In a game lacking star power and even rotation-level players, interest was sparked by a close contest down the stretch and a magnificent, near triple-double performance by rookie Terance Mann, which won the Clippers the game.
Summary
The game started off extremely slowly, with neither team able to connect much from the field. Despite that, however, the Clippers’ process looked good. They moved the ball well on offense, and were energetic defensively. Ivica Zubac and JaMychal Green looked particularly good defensively, which is good considering they were the most important Clips on the court. However, the Thunder gained a lead due to the exploits of former Clippers’ guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who looked simply magnificent. However, the Clippers were able to cut into the deficit through their own young guard, Terance Mann, who began an awesome performance with some fantastic effort in retrieving loose balls and a couple gorgeous assists.
The Clippers faltered in the second quarter, on the other hand. Joakim Noah’s lack of spacing an off night of shooting from Patrick Patterson led to a very dry Clippers’ stretch that enabled the Thunder to push their lead to double digits. Reggie Jackson continued his poor streak of decision-making in the bubble, throwing up a couple bad shots and giving the ball away several times. Again, the effort and energy was there, but the execution was sloppy. Towards the end of the quarter, Dennis Schroder caught fire, and brought the Thunder lead back to 10 going into the half.
The third quarter belonged to the Clippers, perhaps sparked by Sam Cassell taking over head coaching reins for Doc (who wanted to give him this opportunity). After an early Thunder bucket, the Clippers went on a 15-0 run, keyed by threes from Green, Amir Coffey, and Rodney McGruder. All of a sudden, it was the Clippers with a double digit lead. The Clippers’ offensive outburst slowed when the bench came in again, despite the efforts of Mann, who continued to provide some excitement with a fun lob to Coffey and a nice give-and-go with Joakim Noah. The Clippers held to a narrow seven-point lead entering the 4th.
The 4th quarter was even more concentrated garbage-time than the rest of the game had been, with Billy Donovan joining the Clippers in going deep into his bench. The result was a very, very sloppy affair, with the Clippers in particular making a series of poor turnovers. The only real point of curiosity was the pursuit of a triple-double by Terance Mann, who got his first ever double-double around halfway through the period, setting career highs in points and rebounds in the process. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in regular time, and some of the worst basketball you will ever see resulted in overtime. However, Mann then took over in OT, getting to the rim, draining a pull-up three, and then nailing a midrange jumper. The cushion this provided was ultimately enough to get the Clippers the win, but sadly, Mann ended up one assist short of the triple-double.
Notes
Mann Shines: Terance Mann nearly had his triple-double, but the good news for the Clippers is that much of his production wasn’t merely garbage time nonsense. Mann is a fantastic rebounder for a guard, with size, athleticism, and instincts getting him to the ball consistently ahead of opponents. His passing and playmaking is still a bit of a work in progress as a lead guard (he had several poor turnovers today), but he can definitely make plays for others and has some very nice passes in his toolbelt. And, finally, he’s a phenomenal finisher around the bucket who can evade defenders with smoothness or go strong through contact. The shooting still needs to develop, but that pullup three he took in OT with little hesitation looked great. Terance Mann is the type of player who, given playing time, will certainly be able to amass a triple-double in the future, hopefully in a more meaningful game. Still, what a performance from him.
Amir Coffey Aggressive: Terance Mann wasn’t the only Clippers youngster with a career night. Undrafted rookie Amir Coffey also had himself quite a game, scoring 21 points on 7-17 shooting while shooting 2-8 from three and 5-8 from the line. Like Mann, Coffey’s shooting is a work in progress. However, his athleticism, strength, and scoring abilities were on full display, and he is someone who can certainly score at this level if given the chance. Despite the four assists, he does have some pretty poor vision at times, especially on his drives, and needs to be better about making plays when attacking the paint. But the fact that he can get defenses to collapse already is a good sign, and hopefully the passing will come.
Joakim Noah’s Passing: Joakim Noah can no longer move like he used to, and that’s most apparent on the defensive end. Once one of the very best defensive players in the NBA, Noah now looks like he’s stuck in the mud on that end, especially against perimeter players. However, his offensive utility remains valuable, particularly as a passer. Despite Mann’s assist numbers, Noah really ran the Clippers offense when he was in the game, dishing out of the high post and running endless dribble hand-offs with the Clippers guards. No other big man on the Clippers can match (or come close to) his passing ability, and that talent, not his defense, is what might get him playoff minutes in a pinch. He also dove on the floor for a loose ball towards the end of the 4th quarter, a truly inspiring effort from an aging player in a meaningless game. He’s just a blast to watch, and his defensive positioning (he contested a ton of shots around the rim down the stretch) remains impeccable.
Well, that’s it for the Clippers’ regular season! They end the season with a record of 49-23 (around a 55-56 win pace in a full 82 game season), and the 2 seed in the Western Conference. The near triple-double by 2nd round rookie Terance Mann was a fitting close to a season that has been fantastic so far, and promises even more in the postseason. Next up, playoffs!
