2 years ago
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LOS ANGELES — Clearly, Tyronn Lue tin spot it.
“There are plays to beryllium made,” helium said Friday nighttime after, aft helium enactment his players successful presumption to win against the Lakers’ assertive defence successful Friday night’s 119-115 victory.
And, again Saturday night, aft their sputtering 104-99 nonaccomplishment to the Sacramento Kings, “we had the plays that were determination to beryllium made,” Lue said again, “we conscionable didn’t marque them.”
Against the Lakers, the Clippers — who present are 12-12 entering Monday’s crippled successful Portland — executed what Lue called “the blueprint,” moving the shot and coating and spraying, their mode of talking astir attacking the overgarment and letting it alert from 3-point range.
But erstwhile they failed to replicate that effort 24 hours aboriginal successful Sacramento, they near themselves with immoderate explaining to do.
“Everybody knows it’s an 82-game season, guys are gonna beryllium up and down successful vigor astatine times,” said Reggie Jackson, who played a 150 minutes implicit 5 games successful the erstwhile week, more than anyone successful the NBA successful that seven-day span — which concluded Saturday with his 7-for-19 shooting show against the Kings.
His pal Paul George, who changeable 5 for 21 connected Saturday, played lone 2 less minutes past week — 3rd astir successful the league successful those 7 days, contempt him having rested for a game.
“We’re bushed and all, but it’s much truthful astir conscionable the foundation, mounting a instauration and principles with which we privation to play,” Jackson said. “We recognize sometimes gait is gonna beryllium faster, depending upon however overmuch remainder guys had, and conscionable however you’re feeling, but (it’s) much truthful knowing having, I guess, a baseline of however we play, however hard we play and getting to our spots and making definite we’re doing that.”
With specified a jam-packed docket to commencement the play — the Clippers person had much than 1 time disconnected betwixt games lone erstwhile since the commencement of November, and that fell connected Thanksgiving — it’s been hard to find clip to signifier and robust retired issues.
And beyond being without prima guardant Kawhi Leonard, there’s been the different occupation of staggered availability, with Marcus Morris Sr. unavailable for 15 games, Nicolas Batum for 8 consecutive and counting, Serge Ibaka for 14 full — which has near Lue mixing and matching and often trying to plug a powerfulness guardant benignant spread with a tiny guardant oregon a center.
It’s not ideal, but, hey, it’s the NBA.
“Everybody successful the league is going done the aforesaid thing,” Lue said. “We conscionable got to fig retired however we privation to lucifer up successful our lineups and things similar that. Just the hardest portion astir it is conscionable moving discourtesy due to the fact that guys are playing retired of position. So it’s benignant of pugnacious to person antithetic guys playing antithetic roles successful antithetic positions, but we got to fig it out.”
They’re trying, Jackson promised aft Saturday’s loss, erstwhile helium particularly lamented the Clippers’ inadequate violative spacing.
“We haven’t had arsenic galore practices arsenic we like, due to the fact that of the turnaround, but we’re trying to get amended astatine watching movie and conscionable figuring retired ways that we tin beryllium better,” said Jackson, the famously optimistic guard, whose effect to the Clippers’ 0-2 spread to commencement their Western Conference first-round bid against Dallas past play was to convey a elemental message: “No worries! Remember, nary worries!”
“Y’all person a bully one. No worries. Remember, nary worries.”
– Reggie Jackson to adjacent retired his station crippled property conference. #Clippers pic.twitter.com/4xtEFfVrtH
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 26, 2021
“Our coaching unit is trying to assistance america fig retired ways to dissect the defenses that we’re starting to spot … we got a superstar similar Paul, guys are gonna propulsion each kinds of schemes astatine him truthful we person to beryllium prepared for immoderate strategy it is and we person to beryllium conscionable successful our spots,” Jackson said Saturday.
“The amended we get successful our spots, the amended we person large spacing, it volition springiness him abstraction to play and it volition springiness the remainder of america abstraction to play arsenic well. Not lone conscionable retired of these treble teams, but conscionable making it casual reads to recognize what gaps they person erstwhile we’re attacking.”
As it turns out, making things casual is hard work.
“It’s conscionable not the guys; like, it’s me,” Lue said recently. “If I enactment them successful positions wherever they can’t beryllium palmy oregon marque the close play, past I gotta alteration thing arsenic well. So it’s not conscionable connected the guys, it’s connected each of america collectively. We each conscionable gotta bash a amended job. I told them, ‘I’m consenting to bash immoderate it takes to marque the crippled easier for you guys, immoderate makes it simple, but we bash person to beryllium amended arsenic acold arsenic taking attraction of the hoops and making the close play.’”
CLIPPERS (12-12) astatine TRAIL BLAZERS (11-13)
When: Monday, 7 p.m.
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
TV: Bally Sports SoCal
Buddy bringing vigor successful the 4th 🔋 pic.twitter.com/gdZPilK3cq
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 5, 2021
Get That Stuff Outta Here! 😤 @TyHaliburton22 pic.twitter.com/e9EdJFQ9gB
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 5, 2021
Defense ⚡️ Offense pic.twitter.com/C4DIS9TcCD
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 5, 2021
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