Three takeaways from the LA Clippers’ blowout win over Pelicans
LA wraps up dominant home stand with a win
The LA Clippers have played impressive basketball all season long, but no streak of games has been as one-sided as the five-game home stand they just wrapped up.
LA went 5-0 against the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans (two of which are top-three teams in their respective conferences). And while the basketball wasn’t always beautiful, the Clippers consistently found ways to win.
For a majority of the five-game stretch, the Clippers won games with their defense while the offense attempted to figure things out and get familiar. LA allowed just 104.2 points per game during the home stand, all while racking up 42 steals and 35 blocks.
That said, the Clippers had some impressive offensive performances as well. They began the stretch with a 150-point performance against Atlanta and ended it with Sunday’s 134-point game against New Orleans. Altogether, LA averaged 120.6 points per game, making their average margin of victory 16.4 points.
Of course, it wasn’t always pretty. The Clippers had to climb back from big deficits late against both the Celtics and the Rockets, and their two-point victory over the Thunder was close throughout. Had guys like Paul George, Lou Williams and Kawhi Leonard missed a few clutch shots, there’s a chance that LA could have gone 2-3 in their last five.
The fact that they pulled them all out has to mean something, though. Normal teams don’t just do things like that regularly. Last year’s Clippers team was the same way, and we all know what they were able to achieve.
It seems as though some of last year’s team is still hanging around, only now they have superstars in Leonard and George, as well as some additional pieces like Maurice Harkless and Rodney McGruder. And that was the idea, right? Preserve the gritty group of guys that played so well last season and throw a star or two into the mix.
Things aren’t going to get any easier from here on out for the Clippers, so they’ll need to keep bringing that same kind of resilience to finish November and throughout December.
Starting this week, the Clippers will embark on a three-game road trip that begins with the Dallas Mavericks. And after a two-game break at home, LA will go back on the road — this time for six games — before returning home on December 17.
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The LA Clippers will play the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PT on NBA TV. Until then, enjoy some other NBA action and keep tabs on us on Twitter @ClipperholicsFS.