For this Clippers playoff series vs the Suns, I’m bringing back a classic 213Hoops tradition: postgame player grades. We got the ball rolling after the Clippers’ game 1 win over the Suns and followed it up with more grades after game 2 and even more after game 3. Now we’re back with the Clippers player grades from their game 4 loss to the Suns.
- Russell Westbrook: A. Any performance with this kind of volume is going to have some nits to pick, but this would be a pretty silly one to pick at ’em. In a game where the Clippers were down both of their superstars and didn’t pick up volume scoring from anywhere else, Russ took on a herculean role to carry LAC’s offense and keep them within striking distance. A barrage of role player threes never came, but he kept them alive in case it would have. Some context for the 17-29 for 37 point performance: remember when Reggie Jackson stepped up with Kawhi hurt, taking on a bigger offensive role in the 2021 playoffs and then struggling to shoulder that load in the 2021-22 regular season with George also injured? Reggie only took 29+ shots in a game once (in a win over the Lakers). He never made 17 shots in a game (the last time a Clipper did was Kawhi vs Dallas in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs). And his most points scored in that entire year was 36. One more thing about Russ: obviously the Clippers are losing the reputation foul war in this series with the free throw disparity, but of all the Clippers, why the hell can’t he get a call when he’s bumped or hacked on a drive? He took 17 shots in the restricted area and somehow got 0 free throws–the second game in NBA Playoff history, and first in over 30 years, where a player scored 37+ without a free throw attempt.
- Eric Gordon: C+. Gordon didn’t do much bad, but I’m holding fading into the background against him on a day when the Clippers so desperately needed a second scorer. I realize he’s 34 now, but where’s the guy who took 14 shots and averaged 18 points per game for a whole season 2 years ago?
- Norman Powell: D. I mean, this was bad. It was a certified stinker, from the dreadful shooting to not creating anything for others to giving the Suns free points on turnovers and keeping himself in foul trouble. So why not an F? Maybe because, despite all that, he was still LAC’s second-leading scorer with 14–which isn’t enough, but is more than anyone else not named Russ scored. But really, mostly, because it was 36 hours after the best game of his life and the most minutes he’s played this year, and he was clearly physically dragging from the beginning. I have sympathy for that.
- Marcus Morris: F. I got nothing for Marcus, though, besides this: this is Ty’s fault for putting him in this position. The Clippers haven’t gotten enough from the power forward position all series, that much is true. But in no world has Morris earned more minutes than Batum and Covington combined, and in reality Terance Mann should be playing these minutes. I do think that +/- and on/off stuff in this series isn’t super useful from the Clippers side of things because Phoenix’s lineup quality varies so dramatically as they make substitutions (for example, LAC’s starters playing Phoenix even would be a massive win, while LAC’s bench playing Phoenix even is bad). So Marcus’ team-worst -19 in 25 minutes has a lot to do with those being minutes against Phoenix’s core 4 to start and close each half–but those 13 shots (of which he only made 3 anyway) going to other guys while having someone who can move defensively on the court would have mitigated that damage.
- Ivica Zubac: D. Aside from an early team-wide lull on the defensive glass (some of this is Zu helping on a drive and nobody rotating to help him, which is stunningly correlated with Marcus Morris’ return to the lineup, and some was Zu waking up slow), the Clippers did well to control the glass in Zu’s minutes and he led the team in rebounds. The defense even kept the Suns’ starters under wraps in his minutes. But the Clippers are just getting nothing out of Zu on offense, and while I think some of that is outside of his control as a big man who isn’t getting passed to, he can’t go 2-5 with a turnover in his 6 touches, and while 3 offensive rebounds looks fine in the box, his only second chance points were tapping back in one of his own missed bunnies. Zu has been one of the most impactful offensive rebounding bigs in the league in the last 4 years, and while Ayton is a big body who collects a lot of defensive rebounds, the Clippers need more chaos and activity there.
- Bones Hyland: D. Bones being just 4-16 from three in this series is brutal as the Clippers desperately look for both any kind of support scoring punch and effective role player shooting. But we know he can shoot, and in samples this small you just kind of have to ride with it. In this one, it felt like Bones really had no impact on the game until a three and a steal in the fourth quarter helped the Clippers cut the lead to 2. But as quickly as they did, it was right back into double digits a couple of minutes later. A game–and series–of not quite moments for Bones and the Clippers alike.
- Terance Mann: A-. I really liked what Terance brought in this game, but I’m going to echo a complaint I make regularly: we need more of it. If both stars were playing, getting 13 points on 9 shots and 4 assists from Terance would be just right. But just like during the 2021-22 season, and throughout this series, the Clippers need Terance to step up and do more to get downhill with the ball in his hands in greater volume. I know folks like to blame this on Ty Lue and I don’t disagree–Terance is marginalized by coming off the bench behind lesser contributors in Gordon and [insert PF here], and Lue still being stuck on “throw the ball to Marcus and make something happen” takes chances away from other, more effective options. But with all that being said, Terance also needs to demonstrate more consistent aggression with the ball in his hands. I think we often see him play with a purpose on defense and in the margins; I would love to see him playing with a purpose with the ball in his hands more consistently.
- Nico Batum/Robert Covington: INC. Some combination of a D-ish grade for Nico and a C-ish grade for RoCo is probably appropriate, but neither played enough or did enough for me to feel like they warranted a grade. The Clippers aren’t going to get offense out of Nico, but turning to Morris to get points from the PF position is somehow going even worse. They should turn to Terance to get offense out of the PF position, and once you accept that, I think it’s a lot easier to sell yourself on Nico as a positionless defensive Swiss Army knife off the bench in this series. The Clippers still need him to balance lineups on that end. RoCo missed his only two shots, but put the ball on the floor and made a couple of nice plays that neither PF ahead of him is capable of. I don’t like to play the “third string guy comes in and can’t guard Kevin Durant” card but he doesn’t seem to even inconvenience opponents as an on-ball defender (off-ball is another story). In Tuesday’s elimination game, Ty needs to stop playing PF roulette and either give RoCo real shifts or lay in the bed he’s made by not seeing what he had with him all year.
- Mason Plumlee: C+. This is probably controversially low at first glance, as Plumlee filled up the box score and had some memorable highlights. His first half was absolutely an A, both so much fun and so impactful. If he had mirrored that performance in the second half, the Clippers might have won this game. But after 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 turnover in 8 first half minutes, Plumlee had just 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and another turnover in 11 second-half minutes. He got overeager at times, leading to the live ball turnover as he tried to play point center and defensive sequences where he extended his pressure beyond his ability and wound up in the dust. I mentioned above that the +/- stuff in this series is wonky on the Clippers’ end because of the Suns’ varying lineup quality, but one thing is for sure: they need to win against rotated Suns lineups. Plumlee was the catalyst of them doing that in the first half, but a big part of them losing those minutes in the second half.
Agree with my grades? Disagree? You know what to do.
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