Game 61: Los Angeles Clippers @ Phoenix Suns Feb. 16 7 PM PCT

[NickP]

A beautiful compete win. Mann is playing without looking over his shoulder. Loved his aggressive and attacking style of play.
Egor and Plumlee are great additions to the playoffs rotation. Staple Sr to the bench and all's good.

[madmaxmedia]

Guess who didn’t play in the 4th and only got 19 minutes?

guys REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I DONT THINK HE'D GET ONE REBOUND

yo for real last night i dreamt i was playing pickup with marcus morris at home depot for some reason and he didn't get a single board then IIRC

just saying

LOL Marcus Morris is the only NBA player a regular guy can beat in a 1-on-1, because even if you miss 99% of your shots you’ll always get the rebound and eventually score.

[Akklaim1]

Is this the most games we’ve played before the All Star break? Only 21 games left in the unofficial 2nd half of the season?

I also don’t recall the All-Star Game being this late into the season (Feb 19). Usually, it’s way before Valentine’s Day.

[clipperlover]

Is this the most games we’ve played before the All Star break? Only 21 games left in the unofficial 2nd half of the season?

I also don’t recall the All-Star Game being this late into the season (Feb 19). Usually, it’s way before Valentine’s Day.

I am pretty sure NBA All-Star weekend has been President's Day weekend for as long as I can remember. Because Feb started on a Wednesday, the 3rd Monday of February is later.

[madmaxmedia]

Ayton had 18 points and 6 rebounds. He seems to not be very intense or angry. He seems like he is playing casual basketball and getting paid .

TBH I don't think it's so much his effort as it is his skillset. Most NBA teams don't spend a lot of time trying to initiate through the low post, and that's what would suit him best. So he gets his points where he can, but he's athletic and skilled enough to get 18 and 6 without ever being a focal point of the team.

That's actually pretty good, but thus the fundamental question of how much to pay a center like him. Especially now with Durant, better to pay $15-20M to a roll guy who can just defend and rebound reasonably well.

[Clemenza]

Good win but still need to figure out how to get Bones more involved.

Its not really his time yet for the team to make sure he gets involved like that. Its only his 2nd year in the NBA and him so far getting backup point guard duty is good enough and more than we expected. He's got to strengthen up and improve his defense for starters.

[NickP]

guys REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I DONT THINK HE'D GET ONE REBOUND

yo for real last night i dreamt i was playing pickup with marcus morris at home depot for some reason and he didn't get a single board then IIRC

just saying

LOL Marcus Morris is the only NBA player a regular guy can beat in a 1-on-1, because even if you miss 99% of your shots you’ll always get the rebound and eventually score.

I know you're probably exaggerating this but this made me remember regular dudes thinking they could take on Brian Scalabrine one on one. Didn't happen.

[madmaxmedia]

yo for real last night i dreamt i was playing pickup with marcus morris at home depot for some reason and he didn't get a single board then IIRC

just saying

LOL Marcus Morris is the only NBA player a regular guy can beat in a 1-on-1, because even if you miss 99% of your shots you’ll always get the rebound and eventually score.

I know you're probably exaggerating this but this made me remember regular dudes thinking they could take on Brian Scalabrine one on one. Didn't happen.

That series was awesome

[clipperlover]

I will reiterate the following and expand as we see the team develop, but I think one of the following combinations need to be on the court at all times:
PG/Kawhi
Zu/Plumlee
Powell/Gordon

I would add Batum/RoCo to that mix also. If we add Westbrook, then Mann/Westbrook would round it out.

Of course we will have times when PG and Kawhi are on the court together, but they never should be sitting at the same time.

[esqtvd]

PG + KL = 28 games this year out of 62

this is why the FO does not want to blow it all up with Westbrook

they are happy with the upgrades so far, adding Plumlee for Moses and EJ for the passive Kennard

Reggie was an adequate backup point guard but we already have a fake starting point guard so what's one more??????

Fake starting point guard? You mean the guy who's playing freely without Reggie looking over his shoulder?

Well, here's some news, bruh. EJ is playing over his shoulder lol. 7 assists.

[Ballings7]

Very nice win

Told y'all about these pick ups! Going as expected.

