The Clippers played yet another close game in Chicago, much like last year. This year, though, they were able to comeback from down 19 and hold on for the win. Check out our recap below: 

Summary

Here’s a riddle: How did the Clippers win a game in which they (1) at one point trailed by 19 points, (2) shot under 40% from the field and 30% from three, (3) allowed the Bulls to shoot 50% from the field and from three, (4) had Mann, Kennard, Batum, and Jackson combine to shoot 4/31, and (5) were out-rebounded and out-assisted?

First, the three best scorers carried their share of the load and some. Kawhi Leonard had 33 points, four rebounds, five assists, five steals (including the game-winning steal), and two blocks in 40 minutes. Paul George was less efficient but still added 16 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists (but five turnovers). And, finally, Norman Powell had a super-efficient 27 points on 64% shooting, going 10/10 from the line (including two clutch free throws). Powell’s 20 first-half points also kept the Clippers in this game after they went down 19.

Second, the Bulls turned the ball over 20 times to the Clippers’ eight. The Clippers only had 11 points off of those turnovers (in fact, the Bulls had 24 points off turnovers), but the turnover differential allowed the Clippers to take 16 more shots than the Bulls. Therefore, although the Clippers shot 10% worse than the Bulls from the field, they only made one fewer shot. Relatedly, the Clippers had five more offensive rebounds, even though they lost the overall rebounding battle by seven.

Finally, the coaching staff apparently took this game more seriously than others—or at least did not totally mess up the Clippers’ comeback. [Perhaps they were forced to figure it out after going down by so much early.] The Clippers only played nine players tonight, including only seven minutes for Robert Covington. Ty Lue did not experiment with Moussa Diabate or Moses Brown (who was not even active). We actually saw the “Wingstop” (Terance, George, Leonard, Batum, and Covington) lineup in a key moment. It was not perfect (many are rightfully questioning the decision to have Reggie close the game) but a win is a win. The coaches deserve some credit for helping this team comeback to win on the road.

Notes

Norman Powell for 6MOY: Norman Powell is averaging 16.2 points on 48/42/78 shooting splits. Only Bennedict Mathurin (17.8) is averaging more points off the bench, but Powell is trending upwards, averaging 17.9 points in January. He is also in the top three of 25-point games off the bench. Finally, he is a good bellwether for this Clippers team: he is scoring 17.7 points in wins, but only 14.5 in losses. When he shoots well, the Clippers win. Being the X-Factor for the 4th seed in the West is a nice thing to have on one’s resume.

Around the NBA: The Clippers are now 29-25 and are the 4th seed. At the time of writing, the Pelicans are up three at the half on the Nuggets; a Pelicans loss would help the Clippers a lot because it would put them at 26 losses. Here are the rooting interests for Wednesday’s games:

• Grizzlies over Trail Blazers (to get the Blazers to 27 losses)
• Timberwolves over Warriors (coin flip—but getting the Warriors to 25 losses would help more than the Timberwolves getting to 27)
• Spurs over Kings (the Kings being this good is fun but annoying for the Clippers)
• Raptors over Jazz
• Hawks over Suns

That about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ comeback win against the Bulls. As always, check out The Lob The Jam The Podcast and Clips ‘N Dip for analysis throughout the week, and follow us on Twitter to watch the game with us!

Clippers comeback in Chicago, win 108-103
Kenneth Armstrong

The LA Clippers travel from Cleveland to Chicago to take on the Bulls for the third game of the annual Grammy’s Road Trip. The Clippers will have their stars—Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—available, so it should be a good one. Check out our preview below:

Game Information

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

When: 5:00 PM PT

How to Watch: ClipperVision, Bally Sports SoCal

How to Listen: AM 570 KLAC

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: Terance Mann – Luke Kennard – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Ivica Zubac

Bulls: Ayo Dosunmu – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan – Patrick Williams – Nikola Vucevic

Injuries

Clippers: 
QUESTIONABLE – Marcus Morris, Sr. (ribs); Robert Covington (personal); Reggie Jackson (achilles)

OUT – John Wall (abdominal)

Bulls:
PROBABLE – Derrick Jones, Jr. (ankle); Marko Simonovic (neck)

OUT – Lonzo Ball (knee); Javonte Green (knee)

The Big Picture

The Bulls are 23-26, the 10th seed in the EEast, and the Clippers will have the two best players on the floor. The Clippers are also, flatly, playing much better over the last ten games, led by Kawhi Leonard, who is returning to All-NBA form.

In a vacuum, the Clippers also have a much better bench than the Bulls (we’ll see what the actual bench looks like when we get the updated injury report). Currently, LA score the third-most points off the bench with 42.7, while the Bulls rank 24th.

In sum, the Clippers should take care of business tonight. They have 14 roads wins this season—the most of any Western Conference team—so not even that should be an excuse.

The Antagonist

On the other hand, the Bulls do have two All-Star caliber players in DeRozan and LaVine. Moreover, Vucevic and Williams will be a handful for Zubac to handle without a true back up and without playing next to a true power forward. If Covington and Morris are unable to go, the Clippers will have to depend on Diabate and/or Brown to rebound and protect the rim – a very tough ask.

