Game #62: KINGS @ Clippers Friday 2/24 7:30 PM

[MartinToVaught]

5 teams before us, 5, five. They all tried thinking they could incorporate Westbrick into their system, and failed.
But somehow Ty thought where others failed, he'd succeed?
Not even Pop would undertake this project called Westbrook.
I lost all hope when Ty at the press conference said "Were gonna let Russ be Russ"
I mean WTF? Let Russ be Russ? We're rolling along nicely, heading into the playoffs and finally we've a great combo of veterans and young dudes who were ready to ball, but here comes Russ?
And, we're gonna let Russ be Russ? Double WTF?
Talk about regressing. We've gone from starting Mann who played phenomenal and incorporating Bones into the second unit to THIS?

Russ is pretty far down the list of blame for last night if we're being honest. The rationale for bringing him in was to unclog the offense, and we just had one of the greatest offensive performances in NBA history. So far, so good. I'm sure he'll have bad games for the haters to rejoice over, but he more than did his job last night.

This one's primarily on Lue, PG and Morris, and also somewhat on EJ (again, not sure why we traded one of our only players under 30 for yet another old veteran who will get run out of the gym by young athletic teams). Zubac being out didn't help either.

As for Bones - the Kings might have scored 200 on us if he got any substantial minutes.

[ejftw]

5 teams before us, 5, five. They all tried thinking they could incorporate Westbrick into their system, and failed.
But somehow Ty thought where others failed, he'd succeed?
Not even Pop would undertake this project called Westbrook.
I lost all hope when Ty at the press conference said "Were gonna let Russ be Russ"
I mean WTF? Let Russ be Russ? We're rolling along nicely, heading into the playoffs and finally we've a great combo of veterans and young dudes who were ready to ball, but here comes Russ?
And, we're gonna let Russ be Russ? Double WTF?
Talk about regressing. We've gone from starting Mann who played phenomenal and incorporating Bones into the second unit to THIS?

Let's not do this..

Yes, we all understand how Russ hasn't been a positive impact player for his last few teams and, I'd say, about 95% of Clipper fans didn't want him, if not 99%.

But to blindly blame him for last night? That's not it. The four turnover sequence due to PG (yes, Russ had one of the four) being an idiot, Plumlee with consecutive turnovers in OT, Powell going down to help Kawhi with Fox instead of guarding his man at the arc, Kings getting second, third and even fourth looks because Lue went with Nico at the five for too long, PG taking a bad shot at the end of OT (I think, when he could've dished it to an open Russ), the last play as Kawhi had sealed Harrison perfectly to get the pass that Norm didn't look for.

[NickP]

I strongly disagree with anyone saying we didn't lose because of Russ. The point is we didn't need Russ to begin with.
Ty was finally starting Mann and playing Bones off the bench. We played a perfect 2 games and we had comfortable wins.
Then our idiotic coach and FO decide to bring in Westbrook because he's simply available?
Westbrook may not be responsible for this loss but he's responsible for the lack of chemistry.

[madmaxmedia]

I strongly disagree with anyone saying we didn't lose because of Russ. The point is we didn't need Russ to begin with.
Ty was finally starting Mann and playing Bones off the bench. We played a perfect 2 games and we had comfortable wins.
Then our idiotic coach and FO decide to bring in Westbrook because he's simply available?
Westbrook may not be responsible for this loss but he's responsible for the lack of chemistry.

We didn't lose because of Russ, but I agree with you that we might have lost because we signed Russ. That may or may not end up the story of the season.

[madmaxmedia]

5 teams before us, 5, five. They all tried thinking they could incorporate Westbrick into their system, and failed.
But somehow Ty thought where others failed, he'd succeed?
Not even Pop would undertake this project called Westbrook.
I lost all hope when Ty at the press conference said "Were gonna let Russ be Russ"
I mean WTF? Let Russ be Russ? We're rolling along nicely, heading into the playoffs and finally we've a great combo of veterans and young dudes who were ready to ball, but here comes Russ?
And, we're gonna let Russ be Russ? Double WTF?
Talk about regressing. We've gone from starting Mann who played phenomenal and incorporating Bones into the second unit to THIS?

Let's not do this..

Yes, we all understand how Russ hasn't been a positive impact player for his last few teams and, I'd say, about 95% of Clipper fans didn't want him, if not 99%.

But to blindly blame him for last night? That's not it. The four turnover sequence due to PG (yes, Russ had one of the four) being an idiot, Plumlee with consecutive turnovers in OT, Powell going down to help Kawhi with Fox instead of guarding his man at the arc, Kings getting second, third and even fourth looks because Lue went with Nico at the five for too long, PG taking a bad shot at the end of OT (I think, when he could've dished it to an open Russ), the last play as Kawhi had sealed Harrison perfectly to get the pass that Norm didn't look for.

I didn't want Russ either, but I don't think it's completely accurate to say he hasn't been a positive impact player in his last 5 stops before us. I thought he was a positive impact in Washington, albeit in a 'damning with faint praise' sort of way- he elevated a poor team to a middling one with a 1st round playoff loss.

