The Clippers played great tonight—but only for about three quarters. Giannis Antetokounmpo took over in the 4th and the Clippers’ stars could not respond. Check out our recap of this Clippers-Bucks game below:

Summary

LA started the game well—especially on the defensive end. Ty Lue started with Ivica Zubac guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo, who opened the game 0/5 from the field. But Giannis was able to get some down-hill a few times and the Clippers’ shooting fell off, so the Clippers only found themselves up nine after the first quarter despite leading at 15 points at one point.

The Bucks started the second quarter with a seven point run (13-0 including their run at the end of the first quarter). But the eight minute mark, it was Milwaukee who had the lead. Giannis’ assault on the rim took off once Zubac got his third foul and was replaced by Robert Covington. The Clippers responded with a 10-0 run of their own, though. Norman Powell’s 15 second quarter points held offset Giannis’ 20 in the half, allowing the Clippers to take a seven point lead into half time.

The Clippers started the third quarter with a 9-0 run, prompting a quick Bucks timeout. The runs went back and forth throughout the quarter, including at 13-3 run by the Bucks to end the quarter. That helped take a 21 point Clippers lead down to just nine going into the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee continued to chip away at the Clippers lead steadily throughout the first half of the fourth quarter. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton came alive for the Bucks, while Giannis continued to dominate. Ty Lue elected to stay with Zubac on Giannis, but Giannis got whatever he wanted: he hit jumpers, drove the lane, and earned several trips to the free throw lane. With 1:47 left in the game, Zubac finally fouled out. Kawhi did fine on Giannis over the last two minutes, but the damage was done. The Clippers too long to change their defensive coverage.

Although Giannis took over in the fourth, the bigger issue was the Clippers’ inability to score down the stretch. They did not score for three straight minutes, missing seven straight shots. With 27.1 seconds left, down one, Ty Lue called a timeout (his last). Kawhi missed a midrange, turnaround jumper (another isolation play with no ball movement). The Clippers got a gift, though, when Giannis threw the ball away. Unfortunately, the Clippers could not make anything of it—Kawhi dribbled the ball for 15 seconds and put up an airball as time expired.

Really, this game came down to Giannis taking over and the Clippers’ stars inability to respond. Kawhi was an abysmal 7/26 from the field (1/6 from three) and only earned one trip to the free throw line (2/2). Paul George went 6/16 from the floor (2/6 from three) and was a miserable 2/6 from the free throw line. Powell, again, was stellar, outscoring the Bucks’ bench with 26 on great efficiency.

Notes

Paul George, 8-Time All-Star: Today, it was announced that Paul George was voted to be an All-Star reserve. To some, this was a bit surprising given that he has only played 38 of the Clippers 55 games (including tonight’s game). But, at the end of the day, the Clippers are a .600+ team when he plays and he’s averaging 23.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. That’s not nothing. And, plainly, his reputation as an elite two-way player is still intact, so guys like Anthony Edwards or De’Aaron Fox would have had to to significantly out-perform him to leap over him.

Trade Deadline Needs: Over the last few weeks, the Clippers have been connected via trade rumors to several point guards. Tonight, though, was reminder that the backup Center position is a much bigger need. When Zubac went to the bench with three fouls, Giannis dominated. Sure, not every team has a Giannis. But guys like Jokic, Sabonis, Zion, Ayton, and even Christian Wood will punish the Clippers if they are relying on Brown, Batum, or Covington to play center off the bench night-in, night-out.

Rotation Update: With Marcus Morris, Sr. back in the lineup, Luke Kennard was the odd man out. The Clippers played two guards (Powell and Jackson) and two forwards (Batum and Covington) off the bench. At the end of this game, though, it looked like the Clippers could have used Kennard’s shooting during those 3:30 minutes when they could not score.

That about does it for this recap of the Clippers’ comeback loss against the Bucks. 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 cannot hold on, lose 106-105 to Bucks
Kenneth Armstrong

After beating the Bulls, the LA Clippers made the bus ride from Chicago to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks. This game sets off a 13 game stretch against (current) playoff teams. Check out our preview of game 1 of 13 below: 

Game Information

Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: TNT

How to Listen: AM 570 KLAC

Projected Starting Lineups

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

Bucks: True Holiday – Grayson Allen – Pat Connaughton – Giannis Antetokounmpo – Brook Lopez

Injuries

Clippers: 
QUESTIONABLE – Marcus Morris, Sr. (ribs)

OUT – John Wall (abdominal)

Bucks: 
OUT – Bobby Portis (knee) and Serge Ibaka (personal)

The Big Picture

The Clippers are playing well: They are 7-3 in their last 10 games, have a winning record on the road, and Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Norman Powell are starting to look like the All Star/ 6MOY caliber players they were promised to be. When those three are playing well, the Clippers can beat anyone.

As it pertains to the Bucks, the Clippers do have a few advantages. As is always the case, the Clippers will have the best wings on the floor. The Bucks do not have a natural wing who can guard Kawhi or PG over the course of the game. They may try Ingles and/or Middleton, though those are not great options. And Middleton is further limited defensively by the fact that he is still returning from injury. Moreover, even though the Bucks have good rim protectors, the Kawhi and PG are elite mid-range scorers, so the Bucks’ defensive strengths are somewhat countered.

The Clippers’ bench should also be a strength tonight. The Clippers are third in bench scoring (thank you, Norm Powell), while the Bucks are 15th. Their bench only scores 34 points per game and have a negative plus-minus.

