The LA Clippers traveled to Minneapolis to play their second-to-last NBA Cup game Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After winning six of their previous seven games with the only loss coming against the defending champions, the Clippers committed a flurry of mistakes and wound up with a one-point loss to the Western Conference runners-up from a season ago.
Falling to a 12-9 record overall, LA's lockdown defensive game traveled just fine to Minnesota, but it was the result of other little mistakes adding up that ultimately led to them leaving town with a loss. The Clippers failed to gain advantage on the boards against a large frontcourt, and the Timberwolves' outside shooting buried them while they were still playing without Norman Powell to counter.
As we evaluate where this team currently stands, it is important to remember that Kawhi Leonard will theoretically be back in the coming weeks. At the very least, he is expected to return to the team's lineup before the end of the season. What that means is that Tyronn Lue is going to have to make some adjustments to his rotation to suit the best player on his roster based on what he knows about his squad right now.
Terance Mann's role could change with Kawhi Leonard back
Looking at the current state of the Clippers, one player has been struggling on the offensive side of the ball: Terance Mann. He has been a regular in Lue's rotation since the start of the season, playing north of 20 minutes most nights. But as valuable as Mann has been defensively, he is simply too much of a non-factor offensively to be guaranteed a big-minutes role after Kawhi comes back.
Friday's game in Minnesota was the latest reminder of this. Mann came off the bench and played 20 minutes, locking down on defense and providing solid contributions there. But at the other end of the floor, Terance scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting.
This was unfortunately far from his first off night shooting the ball. Mann's outing against the Timberwolves was his sixth game this season scoring two points or less while playing at least 13 minutes. The fact that Mann is not a threat to score changes the way opponents can play against the Clippers when he is on the court, and it can be limiting to LA's overall offensive output.
Ultimately, this situation will have to at least be considered when the Clippers get Leonard back. LA of course just re-signed Terance Mann this past offseason, and he still brings value besides scoring to the game. There is no need to axe him from the rotation entirely, but it is probably worth re-thinking his role should he continue to struggle scoring the ball.