I guess I hadn’t noticed that Norm was below par in the first half–Simons and Grant were so hot that it was hard to see anything else. Norm’s turnaround in the last x number of games has been dramatic, and this one was nuts, the 22 point 4th quarter.

But Diabate’s appearance was possibly an even bigger headline. I have been wondering how things were going with him, how he and the others (Boston, Preston) were doing in Ontario, not bothering to look it up. It seemed like he was never being discussed (on the pod) or mentioned in the conversations about the Clips’ obvious necessity for a backup big. There were clearly minutes to be had, if Moses Brown was starting to get some (and doing a little better than expected), and Kawhi’s ankle tweak made it even more pressing. I kept wondering, would Diabate be an afterthought like this if he had been even a slightly higher pick? Especially after how good he looked in the little we had seen. With all the talk about Whiteside, etc., is Diabate ever going to get a good look?

Maybe it took these factors, plus a back-to-back (no John Wall either), or maybe this was a date that looked promising to call up Preston and Diabate last week or even earlier. Diabate’s effort and performance wasn’t a surprise to any of us who had seen him, but it was still a charmed outing. Keeping Zu on the bench through the 4th, when there’s a game against Utah tonight, is another huge bonus. But yeah, that was fun.

“ Hartenstein played fewer than 18 minutes for the fifth consecutive game, continuing what has been a significant drop-off in both playing time and production.”

I miss Hard Stone. His time here was beneficial for all parties involved. Obviously he’d be a solid answer to our lack of size. We’ll have to give John Wall more time/ see what our FO does about the center position to see if letting him walk (at least the impression I got) was a good idea or not

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c3QNNDFhXkA