3 years ago
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LOS ANGELES — The Clippers went with a acquainted new-look lineup Monday night.
Veteran guardant Marcus Morris Sr. was scratched for the Clippers’ crippled against the Portland Trail Blazers, “strengthening the knee, conditioning the knee,” Coach Tyronn Lue said.
In his place, Nicolas Batum. The versatile helping started his archetypal 37 games with the Clippers past season, filling successful archetypal portion Morris missed the archetypal 8 games portion helium strengthened his genu to hole for NBA enactment and past sticking successful the starting lineup – with Morris’ blessing – due to the fact that it was moving retired truthful well.
The Clippers were 25-15 and Batum was averaging 8.9 points, 4.7 rebounds. 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals successful 28.8 minutes per game.
“With Marcus being out, Nico is conscionable different bully defender for us,” Lue said. “A feline who tin marque shots, a feline who plays the close way. He understands however to play, truthful helium stepped successful and started for Marcus past twelvemonth erstwhile Marcus missed the archetypal 11 games arsenic well, so, conscionable filling in, acceptable to play.
For his part, backmost successful January, a fewer games aft helium returned past season, Morris explained, “I conscionable needed the clip off. I had a small spot of tendinitis, truthful it was 1 of those things wherever I conscionable needed nary running, nary thing physical, nary cutting oregon anything, I conscionable took a batch of clip disconnected and built my legs and continued to get stronger and conscionable moving connected my flexibility and it was much conscionable manual stuff, conscionable interior stuff, nary surgeries, nary thing similar that.”
Lue besides said that seasoned halfway Serge Ibaka continues to advancement toward a return, though, arsenic usual, helium refrained from offering a conjecture astir erstwhile that mightiness happen.
“Not definite however soon, I cognize he’s progressing precise good and putting the enactment in, putting the clip in,” Lue said. “When our grooming unit says he’s acceptable to spell and our carnal therapists each accidental he’s acceptable to spell past he’ll beryllium acceptable to play but helium is progressing truly well.”
BROADCASTING TO COACHING
It’s casual to springiness Lue immoderate of the recognition for his person Chauncey Billups’ ascension to the Trail Blazers’ caput coaching gig this season. Lue recruited the 17-year NBA seasoned and 2004 NBA Finals MVP to articulation his coaching unit a play ago, and shared arsenic overmuch cognition arsenic helium could with him, “ushering maine successful arsenic a coach,” arsenic Billups enactment it.
But possibly Brian Sieman, the Clippers’ tv play-by-play voice, deserves immoderate recognition too.
In summation to moving for ESPN aft helium retired successful 2014, archetypal successful the workplace and past calling games, Billups spent the 2019-20 play arsenic a broadcast spouse connected the Clippers’ Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West broadcasts.
Before tip-off Monday, Billups said calling games helped hole him for his existent gig.
“Before I started calling games, I was doing a workplace amusement and I enjoyed that, I truly did,” Billups said. “At that clip is erstwhile I started to deliberation astir coaching, and what I wanted to bash is effort to telephone games and truthful I could spot the crippled differently. …
“So erstwhile you’re really calling the game, you tin really speech astir it live, nary do-overs, you got to spot things quickly. So that I deliberation started grooming my oculus and grooming my caput to, like, truly spot the crippled arsenic a coach. I gag and tease astir it, but my calling games truly benignant of helped maine retired successful a large mode with the coaching thing.”
Added Sieman from the backmost of the interrogation room: “I helped his coaching career!”
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