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LA Clippers: Stop Panicking, it’s Just the Preseason

By Seth Kimbrell

Apr 16, 2020; Los Angeles, CA, USA: The Staples Center is illuminated in blue as part of the #LightItBlue campaign to salute front line health care workers amid the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY NETWORK
Apr 16, 2020; Los Angeles, CA, USA: The Staples Center is illuminated in blue as part of the #LightItBlue campaign to salute front line health care workers amid the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY NETWORK /
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The LA Clippers have lost both of their games so far in the preseason. The team’s performance is not worth worrying about in the slightest.

In the preseason, the LA Clippers have been exploring different lineups, letting the young guys get a bunch of shots up and trying to find who makes it to the final roster. In the first game against the Los Angeles Lakers, 18 players saw the court. 17 got time in the second game against the Lakers.

And yet, the temptation is to take preseason more seriously than it deserves, which is not at all. There’s really not much to be taken from these matches at all, especially as it relates to the stars on the team.

Let me remind you what Kawhi Leonard‘s statline was in last season’s preseason:

21.5 minutes per game. 10.4 points, 3.2 assists, 2.6 rebounds on .282/.237/.750 shooting. In a word, horrible.

And that meant nothing when, in the regular season, he turned it on and averaged 27/5/7 on .47/.38/.89 shooting.

This is the time for the LA Clippers to figure out who’s going to help the team. Ky Bowman, Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts played 43 minutes combined in the first two preseason games, and now they’re off the team.

I’m not saying to not look at the games with a critical eye at all. We’re seeing that the team could use another ball-handler, and the fact that Batum’s playing the four is a bit concerning for the prospects of seeing a Lou/Reggie/Kennard lineup at some point.

But the Clippers won’t be letting Talen Horton-Tucker drop 33/10 on them in a game which means anything at all. Kawhi Leonard isn’t going to play as passively as he has been. The offense is going to flow better, and people are going to care at all on defense.

It’s the preseason, folks. These games don’t matter, and they’re basically glorified conditioning and drills. Nothing about the results so far predict anything in the regular season, and especially nothing in the playoffs.

When the regular season starts, we’ll be reminded just how good this team can be. It’s tough to not take the games seriously, but the scheme and system is going to look so drastically different once the games start mattering that we need to keep these games in context.

Next. If James Harden is moved, the LA Clippers should explore PJ Tucker. dark

What have you seen in the preseason, good or bad? Let us know on social media or in the comment section down below!

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