Game #20: NUGS (14-7) @ LAC (9-10) WED 12/6—7 PM, ESPN

nickhx2 · Post #41 » by **nickhx2** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:27 am

kinda had a really good feeling we'd take this one down after the last debacle against denver. the team wasn't gonna sit idly by without some show of force.

now, did denver shoot so badly that you could convince me that the clips may or may not have bent their rims to make it happen? yes. but a win is a win and i think this is one of those wins that will transform their confidence. in any competitive arena, finally beating the one opponent that's otherwise been unbeatable is a huge thing. and i hope it is huge for us.

madmaxmedia · Post #42 » by **madmaxmedia** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:27 am

Seems like we’ve made it to more good games than bad. Let’s keep up the progress!

James with 20 and 11, nice. Also running point guard down the stretch, looking to set up teammates rather than scoring. Setting up Kawhi with the ball against Jamal a few times down the stretch was nice.

playaloc916 · Post #43 » by **playaloc916** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:32 am

Quality win against a tough team. Despite a rocky start, the team pushed the pace, and it also helped that Jokic didn't have a great game (Zu had some part to do with that). Harden looked great, looked very comfortable and did the things that made him great a few years ago. Need to keep the momentum going.

ERClips · Post #44 » by **ERClips** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:37 am

Great win Clippers! Overcoming adversity builds character and confidence. They did that a couple times this game. Time to avenge that early season loss to Utah

nickhx2 · Post #45 » by **nickhx2** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:39 am

consider me shocked but there's no way i would have expected

- lue to keep zu in the game so late

- kobe brown to continue to get this many minutes

- a continued commitment to keeping westbrook/harden away from each other on the court at all costs

- westbrook providing as much dynamite impact as he did, despite his minutes evaporating

- the 4 "stars" on the team to all come out and contribute meaningfully without a complete dud by any one of them.

but that all happened and to me those are good very, very, very good signs for what's to come. it's been a while since i felt like lue was someone you could trust to find the right settings for the team on the court. feels like we might just be back to that, now.

Scoundreldays · Post #46 » by **Scoundreldays** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:53 am

Great Job, Zu had an epic block on Jokic

HardenGoat · Post #47 » by **HardenGoat** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:56 am

Westbrook played great with his minutes. Seemed to be enjoying his time and took advantage. Harden needs to stay an efficient playmaker but mix in scoring to keep the floor spaced. He did that this game. Solid game by all and good win.

Captain Ballmer · Post #48 » by **Captain Ballmer** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 7:41 am

nickhx2 wrote:consider me shocked but there's no way i would have expected

- lue to keep zu in the game so late

- kobe brown to continue to get this many minutes

- a continued commitment to keeping westbrook/harden away from each other on the court at all costs

- westbrook providing as much dynamite impact as he did, despite his minutes evaporating

- the 4 "stars" on the team to all come out and contribute meaningfully without a complete dud by any one of them.

but that all happened and to me those are good very, very, very good signs for what's to come. it's been a while since i felt like lue was someone you could trust to find the right settings for the team on the court. feels like we might just be back to that, now.

Looks like a recipe for something. :nod:

esqtvd · Post #49 » by **esqtvd** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 8:13 am

Early in the FIRST half.

MartinToVaught wrote:This team still sucks.

But we won!

We will award this on every game thread. CONGRATULATIONS to all the non-winners. This was a GREAT game thread!! One of the best in years. Let's keep it rolling, everybody.

This is supposed to be fun.

We will not award this every game thread as this is baiting and a personal attack and against forum rules. Thanks - og15

esqtvd · Post #50 » by **esqtvd** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 8:15 am

Captain Ballmer wrote:
nickhx2 wrote:consider me shocked but there's no way i would have expected

- lue to keep zu in the game so late

- kobe brown to continue to get this many minutes

- a continued commitment to keeping westbrook/harden away from each other on the court at all costs

- westbrook providing as much dynamite impact as he did, despite his minutes evaporating

- the 4 "stars" on the team to all come out and contribute meaningfully without a complete dud by any one of them.

but that all happened and to me those are good very, very, very good signs for what's to come. it's been a while since i felt like lue was someone you could trust to find the right settings for the team on the court. feels like we might just be back to that, now.

Looks like a recipe for something.

Agree with both of you but Lue deserves CREDIT for piecing together the jigsaw puzzle. And Russ for accepting his demotion with class and demon EFFORT!

Dynamix · Post #51 » by **Dynamix** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 8:21 am

Glad I didn't stop watching basketball and joined the monastery right after that last Denver loss.

Still a work in progress, but players have clearly been making an effort to fit together. Been most impressed with Russ, who had to make the biggest adjustment of them all, yet still brings his amazing energy whenever it's needed.

Harden is up there too, can't be easy switching between facilitating others and taking over the scoring when the team just needs a few buckets.

Kawhi and PG might not be at their most efficient offensively, but they sure seem to have plenty left in the tank on the defensive end.

Norm is always solid, Zu and Theis are looking like a damn decent big rotation, Kobe has to keep improving while those minutes are still there. If T-Mann stops channeling his inner PJ Tucker, this team can be a problem.

