• Harden/Kawhi – they’ve shown the right mentality these last 2 games that one needs to win in the playoffs. They’re our top dogs and they’re going to generate high shot volume, FTs, assists and help with weak side rebounding. James had a lot of TOs today b/c he over-dribbled against pressure (as did Kawhi), but these guys are playing serious star level basketball.
• Zu – pulled the team out of its rut offensively, got to 21/8, was near perfect as a positional defender, got 2 blocks. Some criticisms: probably left 2-3 defensive rebounds on the table in tussles with Klingan and the Portland front line; tried to pass a little too much from deep post positions. Just take the dunk, Zu. You don’t need to be a drive and kick if you’re getting to within 5 ft of the rim. I’d also like to see him take that high post pass and dribble it past the foul line to suck the defense in and at least threaten to score. It doesn’t have to be a dribble hand off closer to the half court line every time where the defense is aided by both the half court line and the upper sideline as an extra defender.
• Collins – was great again and demonstrated a lot of versatility. Ty Lue continues to practice basketball terrorism by not starting him or getting him to 30 mins, but he got a little closer today after only playing him 9 mins in the first half.

• Dunn/DJJ – Dunn had more mins than DJJ and had an excellent game at both ends. His added ball handling helped a lot. These two have to be in the rotation. The question is where they fit and at what part of the game.
• Frontline – the best thing the Clippers showed was front line dominance at the defensive end. The 7 or 8 blocks they had (Lopez, Zu, Batum) totally altered Portland’s attack. Although Avdija ended up with a solid game, the team was able to push him away from the rim for the key parts of the game where the Clippers gained margin.
• Bogi – terrible ball handling, was stuck in neutral in the first half, but showed more energy in the 2nd half. Even when he wasn’t doing much he did a decent job spacing the floor without demanding the ball. He can cut down on the turnovers by not obliging the play set too much when the defense is overplaying for the pass back to James/Kawhi.
• Cp3 – rough first segment; bounced back in the 2nd segment with 2 big 3s. He needs a screen to get past anyone these days, so it matters who is on the court with him. Having Beal or Bogi with him would help a lot.

Overall, this was a good test against a feisty, physical team. The challenge for the Clippers: Move the ball with the pass once you see the best defender on you and you effectively take that defender out of the play. Get it down to the post and the defense has a decision to make, double with 4 defenders and a trailing 5th, leaving a trailing, high post or cutter open. They need to be more disciplined about this if they want to clear OKC.

Our depth is a real plus–we come at teams in waves.

Was at the game on Friday night. Agree with Khyber, with these additions

CP3 – I like his contribution. Some great passes.
Kahwi – his midrange game was stellar. He took the “I’m simpler better than you” approach on offense
Collins – nothing flashy, but in the end very good numbers for his role
Dunn – A+ game
Harden – (I’ve often stated I’m not a Harden fan) but he was almost vintage James and liked his attitude here
Zubac – MIA, but not his fault. This would have been a game for him to dominate. Watch out for him in the next Suns matchup
Lopez – As advertised: hit a couple of 3’s and had a phenomenal block in the 1st half.

Dillon Brooks – what a clown

Dillon Brooks and Royce O’Neale pissed off James and Kawhi enough to where it sparked the entire team to play with the intensity and physicality that I’ve seen in all of the other opening games. This is a different NBA. It’s more defined by the style and intensity of play we saw in the OKC v Indiana NBA finals than the usual start to the regular season.

Inserting Kris Dunn into the game changed it almost immediately. Collins was very good in so many ways. Best +/- on the team and his athleticism just helps the Clips maintain possessions and get the ball to the right spot. Nico Batum absolutely speared Booker on a 3 pt shot. I was puzzled to see such a play from a guy like Nico, but a few minutes later I realized it was tactical brilliance on his part. He forced the team to wake up and play with the intensity needed to blow out the Suns. It was an avalanche, pretty much, after that point, with James leading the way, Kawhi getting his and DJJ looking more comfortable playing in hybrid units and showing off a much better shot form.

The thing that annoyed me about the game was the lack of touches for Zu, and the spectacle of Bradley Beal. Although Beal was the first guy to get Zu a quality touch that led to a dunk, the Clips spent much of the first 6 or7 minutes giving him touches and shots. It takes shots away from Kawhi, Harden, Zu. He’s not a good fit in that role b/c he doesn’t give you enough defensively and in terms of playmaking. A healthy Bogi is a better fit from an offensive standpoint and Dunn is the best fit overall b/c he can help hide others on defense. For his part, Zu had a good 2nd quarter stint and a great Q3 stint, though he did not get enough touches in the set offense. Playing him with Collins was eye opening for a lot of fans in the bldg, especially on that fast break play where Zu got the assist on a Collins dunk. Move Beal to the 2nd unit, and it seems to me that Beal being listed as questionable for the Portland game tonight is a message from the FO to do just that.

The other thing, of course, is that we can’t get enough minutes for John Collins unless he starts (but Lue isn’t doing that). I could live with a Dunn/DJJ + Big 3 lineup. That at least gives us defense and athleticism but lacks size and scoring skill.

Long way to go to make up for that loss against Utah, but we could at least see the talent and potential in certain segments of this game.

Hope they play well against Portland.

I absolutely love the pairing of Harden and Dunn too but that’s a conversation for pregame Tuesday.