Note

Last year, the Clippers lost to the Bulls in Chicago, 135-130, in late March. The Clippers gave up a 10 points lead in the fourth quarter, allowing the Bulls to earn overtime. Even worse, up three with 7 seconds to go in regulation, Terance Mann fouled DeMar DeRozan before the ball was thrown in, so DeRozan got a free throw, which he made. Then, Paul George fouled DeRozan. He hit two more free throws, forcing the aforementioned overtime (in fact, he could have won the game at the line, but he missed his third free throw).

Why do I bring up this game? Well, because there are some interesting parallels, in my opinion. Paul George had just come back from an extended absence due to an elbow injury; Norman Powell was still out with his foot injury; the team was only a few games off of .500; Batum and Morris had been on-and-off the injury report because of ankle and knee soreness, respectively; and on and on and on.

Although it was just one game, it turned out to be predictive of what was to come in the play-in: Terance Mann, for all of his improvement, was still susceptible to immature mistakes. The Clippers ultimately lost in OT because Paul George was unable to play (then, because of a minutes restriction; in the play-in, because of illness). And the Clippers once again came up short against an above-.500 team (the Bulls were 45-32 at the time).

Some of the above issues are apparently solved. For example, Mann has grown as a player this year—even trusted to “run” the starting lineup. And Powell has become a constant; not only healthy, but producing well. But others remain: Batum and Morris are still older players who deal with the occasional wear-and-tear injury; George is still somewhat limited by injuries (though he has looked good recently); and the Clippers still struggle against above-.500 teams, only a few games off of .500 themselves.

The game-changer (excuse the pun), of course, is Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers would not have lost last year if he was available, and they should not this year. These east coast road trips have a habit of revealing how good—or vulnerable—a team is, though. Last year, it revealed that the Clippers were getting healthy too late in the season and were not ready for prime time. This year is to be determined, but we might get a hint over the next few games.

That about does it for this preview of the Clippers’ upcoming game against the Bulls. As always, check out The Lob The Jam The Podcast and Clips ‘N Dip for analysis throughout the week, and follow us on Twitter to watch the game with us!

Clippers vs. Bulls Game Preview
Kenneth Armstrong

Update: The Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Greif has strongly stated that sources are “adamant” that the Clippers are not looking to trade Luke Kennard. It is unclear at this time what the Clippers are looking to do–they’re obviously working on stuff, but the team hates to have leaks and rumors surrounding them. It’s also possible that they were talking about Luke, but nothing materialized, so they are now covering their tracks.

According to Sean Deveney, a lower-profile but established NBA reporter, the Clippers are shopping sharpshooting guard Luke Kennard. While it’s likely that the heaviest flurry of trade activity this off-season will focus around today’s NBA Draft, Deveney notes that the Clippers are expected to continue looking for a deal for Kennard during free agency if he isn’t moved today. He listed the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento Kings as suitors; subsequent (questionable) Twitter scuttle this morning has linked the Celtics to Kennard:

Kennard is coming off a fantastic bounce-back second year with the Clippers where he stayed healthy to make 70 appearances, averaging 11.9 points while shooting a league-best 44.9% from beyond the three-point arc. It’s no wonder, in today’s high-scoring game, that teams would covet the highest-efficiency three-point shooter in the league. And the Clippers, despite Kennard’s strong season, have reason to look to move on–they have a severe logjam at the wing positions as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard retake their full-time starting spots and trade deadline acquisition Norman Powell plays his first full season with the team. Kennard would be competing on the fringes of the rotation with Terance Mann, whose defensive-minded skillset is a better complement to the aformentioned players, and Amir Coffey, who can’t be traded as the Clippers hope to retain him in restricted free agency next month. Trading Kennard would hopefully allow him to find a larger role to flourish in during his prime (he turns 26 tomorrow) as well as net the Clippers an asset and allow them to avoid awkward playing time disputes this season.

Of the three teams mentioned, Chicago could likely put together the most appealing package for the Clippers. Assuming little-used center Tony Bradley picks up his $2M player option, the Bulls could make the math work by trading young guard Coby White and Bradley for Kennard. White is only 22 years old and appears to have some upside, but hasn’t really emerged as a good player yet. For the Clippers to bite, I’d expect they’d also want Chicago’s 18th overall pick in tonight’s draft, which they could either use to add another developmental piece or flip again (eyeing Marcus Morris + 18 for Malcolm Brogdon or Kyle Kuzma in this space). But to give up both White and their first round pick, the Bulls will likely want to hunt bigger game, and without both, it’s hard to make a deal that is both legal and attractive for LAC.

Boston and Sacramento both have an easier time making the math work on a Kennard trade–the Celtics have a massive, soon expiring trade exception from Evan Fournier last summer that they could absorb Kennard into, and the Kings have small, expendable contracts. To add value, each team would have to look at prospects or picks. Boston is dangling Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard in talks, but neither is super appealing in a straight-up swap for Kennard since the Clippers don’t have roles for them to fill anyway (I could maybe see the Clippers eating the downgrade on a Kennard-Pritchard swap to get a cheap, solid, younger backup PG for the next two years and save a bunch of luxury tax money).

Once Sacramento refuses to put Davion Mitchell in a deal, as they should, they don’t have enticing young players for LAC to consider. Boston doesn’t have a first round pick this year to offer LAC, and Sacramento only has #4, which they’d never surrender in this deal. Both teams have plenty of their own future picks, but that’s complicated as well–Boston, fresh off a Finals appearance, should be very good for a long time, making those picks low-value, while Sacramento is perpetually bad and likely wouldn’t surrender their own future firsts without strong protections.

