The Clippers got a much-needed win against the Dallas Mavericks Monday night, getting a little revenge for an early-season beatdown and bouncing back from an embarrassing loss Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans. Let’s check in on how everyone did in this edition of Clippers vs Mavericks player grades.
Today’s grades might seem exceedingly high for beating Dallas by 10, which is a solid but not necessarily unexpected result against a good but still inferior opponent. Just remember a few things: Dallas was 11-3 in their last 14 games coming into this game, the Mavericks shot well above their average from three, and the Clippers were down two starters. In my book, that makes this a pretty good win.
Clippers Starter Grades
Reggie Jackson: A. This was really an ideal Reggie game. He made the Dallas defense pay for helping off of him as a spot up shooter and picked opportunistic chances to get dribble penetration without ending up with wild missed shots or turnovers. I don’t know how much his decision-making can consistently look like this, and I don’t see any way out of him getting picked on defensively…. but the version of Reggie the Cilppers got Monday night is a playoff-capable guard.
Paul George: C+. It was a night of brutal struggles shooting the ball for PG, but I liked that he stayed engaged in the game offensively and kept shooting and driving the ball to the rim. That paid off with his dagger three in the closing moments of the game that ultimately sealed the win. There was one stretch (in the second quarter, maybe) where he got visibly frustrated and made a couple of miscues, but thankfully it was short-lived.
Kawhi Leonard: A. I think Kawhi might have wanted to win this game. It wasn’t a lethally efficient night from the field, as he went 9-20 to get his 22 points, but he was all over the box score: 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals, and only 1 turnover. He was super-engaged defensively at a level we haven’t often seen from him in the regular season, and it really felt like he was making a point to get every big rebound down the stretch. That clear impact and extra fight earns a grade that his stat line alone might not have warranted.
Marcus Morris: A-. It wasn’t quite a great Marcus Morris game, but it was a really good one. He was really sharp offensively to keep pressure off of Leonard and George, and even moved the ball well with 4 assists, including finding Zubac in the pick-and-roll. I had mentioned a few times lately that I was ready for Morris to get more minutes–him entering the starting lineup isn’t necessarily crucial for that, but it helps.
Ivica Zubac: A. If it wasn’t for Leonard’s insistence on securing the victory down the stretch, Zu would likely take player of the game honors here. He was huge for the Clippers on both ends all night, walling up as an interior defender, rolling to the rim and finishing strong, and creating extra possessions on the offensive glass. Even when he didn’t pull down the offensive board, there were a lot of plays where he kept the ball alive with an extra touch while contesting the rebound 1-on-4 against the Mavericks, buying the rest of the team time to get back. Like with Morris and Batum, the particular lineup that starts the game is unimportant to me–but unlike Morris and Batum, where both guys are probably equally important contributors, it’s clear that Zubac is consistently and significantly more impactful than Ibaka. He’s gotta be playing more than his current 20 minutes per game.
Clippers Bench Player Grades
Nicolas Batum: A. As well as Morris adjusted to taking over the starting role, Nic may have looked even sharper adjusting to a second unit spot. He still got 26 minutes, including some time in tandem at the 4 and 5 with Morris, and had 12 points and 7 rebounds. It’ll be interesting to see how Lue balances the rotation when Ibaka and Beverley return, taking away backup center minutes for Morris and Batum as well as pushing rotation guards like Reggie Jackson, Lou Williams, and Terance Mann further down the lineup into backup small forward minutes.
Lou Williams: A-. Like with Marcus, I like to save the As for the truly explosive games–but make no mistake, Lou was good tonight. He finished with 14 points on 5-10 shooting and continued to help grease the wheels of the Clippers’ offense by getting into the lane, even if he only had 2 assists. And don’t let me forget to mention his defense! In the fourth quarter he had separate great possessions: first, where he got switched onto Luka Doncic and poked the young superstar’s dribble away twice, leading to a steal, and second, when he came on a baseline double to take the ball away from Kristaps Porzingis on a post entry.
Terance Mann: B-. Nothing egregious from Terance here, but he was mostly unimpactful in his 13 minutes, grabbing a couple of rebounds and a steal while not attempting a shot. Certainly nowhere near a bad performance that makes you think “this guy needs to play less,” but considering how competitive the back half of LAC’s guard rotation is, it might be the kind of night to make you wonder “what could Luke Kennard have given us in those 13 minutes?” Still, Terance has had an excellent season and deserves continued playing time–especially because if this is his floor in a rotation role, it’s a high one.
Patrick Patterson: C-. I appreciate that PatPat came in and made both of his shots to have 5 points on 2-2 shooting in 7 minutes, but the defense was just a disaster with him on the court as despite his made shots, LAC lost his shift by 6. Rule of thumb: whenever things go so poorly during a rotation guy’s first half shift that he doesn’t come back in in the second half, there’s probably an issue. The Clippers had a defensive rating of 161.5 during Patterson’s shift last night. The rest of the game, they posted a stellar 98.7.
No Grades
Patrick Beverley isn’t with the team on their road trip with knee soreness and will miss Wednesday’s rematch with the Mavs as well. Serge Ibaka missed this game with lower back tightness, but could return Wednesday. Amir Coffey got on the court for one (unsuccessful) defensive possession, while Luke Kennard, Mfiondu Kabengele, and Daniel Oturu were unused substitutes. Jay Scrubb remains out.
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