Game 2 Western Semis - 6 p.m. TNT

[Kelphus]

After a beeyootiful beatdown of the McNuggets Thursday, time to hit that drum one more time. Vegas believes - 9 point favorites

Since the team is going down the drain in this series, might as well honor the dancers..... Clips in 5 MAX

[esqtvd]

left the GT for Kelphus to start...



Of interest to the X and O guys.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/story/2020-09-04/clippers-kawhi-leonard-mid-range-jumper-nba-playoffs

Leonard has made 80% of his shots between 10 and 14 feet in this postseason. Zoom out a little more, between eight and 16 feet, and Leonard is shooting nearly 74%.

Leonard has been one of the foremost practitioners of the dying art for several seasons, meaning it certainly was in Dallas’ and Denver’s scouting reports to stop, with multiple games to try out new defensive wrinkles. Yet Leonard continues to maneuver wherever he prefers on the court and rarely has missed once there.

“Just working on it, working on my game, being confident in my shot, and that’s pretty much it,” he said. “Just trying to get to my spots. I’m pretty much focused on all the areas in my game, but I’m able to get to my spots right now and make shots. ”

...


While leading Toronto to last season’s NBA championship, Leonard averaged 30.5 points in the postseason behind a varied offensive diet that hewed closer to the modern NBA’s trendlines: 29% of his shots were three-pointers and 23% were taken less than three feet from the rim.

This postseason: fewer three-pointers — and worse accuracy, from 37% to 30% — and fewer shots at the rim. Meanwhile, his share of jumpers between 10 to 16 feet has increased from 19% last season to 23%. The Clippers certainly aren’t going to argue: He’s made 76% of such shots.

Through seven postseason games, Leonard has averaged 32.3 points.

When he drives to his left and pulls up for a jump shot in isolation situations this postseason, he’s shooting 66.7%, according to Synergy data. Going right, it’s 55.6%.

Scheming to create mid-range looks is so out of fashion that coach Doc Rivers acknowledged he’s running plays this season that he hadn’t run in eight years.

“I watched all his offensive sets from San Antonio to Toronto and it was a lot of the same thing,” Rivers said. “And then I did have a guy in Boston, Paul Pierce, who does some of the stuff that he did, and so we do run some of that. ... As [Clippers assistant] Ty Lue loves saying, ‘Man, you dusted off some of your old Boston stuff for Kawhi.’”

[LamarWho]

Looks like PG is in a dark place again.

[MartinToVaught]

I knew this start was coming after I saw all the "championship favorites" hype yesterday and neutral fans completely writing the Nuggets off in this series. SMH.

[NippySudz]

PG has to make the chippies

[esqtvd]

same whine different day

[NippySudz]

I don't think denver can sustain this offense. I still think the clippers will win this game.

[NippySudz]

I give the nuggets a quarter and a half. That's their best punch.

[LamarWho]

Easily down by 20 by now if it wasn't for Zu.

[MartinToVaught]

Zubac is the only Clipper who's aware that there's a game tonight.

[MartinToVaught]

I don't think denver can sustain this offense. I still think the clippers will win this game.

They'll sustain it just fine with this horrendous defense we're playing.

[NippySudz]

giving up 40 points in the first quarter is not ideal but lets put the straps on for quarter 2. One quarter at a time.

[NippySudz]

Read on Twitter

[MartinToVaught]

giving up 40 points in the first quarter is not ideal but lets put the straps on for quarter 2. One quarter at a time.

I'd love to be optimistic, but this is a rerun of the Kings game, the Timberwolves game, etc. and it always ends up being a humiliating loss.

[NippySudz]

Read on Twitter

[NippySudz]

giving up 40 points in the first quarter is not ideal but lets put the straps on for quarter 2. One quarter at a time.

I'd love to be optimistic, but this is a rerun of the Kings game, the Timberwolves game, etc. and it always ends up being a humiliating loss.

its the playoffs, our best players are going to play 40 mins. Lets just cut it before the half.

[nickhx2]

i mean if they shoot like that all night they deserve to win the game lol

whatever the case, the second unit has to figure something out.

[esqtvd]

Doc did the right thing by letting the stew in their own juices. Except for a couple guys, everybody has to look in the mirror. And the mirror is the scoreboard.

Everybody knows what they need to do. They're not children. Stay cool, weather the storm.

[NippySudz]

man, they're just shooting the lights out.

[Kelphus]

Yeeowch