While it was by not the cleanest performance by any means, the Clippers received notable contributions from nearly every player to defeat the uncharacteristically hot shooting Detroit Pistons, 131-124. Keep reading for a full recap of what turned out to be an incredibly weird, yet entertaining game between the Clippers and Pistons where the fouls calls were made up and the amount of contact on Paul George didn’t matter.
Summary
As expected, the league’s 21st best three-point shooting team, the Detroit Pistons, came out scorching hot, outshooting the first place, historically great three-point shooting Clippers from beyond the arc. The Clippers started the night with poor defense, allowing Detroit to fire on all cylinders. Luckily for them, Detroit’s defense was just as uninspiring, allowing the Clippers to get into their own rhythm and keep up with the unsustainable hot shooting of the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Led by an aggressive Paul George and Marcus Morris, the Clippers shot a scorching 65% in the first quarter, but they still found themselves down to the Pistons due to the great equalizer—the three pointer. The Clippers were a perfect (but low volume) 3/3 from beyond the arc, while the the Pistons finished the quarter 7/12 along with a five point lead.
If Ty Lue was hoping for better effort from his guys in the second quarter, he certainly didn’t get it to start things out. The bench looked a bit lackadaisical with a fair amount of ball watching in addition to getting outmuscled as they were once again outsized with Patrick Patterson anchoring the defense down low. To make matters worse, the Clippers were sloppy with the ball, which led to 9 turnovers in the first half, which was good for 14 points off of turnovers for the Pistons. Good news for Clipper fans: the Pistons seemed to cooled off, and the Clippers chipped away and eventually took the lead on a thunderous Zubac alley-oop! Bad news: Josh Jackson seemingly found a pair of old sneakers with “MJ” engraved in them, which then proceeded to give him Jordan-esque skills. In all seriousness, Josh Jackson played fantastic isolation-heavy basketball which kept the Pistons close, allowing them to only be down by one to end the half.
Entering into the second half, the Clippers strategy of hoping the Pistons would start missing shots didn’t work out too well. Saddiq Bey started the half on fire, punishing the Clippers from beyond the arc and behind the free throw line. Wayne Ellington similarly knocked down several three pointers to extend the Pistons’ lead to double digits. Although the Pistons knocked down some incredibly difficult shots, the Clippers’ defense continued to struggle, especially when they went small against Mason Plumlee. Thankfully, the Clippers were able to ignite their own flamethrower in Marcus Morris who was able to keep the Clippers in striking distance. Paul George similarly stayed hot with aggressive takes to the baskets, where he got absolutely no love from the refs. The game of hot offense continued with the Clippers shooting over 70% from the field, yet they still found themselves down by 5 as the Pistons were shooting a highly efficient 54% while capitalizing on the Clippers turnovers.
As the fourth quarter started, concern loomed across Clipper Nation as this was by no means a new story—the Clippers lackadaisical defense allows opposing teams to get into a rhythm and eventually close it out or steal the game in the final quarter. Well, it appears that a man—or legend—by the name of Nicolas Batum had no intention of this story being retold tonight. The Clippers came out with an aggression on defense that was missing all night, and Batum was the one who led the charge. In addition to bringing defensive intensity that resulted in blocks and stops, Batum also splashed home a couple of threes to give the Clippers some breathing room. As the Clippers regained the lead (topped off with a “Hello Nasty!” Poster from Paul George), they were finally able to take control of the game by flipping a switch on defense for the entire fourth quarter, while continuing to stay hot on offense. Overall, the Clippers thwarted one of the best offensive nights the Pistons have had all season long–52/45/89 shooting splits—by digging down defensively… and also having a ridiculous 62/57/75 shooting night of their own.
Notes
- Role Players Rolling: This game was a team effort from top to the bottom, with nearly every role player contributing in meaningful ways. Marcus Morris Sr. earned player of the night as he poured in 33 points on 13-18 shooting. Without Morris, the game would have almost certainly been much uglier, with the Pistons likely creating an insurmountable lead with their absolutely hot shooting. Batum, with a 14/9/3/1/3 on a highly efficient 5/6 shooting and a team high +29, and Zubac, 13/10/7, offered incredibly well balanced performances and anchored the Clippers’ defense in the 4th quarter. Lastly, Rajon Rondo controlled the pace incredibly well and chipped in 10 points and 6 assists with a solid +22.
- Rondo’s Spacing: One thing to keep an eye on is the spacing (or the lack of it) that Rondo offers. Prior to the Rondo-Williams trade, every guard on the Clippers required respect from beyond the arc, which meant other teams were often left scrambling. It’s become clearer and clearer that Rondo is being left wide open by opposing defenses, and while he is generally a very savvy player, he still tends to hesitate, pass up open threes, or even pass to players who are heavily guarded. His play has overall been inspiring, but this is something that will likely be a recurring theme.
- Paul George vs. Refs: There have been many voices across Clipper Nation calling for Paul George to attack the rim more, which he has been doing! Another trend that is becoming clear is that he absolutely does not have the respect from the officials. For a player of his caliber, it is surprising to see the lack of calls he gets in general, and it will be interesting to see if this continues.
- Long Lost Cousins: It has been noted several times how badly the Clippers need a third string center who isn’t Patrick Patterson. This need for size down low was made clear once again when the Clippers found themselves struggling with Zubac on the bench against both Isaiah Stewart and Mason Plumlee. DeMarcus Cousins found himself on the bench all game long, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for the 10-day contract player.
Well, that about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ win over the Pistons. Be sure to check out Cole’s player grades, and listen to the new episode of TLTJTP on the game!