The LA Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109 on opening night. We take a look at three things we learned from watching game 1 of 72.
I’m not going to pretend that I predicted the LA Clippers would beat the Lakers. Call it the pessimist in me, but I thought it would take some time for the team to gel to the point of beating the defending champions.
And yet, here we are the day after, and the Clippers are 1-0. Let’s take a look at 3 things that we learned from watching the first game of the Clippers’ season.
LA Clippers Takeaway #1: Zubac Looks Good on the Second Unit
As we started seeing in the preseason, Serge Ibaka took the starting role for the LA Clippers. Serge played well with the starters, and that let Zubac feast on the second unit, defending (and being defended by) Montrezl Harrell.
Zu showed up, playing 26 minutes and registering a +17, with 11 points and 6 rebounds. His pick and roll performance with Lou was impressive, and he consistently found himself in the right place at the right time.
Per basketball-reference, the Clippers were 30 points per 100 possessions better on offense when Zu was on compared to off, and 13 points per 100 possessions better on defense.
Fans of the team are thrilled to see a bench unit actually perform on defense, and Zu was a big part of that.
The Clippers are in a position that’s fairly unfamiliar: we have two legitimate seven footers who can defend the rim and hold their own on offense. There should be no minutes where one of our talented big men aren’t on the floor.
The number one thing I noticed watching the game was how comfortable Zu was alongside the backups. He slots in well next to Lou Williams, and he’s a natural fit alongside somebody like Patrick Patterson stretching the floor.
And with Lue seeming to want to stagger the starters, Zu still gets plenty of time alongside guys like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. It’s a win-win, and the team will benefit from having Zu anchoring the second unit.