At some point, games can cross an invisible threshold that has gone so wrong that coaches feel that watching a movie is no longer worth it.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups he first experienced this on Monday when his Trail Blazers were redirected at the Clippers in Los Angeles.
“It’s too much to watch,” he said, “and that’s why you don’t watch that much, you know?”
His friend Tyronn Lue knew. He got his two nights later, v defeat against Cleveland in which the Clippers scored just 79 points. “You get four a year,” Lue said.
However, when Lue stalked the Moda Center’s pitch eight hours before Friday, it turned out he hadn’t so easily given up on Wednesday’s loss, which reinforced early trends. Terance Mann in Luke Kennard abandoned open recordings, which is the biggest sin at a time when creating recordings is at its peak Kawhi Leonard,, Marcus Morris and Serge Ibaka unavailable. Eric Bledsoe’s offensive performance outside of color continued to fade. Who is the second best offensive option of this team? Check back in November.
Lue came ready on Friday with changes. He put Amir Coffey in the role of reserve striker instead of Justise Winslow, whose defensive versatility and passing have yet to offset the lack of offensive spacing created by his 37 per cent shot. The duties of the leading ball player have been transferred to Reggie Jackson, bringing Bledsoe to a role outside the ball for the first time this season.
Through nearly three-quarters, all he did was create another game that came up against a virtual trash can. The Clippers ’20-9 lead, created by the first six three-pointers, disappeared during a six-minute drought without a hit. When Kennard was given a passing chance in the second quarter and then missed a three-pointer later in possession, Lue shook his head and raised his palms. Bledsoe was not used in the lineup that ended the last minute of the first half. By the third quarter, they were 20 points behind in the end.
A little in this 111-92 loss outside Paul George the offense of one man was fine. It was hard for a while.
Kennard received a message during the set in the third quarter with 17-2 that he reduced the gap to five. He scored 11 three-pointers, scored four and finished with 16 points. In one game, after saying his legs were “heavy,” George scored 42 points, with six three-pointers and eight rebounds, and said he felt fresher after continuing his post-match recovery routine, which he she helped last season. But re-watching will not be easy due to the loss that the Clippers dropped to 1-4.
Three of George’s four lost balls happened during the third as the backlog narrowed. With six lags of 6:34 and eight with five minutes to go, the Clippers then scored just 12 points, as their dependence on George, while not a secret to entering the season, is still surprising.
Paul George of the Clippers rides the Anfernee Simons of the Trail Blazers. George scored 15 for 24 from the field, six of them for nine in threes.
(Craig Mitchelldyer / Associated Press)
“We can’t tire him out as we expect him to get 40 every night so we can be in the game,” Lue said.
Kennard was the only other Clipper to hit a double. Bledsoe scored three points that are low in the season. He, Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum combined three of their 17 shots. In one game, the Clippers, after being knocked down by 21, outscored by 20, despite having 7 feet on the ground all but five minutes. Nevertheless, Isaiah Hartenstein and Ivica Zubac combined only eight rebounds.
“I think we’re a group, not to point a finger, we’re going to stay together as a group,” Kennard said. “We’re just going to have to figure things out.”
Norman Powell, who missed Monday’s Clippers game due to a knee injury, returned to the Blazers and scored 12 points, but it was Damian Lillard, who missed his first nine three-pointers against the Clippers this season and scored a total of just 33%, finishing the Clippers with 25 points and connecting with five of seven shots from depth.
Portland defender Damian Lillard scored five for seven in threes and scored 25 points.
(Craig Mitchelldyer / Associated Press)
Billups called Lillard a “time bomb” before the hint and blew up the Clippers ’chances with consecutive threes in the final minutes.
Simple answers for the Clippers offense don’t seem to arrive anytime soon. Morris, after all four warm-up games to rest on his knees, “tried to do it for the team in the first few games, just tried to play and tried to overplay,” Lue said, “but he wasn’t really ready.” There is no timeline for his leg to be strong enough to return, even though he has participated in some exercises on the pitch, Lue said.Ibaka also has a vague timeline for his return because of his back.
“I think we’re good, I think we’re in a good position,” George said. “We just need to get better.”