To keep it accurate and straightforward, the LA Clippers’ fan favorite, Kobe Sanders, with an inspiring rookie story, was awful against the Washington Wizards. He was on schedule to start and did, yet presented several flaws on both sides of the ball that Cam Christie did not, who surprised on Friday, and ran it back in 19 minutes in D.C. off the bench.
Statistically, Sanders was worse, but not in a drastic manner. The 2025 second-round pick scored eight points, shooting 3-11, while Christie posted six points, shooting 1-5, and neither recorded steals or blocks.
But when they say monitoring the box scores is an inaccurate form of analysis and evaluation, they are correct. Christie’s performance should be judged by the film, and not by the way he shot or through the 1:2 assist-turnover ratio he posted.
Thus, Christie is overdue to take on Sanders’ role as the key figure in an improvement-needy second unit. He has not proven to be better, yet he has demonstrated that it is fair to swap places for the foreseeable future.
Cam Christie’s defense deserves acknowledgement compared to how Kobe Sanders played
The Washington Wizards having one of the lowest win percentages in the NBA and a bottom-two defensive rating explains that Kobe Sanders’ underwhelming showcase yesterday afternoon was self-inflicted.
He paved the way to a team-low +/- of -15; he could not find his jumper; he settled for a stormy shooting night rather than playing minutes on defense; everything Sanders did was on his shoulders, and there is no one else to blame.
Offensively, he had nothing to give, and that is when the youngster spontaneously transformed into a liability.
On the contrary, Cam Christie could have done the same. He, too, was off target, but instead, he took the route that a professional organization would like amid an inevitable off-night, and that pertains to defense.
Christie knew that the chance of him having a perfect night was up as soon as his first couple of misses occurred. Still, his defensive instincts were left all over the game, and that turned a couple of possessions in the Clippers’ direction.
Ultimately, Christie was a difference-maker in a game the Clippers narrowly won, and LA triumphed in his minutes, as he posted a +/- of +16, the second-best on both teams.
That said, Christie’s number should be called for more minutes tonight versus the Chicago Bulls. He has been excellent as of late and will certainly help the Clippers win their seventh in a row.