I couldn't tell you the other year-over-year roster changes on their team, but the Wiz went from 25-47 pre-Russ, to 34-38 with Russ, to 35-47 post-Russ. The problem was very few (except for the Lakers) thought he could bring that sort of impact to a good team.

If Russ had been bought out before the year started, I would have been all for signing him to a minimum and trying him out given that we have no real NBA point guards. But the timing is tricky at best here.

[esqtvd]

5 teams before us, 5, five. They all tried thinking they could incorporate Westbrick into their system, and failed.
But somehow Ty thought where others failed, he'd succeed?
Not even Pop would undertake this project called Westbrook.
I lost all hope when Ty at the press conference said "Were gonna let Russ be Russ"
I mean WTF? Let Russ be Russ? We're rolling along nicely, heading into the playoffs and finally we've a great combo of veterans and young dudes who were ready to ball, but here comes Russ?
And, we're gonna let Russ be Russ? Double WTF?
Talk about regressing. We've gone from starting Mann who played phenomenal and incorporating Bones into the second unit to THIS?

Let's not do this..

Yes, we all understand how Russ hasn't been a positive impact player for his last few teams and, I'd say, about 95% of Clipper fans didn't want him, if not 99%.

But to blindly blame him for last night? That's not it. The four turnover sequence due to PG (yes, Russ had one of the four) being an idiot, Plumlee with consecutive turnovers in OT, Powell going down to help Kawhi with Fox instead of guarding his man at the arc, Kings getting second, third and even fourth looks because Lue went with Nico at the five for too long, PG taking a bad shot at the end of OT (I think, when he could've dished it to an open Russ), the last play as Kawhi had sealed Harrison perfectly to get the pass that Norm didn't look for.

I didn't want Russ either, but I don't think it's completely accurate to say he hasn't been a positive impact player in his last 5 stops before us. I thought he was a positive impact in Washington, albeit in a 'damning with faint praise' sort of way- he elevated a poor team to a middling one with a 1st round playoff loss.

I couldn't tell you the other year-over-year roster changes on their team, but the Wiz went from 25-47 pre-Russ, to 34-38 with Russ, to 35-47 post-Russ. The problem was very few thought he could bring that sort of impact to a good team (except for the Lakers.)

If Russ had been bought out before the year started, I would have been all for signing him to a minimum and trying him out given that we have no real NBA point guards. But the timing is tricky at best here.

Kawhi and PG clearly decided we weren't good enough with the status quo. You're not going to get far BSing them that we are.

Mann had 24 assists all month. Russ had 14 in one game. Kawhi had his best game of the year. This was no coincidence.

[LamarWho]

Lol, it's a simple question Ty.

https://youtu.be/YKZmRM6E2K8?t=114

[MartinToVaught]

I strongly disagree with anyone saying we didn't lose because of Russ. The point is we didn't need Russ to begin with.
Ty was finally starting Mann and playing Bones off the bench. We played a perfect 2 games and we had comfortable wins.
Then our idiotic coach and FO decide to bring in Westbrook because he's simply available?
Westbrook may not be responsible for this loss but he's responsible for the lack of chemistry.

The Ty/PG/Morris trio would still be costing us games with or without Russ. They've been doing it all year and just did it again last night. I have a hard time seeing us winning anything with those three no matter who the point guard is.

And if you're going to blame anyone for the lack of chemistry, blame *checks notes* Ty, PG, and Morris, who were the loudest advocates for bringing in Russ this late in the season. And yes, it's only been one game, but at least Russ himself seems to be really trying to make this work so far. Meanwhile, PG is still trying to be a "playmaker" with disastrous results, and Lue is still taking minutes away from better players instead of benching Morris.

[nickhx2]

alright, guys, new day, we feeling good, right? we still liking the pickup? still have faith in lue to make the right moves?

cause if you say yes then i pretty much don't believe you.

lue showed his cognitive dissonance all season and last night was no exception - in fact, it was probably the pinnacle. him saying we needed to be better on point of attack defense while mann and gordon got minimal minutes was wretched. him saying mann was good and should have played more was a total slap in the face, and something he's admitted all season while failing to permanently institute. the fact that lue thought last night, of all nights, was the time to experiment with lineups and start westbrook over mann in a game with critical seeding implications should make us even more upset.

despite him actually playing decently, the westbrook pickup is a complete joke because lue is a coach who cannot properly put the right pieces together on the court. honestly better that this happened, though, because if zubac was healthy we would have rolled the kings and these ongoing deficiencies would simply be painted over because we won.

[KL2]

Why do I do this to myself?

Read on Twitter

?cxt=HHwWgMDRpanYvZ0tAAAA

[esqtvd]

Read on Twitter

[Roscoe Sheed]

Lol, it's a simple question Ty.

https://youtu.be/YKZmRM6E2K8?t=114

does he mean he wanted them to foul, but they didn't and doesn't want to throw them under the bus?

