And surely everyone here remembers the late scare we got as the 19 point 4th quarter lead shrunk to just 8 with Trez on the court and it took Zu coming back in to quickly restore order and secure the win.

Look I’d love to cut him some slack, but fact remains that he clearly hasn’t been “good” in the playoffs. Being the only Clipper with a negative net rating last night (outside of Mann and RJax due to the last garbage time Denver basket they came in for) in a game won by 11 is just another indication of that, and as Bev says, “numbers don’t lie”.

I’m heartened somewhat by the fact that Doc seems to be aware of this and taking the right actions. I think he’s trying to get Trez confidence back and really wanted to let him close the game out for that reason, but thankfully was practical enough to realize he had to pull the plug before it was too late. I guess all we can hope for at this point is that Doc continues to do the right thing and pull Trez in a timely manner when he is jeopardizing our chances to win, and in the meantime hope that Trez can also continue to clean up some of the fixable issues in his game. Because as Mark Jackson is wont to say, we need him to “be better” if we want to win a chip.

On the 3 point shooting, it, like regular shooting, was ass tonight. However, interesting stat line – one of the 3-pointers in the 3rd quarter (I think Shamets?) broke the Clippers record for most 3-pointers in a post season.

Kawhi broke a few franchise records tonight as well – they are noted in my recap. Once it posts take a look.

A few takeways:

1) D-FENCE! Clippers D was fantastic. Holding a team with the firepower of Denver to 85 is amazing! They FINALLY started the game locked in and stayed that way the entire way. Kudos! Now that we know we can do it let’s stay locked in the rest of the way.

2) 3 point shooting. The Clippers playoff woes from the 3 point line continue with 28.6% tonight from 3 tonight. So many wide open 3’s missed this could have been a blowout if Clips were able to knock those down. Again hoping the mean reversion is coming soon.

3) Trez is still… bad. In a game the Clippers won by 11, Trez was a -1 net rating and was the only Clipper with a negative net rating. And even with a big lead late Doc had to bring Zu back in as the lead was slip sliding away with Trez in. He scored a few points but the team is just so much better when Zu on on the court and a dramatic drop off on both ends occurs whenever Trez is in the game.

4) Scott Foster was in full Fostering mode. He got PG13 in foul trouble early which contributed to the Clipper offensive woes. And just generally was quick to whistle Clippers for ticky tack and phantom fouls, but could barely bring himself to blow the whistle when Kawhi got clobbered.

5) Kawhi was back to full Terminator mode. With PG13 on the bench early and often with foul trouble Kawhi took the team on his back and took over the game on both ends. We are truly blessed to have the greatest player in the NBA as a Clipper.

Let’s Go Clips!