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The LA Clippers and Washington Wizards game was truly significant

By Paul Tooke

Dec 18, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) defends at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 117-110. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; LA Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dribbles the ball as Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris (5) defends at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 117-110. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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On Wednesday night, the Washington Wizards visited the LA Clippers to play a competitive game. The home team learned a lot during this game, and so did the viewers. Let’s break it down. 

We were all glad to hear that after a recent ankle injury, J.J. Redick would be ready to start in this game, and he made his return worth while. In a hard-fought game, the Clippers came out on top 133-124. This was an incredibly high scoring game for us, and a great testament to our starting squad’s offense. In fact, this was the first time ever that Blake Griffin (26), Chris Paul (27), DeAndre Jordan (23) and J.J. Redick (31) all reached 20 points in the same game. Through a successful night of offense, we learned our first lesson.

LISTEN: A Conversation with J.J. Redick

When our bench is in a slump, our starters must go off. 

It’s not news that our bench has not been at their best lately. Here is one theory on why they have struggled: They aren’t playing as a unit. Due to injuries from Paul, Griffin and Redick, players such as Austin Rivers, Raymond Felton, and Jamal Crawford have been forced to start. A side effect of this is a corruption in our bench’s flow that they had earlier in the season. When the bench is not producing on offense or stopping on defense, the starters are forced to play harder, resulting in numbers such as the ones from last night.

This game had a playoff-like feel.

The Wizards are not scrubs, and this game was an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming NBA playoffs. The team from Washington has clinched a playoff berth with their 46-29 record, and has made some great roster additions as well. In this game, All Star John Wall scored 41 points while his backcourt partner Bradley Beal dropped 27. Come playoff time, the Clippers will potentially have to face teams with stars who can regularly put up similar numbers such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant. The Clippers as well as every other team can learn a lot from playing and winning games against talented scorers such as the Wizards’ backcourt.

We still know how to win. 

This may be our worst season since Chris Paul came to LA, and we may have just choked a 18 point lead against the Sacramento Kings with just over five minutes remaining, but this team can still win games. Everyone can agree that this was a needed confidence booster for the team, and it’s players alike. It goes without saying that playing like this in the future will help the Clippers win more games.

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