Los Clippers of the quartet are already ready while the Mavericks collapse. In an impeccable basketball exercise, with a perfect balance between the individual and the collective and the scoreboard, the Los Angeles team removed Dallas’ past, revealing all its shortcomings (107-88). TO Luka Doncicall too familiar for him to stay alone in his exhibitions -30 points-, with the exception of Kyrie Irving (26) are once again plagued by the same team problems as last year while the Clippers demonstrated that they have assembled their stars along with their supporting actors with Paul George ahead with 25 points.
It was not a night of equal distribution for the multitude of stars of the Los Angeles team, but it was a night of harmony with everyone adding, too. Kawhi Leonard despite his 8 points and his 2/12 shooting and James Harden despite his also 8 goals and his 2/8 in shots although 7 assists. After PG, a messy Russell Westbrook bordering on the triple-double with his 14 points -6/9 in shooting-, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, merciless against Doncic’s fragile defense.
“Go get him!” the man shouted. 2017 MVP unceremoniously pointing out the Slovenian’s vulnerable defense.
It was the final blow of a Doncic who saw his past removed, that of a Mavericks with him as the only system – or Irving -, without a collective plan with barely 17 assists and completely naked in the paint on both sides of the court with the loss of Dereck Lively II, overwhelmed on the rebound with 45 catches to the 73 of the Clippers, who scored up to 54 points in the painted area.
Thursday’s victory against the Lakers was hardly a mirage in the desert of unknowns in which the set of Jason Kiddwith four defeats in the last six games while the team of Tyronn Lue presents the reverse dynamic, with four wins in the six recent events.
From 144-126 two weeks ago in Dallas in favor of the Mavericks to this 107-88 there may not really be that much difference but the progress of the Los Angeles team is more than evident. Everyone – the stars first – seems to already be clear about their role in these Clippers in which they are their secondary players with their commitment, versatility and reliability – above all Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, Norman Powell-those that make such overpopulation of stars sustainable.
Harden’s rebellious and haughty statement declaring himself “the system” It was nothing more than a facade. Faced with not one more star but three, the ‘Beard’ has to give up his ego and his individual part of the game even more and sees his number of shots per game drop. less than 10 for the first time in his career. He no longer has that devastating sprint to get to the paint – or he can’t maintain it at least consistently – but he does have the power of attraction to compress defenses.
It was not a successful day for the Clippers from the perimeter with 8/29 (27%) but the Los Angeles team found many routes to the rim by attacking closeouts. One of them Terance Mann (17 points), agreeing with the Los Angeles team’s resistance to transferring him to the Sixers in the operation for Harden. Also undetectable cutting behind the defense with backdoors and fleeting in transition, Mann is acting as an anchor in these Clippers in which Westbrook’s resignation from the starting position allowed him to enter the starting five.
A Russ who enjoys being on the court, fighting on the rebound and focusing whether it is at the end of the possession or at the beginning in what is one of the best in NBA history, penetrating.
And Kawhi was the one who looked the least in the gallery, but the two-time champion of the best league in the world was the one who had the most impact on the Clippers with a plus-minus of +24. He created space from the post and shone in a defense that was impossible for Dallas to dismantle, with 0 points for his starting center. Richaun Holmes.
Lue’s team applied the most sensible plan against Doncic and Irving. It is impossible to contain them, but, at least, that they do not produce for others. They were efficient – 11/27 and 11/22 in shots – but they barely added 7 assists between the two of them. In the case of the Slovenian, the Clippers invited him to go to the collision in paint traffic. In that, finishing on contact, the Slovenian is one of the best but it is also more exhausting for him. The Los Angeles team gave him 2×1 on rare occasions but always opportune, at the end of possession and rotating so as not to leave the paint unprotected.
The Lue team’s lesson in defense was also an honorable one. They were not afraid to grant all or almost all the changes in blocking Doncic and Irving -even with Harden as a defender-, but always having the rim protected with Zubac or Theis or the rotations allowed them to do so. The former Barcelona player Dante Exum2 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 17 minutes, was the best in terms of plus-minus (+4) in a Mavericks team with too many flaws to crave ring.
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2023-11-26 07:02:16
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