Two-way forward Johnathan Motley has been called up by the LA Clippers for a third time, but he still hasn’t seen any court time. Could tonight be his first chance?
LA Clippers fans have been begging to see two-way forward Johnathan Motley on the floor for quite some time now, and although he’s been called up ahead of tonight’s game against the Phoenix Suns, it seems they’re beginning to lose hope that he’ll make his Clippers debut anytime soon.
Motley, 23, has been one of the G-League’s best players this season with the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, and with an obvious weakness at the center position, the LA Clippers would likely benefit from his talents. The 6-10 big is a solid defender on one end and a sneaky-good shooter on the other.
Through 18 games with Agua Caliente, Motley is putting up averages of 25.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists in about 35 minutes per game. His shooting splits of .561/.281/.734 are impressive for someone of his size and position, and they give him an edge that LA’s current centers don’t possess: Capable three-point shooting.
Motley’s ability to space the floor could further improve LA’s fourth-ranked offense, which is just one of the many things that has fans wondering why he’s yet to make his long-awaited Clippers debut.
One of the biggest reasons why we haven’t yet may be due to his inexperience. Rumor has it that LA’s coaching staff doesn’t think he’s capable of guarding the NBA center yet, which is a valid point. But as a counterpoint, the Clippers could very easily bring Motley off the bench as a power forward or as a small ball center alongside Montrezl Harrell.
That could be an especially good idea tonight, and that may be what the Clippers are thinking by calling him up. The Phoenix Suns lack quality bench bigs, the best option being Richaun Holmes, who’s good for 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. His frame is nearly identical to that of Motley as well, so if that is the plan, the two would matchup nicely from LA’s perspective.
The idea of running Motley with the starters, then, is a little more difficult to envision. The best possible solution would be starting Motley at the four and running Danilo Gallinari at center. LA has had a surprising level of success this season using him as a small ball center, but it likely wouldn’t work against some of the league’s premier bigs, like Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns.
Unfortunately for Clippers fans, the best chance there is of seeing Motley on the floor would be because of an injury to a big higher up on the depth chart. That was the case for LA last season, when the team got 83 combined games from two-way players Tyrone Wallace, C.J. Williams and Jamil Wilson.
However, one of Marcin Gortat or Boban Marjanovic has played in every single game this season, so we shouldn’t expect (or hope for) an injury to either of those two.
That was the case for LA last season, when the team got 78 combined games from two-way players Tyrone Wallace, C.J. Williams and Jamil Wilson.
The Clippers may just need to experiment with Motley before finding a place for him in the rotation. Tonight seems like it would be a good time to do so, but there’s no telling whether or not he’ll get his chance anytime soon.
There is good news, though. Last season, two-way contracts expired after a player had spent 45 days with an NBA team. This led to some tedious traveling for the players in question, who could be playing a G-League game on one coast and have to play an NBA game the following night on the opposite one. This season, however, the rule was altered so that days of travel would not count against a player’s number of remaining days, meaning Motley will technically be able to spend more time in the big leagues than Wallace and Williams could last year.
If we don’t see Motley tonight, chances are we will soon enough. The Clippers, coincidentally, have 45 games left to play this season, meaning Motley will be eligible for all of them if the team plays its cards right.