I’m not sure if adding Monk or Sexton would cut into Miller’s minutes, but it would almost certainly cut into Sanders’ playing time, which…I could begrudgingly accept, depending on how Monk/Sexton look (they’re both pretty bad defensively). Plus Sexton’s a free agent this summer, so if we could get him for say Bogi and a 2nd rounder or Kobe Brown or something, that might be a worthwhile gamble.

We still stuck at taking care of the basketball (#26 in assist/TO ratio and #18 in TO %). We’re still a shitty rebounding team (#20 in reb %). We’re not great but have moved towards the middle of the pack on opponent 3PAs and 3P %.

But if you look at this 15-18 game stretch when LAC became good again, Zu and Kawhi have each missed games; James Harden actually hasn’t been that good, shooting 38% from the field and 28% from 3 this month. So what’s up?

When the Big 3 have played, they’ve put up numbers. Kawhi has been top 5 level. Harden has been a volume scorer, making up for his tired legs by getting to the line, and Zu has had a double double in 7 of his last 10 games despite being hobbled. Collins has been putting up real numbers, but he’s averaging 16/5, not all star level despite what the eye test tells us. Although Brook Lopez has been much better at protecting the rim, he’s averaging 5/2/1 on 27% shooting from the field

But the other key piece is that the young guns: Miller, Sanders, Christie, YKN add value and give you something in every phase of the game. They’re able to guard folks, keep the ball moving and make shots if the matchup is available. We’re just getting a lot more out of them than we did out of the initial group of role players. Their availability and their ability to give you something on defense, moving the ball, handling the ball, screen setting, finishing have been invaluable.

We don’t know what LAC will do at the deadline, but I think the savvy, long-term move might be to do nothing and let these kids continue to grow as players in these last 37 games. That would really bode well for next season and help build the transition to a post-Kawhi/James era even as we optimize what this group has left.

I would like to see if we could get a Sexton or Monk, but I wouldn’t want to do that at the expense of Miller getting less time on the court.

Was that one of you folks?

Happy munching Rob 😀