Just as it has seemed to the outside, for most of the season, the LA Clippers’ offense has primarily featured just one name: James Harden. Kawhi Leonard, Bradley Beal, and Ivica Zubac were supposed to be the stars that had his back, but a combination of injuries and a struggling offense has left Harden playing the role of a do-it-all machine until the last few games, where Tyronn Lue put his foot down on the Croatian Star’s offensive role.
Zubac was nearly an All-NBA center last season, yet Lue could not get him going because of the focus on Beal. Though only one of the three-time All-Star's six regular-season games exceeded ten shot attempts, they were still opportunities to feed the big man in the paint gone to waste.
However, Beal’s last game of the season was on November 8th. Thereafter, Zubac has been a monster, and the Clippers must keep him going to knock the first box off the checklist of reaching a .500 record.
Ivica Zubac should see a significant number of touches on a nightly basis
The double-overtime win versus the Dallas Mavericks was the first game of the season where fans of the LA Clippers were convinced that Ivica Zubac still had the All-NBA potential within him. He played 46 minutes and recorded 27 points and 11 rebounds on 15 shots.
Nearly two weeks had passed before Zubac could replicate a similar performance. Yet, he one-upped himself against the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose anchor is Evan Mobley, a two-time All-Defensive big man and 2025 Defensive Player of the Year.
Zubac recorded 33 points, 18 rebounds, and four assists, on a career high of 22 attempts from inside the paint. With James Harden only shooting the ball 16 times, for the first time this season, every ounce of Tyronn Lue’s trust was on the highly coveted star center.
Moreover, before each game, Lue and Zubac must have a brief conversation centered on a mutual, two-way promise that Zubac will see at least 15 shots per game.
It is Lue’s duty to design plays specifically intended for Zubac, and simultaneously, the soon-to-be All-Star must be confident and aggressive in his footwork, hook shot, and floater.
That said, the Clippers were certainly tested with patience in witnessing Zubac’s journey to finding a humming rhythm in the offense this season. It appears that he has finally found it, and to avoid fumbling the success rate of this strategy, Lue should continue to depend on him, just as he does with the former MVP.