There was a lot of data to process in the Milwaukee game. It’s easy to have hindsight, all the things that could have been done differently with a 20 point lead in the 3rd quarter (“have Moussa pick up Giannis full court for two or three minutes, let’s see what kind of athlete he is, let him foul him, don’t give Giannis free rein coming up the court, then put Batum on him… bring back Terance”). But the main takeaway is that this Clipper team is retarded, literally, that is, this is the kind of test that you want to have–and to fail–in the first 20 games of the season. With tweaks, injuries, problematic personnel and rotations, the Clippers started to gel only 40+ games into the season. Kawhi and PG as Alphas A&B can have a game like this, and it will sharpen them, it won’t happen again, not in the exact same way. It will be something else though, it’s awfully late already, and every game counts and is more meaningful. The Clips should be well past the “correction game” stage, but that’s what this is.

Another issue is that you don’t want to surround the stars with too many variables. And that’s where this gets more problematic–the Clippers are still testing things, Ty is going back to Morris and Reggie and now adding Norm. Getting Morris back was the typical double-edge sword with him: he played just well enough to seem preferable, and then had a significant role and minutes in the Clippers losing the game.

This won’t happen again with Kawhi and PG. Especially not Kawhi. It was a drag to see PG get the yips, and that’s all it was, and he should come back stronger and better. Starting Terance isn’t broken. Reggie coming off the bench (with Norm) is good, but he needs a shorter leash. Ty Lue will get the glaring fact that he made the same mistake he has made 7-10 times already, not playing Terance at all sometimes. His athleticism, defense, rebounding and making plays, hitting enough shots, and the way he complements Kawhi and PG gives the Clippers a big advantage. His effort and energy is contagious, and it makes others sharp, whereas Reggie’s flair and flow has a downside, which can rub off on PG. But Reggie was doing well, and he adjusted to his bench role. All the point guard talk is a dumb smokescreen. What to do about Morris is more complicated.

Just because I feel calmer doesn’t mean that anything makes sense or has been figured out. It’s still as confusing as ever, but getting past the trade deadline will settle things.

• Kyrie has likely blown up the trading value and price of the other players on the market, b/c teams that don’t bid for him now might save up to bid for him and KD when it all blows up for real in June/July. The price on FVV, Jakob Poeltl, Conley and any player that teams don’t really have a commitment to pay long term might fall to where the Clips can more easily pick them up without roster disruption.
• Go big and make an offer for Kyrie now while everyone else is napping or is uncertain. Signing Kyrie to a 4 year deal works for the Clips because it coincides with the PG/Kawhi window. The Clippers and Kyrie have a mutual interest which makes them a good match. Clips are committed to winning and will be committed to Kyrie. Kyrie will be more committed to them because this next contract is likely his last max deal. He’ll be in LA, a city that will give him space to do his thing, and he’ll be playing with great players and an organization that has notched the 2nd most wins in the League over the past 10 years. The problem with Kyrie is what he does to the Clipper brand because his dabbling with anti-semitism can be a deal breaker. But if we want to win and have a shot at a window of dominance, putting together a team of Kyrie, PG, Kawhi is a clear path to get there. The top players in the league and their agents that the Clips are committed to winning so I don’t really see a downside in that respect even if that trio doesn’t deliver due to injury or other factors.

Fast forward to the end of last year and I honestly feel guilty wearing these shoes in front of my jewish friends. Never would have expected Kyrie to be such a clown. There is truly no floor for this guy.