It’s possible that a deal could be workable, but the protections would have to get wonky. Would Boston give LAC a pick 4 or 5 years out, increasing its value and giving them more time to flip it in another deal? If it’s their 2023 pick, would they be willing to reverse-protect it (so if it’s 21-30, Boston keeps it and LAC gets 2024, but if it’s top-20, LAC gets it)? What protections would Sacramento require? All protected future 1sts either eventually lose their protections as they role over year-to-year, or convert to 2nd round picks instead. How many years would the Kings let it roll over with lottery protections, tying up their ability to make future trades? And when the protections changed, would the pick grow less and less protected or would it simply convey as a 2nd rounder instead? Negotiating out these tiny details can be painstaking, but they determine how much value teams are really getting out of these future picks.

NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers “Shopping” Luke Kennard; Bulls, Kings, Celtics Interested
Lucas Hann

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, several teams have expressed interest in newly-acquired Clippers forward Robert Covington since the trade Friday night that brought Covington to Los Angeles along with Norman Powell. For those who don’t know Scotto, he is an extablished NBA reporter on these types of minor rumors and has a strong reputation of accuracy.

Scotto adds that “the Clippers are open to retaining Covington,” so it’s far from a sure thing that he will be dealt again this week. While he is in the final year of his current contract, the Clippers would have his bird rights to work on a new deal this off-season. At power forward, the Clippers currently have the established duo of Marcus Morris and Nico Batum, leaving some questions about where Covington fits into the equation. Each of these guys can play in SF/PF combinations with another, but the Clippers’ long-term outlook includes Kawhi Leonard returning to the team next season (or late this season) and occupying most of the small forward minutes, while younger incumbent wings like Terance Mann and Amir Coffey also have likely earned playing time at the position. Covington can also provide cover as a small ball option at the center position, though the Clippers are dealing with a center logjam now as well. Even though many around the team, including myself, consider Serge Ibaka likely to be moved this week, the team has significant investment in defensive anchor Ivica Zubac and needs to continue to find minutes for Isaiah Hartenstein, who has the best on/off numbers on the team this season.

So, it does feel like something’s gotta give here for the Clippers. Even if you take Ibaka away from the team and don’t add another player to the rotation, they’ve got two established centers getting regular time and three quality veteran power forwards in their prime. Then, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, and Amir Coffey are competing for limited minutes as the backup wings behind Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, once those stars return from their injuries. New acquisition Norman Powell’s best position is also shooting guard, also he’ll likely play plenty of minutes as a shadow point guard with George handling playmaking duties. At point guard, he’ll compete for minutes with the Clippers’ current leader, Reggie Jackson.

Scotto suggests that the Clippers could hold on to Covington as defensive depth and another veteran in the locker room, and that’s definitely on the table. We know that Ty Lue loves to tinker within playoff series, with support players regularly coming in and out of the rotation as needed during last year’s Western Conference Finals run, and Covington provides the luxury to make those types of adjustments. Want to play heavy centerless minutes? Covington would be a huge asset with Hartenstein out of the rotation. Need a full deck of wing defenders with no defensive liabilities? Covington could replace Luke Kennard for a game. And if someone like Terance Mann is struggling, Covington might fill the same role with a bit more consistency and poise.

In the short term, there’s a role for Covington on the Clippers, even if it’s a small one compared to the 30 minutes per game he was playing this season for Portland, where he started 40 of 48 games. In the long term, a regular role for him would likely only come at the expense of Marcus Morris or Nico Batum. It’s a luxury for the Clippers in several senses: Covington is a great luxury depth player for the next 28 games + playoffs, or he could be turned into a positive return for the Clippers in another trade before this deadline. His presence also makes it easier to explore potential deals for Morris or Batum at this deadline, as he would fit pretty naturally into the PF role for the Clippers (he’s not nearly the shooter Morris and Batum are, but he’ll camp in the corners and do just enough, while being a much better defender than Morris), and his bird rights would likewise give the team options this summer, with Morris under contract and Batum holding a low player option. Assuming Batum opts out, Covington could be insurance if Nico gets a big offer elsewhere. The Clippers could also decide to explore trade avenues for Morris and re-sign both.

For now, let’s peek at what some offers could be from the teams calling the Clippers about Covington this week. It’s probably safe to say that the market for Covington isn’t insanely robust–Portland’s surely been taking calls on him in the lead-up to this trade with the Clippers, and if they thought they could get a first-round pick for him you’d imagine that they would have been able to still avoid the luxury tax by trading Covington separately later instead of throwing him into the Powell deal. There was some chatter that Portland’s value in this trade was getting a first round pick (Keon Johnson) for Powell and a second round pick (Detroit’s 2025) for Covington. If that’s an accurate reading of Covington’s value around the league right now, then the Clippers probably won’t look to trade him. His value as rental depth plus an off-season insurance policy is worth more than a future 2nd. But that being apparent, plus the fact that multiple teams are interested, seems to suggest you might be able to get a little bit more. Maybe 2 2nds? Maybe a useful player coming back as salary matching?

