1) The vaunted defense wasn’t very good. Except for those two stretches (early Q3 and Q4), not much defense and allowed some very easy baskets.

2) Norm: The Clips used to run that play where circles the paint form left to right and gets to the right side of the hoop. Usually very successful. But it seems lately opponents are sniffing that out. He is running into more traffic on that play now.

3) The garbage time minutes are truly GARBAGE. Vs Spurs and the 2nd game vs Mavs the garbage time players were very bad.

Houston may try some lineup changes to try to influence their likely opponent. Despite Houston having swept the series with LAC, Houston would probably prefer to play Memphis, GSW, DEN or MINN over LAC. They may end up sitting players, tacitly hoping for a LAC win so they stay in the 4-5-6 slot.

Last 3 remaining games: Houston (SEGABABA), @SAC, @GSW. That’s not an easy schedule. All 3 are postseason bound. We’ll need Kawhi to carry us vs Houston (and hope that Norm plays better and more efficiently).

Denver is in a weird place with Malone getting the axe and Murray looking like he might be out long-term with a hamstring injury. They have: @SAC, Mem, @HOU. Although I could see Denver playing very motivated ball (b/c now everyone knows they’re on the trading bloc, potentially), my guess is they go 2-1 and finish at 49-33. The change is too abrupt b/c Malone was a towering personality in the Denver locker room.

GSW blew out Phx tonight and have SAS, @POR, LAC. I think they win the next 2 easily and it will come down to that last game. GSW/LAC will both be at 49-32 going into the final game.

Memphis blasted Charlotte tonight. They have Minn, @DEN, Dallas. They may have found a good vibe and could finish 3-0, but that is not an easy schedule and my guess is they go 2-1. They’ll finish at 49-33.

Minnesota has one more tough game @Mem and then finish with BKLYN and Utah. Decent chance they go 3-0 and finish at 49-33.

Despite all the winning the Clips have been doing, it really is all up in the air. They have to beat Houston to really secure a top 6 spot. 1 loss and they could be in trouble.

4 teams could finish with a 49-33 record.

Lakers could also fall back to the pack as they took a tough loss in OKC (a game they probably should’ve won) and are @DAL tomorrow, HOU and @POR. If they lose 2 of 3, they’ll also finish at 49-33. My guess is the finish at 50-32.

Zu was outstanding with a 24/20 game and he probably did not get enough primary action touches.

This season Harden has felt freer than I’ve ever seen him to find those moments to take over the game. He has more trust in this supporting cast and that’s allowed him to elevate as a leader.

Dunn has been pretty good the last few games where he’s not been as much of a liability on offense, though teams continue to leave him wide open. DJJ had a very solid game. When he hits his 3 ball he’s a must have on the court. But his ability to finish in traffic and to win those battles at the rim is something we haven’t had in a few years. That skill will be important in postseason.

Outside of Zu/Harden, the star of the game was Bogdanovic. Ty only played him 9 min in the first half, but he ended up playing 19 in the second half and we needed every minute to get some margin and separation from SAS. He does so many things well as a combo guard and Harden trusts him. When Bogdanovic entered the game in Q3, he was able to keep that margin in the high single to low teens level and made some plays to get that lead up to +18 in Q4 w/4 min to go to put the game away.

Hope Zu/Harden get some rest and recuperate tonight. The game against Houston is going to be a tough one.

I don’t like so much usage of Zu tonight but Vegas has us at -5.5 tomorrow over the rockets anyway. Not only do the rockets have #2 locked up I can also see a world where they would rather have us out of their bracket. This matters a lot with young teams and Eme is all over this I’ll bet.

Will be interesting to see who suits up for them.

The 4 seed is not some long shot. Both Kawhi and James are going to fight like demons now that they are sniffing a legitimate championship run.