LA Clippers Takeaway #3: The Ball Movement Looked Great
The LA Clippers really put to bed the whole “the Clips NEED another ballhandler to be successful” deal in the season opener. The ball zipped around the court, and the Clippers put up 22 assists, compared to the 19 per game in the Lakers series last year.
It wasn’t just the stars either. Nicolas Batum looked comfortable facilitating, and the team was ready and willing to make a second and third pass off of drive and kicks, which often led to an open look.
On many of those plays, it was easy to see last year’s Clippers stopping after one pass and forcing a contested shot. It was a breathe of fresh air to see the ball movement take such a big leap forward.
That was another focus that Lue mentioned in his introductory press conferences – making sure that the ball didn’t stick, and that the extra pass was made when necessary.
When Lue said all that, we were of course thrilled to hear it, but the question was always whether it would translate to actual in-game performance. And in game 1, we saw several of the focuses Lue talked about coming to fruition.
Of course, there’s plenty of games left to play, but really all three takeaways can be boiled down to “we saw the team do what Lue said he wanted to do,” and that’s incredibly encouraging for Clippers fans.
What did you take away from the game? What impressed you the most? Let us know on social media, and here at Clipperholics!