The teams with interest in Covington are obviously going to be good teams with hopes of making a playoff run who would be “buyers.” But Covington being just 31 makes his bird rights a little more attractive than your standard deadline rental–he could easily re-sign with a team and be a rotation piece for several years to come. That makes for easily over a dozen teams that would be interested in adding a player like RoCo to their playoff rotation. The limiting factor here is going to be financial. Teams will need a way to absorb his $12.9M deal, either a large enough trade exception or expendable matching salary. So, who could both use Covington and has a potential trade offer that wouldn’t cost them one of their own core players?

There are only two teams in the NBA with big enough trade exceptions to absorb Covington outright: Orlando and New Orleans. The Magic clearly have no incentive to get into the conversation here, but the Pelicans might–they’re looking like strong contenders for a Western Conference play-in spot with hopes of being playoff-competitive sooner rather than later with a healthy Zion Williamson, meaning that re-signing Covington could work out for them long-term. In addition to that large exception, the Pelicans have the $10M expiring contract of Tomas Satoransky, who Robert Flom mentioned yesterday as a potential stopgap backup point guard for the Clippers. With New Orleans in mind, here are some potential Covington offers from them and other teams:

• New Orleans Pelicans: 2 2nd Rounders, with or without Satoransky. Sato has been dreadful this year and doesn’t warrant compensation. The Pelicans will have bigger fish to fry before looking at a RoCo deal, and Satoransky’s large expiring contract could well be gone as part of a package for a more significant piece than Covington. The Pelicans also have a bucket of future firsts from Milwaukee and the Lakers from the Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis trades, so it’s possible you could get something like “the worst of NOP/MIL/LAL 2024 1sts.”
• Chicago Bulls: Derrick Jones Jr and Marko Simonovic. Simonovic is just filler here to get the math over the finish line. Frankly, I’m not sure that the Bulls would prefer Covington over Jones Jr., but Chicago is in a tight race for the 1-seed in the East and DJJ, also on an expiring deal, could miss most of the remainder of the regular season with a fractured index finger.

• Phoenix Suns: JaVale McGee, Dario Saric, and 2 2nds. McGee has become redundant with the arrival and emergence of Bismack Biyombo, and Saric is out for the season. Covington would give the Suns another switchable defensive forward to join forces with Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Cam Johnson–a position where contenders need a lot of interchangeable parts. But with the Clippers getting no short-term utility from McGee and Saric, who is owed $9.2M next season, the two 2nd round picks aren’t enough to sway me and I highly doubt Phoenix coughs up a first.
• Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles and 2 2nds. Ingles is out for the year after tearing his ACL, so the Clippers would simply release his $13M expiring deal to create a new roster spot. It’s just as well, since it’s safe to say the player who injured Kawhi Leonard with a dirty play last postseason wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms in LAC’s locker room. But the Jazz are desperate for defensive help and Covington would give them an interesting addition on that end of the floor, so he could be one of their targets with that expiring deal.

On the whole, if I were the Clippers, I would be holding out for a future first for Covington. Even if it’s a low-value pick (either because it belongs to a good team, or because it’s protected, or both), it gives LAC another relevant asset for a potential future trade package as they try to add high-end talent alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. However, I think they are unlikely to get a first rounder for RoCo at this deadline, which I’m fine with–holding onto him is a pretty good worst-case scenario. I am hesitant to trade Marcus Morris because of his importance to this team, but he’s probably the guy at PF at this deadline who you take a long, hard look to see if you can get a really good return this week while leaving Batum and Covington as your power forwards moving forward.

NBA Trade Rumors: Robert Covington Attracting Interest
Lucas Hann

The LA Clippers fought hard, but ran out of gas against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, ending their seven-game winning streak. Despite poor shooting and huge games from DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, the Clippers briefly held a fourth quarter lead. Alas, the Bulls pulled back ahead, winning 100-90. Check out our full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Bulls below.

Game Summary

In the first quarter, Clippers looked like a team on the second day of a back-to-back. The Bulls ended the frame with a 13 point lead but it frankly could have been worse. DeRozan had 12 of the Bulls’ 30 points and previewed the night he was heading towards. The Clippers’ meager 17 points were a result of 33% shooting and 10 ghastly turnovers.

Eventually, though, Paul George found a way to manufacture offense — mostly at the free throw line, where he was 8/8 through two quarters (6/6 in the second quarter). Other than George, the next highest Clipper scorer was Eric Bledose, who had six. DeRozan kept terrorizing the Clippers in the midrange: He had 21 points on 8/10 shooting by halftime (and only shot one three pointer, which he made). Nonetheless, the Clippers were down just nine as they headed into the locker room (54-45).

The Clippers won the third quarter by three points, and were within a possession of tying the game at one point. Part of the Clippers comeback was better shooting and more intensity on defense but the Bulls also came back to earth — shooting only 30% in the third quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Clippers finally got over the hump, briefly holding a one point lead. Unfortunately, the Bulls responded with a nine point run, to which the Clippers could not respond. And the seven-game win streak ended there, pushing the Clippers to 8-5.

