3 discouraging signs from how the LA Clippers played without Paul George
By Evan Desai
On Wednesday night, the LA Clippers took on the Sacramento Kings without Paul George.
George wasn’t hurt, but the team gave him the night off to rest. It makes sense, as George had played every single game leading up to that point. Playing an average of 35.5 minutes per game up to then, taking a day off could do some good for PG13.
The Clippers who did play, however, didn’t look so good without their No. 1 option out there. Missing their MVP candidate unsurprisingly had some major effects on how that game went, and we were upset by Sacramento, 124-115. There were three noticeable defects that raise concerns going forward regarding how this team can win games if George misses time.
No. 3 discouraging sign from how the LA Clippers played without Paul George: Lackluster perimeter defense
The LA Clippers didn’t look the same on defense without Paul George.
They allowed the Kings to hit 15 triples, and they only attempted 38. Chimezie Metu hit two of six treys, De’Aaron Fox hit two of four, Terence Davis hit five of nine, and Davion Mitchell converted on three out of four.
That’s not acceptable from a Clippers team. One thing we’ve learned about the Western Conference is that it can shoot. The only players who attempted at least one three last night and didn’t make one were Alex Len (who’s three-point shot is wildly inconsistent) and Buddy Hield (who’s having the worst shooting year of his career).