The LA Clippers laid an egg on WWE night and lost their first game of the year to the visiting Detroit Pistons 95-87.
Austin Rivers scored a team high 20 points for the LA Clippers to go with four steals. Blake Griffin had a rough night, but managed 19 points on 5-18 shooting against a very tough Detroit Pistons defense. While he did find success in driving to the basket, the ball seemed to roll out of the cylinder and that seemed to be the problem for the Clippers all night.
Andre Drummond scored 15 points and grabbed 17 monster rebounds. Reggie Jackson added 15 points and Langston Galloway provided a spark off the bench. The Pistons forced turnovers and started running, scoring 22 fast break points to the Clippers seven. Yes, seven.
The team was lackluster from the start and they seemed to be a step short and passes were not as crisp. As a team, the Clippers shot 33% from the field but 39.5% from deep. Turning the ball over 19 times for sure didn’t help their cause. The team couldn’t buy a shot during long stretches.
The Pistons came out in the 3rd quarter blazing on an 8-0 run that seemed to hit the Clippers square and they never recovered.
Austin Rivers said the #Pistons ' 8-0 to start the 3rd gave them life. #Clippers were up 10 at half.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 29, 2017
"I think what hurt us is our 3rd quarter start. I think if we put them away there, they may have quit. That's what usually happens. You go down 18, 20, and you're like f*** it."
Late in the fourth quarter coming out of a timeout, Danilo Gallinari hit a three to make it 92-87. The Clippers went scoreless for the rest of the 1:29. The Clippers did not seem to lose trust but it did seem the team began to panic in the middle of the fourth.
Little Ball Movement
The Clippers have put a focus of ball movement, and while they have been able to move the ball at times, the Clippers found themselves in many isolation situations with little movement from people cutting. The passes were not on target and the team just looked disconnected. This left the Clipper players to take contested spot ups or forcing bad shots. The team runs smoother when the team passes, but making passes seemed to be difficult. Passes didn’t hit players in rhythm and they began to rush once the lead began to slip.
Griffin pressed late in the game and tried to make something happen for the Clippers. They lost by only seven points but could have been a hundred based on those last couple minutes.
Next Up
The Clippers will be heading to Oakland to visit the defending champions, the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Oracle. It will be the first meeting of the two Pacific Division foes. The team will need to focus on ball movement and will need to be a little more creative when they face the defending champs, or else Monday night will be even worse.