Notes

• Fatigue + Short Rotation = Running out of gas: Head Coach Ty Lue only played played eight guys tonight (technically nine, but Amir Coffey only checked in for nineteen seconds). After the game, Ty took the blame for the loss, admitting he overplayed some of his rotation. PG played 41 minutes, Bledsoe, Batum, Reggie had 35 each, and Mann was not far off with 32 of his own. The Clippers next play on Tuesday, so hopefully they can get some recovery in tonight and tomorrow.
• Poor Shooting All-Around: As a team, the Clippers only shot 35% from the field (32% from three). Eric Bledsoe, of all people, was the most efficient, shooting 50% from the field and from three. The Clippers did themselves a favor by continuing to drive downhill when the threes weren’t going in to get to the line, but ran out of steam in the last quarter, settling for threes. Going forward, however, they will need to figure out what to do when shots aren’t falling.

That just about does it for our recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Bulls. Time to start another streak! Check out the site and our podcast for more news and analysis.

Clippers vs. Bulls Recap: Winning Streak Sputters to an End
Kenneth Armstrong

The Los Angeles Clippers (8-4) took care of business against the Timberwolves to start the weekend, but they have a tougher task on Sunday. Hopefully, the Paul George and the rest of the Clippers starters got enough rest to take on the 8-4 Bulls.

Clippers vs. Bulls Game Information

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

When: 6:30 p.m. PT

How to Tune in: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA League Pass, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

LA Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Eric Bledsoe – Paul George – Nicolas Batum – Ivica Zubac

Chicago Bulls: Lonzo Ball – Zach LaVine – DeMar DeRozan – Javonte Green – Tony Bradley

Injury Report

L.A. Clippers: OUT: Kawhi Leonard (right knee); Marcus Morris, Sr. (left knee); Jason Preston (right foot); Brandon Boston, Jr. (G League Assignment), Serge Ibaka (G League Assignment); Keon Johnson (left ankle)

Chicago Bulls: OUT: Nikola Vucevic (Health & Safety Protocols); Coby White (shoulder)

The Big Picture

The Clippers, as recapped on this site, blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, which meant none of the starters played more than 28 minutes. This extra bit of rest could prove important, as coach Ty Lue will likely return to his largely eight-man rotation against the Bulls.

Another data point moving in the Clippers’ favor is the slow build of Eric Bledose. Bledsoe had an efficient 14 points against the T’Wolves last night along with nine assists and, perhaps more importantly, he looks more integrated into the Clippers’ system. Against the Bulls, the LA will need Bledsoe to attack Chicago’s guards and fight through screens on defense.

Finally, although the Bulls will have a rest advantage, the Bulls are in the middle of a road trip, having just played the Golden State Warriors on Friday. They will also be without Nikola Vucevic, who entered COVID Protocols earlier this week.

The Antagonist

While the Clippers are on an impressive seven game winning streak, it should be noted that they are “getting fat” on one of the easier parts of their schedule (as they should). They’ve played the Timberwolves three times over this stretch, along with the struggling Trail Blazers and the Hornets and Heat on road trips. This matchup with the Bulls will be the Clippers’ toughest game since the Cavaliers.  

The Bulls are also a good defensive team. They keep their opponents under 40% from three and average five more rebounds a game than the Clippers. This makes sense, given that Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso are often tracking opposing scorers. If the Clippers have an off shooting night, expect the Bulls to capitalize.

Clippers vs. Bulls Game Notes:

• The Leadership of Paul George: Even though Paul George did not have a standout game, his leadership was subtle but forceful nonetheless. After having just nine points in the first half on Saturday, PG turned it on in the third, finishing with 23 points. Clippers teams of the past might have fooled around and let the T’Wolves get back into it, but PG did not let that happen. What’s more, he’s been the provider of good vibes all season. Case in point, he turned around Reggie Jackson’s slow start to the season with just one hug.
• Encouraging Sign from Justise Winslow: Justise is right at the cutoff for the main rotation and likely won’t see much action once Morris and Ibaka are fully healthy. And he has not exactly done himself too many favors thus far, frankly. But, of late, he’s shown some of his rebounding and passing ability. It would be great to see Justise earn minutes so the Clippers can see what they can expect next season, in the last year of his deal.

That does it for our Clippers-Bulls preview. Check out the site and our podcast for more news and analysis.

Clippers vs. Bulls Preview: Clips Want Eight
Kenneth Armstrong

The Clippers won vs the Bulls yesterday to sweep the season series, and it’s time for the newest installment of our player grades series to reflect what we saw from the team tonight.

Clippers Starter Grades

Reggie Jackson: B-. A bit harsh here for Reggie, who had a perfectly respectable individual line with 11 points on 5-11 shooting, 4 assists, and no turnovers. But even as he made a decent percentage of late-clock bailouts and awkward floaters, he simply hasn’t been able to run the Clippers’ offense well enough. In this game, the team had an offensive rating of 114.3 when Jackson played and 138.0 when he sat (114.3 is still good, but it’s worse than the Clippers’ season average and miles worse than the unbelievably-good 138.0). On a night when the Clippers weren’t benefiting from above-average shot-making, Reggie’s trouble running an offense that could consistently generate good shots could have really cost them.

Patrick Beverley: B. Pat didn’t do a ton tonight, as his minutes restriction kept him to 12 before he got the fourth quarter off with the game in hand, but the team was better with him on the floor–they had a +46.9 net rating in his 12 minutes. That’s essentially a meaningless sample if we’re drawing long-term conclusions, but if we’re just evaluating his 12 minutes it seems fairly notable that he was a part of some dominant basketball.

