About a month and a half ago, I suggested that Lue play Zu and Lopez together. Last night proved that it can work out. I didn’t expect Batum to be added to the mix. How will it work against OKC?

It’s great to see both Sanders and Miller excel. Yanik and Christie should be used more.

Unless there’s an injury, I don’t see a reason to use Bogi much.

Let’s win tonite.

Zubac was dominant with a 14/20 game, and he would’ve been at 17-19 had he hit FTs. Still, although he only had 5 shot attempts, it felt like the team went to him early, then ignored him and then got back to it more consistently through the game and his gravity created enough space for LAC to score against an aggressive defense. He left his Q3 stint with a bloody, scratched shoulder. He put Phx’s front line in the blender.

The double big lineup with Lopez was both fun to watch and effective. I think the Suns might’ve scored 2 buckets at the rim the whole time they were on together. Having Zu on the floor helped Lopez a lot and he finally provided a touch of offense which had an impact on the game.

Kawhi shook off some early fatigue battling Dillon Brooks to smoke these dudes in Q3.

Still this game would not have been won without the solid performance from Collins and especially the kids Sanders and Miller. Sanders, I thought, was outstanding, and really picked up the slack as Dunn struggled to play the point. I don’t want to compare Sanders to any other player in the NBA. I just like that he seems very capable of handling what’s thrown at him. He handled the ball like a point when needed. His shot chart is like that of a 5 tool player: behind the arc, in the midrange off the bounce, c&s, corner shots and dribble drives for assists and dunks. He also got defensive reps against Brooks and handled his own. Yes, the guard rotation made several mistakes guarding the 3 pt line, but they competed the whole night.

Jordan Miller took over this game when Kawhi went to the bench after his Q3 stint and basically helped put this one away. 20 pts on 7/12 shooting. What I liked was that dogged relentlessness and accepting the physical challenge. He had some shot attempts blocked. He had a few possessions where he couldn’t get a shot off. But he kept coming back, got to the line a few times, got a middy to go and then pulled the trigger when he was open in the 2nd half stint to put his stamp on the game.

Cam Christie also looked great in 14 minutes. His handle looks much more solid and confident, and he’s showing some toughness at both ends. Batum was solid and a sublime +!6.

Kris Dunn – his point guard play was a rough watch. His defense on Brooks looked good, but when matched up with others he lost his way a bit at times. He did manage to do enough on his 1 v 1 matchups to get 8 pts on the board. It would’ve been a good game for Bogi to play, but Sanders helped cover for Dunn’s challenges at the point and LAC survived.

LAC has a chance to be at .500 this week with a win tomorrow vs Philly at home and on wed vs. Cle.