Suns will be an issue eventually, but I don't think they're going to be as dangerous or potent as people are hyping..

Denver, a focused Memphis are still the main teams in the conference for now. And soon, maybe the Clips!

[esqtvd]

Guess who didn’t play in the 4th and only got 19 minutes?

4 points, zero rebs

unfortunately Batum is really scuffling lately too
3.7 ppg this month
3 pts 2 rebs vs PHX

[nickhx2]

Good win but still need to figure out how to get Bones more involved.

Its not really his time yet for the team to make sure he gets involved like that. Its only his 2nd year in the NBA and him so far getting backup point guard duty is good enough and more than we expected. He's got to strengthen up and improve his defense for starters.

yeah i don't think it is or should be a priority for the team to get bones more involved. like, if he were an overall better player then yes, i'd agree, but i think as is (given gordon's resurgence and mp's much-needed impact), we don't need to do a whole lot here.

he's not so good that we go "hmm how do we feature bones more? he's too good not to play." but like i said, as is, things are looking pretty darn good! and bones i don't think quite has any specific role to focus on, while at the same still looking very much like a young, raw player.

i will say, though, in his second game he was out there trying to make things happen, with a number of non-stat sheet plays, which is the kind of thing what you would pray for boston to be doing.

[UKClipperfan]

Really liked the closing unit. EJ PG Kawhi Mann and Zu worked well together. Minus KD but it was still against a contender, so that's promising. Could have Plum in there depending on matchups I guess. It's been said a million times before, but Morris is so bad, sooooo bad. We pulled away when he wasn't playing. Just give RoCo his minutes.

I originally thought Westbrook would be a good fit. With the 2 games since the trades I'm not so sure anymore. It might complicate things. It might not, I don't know.

[Clemenza]

PG + KL = 28 games this year out of 62

this is why the FO does not want to blow it all up with Westbrook

they are happy with the upgrades so far, adding Plumlee for Moses and EJ for the passive Kennard

Reggie was an adequate backup point guard but we already have a fake starting point guard so what's one more??????

Fake starting point guard? You mean the guy who's playing freely without Reggie looking over his shoulder?

Well, here's some news, bruh. EJ is playing over his shoulder lol. 7 assists.

There's not that many assists to be had starting the game with one on one iso players in PG, Kawhi, and Morris.

[esqtvd]

Fake starting point guard? You mean the guy who's playing freely without Reggie looking over his shoulder?

Well, here's some news, bruh. EJ is playing over his shoulder lol. 7 assists.

There's not that many assists to be had starting the game with one on one iso players in PG, Kawhi, and Morris.

I'm not going to fight with you and I hope Mann keeps producing like he has over the last 3 or 4 games. But he's simply not playing the point, is all.

In a win Tuesday against Golden State, the team’s first game using their three new players, they tied their season high with 33 assists. Against the Warriors and Suns combined, the Clippers averaged 299 passes, 24 more than their season average.

Lue acknowledged it could have been the result of new energy but also believed it’s sustainable because of Hyland’s instinct to push the ball upcourt and into the paint, Gordon’s experience handling the ball and Plumlee’s knack for advancing the ball quickly in transition.

Lue was typically the loudest voice supporting the traditional-point-guard cause, yet he acknowledged that he’d advised Hyland “don’t try to be a traditional point guard.” His advice: “Score,” Lue said, “but make the right play.”

https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2023-02-17/los-angeles-clippers-roster-buyout-market-stretch-run

[og15]

Ayton had 18 points and 6 rebounds. He seems to not be very intense or angry. He seems like he is playing casual basketball and getting paid .

TBH I don't think it's so much his effort as it is his skillset. Most NBA teams don't spend a lot of time trying to initiate through the low post, and that's what would suit him best. So he gets his points where he can, but he's athletic and skilled enough to get 18 and 6 without ever being a focal point of the team.

That's actually pretty good, but thus the fundamental question of how much to pay a center like him. Especially now with Durant, better to pay $15-20M to a roll guy who can just defend and rebound reasonably well.

Also if you are initiating through the low post, that guy better be a very good passer.

Ayton was actually averaging 23.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 4.6 FTA and 62.7% FG the 10 games before that game, and was coming off a 29/11 game, so let's just say the Clippers bigs did a fair job containing him