Kawhi Leonard: A. In Michael Jordan’s house, Kawhi put together a mid-range performance that would make the GOAT blush, going 9-9 on two-pointers longer than 10 feet en route to a 33-point, 6-rebound, 3-assist, 2-steal, 0-turnover outing. The Clippers got smaller defenders switched onto Kawhi and sent him to the mid-post, the Bulls’ help stayed home instead of bringing double teams, and Kawhi elevated and hit practice shots… and hit again, and again, and again, relentlessly crushing Chicago’s hopes. A lot of times you watch some of the league’s most dominant stars in terms of physicality or shot-making–LeBron, or Giannis, or Steph–and feel like it’s just unfair. Kawhi was unfair tonight.

Nicolas Batum: B+. Nic had a quiet night offensively as other Clippers rose to the occassion, but he was still efficient–7 points on 2-4 shooting–and he was very good defensively. As the Clippers played the Bulls’ pick-and-rolls more aggressively to prevent another 40-point outburst from Zach LaVine, Batum was amazing in help and rotation, coming up with 3 steals and a block.

Serge Ibaka: C+. I’d probably say that Serge was a B/B- offensively tonight and a C/C- defensively, as he made solid but unspectacular contributions offensively and was rough but not terrible on defense. He finished with 9 points on 4-9 shooting and while he also had a steal and 2 blocks, he overall was not as good as Zubac in his coverages and the Clippers were better defensively with him off the floor.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Terance Mann: A. Here’s something to think about: Mann played a team-high 33 minutes, and in a game the Clippers won by 19, they lost the 15 minutes when he was on the bench. He wasn’t the team’s best player or the focal point offensively, but he was aggressive and contributed on both ends of the floor with 7 points on 3-4 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and 2 turnovers. He was also the team’s primary defender on Zach LaVine, and did a really nice job against a guy who is having one of the best individual scoring seasons ever. Terance is going to have to figure out a new way to fit in when Paul George is back, but it’s veyr hard to keep him off the floor right now.

Marcus Morris: A-. I feel like I use this space a lot to write about how Morris’ shot-making is impactful but he hasn’t necessarily made a well-rounded contribution. Well, tonight he wasn’t great across all categories, but he was good, and his shot-making was at its absolute best: 20 points and 6-8 from three, including 15 points on 5-6 from deep in the fourth quarter. You put up 15 fourth-quarter points, especially as the Clippers pull away with Paul George sidelined and Kawhi Leonard taking a shift on the bench, and you’re getting a good grade.

Lou Williams: A. LouWillVille indeed. Lou’s 17 points on 8-13 shooting and 5 assists to 0 turnovers were essential to the Clippers’ offensive success, second only to Leonard’s mid-range masterpiece and probably even more important in terms of running the offense to consistently generate good looks for himself and others. It’s not surprising that the Clippers’ offense was better with Lou on the floor–138.0 to 116.7. But that margin is astounding, and further evidence that Lou really needs to be playing more as long as Paul George is out. In the four games since George went down, the Clippers have a +10.8 net rating in Lou’s 104 minutes and a +0.5 net rating in his 88 minutes on the bench. Put that man on the court and put the ball in his hands.

Luke Kennard: C. Another night, another nothing burger for Luke Kennard, who had 3 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 18 minutes that the Clippers played evenly with the Bulls (remember, they won the other 30 minutes by 19 points). Luke can’t be overly blamed for that lineup being average, since it was mostly him watching other guards make mediocre attempts at initiating the offense, but he also can’t be credited for much while he’s just standing there watching. I’ll say this, though: as long as Luke isn’t going to make an impact with the ball in his hands, he’s more valuable when Paul George is healthy and the threat of Luke’s shot can keep the floor open for the Clippers’ ball-dominant stars. I noticed tonight how much space Kawhi got in single-coverage in the post when Luke was the nearest shooter. Teams know better than to help off of him.

Ivica Zubac: B+. Zu had a couple of nice shifts for himself, and was effective as a roll man in the LouBac action, which helped fuel the offense in both halves. He also continues to be one of the Clippers’ most impactful defenders as he patrols the paint. Zu finished with 12 points on 5-6 shooting, 4 rebounds, an assist, and a block, but 5 fouls limited him to 15 minutes. A couple of the calls that went against him were pretty rough, but foul trouble has been an intermittent issue for Zubac this season and it hurts the team when their best big man (by a clear margin for several weeks now) has his minutes artificially limited.

No Grades

Mfiondu Kabengele isn’t going to get a grade for his garbage-time performance art piece pantomiming the three stooges, because I’m trying to be nicer. Daniel Oturu and Jay Scrubb are both listed on ACCO’s roster in the G-League’s Orlando bubble, but neither are playing due to injuries (Oturu, from what I gather, is actually with the team and may or may not return before bubble play ends, while Scrubb isn’t with ACCO and could miss the entire NBA season). Amir Coffey is actually playing for ACCO, and had 20 points tonight in a narrow win. Paul George wasn’t with the team on this two-game trip as the team evaluates his bone edema, and Patrick Patterson was the sole unused substitute for Ty Lue tonight.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Bulls Player Grades
Lucas Hann

The Clippers’ offense came from several different angles tonight — Kawhi in the mid-range, LouBac in the paint, and Morris from three — and were able to out gun the Bulls’ young guards. For a full game recap of the Clippers’ win over the Bulls, read on below.

