Game #11: ROCKETS (6-3) @ LAC (3-7) FRI 11/17, 7:30 PM

[KL2]

Well that felt good and more dramatic than I need in my life.

[Scoundreldays]

We won! Zu and Harden did fantastic at the end

[playaloc916]

Tough, grind it out win against an up and coming team in the Rockets. Pretty sloppy play at the end with bad shots and missed layups, if they clean that up, it probably wouldn't have been such a close game. Tough stretch ahead, but hopefully they learn some things about minutes and lineups from this game and build on it.

[Wammy Giveaway]

Starting Mann alone paid off. Trotting an unknown lineup worked. The mere presence of Mann magically made the team play properly.

Six-game/five-game losing streak is broken. But they will have to catch up heavily. They are far behind the wheel now, so Lue can no longer tinker. He needs to continue riding this starting lineup until Harden is back to his MVP form.

There's a chance we may see a Fantastic 4 again. Just not now. We can live with a Big 3. The Aesop of Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin applies to Clippers: don't overdo it.

(Or was that overuse it. Ah well)

[esqtvd]

Lol Kawhi knew he ain't clutch thank god for Harden.

I would not count on that in the playoffs, though. Harden is not Robert Horry. I'm not a Beard hater, but I was never afraid of him in the postseason.

Hey, I don't want to rain on the parade. A win is a win. These Rockets kids gave us hell. We were thisclose to 7 in a row.

[KL2]

Leonard, PG, and Harden missed some shots late.

PG followed it up with a block and layup.

Leonard a steal and mercifully giving that last shot up to Harden.

Harden missed a shot but found Zu for a dunk and has the steel for that step back 3 in his bag.

Nice build off of the Denver game. Not all in sync yet but finally moving in that direction.

Hopefully Theis gets up to speed cause PJ should not be playing right now.

[Bobbymcgee]

Wow, the new starting line-up put up a real solid +/- across the board. Love seeing George, Leonard, and Harden with +20 points each.

The bench though needs work that's for sure.

Still hoping once the rotations get solidified, we can see Bones Hyland get back in the mix. Maybe he can take some of Powell's minutes. I am still hopeful he works out. I guess time will tell.

[LamarWho]

More Bones and Theis, less Russ and PJ Tucker from here on please.

[esqtvd]

Wow, the new starting line-up put up a real solid +/- across the board. Love seeing George, Leonard, and Harden with +20 points each.

The bench though needs work that's for sure.

Still hoping once the rotations get solidified, we can see Bones Hyland get back in the mix. Maybe he can take some of Powell's minutes. I am still hopeful he works out. I guess time will tell.

Must be showcasing him for a trade, because his plus/minus is crap every night. 3-11, 10 points, minus-8? 30 MINUTES? Yup. I still don't know what Powell is doing out there. Especially in the last 5 minutes???

All I can say is that SOMEBODY on the second unit has to put the ball in hole. Mann has a great plus/minus as a glue guy, but he had one more point than a dead man.

[NickP]

Alright. I'm going to the parade downtown tomorrow. Feels like we won the championship.

[Captain Ballmer]

We won! Zu and Harden did fantastic at the end

Kawhi and PG **** the bed on 4th quarter then they finally let Harden to take home. It was like last 3-4 minutes where we see Kawhi-PG on defensive side making plays and giving ball to Harden. Then we saw 2 Zu DUNKS, and open three point attempt by PG13 created by Harden. He missed but since our positioning was better and Houston D had to make it work they couldn't be in position to secure O-Reb and Zu got it to Powell for open 3. Bingo. The last play was like Kawhi understood he shouldn't force it since it was Harden to engine that comeback so he gotta let him for the final play.

These trio will get better, they address each others weaknesses.

One word on Theis, dude played really well for a 3 hours of experience in Clippers. Super Pro, good hustle&challenges even though he'll be posterized.

[NickP]

Wow, the new starting line-up put up a real solid +/- across the board. Love seeing George, Leonard, and Harden with +20 points each.

The bench though needs work that's for sure.

Still hoping once the rotations get solidified, we can see Bones Hyland get back in the mix. Maybe he can take some of Powell's minutes. I am still hopeful he works out. I guess time will tell.

Must be showcasing him for a trade, because his plus/minus is crap every night. 3-11, 10 points, minus-8? 30 MINUTES? Yup. I still don't know what Powell is doing out there. Especially in the last 5 minutes???

All I can say is that SOMEBODY on the second unit has to put the ball in hole. Mann has a great plus/minus as a glue guy, but he had one more point than a dead man.

I'd take a bag of potato chips for Powell and PJ. I have no idea what those guys are doing out there. Sad thing is neither do they.

[wakelaunch1]

Slowly getting some cohesion. I like the first unit but Zubac is not really understanding his role with Harden yet. That should improve. I like Theis. Second unit with PG is chaos. Kawhi is fitting better with Harden. You can see them hunt mismatches.

Tucker shouldnt be playing at all.

I think this reached the end of his short leash. Ty gave him a full chance, maybe his last chance--the respect owed to a great veteran.

Going forward, you are correct.

I would be giving his mins to Kobe Brown. We are literally developing no talent lol

[Dynamix]

Whatever disconnect there might be between the FO, Ty, and players, you don't make a trade for Harden to keep him on the bench. And you don't need a magic ball to tell you that a Kawhi-PG-Harden-Russ-Whoever lineup is going to spell trouble on most nights. Love Russ' energy, but if everyone's healthy and he has more shots than those other three, that's a huge problem.

Hopefully we got the nasty part out of the way, with the coach and players seeing for themselves what does and doesn't work. Maybe now we can finally start building a functional rotation again, like they seemed to have been doing during preseason.

