Game 7 : Los Angeles Clippers (4-2) @ Phoenix Suns (5-1) - 8:00 PM

[madmaxmedia]

Kawhi was absolutely garbage tonight! That 25+ plus lead shrunk mostly because of him always playing outside of the offensive sets. Dragging the offense down to a halt. Then PG is red hot in the 4th and instead of feeding him he becomes a black hole and starting shooting bricks left and right.. so bad it nearly cost us the game. Ty Lue better get in his ear cause star or no star, I don't want to see **** like that again. That's that bullsh*t. I was shocked he did that sh*t. Monstrous MVP like performance from PG! Kennard, Batum, Ibaka.. hell of a game from these guys.

I think he'll be self-aware enough to see it when they review the film.

[nickhx2]

for sure he'll see it and figure it out.

even the greatest players have a totally botched game here and there. to put any further weight on it than a once in a while thing is asinine and clueless.

just really good for us that paul george is playing at an mvp level right now. yeah his turnovers are yucky but he's excelling on both sides of the ball and leaning into the level of his contract, rather than relaxing. i'm sure it instills a lot of confidence in the team that when kawhi's off, paul george is going to be a rock (something we thought would always be the opposite).

[esqtvd]

Game 7 against Denver was his worst.

LOL. I'm not going there. PG was even worse. I did that during our offseason discussions and believe me, I was more pissed off about Game 7 than anything in Clipper history. ANYTHING. Believe me.



My pet theory is that right now Kawhi is laying back and TESTING Paul George--challenging him to step up. Kawhi is not gonna re-sign here next summer unless he knows he has a Sundance Kid to his Butch Cassidy.

PG stepping up so far. He knows it too.

Who gives a sh*t! Kawhi damn near choked the game away with those bricks and iso ball he played yesterday. And please tells us 2-3 places Kawhi could end up next season since you can't stop pumping this "theory". And also let us know who's has a max slot open, who's changing their offense for him, making him the face of the franchise, have say in the front office, accept his load management schedule, accept his non leadership, accept his Uncle Dennis' demands, etc. Great win last night, PG busted his ass on both sides of the floor, and here you are wanting to bring up how Kawhi is leaving. So lets hear this theory fully and fleshed out and not on some sound bite troll sh*t. Talk to us

How rude. Who's "us" lol, and why would I want to talk to you?

All I've ever said is that Kawhi has alternatives. Phoenix is just as close by air and car from his San Diego home as Staples. And I think he's laying back and watching. Put Kawhi on the Suns right now and they're the better team, not us.

But I'm glad to see people getting as angry at him as I was after Game 7. I thought he got off lightly.

[esqtvd]

Phoenix is for real. They didn't pack it in when down by 31. CP3 was not Godlike, I refuse to worship him... Suns were -8 with him on the floor, and he shot 50% for 15 total points. Suns did a great job forcing switches to mismatches. Devin Booker is the man there now.

The same geniuses talking about trading PG13 I am waiting for them to after today begin talking about dumping that loser Leonard...

PatBev was top rebounder with 9.

We need Morris back. The complete radio silence on his condition is worrisome.

I didn't like seeing a 31 point advantage whittle to 1, but I'll take the win, and glad PG13, Batum, Kennard and Ibaka are Clippers... oh yeah and that Leonard guy, who just might play next game better than this one...

As they say in chess, the hardest thing is to win a won game. I don't know if it's true but it IS hard to keep your intensity. So far they haven't lost one--so that might be an improvement over last year's lack of grit and fortitude.

[MartinToVaught]

I'm assuming the mask is just bothering him. This has to be the worst game he's played as a Clipper.

Game 7 against Denver was his worst.

LOL. I'm not going there. PG was even worse. I did that during our offseason discussions and believe me, I was more pissed off about Game 7 than anything in Clipper history. ANYTHING. Believe me.



My pet theory is that right now Kawhi is laying back and TESTING Paul George--challenging him to step up. Kawhi is not gonna re-sign here next summer unless he knows he has a Sundance Kid to his Butch Cassidy.

PG stepping up so far. He knows it too.

That might be the most nonsensical theory I've ever heard. Yeah, I'm sure Kawhi is tanking his own stats on purpose in a contract year so he can "test" PG in the regular season (not even the playoffs). It couldn't possibly just be that the mask is bothering him.

And of course you can't hide how badly you want Kawhi to leave.

[esqtvd]

for sure he'll see it and figure it out.

even the greatest players have a totally botched game here and there. to put any further weight on it than a once in a while thing is asinine and clueless.

just really good for us that paul george is playing at an mvp level right now. yeah his turnovers are yucky but he's excelling on both sides of the ball and leaning into the level of his contract, rather than relaxing. i'm sure it instills a lot of confidence in the team that when kawhi's off, paul george is going to be a rock (something we thought would always be the opposite).

LOL. Could be something as simple as the mask, in which case you give him his props just for suiting up and enjoy the win.

Leonard didn’t wear his protective mask to start the game, but it wasn’t on purpose.

Though Leonard has made no secret that he cannot wait to stop wearing a mask he has found difficult to breathe in, he didn’t play mask-free for the opening possessions Sunday in an attempt to ditch the device.

“We just didn’t have it out there at the time,” Leonard said. “Later on in the first quarter probably about a minute left I was able to get the mask back. I was just waiting for one of the staff to get it for me.”

...

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he was unsure whether Leonard’s mask, which he has called uncomfortable, was affecting his shooting.

“I’ve never had to play with a mask before so I really don’t know what it feels like but I can see how it could be uncomfortable,” Lue said. “You’ve got to keep strapping it up, it can get foggy on you. I really don’t know. He was excited, just told the guys, way to step up for him tonight.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2021-01-04/paul-george-kawhi-leonard-clippers-suns


also of interest in the Times:

--There is still no timetable for the return of Marcus Morris.

Morris’ sore knee has kept him from appearing in any games since signing a four-year contract worth $64 million, and there is no indication yet when he will make his season debut.

Morris has had “a lot of progress and hopefully we will see him soon,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said before tipoff. “But I can’t give you a day or date.”

--Unlike George, guard Patrick Beverley has not filled up the stat sheet offensively. But that hasn’t taken away from his impact.

The Clippers outscored opponents by 17.5 points when Beverley was on the court during the two-game trip. Conversely, they were outscored by 17.4 points when he sat. That 34.9-point difference is 11 points better than any other Clipper. Beverley scored 13 total points against Utah and Phoenix but made contributions elsewhere. According to league tracking data, he guarded Phoenix’s duo of Chris Paul and Devin Booker for a combined 24 possessions over six minutes Sunday and allowed them to score two points directly off those matchups.

[madmaxmedia]

for sure he'll see it and figure it out.

even the greatest players have a totally botched game here and there. to put any further weight on it than a once in a while thing is asinine and clueless.

just really good for us that paul george is playing at an mvp level right now. yeah his turnovers are yucky but he's excelling on both sides of the ball and leaning into the level of his contract, rather than relaxing. i'm sure it instills a lot of confidence in the team that when kawhi's off, paul george is going to be a rock (something we thought would always be the opposite).

That's been the great luxury about having both of them. When they're both on or even just at season average (which is close to half the time), we are really, really hard to beat. Then there will be nights when only one is on, and that is enough against most teams as long as some of the rest of the guys play well, defend, etc.

[nickhx2]

definitely. having them both locked in is just something teams cannot effectively deal with.