And lots of steals for the team in general.

All wings line up of T-Mann/Coffey/DJJ/Kawhi/Batum is fascinating.

And to boost T-Lue morale, 4 guards & Center with KPJ/Harden/Norm/Dunn & Zu might see some funky minutes.

A little more size would be nice.

But those guys are fun to watch. Let’s see how it goes.

The Thunder just spanked the world champs so we still got a long way to go.

Kawhi – looked leaner than before, which is something I’ve wanted for him. When you see him in person, he’s bigger and stronger than most football players and he has a body type that tends to put on muscle mass when he lifts weights. I think that extra muscle mass has put pressure on his joints. This Kawhi is still very strong, but seemed nearly as slender as his younger days in San Antonio. If he maintains this body type, I don’t think hell get major inflammation issues, but he’ll have to also adjust his game to move more without the ball, get into running shape and not be as much of a banger on the block.

Also, Kawhi seems really into this squad in a way that he hasn’t been before. He seems to value what James, Zu and Norm bring and the spacing he provided made it noticeably easier for others to score. He can really have a 3rd act to his career where he’s one of the most efficient scorers in the league, one of the better on or off ball defenders, but is playing less on the ball and in the post and more in space and with the rhythm of the offense.

Zu – Just a monster double double game. Other than his FT shooting he’s just all world at both ends as a throw back, traditional center. 11 shot attempts is criminally low, and a lot of those 11 shots were on put backs. Run offense for my man Zu, Ty!

Harden – made some dumb turnovers early but then had one of his most sublime performances as a Clipper. The 15 assists were fun to watch, especially to DJJ. He’s also still one of the best iso players in the game so there’s no possession where he isn’t capable of putting points on the board.

Norm – Game felt a lot easier for him as compared to his bad performance vs OKC. He had that steady, in rhythm bounce and swing to his step as opposed to the hurried, kid running on a sugar high type energy. He and Harden have done a superlative job generating buckets with all this attention, but if Kawhi stays on the court it becomes a lot harder for other teams to guard them.

Dunn – Was pretty terrible, tbh. Could not keep Trae Young in front of him; got easily wiped out on the high screens. If it wasn’t for early shot making by Kawhi, Zu, Norm, we would’ve been in a bigger hole early. Game turned when DJJ came into the game.

DJJ – His dunks are one of the best shows in the NBA today. The backdoor and fast break lob threat is a real thing. His 3 pt shot has abandoned him, but you need his kind of plus athleticism to win in the playoffs. He was the only guy who managed to guard Trae Young decently.

Amir Coffey – He’s on some kind of a shooting run, and he’s a legit weapon. His defense at the point of attack is traffic cone lite, but he’s a big guard who can finish at the rim and is a willing shooter.

Terance Mann – I’d have voted him as the 2nd or 3rd best player in this game. He fought off 4s/5s on defense, won loose balls, switched on to guards, made solid connector passes and had some nice looking shots and finishes. I think that lineup of Mann-KPJ-Coffey with either Batum/Zu at the 5 and someone else at the 4 is very, very interesting. That trio with a 5 and one other wing gives you physicality and size, dribbling ability, inside/out scoring and athleticism. I think that kind of a second unit could tear up this league in a playoff setting.

Derek Jones Jr – Best dunker in the game? Also one of the best defenders. His 3pt shot has failed him of late, but I think he’ll eventually get most of the starts as the 5th starter.

KPJ – A genuinely good, if not great, performance from KPJ. This was the first time he played like a point guard from start to finish. He got some great shot opportunities for teammates and his willingness to go into the paint in order to do more than set up a fade away was welcome. He’s a solid 6’4″ 203 lbs. The physicality he brings is something you like to see in the playoffs. I don’t know if he can keep it up but the presence of Kawhi can scare some folks straight.

With a healthy Kawhi and squad, this team can compete to make the western conference finals or finals. They need to get a better answer at the backup #5, but we have a real squad.