Fans of the LA Clippers came away from the game against the Brooklyn Nets feeling frustrated, and feeling like the game was winnable. As rough as it was to lose the game, especially in the fashion the Clips did, there were certainly bright spots.
There are no free wins in the NBA, especially against a team like the Nets. The fact that the LA Clippers kept it close, especially given some of the poor play early in the game, should give us some hope.
The LA Clippers showed encouraging signs in their loss to the Nets.
This was one of those games that the LA Clippers could have easily folded and given up toward the end. The first half was not kind to the Clips; they shot 43.5% from the field, only racking up 9 assists while also turning the ball over 9 times, and they trailed by 7 going into the half.
The third quarter, which has been the dominant period for the LA Clippers through most of the season, was an uninspired one defensively. The offense showed signs of life, dishing out 8 assists to 3 turnovers and shooting 52%, but they were still outscored by 3 and trailed by 10 at the start of the fourth.
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Where previous iterations of the LA Clippers might have mailed it in, the Clips fought back and made it close, mostly on the back of Paul George‘s 12 points and 2 assists in the quarter. We should take heart in that. Our guys fought and came within a possession or two of bringing it back against the best offense in the league.
We had typically great games from our two superstars. PG put up 34 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists on great shooting, and Kawhi had 29 points and 13 rebounds. Against the best the East has to offer, our stars showed up to play, and that tells us we can expect the same going into the postseason.
It took a really poor game from, well, basically everybody else to bring the game to within a close offensive foul call and a couple of possessions of a Clipper victory. Outside of our stars, exactly 3 players shot better than 40% from the field: Zubac (6 for 7), Mann (2 for 4) and Ibaka (5 for 10). We had the same number of guys shoot under 30%. Lou was 2 for 11, Batum was 1 for 6 and Mook was 2 for 7.
As a team, the LA Clippers (who average 84% from the free throw line) shot 72%, leaving 5 points from the line. Outside of Kawhi and PG, there wasn’t much good to say about the Clips’ performance.
And yet, they only lost by 4 to the team many are penciling in as a Finals contender in the East. So while I’m disappointed that the result was a loss, it’s hard to imagine the LA Clippers playing much worse than they did, and they still kept it close. That should be encouraging to all of us.