The LA Clippers have started center Ivica Zubac in both playoff games so far, but have seen little success with him on the floor. Should they switch it up?
It felt like déjà vu, the LA Clippers had stood toe-to-toe with the Warriors throughout the first quarter only to be undone by an onslaught during the second. Two games played, two big deficits going into the half. Except this game was different — DeMarcus Cousins had already gone down to a quad injury which had caused GSW to rally.
In his absence, Kevon Looney was impressing while the refs were calling fouls on what felt like almost every play. No longer could the Clippers rely on Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell to expose Boogie on defense like they did to great effect in game one, no, this time they were down big in their historically great opponents’ home.
Enter JaMychal Green, who has been a great addition to the LA bench. In Game 2, he went for 13 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes of action, tacking on an assist and a steal as well. His shooting was predictably good as well, hitting 2-of-3 from deep and 5-of-6 overall.
With Boogie out, Green was able to combat the Warriors smaller lineups, using pin-downs to help force Danilo Gallinari switches onto Stephen Curry and sagging off at the right times to provide secondary options on offensive plays. This was a performance from a player who is enjoying his time in LA and is a free agent in the summer. One game does not mean a player should be considered to start though, so lets look at his Game 1 stats.
There, he went for 10 points, six rebounds and a steal in 25 minutes of play, including 2-of-5 shooting from three and 4-of-9 overall.
I get it, these stats do not jump off the page, or make you go “WOW!” – but they do show solid contributions across the first two games of this series. However, those contributions are not being matched by the current starting center in Ivica Zubac, who is averaging one point and three rebonds per game.
Watching Zubac this series has made it clear he is not ready or developed enough to contribute against this Warriors team, especially under spotlights as bright as these. And honestly, there is no shame in that. Zubac is a young big who has a bright future in this league, he just isn’t ready right now and that’s OK.
With Boogie out for what is assumed to be the rest of the playoffs, the Clippers no longer need Zubac to use his length and disrupt Boogie at the beginning of games.
Green on the other hand, well this guy is playing for his career right now! Every good performance makes teams take notice, each career high adds value to that upcoming check all whilst playing the best team in the league. Green matches up against Looney and Bogut much better than Zubac while keeping Harrell and Williams coming off the bench is the smartest option, using Green at the five and going small solidifies this team on both offense and defense – we saw it in Game 2 and to a lesser extent in Game 1.
Game 3 is at Staples Center where the crowd will need to be the driving force needed to again help the LA Clippers go toe-to-toe with these titans, and Green just gives us the best opportunity of walking away victorious.