3 lessons we learned in the Clippers’ loss against the Heat
By Paul Tooke
Despite an impressive 25-point comeback, the LA Clippers still fell short against a pesky Miami Heat squad. Here are some important lessons that we learned from the disappointing loss.
Austin Rivers still needs to work on his free throws
After watching Austin Rivers miss two clutch free throws with 17 seconds left in the fourth, NBA fans couldn’t help but ask “how does a starting guard miss two free throws?” Rivers is a 64.9% career free throw shooter, which is unacceptable for an NBA guard. On the bright side, he knew to dive in and grab the loose ball from James Johnson. He made the aggressive play for a free throw opportunity, just like he made against the Trailblazers when he drove in and dislocated a finger upon contact. (The call was controversially reversed to an offensive foul on Rivers rather than a foul for him). Austin Rivers gets an “A” for effort in the play getting him to the line, but an “F” for execution.
Doc Rivers is still figuring out an effective player rotation
Doc Rivers is the second Rivers trying to figure something out in this game (don’t get the wrong idea, we love them both). Honestly, you can’t blame coach Rivers for still working on finding the best combination of Clippers players for each quarter and situation; We aren’t even 10 games into the season, and there are as many as nine players on the roster who were not around last season. It is going to take some time to figure out which players operate best when paired together.
The team needs to figure out who takes “the shot”
Blake Griffin made his case for being a clutch shooter early in the season by sinking a buzzer three pointer against the Trailblazers. However, his last second shot in this game was anything but smart. You could tell by his face that he didn’t like it. The team used to have J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford on the roster for a hopeful clutch basket, but they have moved on, and a new closer must step forward. Lou Williams is a candidate, and Blake Griffin is as well, but no one else really sticks out as someone with a “Mamba Mentality” for crucial shots. This leaves the challenge open for everyone on the roster to prepare their shot for a last second situation.