LA Clippers loss to Atlanta still showed some positivity

The LA Clippers fell to the Atlanta Hawks on the first game of their 6-game Eastern Conference road trip, 108-99. They were without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George who were out due to health and safety protocols, which is a fancy way of saying COVID-19 precautions. Patrick Beverly was also out nursing a right knee injury.

The team is not sure whether or not Leonard or George will be available anytime within the next eight days, which covers the rest of the road trip.

On the surface, one may think that the Clippers are in a little trouble if they don’t get their two star players back very soon. However, if they don’t get Leonard and George back but are able to come back west with a 3-3 split on this trip, it would be considered a successful road trip for the organization.

Against Atlanta, the Clippers played a decent game but fell to a hot-shooting Hawks team led by Trae Young’s 38 points. It would have been really interesting to see how Young would have fared against Beverley, who is the peskiest defensive guard in the NBA.

The LA Clippers’ bench guys will get meaningful minutes which matters in the long run.

You will hear coaches and players alike in these situations always say … “next man up”.  This trip will give the Clippers’ bench players a chance to play some meaningful minutes to try and keep the team afloat until their starters are back in the lineup.

Reggie Jackson, Terance Mann, and Luke Kennard started the game and played reasonably well, especially Jackson, who led the Clippers with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists.  As a team however, the Clippers only shot 8-26 from behind the three-point arc, so the loss of George and Leonard really showed in that category.

Despite this loss, the Clippers have the ability to split this series on the road. Games against Orlando, New York, and Cleveland are winnable games, while Brooklyn and Miami will be more of a challenge.

I believe that Ty Lue will have his reserve team ready to take on this short-term challenge. If they are able to play well on the rest of this trip, it will give them loads of confidence when the starters are back in the lineup.

The LA Clippers were playing the best basketball in the NBA up to this point. With elevated play from the reserves put into a starting role, the Clippers would pick up right where they left off before the trip.

From a Clippers’ perspective, it would be a win-win situation and bad news for the rest of the conference.