Offensively, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are elite in more than one way, such as scoring and drawing attention at different levels, and both require the ball in their hands to generate success for the LA Clippers. Thus, there is no room for a third ball-dominant player, yet Tyronn Lue has tried to force Bogdan Bogdanovic’s fit into the starting five over the last two games, despite knowing it will not work.
It is clear Lue was trying to experiment, and that the current lineups are subject to change, but, coming from his days of starting next to Trae Young and underperforming, the championship head coach should have given the Serbian star the green light to have the usage rate he desires on the bench.
Bradley Beal, who Bogdanovic filled in for, was dealing with back soreness, and although many may consider him ball-dominant, he has an overlooked off-ball playstyle. Hence, Beal was specifically chosen as the starting shooting guard by Lue and his staff.
That said, Bogdanovic’s time in the starting lineup is over for now, as Beal will return tonight, but the last two games made it clear to Lawrence Frank that the reality of his future demonstrates how necessary a trade is.
Going with size or defense would have been more viable than Bogdan Bogdanovic
While he will be back on the bench for today’s contest, Tyronn Lue should refrain from unwarranted creativity by adding another off-ball playmaker and maintain a consistent starting lineup with the three-time All-Star, Bradley Beal.
Through 16.5 minutes over two starts, Bogdanovic averaged 1.0 points and 3.0 rebounds, shooting 11.1% from the floor and zero percent from beyond the arc.
Furthermore, the LA Clippers are ultimately guaranteed to go on a losing streak for the foreseeable future if their starting shooting guard is producing like this. Lue had the choice of trying to go 2-0 against the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors with size by starting John Collins, or with defense by starting Kris Dunn, but his intuition favored Bogdanovic, and LA’s consequence is looking at their calendar and seeing a 19-point loss to a divisional rival.
Nonetheless, it will now be much tougher for Bogdanovic to regain that bright and confident feeling he once had in his jumper. So, with his struggles possibly continuing in the second unit, the Clippers must negotiate a trade for him elsewhere at the earliest window available.