Kawhi and the Clippers are 2-0.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ben Margot/AP.)
The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing little brother for a long time. Not just to the other crosstown team, the Lakers, but to the squad up north that has been to five consecutive NBA Finals. The last West team to beat the Warriors in the playoffs was the Clippers but ever since then, it’s been beatdown after beatdown from G. State; the Dubs have won 17 of the last 20 regular season match-ups since 2014. And of course, we know the Clippers lost to the Warriors in the first round last year in six games.
Well, the Clippers added Kawhi Leonard (coming off a championship in Toronto) and Paul George (who was Top 3 in the MVP race). George isn’t ready for probably another few weeks but Kawhi has given the Clippers a true #1 option. We already know he can get it done on the defensive end but he just takes control on the offensive end.
They whooped the Warriors (admittedly, a different team now) from pillar to post. At times, the Warriors didn’t know what to do with the Clippers becoming a juggernaut seemingly overnight. The Clips dropped 141 points on the five-time finalists and really made it look easy. Meanwhile, the Warriors were getting beat up by the Clips with Draymond Green getting an elbow contusion and Kevon Looney having hamstring problems.
There is just something in the air with this Clippers, though. We already know Kawhi Leonard is this emotionless android that will rip your heart out on the basketball court. And while the other players are not as emotionless (I mean, they have Patrick Beverley), they just have this pep in their step. It definitely helps to have possibly the best player in the game on your team. Most of the players last year already had their roles defined but it’s even more pronounced now that Kawhi is in town.
Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams can destroy you off the bench. Moe Harkless will do whatever it takes on the defensive end. JaMychal Green can surprise you with his range after he gives you a few bruises. And that’s JUST THE BENCH.
Beverley already has that reputation around the league as a perimeter pest. Patrick Patterson will be back on the bench when George comes back but right now, he is raining threes on ya. Ivica Zubac has become a really good big man and we’re still baffled by the Lakers trading him. And Landry Shamet shores up the perimeter shooting. He is NOT afraid to take the big shot.
It leaves Kawhi wreaking havoc on both ends. Not only can he do it all on different spots on offense but he’s become a better playmaker, too. Kawhi had 21 points in 21 minutes. But he also had 9 assists in that blowout win.
Again, Paul George is not even on the court yet.
Of course, it’s easy to overreact to what teams have done over a day or two. But right now, these Clippers are looking awesome. They’re never going to win over Los Angeles entirely but they can win the whole nation over with their dominance on the court.
And, yes, we are very aware Kawhi defeated the Warriors in their last game at Oracle Arena AND their first game at the new Chase Center.
Bullet Passes
*Obviously, we’re going to lead off with DeAndre Ayton getting suspended for 25 games. I already talked about it a bit in that link so you’d better give that a click. But it just hasn’t been the Suns‘… decade? Just when they got off to a good start on the season, right? Two steps forward, four steps back.
*Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double in the Bucks‘ win over the Houston Rockets. But there were two more impressive things about the Bucks last night. They were able to overcome a 16-point deficit on the road. And when Giannis fouled out, the supporting cast was able to finish the job.
It’s clear that Khris Middleton is the #2 man for Milwaukee. While Eric Bledsoe would probably be considered the third man to many, I felt like Malcolm Brogdon was that guy because he was so reliable and consistent. They lost Brogdon to the Pacers last summer but they did have guys that could hit the big buckets in the closing minutes. Brook Lopez scored all 11 points in the final period. Ersan Ilyasova and new acquisition Wesley Matthews hit huge perimeter shots in the closing minutes. If they can keep doing that, losing Brogdon won’t be as harmful.
*So the Rockets lost their first game. James Harden did not shoot well (2 for 13) while Russell Westbrook had a strong debut with 24-16-7. However, this is what people want to talk about:
Harden & Westbrook have a discussion a couple of minutes into the game pic.twitter.com/KEXl5NEppA
— The Render (@TheRenderNBA) October 25, 2019
It’s Harden and Westbrook having quite the discussion a few minutes into the game. People saw it as a huge deal. I don’t think it is. This happens quite a lot to professional athletes; it just happened to be caught on camera. Plus it’s personalities like Harden and Westbrook.
It also baffles me when people ask if they can co-exist. And yes, I get that they’re both different players since then. But people did know they teamed up before, right? And they’re known to be friends off the court as well. Of course, they’ll be fine.
*The Hawks made their season debut last night, which meant Trae Young was starting his sophomore season. Man, he looked like a completely different player from last season. Trae was making shots from the Pistons logo last night and made those drives to the hoop look elementary. And I feel like the ones that don’t watch the Hawks on the regular have no idea how good of a passer he really is. Trae finished with 38-7-9.
*By the way, thanks for keeping me young, Vince Carter.
*Charles Barkley will always take an opportunity to say something. Klay Thompson took it in stride… I think?
(VIDEO CREDIT: Someone posing as ESPN First Take.)
I’ll talk about the Warriors another time.
Watch This Play
John Collins can do a lot of things, including sneaking up behind Andre Drummond for a putback jam.
John Collins! 😳 pic.twitter.com/jlc7WGeI6x
— Abdul Memon (@abdulamemon) October 25, 2019
That was a little mean.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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