Continuing our new tradition, here are my Clippers vs Blazers player grades on the heels of another blowout win for LAC. Despite the one loss coming in truly dismal fashion, the Clippers have to be happy to come out of a tough 5-game stretch to open the season with a 4-1 record, and tonight’s dominant win over a playoff team on the second night of a back-to-back was impressive.
Clippers Starter Grades
Patrick Beverley: B-. 4 fouls in 21 minutes? It doesn’t matter how well he plays when he’s on the floor, his self-imposed inability to play starter’s minutes is getting old quickly. He’s averaging just under 22 minutes a game while committing 8.4 fouls per 100 possessions, blowing his already-high career mark of 5.4 fouls/100 out of the water.
Paul George: A-. It’s nitpicking, but I’m saving the George “A” for nights where he cleans up his weaknesses just a little bit more. The scoring volume (23 points on 8-15 shooting) could be better, though he only played 28 minutes and rested down the stretch with the game in hand. His 7 assists were excellent but he once again had 3 turnovers and made careless errors. He also only got to the line 4 times, though his team-high 10 rebounds were appreciated. With all that focus on the negatives that held him to an A- instead of an A, it’s worth noting that an efficient 23-10-7 performance with good defense was more than enough for an LAC win tonight.
Kawhi Leonard: A. He ekes out an A to PG’s A- in the margins: 28 points, 8 free throw attempts, 7 assists to 0 turnovers, and 3 steals and a block. Kawhi was the focal point of LAC’s offense tonight playing out of the mid-post and he consistently bullied Portland with his three-level scoring and passing, unlocking their defense and never looking back. You might say that 28 and 7 isn’t a vintage Kawhi line, but he did something tonight that we typically don’t think of being within his reach: he made everyone around him better. Plus, he was funny in his postgame interview.
Nicolas Batum: A-. I’m having trouble with the Batum curve as he blows any reasonable expectations for his production out of the water while simultaneously setting new expectations for himself as he’s produced consistently through 5 games. 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal, makes on both of his threes, and the defensive assignment against C.J. McCollum? What type of veteran’s minimum backup power forward is this guy anyway?
Serge Ibaka: B+. Serge has also been remarkably consistent, and even on a night like tonight when his touch around the lane failed him, he went 3-5 from beyond the arc to space the floor for others and finish with an efficient outing. Plus, 3 assists and another big block. The defense isn’t perfect but it’s mostly fine, and he’s been an efficient, versatile, and unselfish weapon offensively without dominating the ball.
Clippers Bench Player Grades
Reggie Jackson: A-. After he set his “A” standard against the Wolves, Reggie game up a little short of it tonight, though he was still undeniably a positive contributor. He played 22 minutes without a turnover or a missed 2-pointer (i.e. no awful flailing floaters that might as well have been a turnover). He ran a fast break without turning the ball over and got an assist!!! Sure, I expect the middle schoolers I coach to do that, but I was truly surprised to see Reggie pull it off. I don’t think he was as good all-around as last night, and he was part of a lineup that let things get a little sketchy in garbage time again, but he’s still well deserving of high marks for bringing an efficient offensive punch off the bench.
Lou Williams: A-. Similarly, Lou was a big positive for LAC tonight while just coming up short from his performance against Minnesota–a little less scoring volume, a little less efficient, a little less prolific distribution, and a little less noticeable impact. But he still came in red-hot and used his precise pick-and-roll navigation ability to carve out good looks for himself and others.
Luke Kennard: B-. Luke was only alright tonight. On the one hand, he added a modest line of 5 points, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers, but his movement on an off the ball were an important part of the Clippers’ “pop” offensively. In fact, both of his turnovers were on plays where he got to a good position and chose to make an unnecessary extra pass instead of taking the shot for himself. Those plays are still mistakes when he had easy shots for himself, but if a few overpassing turnovers are the cost of the Clippers’ amazing offensive execution it’s a price I’ll gladly pay.
Ivica Zubac: A-. Zu was super impactful in low minutes tonight, contributing 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in 15 minutes of action. His rim protection has been elite over these last two contests, and his low rebound totals miss that his boxing out has cleared the way for his guards and wings to grab uncontested boards. On the other end, he’s hit the offensive glass and earned bonus possessions (normally putback dunks) for his team. I won’t knock him for his production being lessened by his low minutes, but I will knock him a bit for a pair of turnovers, which shouldn’t really be happening for a guy whose only offensive duties are “catch” and “dunk.”
Patrick Patterson: D-. If Batum’s recent tear has been an attempt to prove he’s not washed, Patterson has been doing the opposite. It’s one thing to downplay concerns about his shooting sample size (0-3 from deep tonight), but even if he starts hitting threes again his mobility seems to have taken a significant step back from last season. He came in as an emergency center to end the 1st half and got torched defensively, and then built a brick wall on open looks in garbage time.
Terance Mann: C. If all Terance is going to get is 8 minutes of garbage time, I need to see him force the issue a bit more and prove that he’s better than the G-League quality lineups he’s playing with and against. It isn’t a catastrophe but 1 shot attempt (which he missed) and no assists isn’t what you’re looking for from him in exhibition-level reps. Plus, the Clippers’ lead shrank by 6 during those 8 minutes. The poor benchwarmer grades will continue until garbage time lineup performance improves.
Mfiondu Kabengele: D. Okay, this is mean. The guy has had a bad week. But even without the long-term hopes of a guy picked in the first round, for a garbage time role he’s gotta show more. Fi’s remaining minutes on an NBA court are running out fast; if he wants to latch on with another team once the Clippers move on from him he needs to at least bring a bit more energy in these garbage time chances. The Clippers lost his 7 minutes by 4 points. A steal and a block keep him out of F territory but even for garbage time expectations it wasn’t pretty tonight.
Amir Coffey: B+. The overall struggle of the Mann/Fi minutes was offset by Amir coming in and actually posting a +2 in the final 5 minutes of the game, reversing a trajectory that was beginning to look like a couple Portland buckets could cut the lead into the mid-teens and make it a game again. He hit a spot-up three and shot but missed another with confidence, ultimately having 6 points with an and-1. No rebounds, no assists, no steals, no blocks… but he came in and got a couple of buckets to help a struggling third string lineup maintain the team’s big lead. That’s valuable.
Daniel Oturu: NG. I’m not giving a grade here because Daniel played the last 3 minutes of a blowout, but he’ll get a note because he did a couple of things: a bucket, an assist, 2 rebounds. I’d like to see him get the nod for priority garbage time insertion over Fi considering the team’s decision that Fi isn’t a part of their plans.
Clippers Players Without Grades
Marcus Morris and Jay Scrubb remain sidelined by injuries. Every other Clipper played tonight and they all–with the exception of Oturu–earned grades, one way or the other.
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