3 Takeaways from the LA Clippers’ 110-107 win over Dallas
By Logan Rapp
A sluggish start turned into a rock fight as the LA Clippers fought off the Dallas Mavericks resulting in a 110 – 107 victory.
The LA Clippers are finding their groove, pushing their win streak to four after going into Dallas and winning a game of some import: With a short series, the Clippers now hold the tiebreaker against the Mavericks in the playoff race at 2-0 with only one other game left to play.
Shamet is getting going
Landry Shamet‘s looking like his 2019 self, pulling down 18 points in 36 minutes. Shooting 5 for 8 from beyond the arc, every single three he made was big. His movement across the court has improved, and he’s confidently placing himself in catch-and-shoot situations. Tonight, it felt like every time the ball went up it was going in. At 62.5%, it really almost did.
Shamet’s heads-up play was also cited by Doc, particularly in the clutch — burning a few crucial seconds of time before smartly fouling Luka in a one-possession game. There’s a reason why Kawhi and Paul George have both in post-game interviews noted Shamet as a needed component to their rotation during his injury stint.
With his shot looking like it was in the 2018-2019 season, we can really see it, now — he’s a smart catch-and-shoot player who can drive, doesn’t turn the ball over very much, and is solid defensively — or at least isn’t a liability to be exploited. When Shamet has his stroke, he spaces the floor in a way that helps the rest of the team find open looks, forcing defensives to keep one eye on him.
Pat Bev may be injured again
Sigh. Patrick Beverley came out of the game after 14 minutes of play and did not return due to a groin issue. We don’t yet know how bad it is and how much time, if any, he will miss, but losing Pat Bev right as the team is starting to come together is… less than ideal.
Pat was 3 for 3 from beyond the arc before coming out, bringing down four rebounds and earning four assists in those 14 minutes. He’s also been given the playbook by Doc, taking more of a facilitator role that the team has shown to benefit from.
So light your candles and prepare your blood sacrifices, let’s hope this isn’t a long term set back for Beverley and the LA Clippers.
Kawhi’s 6 straight 30+ point games
With this 36 point outing, Kawhi is now only two games behind legend Bob McAdoo (8) and five behind World B. Free. (11). The way Kawhi has been playing, even with Paul George soon to return from injury, there’s no reason why he can’t at least reach McAdoo’s level.
Regardless, the point here is that Kawhi Leonard is a Very Good Basketball player, and the one thing easily noticed about him is that he just looks healthy, starting the second half with a super-speedy dunk on the Mavericks within seconds of the quarter starting.
Even on a bad shooting day — the team combined for 37.1% from the field — Kawhi did all the Kawhi things, and on 36 minutes, he looked fresh the whole way through. It’s expected that he will probably not play tomorrow against Atlanta, but remember: there are no back-to-backs in the postseason.
https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/1219847156783296513?s=20
Honorable mention: Lou “we’re getting close.”
Really, you don’t need me to say anything — Lou’s interview above is everything about the LA Clippers gelling as a team.
Next. The Clippers made exploratory calls on Derrick Rose. dark
The LA Clippers play again in the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday. They head to Atlanta to face the Hawks and may have to do so while missing Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverley.