In other news, the other guy I thought would make for a great PG for the Clippers albeit a big risk was Lonzo Ball. That risk got a lot bigger and really sucks to hear he might miss all of next season. I’d still probably trade Marcus Morris straight up for him….

All that is less important, however. Slow starts–typical with Morris as a starter–create hurdles and difficulties. But things seem to balance out over the course of a game, and it’s the finishing lineup that determines the difference. As we saw with dismay yesterday.

It’s not even a legit argument. 61 out of 61 as a starter! Great results when he’s not available, most recently in the 2nd half in a big GSW win.

Torturing myself looking at MM’s game log now. Another thing I don’t get–he’s been so careful guarding Batum’s minutes, limiting his starts (12), reserving him for smallball lineups–why doesn’t at least something like the same thing apply to Marcus Morris, to keep him fresh and spry and hold him back? Look at how well he played in the first 20 games of the season, when the team was a mess without Kawhi, etc. If he’s going to be at all valuable now, the trick is to play him less, not more.

It just doesn’t make sense. I remember giving Doc Rivers a super long leash, based on his maturity and professionalism guiding the Clippers through the Sterling debacle, as he was clueless and horrible kicking off the 213 era. I didn’t get or see clearly how bad his decisions and rotation were, even after the Avery Bradley trauma, even as so many were clamoring about him as intolerable–and then it suddenly all added up, losing quickly in the playoffs.

Ty Lue seemed like a breath of fresh air. He made adjustments, made changes, played people with a nose for ebb and flow and matchups.

But that has been far from the case this year. The John Wall mistake (signing him rather than Hartenstein) was huge, but it was partly understandable based on the reclamation of Batum and others. It went on too long, and Lue pushed things too far, then got lucky when Wall was hurt. All the while, he was overplaying Morris and not using Roco, he underplayed TMann and he was confused about Luke and Norm. Hell, I would say he even underplayed Moses Brown, in retrospect.

The front office bailed him out, sending Wall and Reggie out, and Luke too, with a brilliant upgrade in Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee (and a nice future get with Bones). Ty and PG–who has been showing deep leadership funk, on display yesterday–and others brought in Westbrook, which complicated the equation quite a bit. It was horrendous and gut-churning, but the supreme excellence of Kawhi Leonard, and some simple and obvious basics–don’t play Westbrook and Morris at the end of games–seemed to sort things out into a viable formula.

Ty went to his worst instincts and defaults yesterday, and it was disgusting to watch. Without Kawhi the starters, including Morris and Westbrook, were horrible. Westbrook showed his value bringing the team back at the end of the first. Some good play shouldn’t make his leash longer. Morris was decent in the 3rd quarter, but it’s the same thing–hitting a few shots shouldn’t earn him more minutes.

The Clips had the lead going into the 4th. Westbrook lost it for them, turning the ball over and getting empty possessions, and Morris and Westbrook’s defensive breakdowns made the team a sieve at the worst juncture, Mann, Gordon, and Batum all defend, rotate, and make plays, and they kept sitting. It was horrible to watch.

It wasn’t about Kawhi sitting. Giving Roco minutes was a distraction. It was all about going away from not playing Westbrook and Morris in the 4th. Terance Mann is probably the 3rd best player on the Clippers, though maybe Zu or Gordon or Batum could take that spot. But Lue treats him almost as badly as he has treated Roco. One quick opening, and he sits him again, for no good reason–there was good reason to play him more with Kawhi out, rather than less. But Lue used the opportunity to bet on Westbrook and Morris, getting the predictable result. And Lue will be faced with figuring out how to add Norm Powell to this mix soon enough.

I’d like to say that it was so obvious that this was a disaster that it should end any illusions about overplaying Marcus Morris, and make clear Westbrook’s limitations as well. But Lue has been immune to the obvious all year. His tinkering and adjustments have been 90% negative. He pulls TMann in the 4th if he misses one open corner three, ignoring all his general contributions. Batum shoots better, plays much better defense, and has won games for the Clippers in the 4th.

Lue will take the benefit of getting Kawhi back. But I have no confidence in him. And it’s frustrating.