimes they will make a lot. Consistent scoring is not the expectation for this type of player. He made some solid second passes, he had active hands like he always does, and he did compete on the glass but Utah was too big. That's fine.

Key graf:

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Make or miss game, that's a fact. Sometimes it ain't your night. But we outshot them. And 6th man Powell went for 20.

PG was in All-Star form and Kawhi still got his numbers.


Most of the rest I didn't like. The parts under OUR control. Rebounding effort, TOs. And I didn't mention Plumlee, a team-worst minus-11 in only 12 minutes. He was a major straggler in plus/minus last year too. RoCo was 2nd-worst at minus-6, despite being a starter with team-best Kawhi [+9] and PG [+3].

Say what you want about plus/minus, but when you're the WORST, you have nobody else to point the finger at.

[og15]

I'm more concerned about Kawhi's brain-dead last possession, Zubac's 2 rebs in 20 minutes, Russ's 4 asst/5 TOs, and Batum having to go 30 minutes.

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Yea, those were not great results, but since it's just one game, not much to say at this moment.

Lots of things can happen in one game, so I don't really get concerned about statistics in one game. Some games you'll suck on the glass, some games you'll miss open shots, some games you'll turn it over. I'll be concerned if consistent patterns develop, not if something happens in a single game.

When we're at 15-20 games we'll see if there are any patterns developing, and it won't be until at least 10 games before we start getting any real picture.

I know it happens every year and it will still happen this year because people can't help it, but there's just not much purpose in making proclamations from every single game over the first 10-15, good or bad.

Obviously we can't make a conclusion on a player based on one two games, it's about the big picture and consistency. Every teams role players are going to have none statistically impressive games. Jazz have a 7'1 C, a 7'0 PF and a 6'9 SF, and a 6'11 backup big, so they certainly can be a tough rebounding matchup.

Both teams had 14 tov, Clippers in the big picture lost the game on the glass. Okay, something to think about and learn from, maybe it was a matchup to go with more size, maybe not, but the first games are also where you learn and adjust.

We all know Russ is turnover prone, it's not going away because he's shooting less. We also know that while he's a playmaker, he's not a game manager, so he's not the guy that's going to settle guys down and organize everyone if things start getting out of hand. He's just kinda go, go. The high turnover games are going to happen, we just hope they are fewer and further between, that's all.

Rebounding wise, if Zubac or Roco are not rebounding consistently over 10, 15 games, okay, but obviously Zubac has grabbed like 12-13 rebs/36 for the last 6 years, so he's not going to forget how to rebound. Even 02-03 Ben Wallace had multiple single rebound games playing 30+ minutes, so yea, Zubac might have a low rebound game, it's basketball, it happens.

Covington was too small on the glass in this one. He played 19 minutes, so only so much time to accumulate stats. He's not really going to be a guy we primarily judge his impact by scoring. He's a catch and shoot, cut and roll once in a while guy, sometimes they will miss more of their open shots and they won't score much, sometimes they will make a lot. Consistent scoring is not the expectation for this type of player. He made some solid second passes, he had active hands like he always does, and he did compete on the glass but Utah was too big. That's fine.

Key graf:

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Make or miss game, that's a fact. Sometimes it ain't your night. But we outshot them. And 6th man Powell went for 20.

PG was in All-Star form and Kawhi still got his numbers.


Most of the rest I didn't like. The parts under OUR control. Rebounding effort, TOs. And I didn't mention Plumlee, a team-worst minus-11 in only 12 minutes. He was a major straggler in plus/minus last year too. RoCo was 2nd-worst at minus-6, despite being a starter with team-best Kawhi [+9] and PG [+3].

Say what you want about plus/minus, but when you're the WORST, you have nobody else to point the finger at.

Actually when you are the worst, you can point at the coach for playing you with the weakest lineup(s) of the night, the other team for going on a run in your minutes, or your team for going cold in your minutes lol. Many places to point

Luckily for an individual, this isn't tennis, and +/- is a 10 player based stat and a lineup dependent number that is very noisy in one game, and even large samples requires context of role, lineups played with, etc to know what it is suggesting.

The same player with good starters all the time can be a constant positive, but if you play then with mediocre bench units all the time, they become a consistent negative without actually changing their play or impact, quite wild.

In the playoffs vs Phoenix, Plumlee was with positive lineups 3/5 games, neutral in one and only negative in one. The lineups he played with were negative in 9/23 regular season games as a Clipper, don't really see where problem we're supposed to be worried about. Since he was mainly a bench guy it, if your bench units are giving you + in 52% of games and + or even in 60% of games, that's a win.

[esqtvd]

Yea, those were not great results, but since it's just one game, not much to say at this moment.

