Toughness Trio
Montrezl Harrell. Patrick Beverley. Lou Williams. One of these is not like the others, but all three have shown toughness all year and especially during this series.
Harrell has been virtually unstoppable on the offensive end. He’s taking 11.2 shot attempts per game and has made 75% of them. You read that right. Golden State has had no answer for Harrell and they have definitely tried. Andrew Bogut, Kevon Looney and Draymond Green have all tried to take him on and Trezz has just blown right through them. He won’t slow down and is likely the least of the Clippers’ worries.
The same goes for Beverley. The smallest player on the court, he always has the biggest heart. Just look at last game for the evidence. He led both teams in rebounds (14) and managed to hit a career-high five three pointers.
.@patbev21 left it all on the floor.#ClipperNation | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/oMyZD8LlZw
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 25, 2019
The biggest play from him? Losing a shoe and still taking a charge on the defensive end. He, like Harrell, needs to just come to play with his usual passion and fire and the team will be fine.
The last of the team’s tough players is Lou Williams. While he isn’t tough in the traditional sense, his ability to take over games late and to ignore all the pressure is. Lou has been absolutely incredible in the LA Clippers’ victories, averaging 34.5 points while hitting 61% of his shots. Even better, he’s also averaging 10.5 assists in those wins.
Obviously, having a player going 30 and 10 is going to make it hard for opponents, but Lou is capable of doing it on any night. He may not need stats that big, but the Clippers absolutely cannot afford for him to go cold. Keeping both him and Trezz in the pick-and-roll as they did last game will open up the floor for the whole team. Golden State hasn’t had an answer, so expect to see this early and often.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is a classic saying for a reason. The Clippers have found things that work against Golden State and the onus is on them to adjust. LA can keep working the same plays until they find a way to stop it. There are some small adjustments to be made, such as giving Garrett Temple a couple more minutes over Jerome Robinson, but for the most part the Clips seemingly have found their own formula to beat (or at least compete) with Golden State.
All they can do is continue to do what they do: Play hard and smart. If they do, Game 7 becomes a likelihood.