Lots of permutations to explore and see going forward. Another note about the starters might be that the Clips didn’t want to show GSW the Harden-Norm-Mann-DJJ-Zu lineup before opening night, or Harden-Mann-DJJ-Batum-Zu for that matter, not to mention Kawhi.

Kobe looked pretty good in the garbage minutes that I saw, and Jordan Miller did too. But Kobe always seems to miss the open 3 point shot that would turn an okay game into a good game. And it compounds–after the miss he’s hesitant to put up the next one. Very Terance like, and I’m hoping it’s just the first preseason game and neither of them get caught up in any of that.

Giving up the buzzer beater seemed like a bad omen, but it’s easy enough to shake off. Big questions on how the “legacy teams,” LAC, GSW, LAL, and PHO all fare and how the season shakes out, and that’s with MEM, NOP, and HOU in the level below them–although folks finally realized MEM could be really dangerous if they gel. Let’s say that getting the loss keeps the Clips off the radar and primed to sneak up on everybody, just the way we want it.