Lots of things can happen in one game, so I don't really get concerned about statistics in one game. Some games you'll suck on the glass, some games you'll miss open shots, some games you'll turn it over. I'll be concerned if consistent patterns develop, not if something happens in a single game.

When we're at 15-20 games we'll see if there are any patterns developing, and it won't be until at least 10 games before we start getting any real picture.

I know it happens every year and it will still happen this year because people can't help it, but there's just not much purpose in making proclamations from every single game over the first 10-15, good or bad.

Obviously we can't make a conclusion on a player based on one two games, it's about the big picture and consistency. Every teams role players are going to have none statistically impressive games. Jazz have a 7'1 C, a 7'0 PF and a 6'9 SF, and a 6'11 backup big, so they certainly can be a tough rebounding matchup.

Both teams had 14 tov, Clippers in the big picture lost the game on the glass. Okay, something to think about and learn from, maybe it was a matchup to go with more size, maybe not, but the first games are also where you learn and adjust.

We all know Russ is turnover prone, it's not going away because he's shooting less. We also know that while he's a playmaker, he's not a game manager, so he's not the guy that's going to settle guys down and organize everyone if things start getting out of hand. He's just kinda go, go. The high turnover games are going to happen, we just hope they are fewer and further between, that's all.

Rebounding wise, if Zubac or Roco are not rebounding consistently over 10, 15 games, okay, but obviously Zubac has grabbed like 12-13 rebs/36 for the last 6 years, so he's not going to forget how to rebound. Even 02-03 Ben Wallace had multiple single rebound games playing 30+ minutes, so yea, Zubac might have a low rebound game, it's basketball, it happens.

Covington was too small on the glass in this one. He played 19 minutes, so only so much time to accumulate stats. He's not really going to be a guy we primarily judge his impact by scoring. He's a catch and shoot, cut and roll once in a while guy, sometimes they will miss more of their open shots and they won't score much, sometimes they will make a lot. Consistent scoring is not the expectation for this type of player. He made some solid second passes, he had active hands like he always does, and he did compete on the glass but Utah was too big. That's fine.

Key graf:

Plus the Jazz shooting only 44% and getting the W despite us shooting 53%. Once again, a team that's less than the sum of its parts. Better hope T-Mann is some x-factor beyond his numbers because RoCo [4 pts, 2 asst, 1 reb] isn't the answer.

Make or miss game, that's a fact. Sometimes it ain't your night. But we outshot them. And 6th man Powell went for 20.

PG was in All-Star form and Kawhi still got his numbers.


Most of the rest I didn't like. The parts under OUR control. Rebounding effort, TOs. And I didn't mention Plumlee, a team-worst minus-11 in only 12 minutes. He was a major straggler in plus/minus last year too. RoCo was 2nd-worst at minus-6, despite being a starter with team-best Kawhi [+9] and PG [+3].

Say what you want about plus/minus, but when you're the WORST, you have nobody else to point the finger at.

Actually when you are the worst, you can point at the coach for playing you with the weakest lineup(s) of the night, the other team for going on a run in your minutes, or your team for going cold in your minutes lol. Many places to point

Luckily for an individual, this isn't tennis, and +/- is a 10 player based stat and a lineup dependent number that is very noisy in one game, and even large samples requires context of role, lineups played with, etc to know what it is suggesting.

The same player with good starters all the time can be a constant positive, but if you play then with mediocre bench units all the time, they become a consistent negative without actually changing their play or impact, quite wild.

In the playoffs vs Phoenix, Plumlee was with positive lineups 3/5 games, neutral in one and only negative in one. The lineups he played with were negative in 9/23 regular season games as a Clipper, don't really see where problem we're supposed to be worried about. Since he was mainly a bench guy it, if your bench units are giving you + in 52% of games and + or even in 60% of games, that's a win.

That's why, as you say, per 100 possessions is important. The best thing you can say about Plumlee so far--and this includes last regular season, playoffs, and now--is that anybody else would be worse. But that's small comfort. He IS leaking points.

[MartinToVaught]

I know it happens every year and it will still happen this year because people can't help it, but there's just not much purpose in making proclamations from every single game over the first 10-15, good or bad.

The problem with this argument is that it won't "only" be 10-15 games. It's year 5 of this era and we barely made any changes from last year's disaster of a team. This team talked all offseason about taking the regular season seriously, top 5 defense, getting younger and more athletic, etc. and they've already started reverting to the same old BS two games in. That's just what this iteration of the team is and will always be. Running it back with the oldest team in the NBA continues to be the definition of insanity.

The calls for patience and "it's only been x games" don't work when it's the same front office, coaches and players, but another year older. Our roster of 35-year-olds isn't going to magically improve between now and Thanksgiving. They are who they are. Lue's not going to improve either.