[NickP]

I strongly disagree with anyone saying we didn't lose because of Russ. The point is we didn't need Russ to begin with.
Ty was finally starting Mann and playing Bones off the bench. We played a perfect 2 games and we had comfortable wins.
Then our idiotic coach and FO decide to bring in Westbrook because he's simply available?
Westbrook may not be responsible for this loss but he's responsible for the lack of chemistry.

The Ty/PG/Morris trio would still be costing us games with or without Russ. They've been doing it all year and just did it again last night. I have a hard time seeing us winning anything with those three no matter who the point guard is.

And if you're going to blame anyone for the lack of chemistry, blame *checks notes* Ty, PG, and Morris, who were the loudest advocates for bringing in Russ this late in the season. And yes, it's only been one game, but at least Russ himself seems to be really trying to make this work so far. Meanwhile, PG is still trying to be a "playmaker" with disastrous results, and Lue is still taking minutes away from better players instead of benching Morris.

My point is actually pretty simple. When you add a personality like Russ on the team, there's bound to be a chemistry imbalance. Guys have to wonder what's Russ gonna do next? There's strength in numbers but not by adding Russ. I've followed Russ as a fellow bruin from his UCLA days. Russ will get his stats but they do not always help the team.
All Ty had to do was bench Morris, play RoCo or Batum in his spot and profit.
Now we all know what a stubborn ass Lue can be. By simply adding Russ, he'll play him in crucial moments instead of benching him.

[NickP]

Let's not do this..

Yes, we all understand how Russ hasn't been a positive impact player for his last few teams and, I'd say, about 95% of Clipper fans didn't want him, if not 99%.

But to blindly blame him for last night? That's not it. The four turnover sequence due to PG (yes, Russ had one of the four) being an idiot, Plumlee with consecutive turnovers in OT, Powell going down to help Kawhi with Fox instead of guarding his man at the arc, Kings getting second, third and even fourth looks because Lue went with Nico at the five for too long, PG taking a bad shot at the end of OT (I think, when he could've dished it to an open Russ), the last play as Kawhi had sealed Harrison perfectly to get the pass that Norm didn't look for.

I didn't want Russ either, but I don't think it's completely accurate to say he hasn't been a positive impact player in his last 5 stops before us. I thought he was a positive impact in Washington, albeit in a 'damning with faint praise' sort of way- he elevated a poor team to a middling one with a 1st round playoff loss.

I couldn't tell you the other year-over-year roster changes on their team, but the Wiz went from 25-47 pre-Russ, to 34-38 with Russ, to 35-47 post-Russ. The problem was very few thought he could bring that sort of impact to a good team (except for the Lakers.)

If Russ had been bought out before the year started, I would have been all for signing him to a minimum and trying him out given that we have no real NBA point guards. But the timing is tricky at best here.

Kawhi and PG clearly decided we weren't good enough with the status quo. You're not going to get far BSing them that we are.

Mann had 24 assists all month. Russ had 14 in one game. Kawhi had his best game of the year. This was no coincidence.

That's simply stat watching. 14 assists mean nothing. Look at those teams he also played for with all those assists.

[esqtvd]

LAST 15 GAMES:


1 Kawhi Leonard +8.2
2 Marcus Morris Sr. +6.4
3 Mason Plumlee +6.3
4 Luke Kennard +4.5
5 Reggie Jackson +4.3
6 Paul George +4.0
7 Ivica Zubac +3.3
8 Robert Covington +3.0
8 Russell Westbrook +3.0
10 Nicolas Batum +2.1
11 Norman Powell +1.6
12 Bones Hyland +0.5
13 Terance Mann +0.0


14 Jason Preston -0.3
15 Moussa Diabate -1.4
16 Moses Brown -2.0
17 Eric Gordon -3.0
18 Amir Coffey -4.0
19 Brandon Boston Jr. -6.0

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=15&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

[esqtvd]

obviously the Westbrook hate in Clipper Nation is not shared by the paying customers

Read on Twitter

[esqtvd]

Read on Twitter

[clipperlover]

Kings 111 - Shot Attempts
Clips - 98 Shots attempts

Kings - 18 Stls
Clips - 8 Stls

In a game where both teams were shooting well, those differences were huge.

Not worried moving forward. We add Zu back and develop chemistry by the time the playoffs start.

[esqtvd]

Stephen A on ABC putting the blame where it's due

PG and that horrible 2-minute span

it still comes down to PG and Kawhi
the rest are role players

Props also for Russ
14 assists 3rd best debut in NBA history
played with pace and aggressiveness

[ERClips]

Agree Russ was a positive last night.

PG is so hard to root for sometimes. Find myself screaming at the tv when he has those stupid mental turnovers. But have to give him credit for his scoring & all around game. Wish he could figure it out.

Don’t you guys wonder what exactly Kawhi is thinking when PG has those lapses? Straight up poker face but cost us the game and a great performance wasted