Clippers will continue to refine lineup and rotations in final preseason game
- Lue was able to play a lineup of five wings Sunday — Leonard, Covington, Batum, Paul George and Marcus Morris Sr. For now it is more dangerous in theory than application.
“We don’t know how to play out of it yet,” Lue said, noting that Morris had been able to work with that unit for only one day because of time away for the birth of a son. Tuesday’s practice was “going to be a big day for him just learning the [center] position.”
Leonard said Sunday it was hard to judge the all-wings lineup based on a sample size of only a few minutes.
“There’s some good things we were trying to get done late in that second quarter,” he said. “It got a little stagnant a little bit, but this why we got this preseason.”
The Clippers like that lineup, believing it will allow for offensive mismatches while not requiring a sacrifice in rebounding because of the players’ length. They are leaning on Leonard and George to grab misses and push the ball upcourt as the primary ballhandlers.
Playing small with their second unit isn’t as appealing, however, and without a traditional 7-footer as part of the backup rotation, the Clippers have begun tinkering with substituting out starting center Ivica Zubac early to then return with players coming off the bench. Zubac played the first 3 minutes 30 seconds Sunday before resting and returning late in the first quarter to play alongside subs Terance Mann, Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson.
“I like playing smaller when Kawhi and PG are on the floor, because they can actually rebound,” Lue said. “So right now, just getting Zu out early, bringing him back with that second unit is kind of our focus.”
https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2022-10-12/clippers-lineup-rotations-final-preseason-game-nuggets-ontario