Game Summary

This game started off way too scary: Although the Clippers responded to quick six points from the Bulls with a 13 point run of their own, they had both Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka go down with apparent injuries early in the game. They both ended up being fine and returned to play, but the brief absences threw off Ty Lue’s rotations for the rest of the half.

The Clippers were nonetheless able to finish the first quarter with a five point lead (30-25), with the help of 11 points combined points off the bench from Ivica Zubac and Terrence Mann. The Bulls were led by 10 points from LaVine and six from Coby White, which helped the Bulls cut down the Clippers once-double digit lead before the end of the quarter. The two, as mentioned in our preview, have been hot lately and showed pretty quickly that intended to keep it going.

At the half, the Clippers lead was just four but the offense was scoring fairly efficiently, at 54% from the field and 36% from three. The Clippers, who have been reliant on the three so far this season, took only 11 such shots through the first half, six less than their typical pace (averaging 34.5 three point attempts per game). The Bulls, on the other hand, were letting it fly from three, shooting 9/19, but their turnovers (9) helped the Clippers maintain their lead.

The Clippers would go on to win the third quarter by eight, stretching their lead to twelve. But, more importantly, it felt like the Clippers were ready to put the Bulls away. Kawhi continued his domination in the mid-range and the LouBac (Lou to Zubac, for those who are not on Twitter all game like some of us) connection was bringing the Clippers points in the paint. However, the Bulls continued to score, with LaVine, White, and Young all with 14 or more points through three quarters.

The forth quarter was never particularly close, which allowed Ty Lue to empty the bench. Most notable from the final frame was Lou Williams and Marcus Morris, Sr. deciding to pour it on. Lou was responsible for scoring or assisting on most of the Clippers first dozen or so points. Then, Morris exploded for five three pointers in the forth quarter, which is unsurprisingly the most he’s made in a quarter in his career. The Clippers ended up winning this game going away over the Bulls 125-106.

Notes

• Importance of Patrick Beverley: The Clippers are 18-4 when Patrick Beverley plays, and the Clippers just generally click better when when he is available. Tonight, like last game, he was on a tight minutes restriction, but he was able to add six points and was +13 in 12 minutes.
• LouBac: In the third and fourth quarters, Lou was getting penetration off his picks and rolls with Zubac, and Zu put himself in position to receive and finish dump off passes. Hopefully the two will be able to keep this up; with the Clippers’ rotation constantly changing due to injuries, it would be nice to have a consistent offensive threat to rely on off the bench.

Game Recap: Clippers Blow by Bulls, 125-106
Kenneth Armstrong

Check out our Clippers vs Bulls game preview as LAC looks to regain their stride against the Bulls after toughing out a win against the Timberwolves. To do so, the Clippers’ wings, sans Paul George, will have to contain the Bulls’ young scorers.

Game Information

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570 LA Sports

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: Patrick Beverley — Reggie Jackson — Kawhi Leonard — Nicolas Batum — Serge Ibaka
Bulls: Coby White — Zach Lavine — Denzel Valentine — Patrick Williams —Daniel Gafford

Injuries

Clippers: OUT — Paul George (foot)
Bulls: OUT — Wendell Carter, Jr. (quad); OUT — Chandler Hutchison (personal); OUT — Lauri Markkanen (shoulder); OUT — Otto Porter, Jr. (back)

The Big Picture

On Wednesday, the Clippers narrowly escaped (OK, not “narrowly,” but it did look pretty ugly there for a while) with a win in Minneapolis. This Kings-Timberwolves-Bulls-Cavaliers stretch is supposed to be a “break” in the schedule before the Clippers find themselves staring down Miami, Utah (twice), and Brooklyn next week. The Clippers already dropped a bad loss against the Kings, so they need to clean up the Bulls and Cavs — and come out healthy.

In respect to health, the Clippers are making some progress. Specifically, Patrick Beverly came back from a knee injury and helped get the Clippers over the hump after a slow start. Although he only played 18 minutes, Beverly made a few good defensive plays and scored in transition when the Clippers needed a big play.

On Wednesday, Lou Williams also had a comeback of sorts. He had a season-high 27 points on 10/15 shooting, along with five rebounds and four assists. While we have known all season that Lou still had a high-gear, it was nice to see him show it off. Against the Bulls on Friday, the Clippers will likely need him to keep up the scoring, as Paul George is still at home in Los Angeles.

Even without George, the Clippers should have a roster advantage. We’ll get into the Bulls’ strengths below, but they are not a good defensive team. Their defensive rating is only 0.3 better than the Timberwolves and are fifth worst in Defended Field Goals Percentage. Between Kawhi, Lou, and Batum, the Clippers’ wings should be able to get up shots and score efficiently.

The Antagonist

Although the Bulls have issues on the defensive end, they certainly can score. They are (very) slightly above the Clippers in points per game at 115.1, are forth in field goal percentage, and are third in pace. In the Bulls’ last game, against the Pelicans, we saw what they look like at their best: 129 points, led by Zach LaVine with 46 and Coby White with 30. The Clippers’ wings will have to check this fast, efficient team all night, which could become a problem without George.