Still trying to keep my expectations in check until the end of the month, but if we also break our losing streak in Utah, it's going to be really tough not to start daydreaming again.

esqtvd · Post #52 » by **esqtvd** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 9:37 am

Dynamix wrote:Glad I didn't stop watching basketball and joined the monastery right after that last Denver loss.

Still a work in progress, but players have clearly been making an effort to fit together. Been most impressed with Russ, who had to make the biggest adjustment of them all, yet still brings his amazing energy whenever it's needed.

Harden is up there too, can't be easy switching between facilitating others and taking over the scoring when the team just needs a few buckets.

Kawhi and PG might not be at their most efficient offensively, but they sure seem to have plenty left in the tank on the defensive end.

Norm is always solid, Zu and Theis are looking like a damn decent big rotation, Kobe has to keep improving while those minutes are still there. If T-Mann stops channeling his inner PJ Tucker, this team can be a problem.

Still trying to keep my expectations in check until the end of the month, but if we also break our losing streak in Utah, it's going to be really tough not to start daydreaming again.

Let's not forget

"Terance Mann is the future," someone said on this board. LOL. I don't want to yank him--and Ty won't. But seriously, Mann IS a basket case right now. A good coach sticks with his people. Bad coaches yank them.

Ty is a good coach. And he will stick with T-Mann.

esqtvd · Post #53 » by **esqtvd** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 10:39 am

Westbrook: 16 minutes, 9 points [4-8 FG], 8 REBS, 1 ASST, 1 TO, 2 BLKS

PeteyPablo · Post #54 » by **PeteyPablo** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 1:25 pm

Great game - loved the effort and attention to detail.

Looking at the box score , it seems that Denver played to their averages individually except for Jokic regarding ppg.

A.Gordon 8 pts 6 rbs
M Porter 18 pts 9 rbs
N. Jokic 22 pts 15rbs 10 assists
J.Murray 23 pts 6 assists
R.Jackson 14 pts

Give some credit to Clippers defense here.

Yes , the eye test saw Jokic miss a ton but he took a ton of shots as well.

Bobbymcgee · Post #55 » by **Bobbymcgee** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 1:28 pm

Denver should have started DeAndre and Reggie instead of those bums Jokic and Murray. Hopefully this is the start of the Clippers taking it to the Nuggets. The Clippers need to develop a chip on their shoulder when it comes to Denver and play them like this every time they see them.

NickP · Post #56 » by **NickP** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 1:44 pm

Great TEAM win.
Very good posts by everyone and great game thread. Truly enjoyed reading this and being a part of this group.
Let's keep faith and let the players and coaches figure things out and they will. If they beat Utah, they could be starting something special.

Post #57 » by **og15** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 2:10 pm

Jokic has shot under 40% FG twice this season, both times were against the Clippers.

You can't expect that consistently as Jokic is a super smart player and will adjust, but cleary the Clippers are doing something right as you don't accidentally have Jokic shoot 35% and 28% FG against you when he hasn't shot under 45% in any other game, and when he had a total of ONE game last season under 40% FG, and a total of THREE games last season under 50% FG in 69 games.

Post #58 » by **og15** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 2:19 pm

esqtvd wrote:Early in the FIRST half.

MartinToVaught wrote:This team still sucks.

But we won!

We will award this on every game thread. CONGRATULATIONS to all the non-winners. This was a GREAT game thread!! One of the best in years. Let's keep it rolling, everybody.

This is supposed to be fun.

That award is what we call a personal attack and baiting, so, no, we will not have this show up again, if it does our great commissioner Howard will be informed to issue a temporary forum break for the one who awards it.

Thanks!

clipperlover · Post #59 » by **clipperlover** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 4:11 pm

I mentioned last week how the Clippers were in the top 4 in the Western Conference in Opponents PPG and in point differential. We gave up 115.5 over the prior 4 games to last night, but still are in that top tier defensively. What I saw last night shows that this team is going to be good defensively. Even Harden looked salvageable defensively.

While people will point to Russ going to the bench as the turning point, I don't think that has been biggest reason we have turned things around. At the same time, we added Theis to fill the void left at backup big. Theis has had a big impact filling that void in the 2nd unit. As a result, Ty has had to stop using small ball and reduced the dependence on P.J. Tucker. We were able to keep Zu and Theis on Jokic rather than force Kawhi or PG to take on that task.

What the rest of the NBA needs to start worrying about is what the Clippers will look like when Plumlee returns. Plumlee, Theis and Zu can account for 18 fouls, so we will be able to be very aggressive defensively. With Plumlee back, the Clippers will always be able to have a big body anchoring the D. We will be able to better match up with teams like the Lakers, T Wolves and Nuggets. Hopefully, we never see extended use of the 6'5" and under lineups (unless in a blowout).

Still a work in progress, but I like the progress I saw last night.

Wammy Giveaway · Post #60 » by **Wammy Giveaway** » Thu Dec 7, 2023 5:28 pm

clipperlover wrote:As a result, Ty has had to stop using small ball and reduced the dependence on P.J. Tucker.

So, uh, what to do about Tucker. Do Clippers still keep him, or do they trade him? Reports of Clippers possibly buying Tucker out have barely cracked the Wikipedia list of acceptable resources; last I remember, there was a hint of that on Clipperholics (or was that Sports Skeeda). Either way, it's just a matter of time before that becomes Adrian Wojnarowski material.