LA Clippers: 3 takeaways from blowout win over Portland

Dec 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) drives to the basket between LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and guard Paul George (13) in the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) drives to the basket between LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) and guard Paul George (13) in the first quarter at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
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LA Clippers, Paul George
LA Clippers, Paul George Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

2. LA Clippers Takeaway: The assists keep piling up

On Tuesday night, the LA Clippers finished with 32 assists on 47 makes. On Wednesday night, they had 30 on 47 makes. That’s pretty impressive, right?

The team is doing so by committee, with no one player having 10 plus assists last night. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both led the team with seven apiece.

The 30 assists are significant. This was the third game this season that the team had 30+ assists. For reference, last season the LA Clippers only had eight such games through both the regular season and postseason combined.

Preseason calls for a new point guard to playmaker are looking more and more outlandish with each game. Ty Lue’s new offense is making the ball move much more than under Doc Rivers and the numbers are backing it up.

The Clippers currently sit 12th in the league with 25.8 assists per game, a little over a 2.0 increase from last season’s average. It’s also worth noting that the Dallas Mavericks game heavily impacts that stat right now so it only makes sense that the average will increase once the sample size does as well.