Notes

• Terance Mann: As Lucas pointed out in his player grades, Mann has shown, over the last two games, that he can be a contributor to this team. He will not necessarily stuff a stat sheet, but he will make hustle plays and rebounding. Against the Bulls, he will need to be one of the Clippers’ wings who are checking LaVine and White.
• Bench: The Bulls’ bench actually leads the league in net rating. With the Clippers’ bench already scrambled with Reggie Jackson having to start, guys like Luke Kennard and Marcus Morris, Sr. will have to score efficiently and keep the Bulls’ bench under control.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Bulls Game Preview
Kenneth Armstrong

After a matinee disaster two Sundays ago, the Clippers were back at it yesterday afternoon in a full-fledged shootout against the Chicago Bulls. With a new rotation established, it’s time to dole out Clippers vs Bulls player grades.

Clippers Starter Grades

Patrick Beverley: B. There were some highs and lows for Pat on the afternoon. He had 5 assists to only one turnover and made a couple of nice drives, which has added a really nice downhill wrinkle to the starting unit lately. But he also had 4 fouls and had to be removed from the game early in the third quarter, altering Ty Lue’s rotation. On the other hand, on a night where both defenses struggled to contain their opponent, Bev’s 3 blocks and overall activity made up a crucial component of the few stops LAC was able to get as they clawed back into the game and eventually won. Lastly, I think he’s fallen a bit too in love with the three-point shot after a super hot night last week–he’s had a quick trigger on some questionable looks in the last few games. Settle down, Pat.

Paul George: A-. Another really-good-but-not-great performance for George, which is actually good news: nobody is great every night, but balancing the occasional great night with routine performances like this is All-NBA stuff. He put up 28 points on 8-19 shooting, got to the free throw line 9 games, and found his teammates for 9 assists to just 2 turnovers, making for by far his most efficient game distributing the basketball so far this season.

Kawhi Leonard: A. Man, that third quarter duel was fun. All Kawhi put up in the frame was 21 points and 5 made threes en route to a 35-point, 4-assist, 2-rebound, 3-steal night. The trend of him not doing much to close games continues, though–even with it going down to the wire he was just 1-5 from the field for 2 fourth quarter points.

Nicolas Batum: A-. Nic gets a full bump from B+ to A- for his amazing four-point-play from the corner that put the Clippers ahead for good with 2:30 to play. All in all, it wasn’t Nic’s most impactful game, but the guy just stuffs the box score, (almost) never messes up, and makes huge plays in big moments.

Serge Ibaka: C. Serge was only okay offensively tonight–10 points on 5-10 shooting is fine, but his impact was average and he also added two turnovers. Defensively he was the real weak point for the starting unit in my opinion (though much of Chicago’s barrage was just red-hot shooting as opposed to breakdowns on LAC’s part).

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Marcus Morris: B. I think Morris is still rounding into form a bit physically, as he still doesn’t look to be moving quite right, especially defensively. But even this version of him is miles ahead of the Clippers’ other second-unit forward options defensively, and he contributed nicely with three made threes and 7 rebounds off the bench.

Lou Williams: A. Man, it’s nice to have Lou back. I opined after Friday’s loss that the Clippers needed to let Lou be Lou. If it wasn’t obvious after watching the game, Lou and Ty Lue made it clear postgame–after 10 games of attempting to make a three-guard second unit lineup work and asking Lou to adjust his play style to fit into a role on that group, the coaching staff decided to trial a different look and ask Lou to go back to his strengths. He responded with 21 points, 4 assists, and even 3 steals as he made up for his lack of size defensively with some crafty gambles to create turnovers.

Luke Kennard: C+. Luke was fine yesterday, but he’s been consistently unimpactful off the bench this season and this game was no different. Five points on 2-5 shooting, an assist, a rebound, a turnover. Four fouls, which is mostly dismissible because of the situations they came in. He didn’t hurt the team–they won his minutes–and I do think that the team’s new rotations are going to help him start to fit in a little better, but I think you’re still left looking for more offensive production from Luke.

Ivica Zubac: C+. Zu also seems a bit reinvigorated by the new bench rotation. I still wouldn’t classify this as a good Zu performance–the defense was only okay and he was just 2-6 around the rim offensively with the two makes being an open transition dunk and another dunk that he actually missed, but was credited for due to some minor net interference by the defense (he missed it all on his own without help from the goaltend). But he had a big block, plus a steal, and finally got back to his normal levels of activity with 5 offensive rebounds and actual flashes of plus defending. It will take an acclimation period but I’m hopeful that the Clippers’ new aggressive staggering rotation will help him always play in good lineups where he can thrive in a more narrowly defined role than the “do it all” assignment he had behind the three-guard lineup.

Not Graded

Terance Mann got a quick call for a defensive possession but didn’t actually feature enough to assess. Reggie Jackson was out of the rotation fully tonight. He performed well individually through 10 games and he’s a nice option to have for guard depth in case of injuries or foul trouble, but his fit with Lou and Luke was simply not working for the team. Patrick Patterson, Mfiondu Kabengele, Daniel Oturu, and Amir Coffey all didn’t play as well. Jay Scrubb remains out with injury.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers vs Bulls Player Grades
Lucas Hann