Kawhi-PG-Harden is your offense, focus on those three figuring stuff out together. If they can't, we're done. Just put two other pieces around them that can defend, one of which can also score a bit. T-Mann isn't ideal at PF, but he might be the best option for the foreseeable future, unless we have one more move to make. Last spot should still go to Zu on most nights, and Theis gives you a decent option for small ball. Really wish PJ wouldn't look so washed on most nights.

I just want to see a solid starting lineup before even worrying about how to stagger the stars, who fits together best with the bench unit, and what to do with Russ.

And I'd really want to see a late play after a TO that doesn't end with a very tough shot, after all the air has been dribbled out of the ball.

Still so many questions about this team, and this is with our stars healthy. You could tell me we'll have more roster changes and a new coach before the year is done and I wouldn't say you're crazy.

Ballmer at the end looked about the same as how I feel right now, just too mentally exhausted to even properly enjoy the win. Maybe getting a few more will alleviate that.

[esqtvd]

Tucker shouldnt be playing at all.

I think this reached the end of his short leash. Ty gave him a full chance, maybe his last chance--the respect owed to a great veteran.

Going forward, you are correct.

I would be giving his mins to Kobe Brown. We are literally developing no talent lol

That's what G-League is for. This ain't Daddy Day Care.

The fact is, nobody has left the Clippers and blossomed elsewhere. With a lot of experience you can average 10 points a game like Reggie Bullock or Terance Mann. You either got it or you don't.

[esqtvd]

Wow, the new starting line-up put up a real solid +/- across the board. Love seeing George, Leonard, and Harden with +20 points each.

The bench though needs work that's for sure.

Still hoping once the rotations get solidified, we can see Bones Hyland get back in the mix. Maybe he can take some of Powell's minutes. I am still hopeful he works out. I guess time will tell.

Must be showcasing him for a trade, because his plus/minus is crap every night. 3-11, 10 points, minus-8? 30 MINUTES? Yup. I still don't know what Powell is doing out there. Especially in the last 5 minutes???

All I can say is that SOMEBODY on the second unit has to put the ball in hole. Mann has a great plus/minus as a glue guy, but he had one more point than a dead man.

I'd take a bag of potato chips for Powell and PJ. I have no idea what those guys are doing out there. Sad thing is neither do they.

Powell is the one I've been harping on. 2 years left on his contract @ $20M per after this one. I don't know who would take him off our hands.

Basically we dumped Mook on the Sixers and they dumped PJ on us. Mook is unplayable in Philly, PJ unplayable here. Pick your poison lol.

Zu played 35 minutes tonight. That kind of workload killed him last year. Now it's Theis or death. Didn't happen a microsecond too soon.

[esqtvd]

the legend, the man

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[og15]

I think this reached the end of his short leash. Ty gave him a full chance, maybe his last chance--the respect owed to a great veteran.

Going forward, you are correct.

I would be giving his mins to Kobe Brown. We are literally developing no talent lol

That's what G-League is for. This ain't Daddy Day Care.

The fact is, nobody has left the Clippers and blossomed elsewhere. With a lot of experience you can average 10 points a game like Reggie Bullock or Terance Mann. You either got it or you don't.

If Kobe Brown is not lost, then there's no issue developing him with the primary roster. If he's lost on the floor, then yes, it's better to have him develop with the G-League so he doesn't lose confidence.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, he's looked like he knows what is going on. He's a more mature and developed player, so his body is NBA ready too. You also have to play the long game, many rookies from November to April will be very different players. He definitely has signs of a guy you can develop over the season to even give you some spot playoff minutes if he continues to learn and grow.

Currently I don't believe he's in the G-League because he's lost, he's there because there isn't a plan to give him consistent PT, especially with the current roster trying to figure itself out, so the G-League gives him an opportunity to stay in shape and play in games.

[og15]

Whatever disconnect there might be between the FO, Ty, and players, you don't make a trade for Harden to keep him on the bench. And you don't need a magic ball to tell you that a Kawhi-PG-Harden-Russ-Whoever lineup is going to spell trouble on most nights. Love Russ' energy, but if everyone's healthy and he has more shots than those other three, that's a huge problem.

Hopefully we got the nasty part out of the way, with the coach and players seeing for themselves what does and doesn't work. Maybe now we can finally start building a functional rotation again, like they seemed to have been doing during preseason.

Kawhi-PG-Harden is your offense, focus on those three figuring stuff out together. If they can't, we're done. Just put two other pieces around them that can defend, one of which can also score a bit. T-Mann isn't ideal at PF, but he might be the best option for the foreseeable future, unless we have one more move to make. Last spot should still go to Zu on most nights, and Theis gives you a decent option for small ball. Really wish PJ wouldn't look so washed on most nights.

I just want to see a solid starting lineup before even worrying about how to stagger the stars, who fits together best with the bench unit, and what to do with Russ.

And I'd really want to see a late play after a TO that doesn't end with a very tough shot, after all the air has been dribbled out of the ball.

Still so many questions about this team, and this is with our stars healthy. You could tell me we'll have more roster changes and a new coach before the year is done and I wouldn't say you're crazy.

Ballmer at the end looked about the same as how I feel right now, just too mentally exhausted to even properly enjoy the win. Maybe getting a few more will alleviate that.

Yes, one step at a time since it is a long season. Establish the starting lineup and that unit first because you aren't going anywhere without them.

Now, you generally will get limited to 2nd round if you also don't have a strong enough 6-8 men, as your bench is what takes you over the top when you meet an opponent that matches your starters, but your starters need to be good first.

After they are developed well enough, you'll still have another 50+ games to figure out rotations and your bench and all that.

Westbrook of course is the biggest loser here. For example, playing 17 minutes last night probably was tough for him. I wonder how his situation is going to play out as the season goes along.