The Antagonist

On the other hand, the Bucks are one of the best teams in the NBA (34-17 record) and have one of the best players in the league (in NBA history, really). They are the best rebounding team, have the third-best defensive rating, and are top-five in three pointers made.

In respect to matchups, this will be yet another game in which the Clippers will have a disadvantage in the front court. Giannis, of course, will be the best big on the floor, but Brook Lopez is also having a great year. Zubac will be under siege all game unless the Clippers’ wings make a concerted effort to help on the boards and with protecting the rim.

This game will also be the Clippers’ fourth straight road game and fourth game in six days. Although the Clippers have performed honorably so far (save for the Cavaliers game, of course), they would be forgiven for dropping this game given the circumstances.

Note

Last Year’s Wild Night: The Clippers have made this Chicago-to-Milwaukee trip before. Last year, the Clippers pulled off a magical, wild win in Milwaukee after a disappointing loss in Chicago. They were without Kawhi, PG, Reggie, Powell, Morris, and Batum. Nonetheless, they won going away—winning every quarter—because Robert Covington made a franchise record 11 threes en route to a career-high 43 point night. Amir Coffey and Luke Kennard added 32 points and 23 points respectively. It was perhaps the most confusing, wild win in recent Clippers’ history. [To be fair, Giannis, Jrue, and Middleton did not play either.] If you want to re-live that game, check it out here.

Around the NBA: The Clippers go into tonight’s game with a 29-25 record. Here are the rooting interests for the rest of the NBA games on Thursday night:

• Pacers over Lakers
• Cavaliers over Grizzlies
• Nuggets over Warriors
• Pelicans vs. Mavericks: toss up! The Clippers need both teams to lose.

That about does it for this preview of the Clippers’ upcoming game against the Bucks. 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. Bucks Game Preview
Kenneth Armstrong

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers are trading Serge Ibaka to the Milwaukee Bucks for Semi Ojeleye and Rodney Hood. The exchange is part of a larger, four-team framework that also sees the Bucks send Donte DiVincenzo head to Sacramento. Here’s Woj’s full description of the trade:

For the Clippers, this deal is pretty much a straight-up salary dump of Ibaka’s $9.7M deal, which serves a few purposes. First, because the Clippers didn’t need to bring back any additional salary in this move (the minimum salaries of Hood and Ojeleye don’t count as incoming trade salary), they were able to create a $9.7M TPE that they can use either today, next off-season, or at next year’s trade deadline. Second, Ibaka’s logical fit in Milwaukee as a fill-in for Brook Lopez, who is out indefinitely following back surgery, meant that LAC didn’t have to give up a 2nd round pick to move Ibaka’s deal. Third, the Clippers can now easily cut Hood and Ojeleye–which I expect them to do–and create a second open roster spot, allowing them to both pursue a backup point guard on the buyout market and convert Amir Coffey’s two-way contract to a full-time NBA deal. Lastly, this trade will save Steve Ballmer a substantial amount of money in luxury tax penalties–not something I really care about and not something that the Clippers have prioritized doing, but a relevant fact nonetheless. Still, this trade makes clear sense for LAC even without considering Ballmer’s wallet.

As I noted above, Hood and Ojeleye appear to be likely candidates to be cut upon their arrival to the Clippers, as they have each been quite bad in Milwaukee this season and LAC has higher priorites for those roster spots. However, anything is possible as the deadline approaches and the Clippers continue to weigh other deals that could open up spots and playing time for Hood or Ojeleye. If it does turn out that other moves change circumstances higher up the roster, we’ll take a deeper look at what those guys could bring to the team over the weekend.

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 Trade Serge Ibaka to Milwaukee Bucks
Lucas Hann

Despite a rash of injuries to important players, LAC put their best foot forward tonight and rode a wave of three pointers to their sixth straight victory. Check out a full Clippers vs. Bucks game recap and player grades below.

Game Summary

With Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka still out with their respective injuries (and Rajon Rondo, but since he has yet to debut it doesn’t feel like the team misses him in the same way), the Clippers were already going to be a bit undermanned against an elite Milwaukee Bucks squad that went out of their way to rest their key players in their last game as they geared up for this contest. When the news came that Paul George was a late scratch with foot soreness? Well, you could have hardly blamed Clippers fans for feeling like this contest was a bit of a lost cause. With Reggie Jackson continuing to start in place of Beverley and Ivica Zubac in place of Ibaka, Luke Kennard joined the makeshift starting unit in place of George.

The Clippers actually got out to a strong start with their unusual starting crew, leading on and off through the first half of the opening frame. But as is so often the case when you’re shorthanded, the absence of quality rotation players on the second unit was felt more severely than the downgrade in talent on the first unit. The level of play dropped off noticeably with Patrick Patterson and Amir Coffey on the floor to end the period, and the Clippers didn’t get away with it as Milwaukee hit a string of clean looks to take the lead and extend it to 12 by the end of the frame, sparking pessimism about the Clippers’ hopes in this matchup without so many key players.

But if that Bucks run damaged LAC’s optimism as much as it did for those of us watching at home, the team didn’t show it. After a scoreless opening frame, Terance Mann took over the game, with 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in the second quarter as the Clippers climbed back into the game and eventually took a narrow lead into halftime. The story of this quarter–and the game, really–was Mann’s continued excellence in breaking down an elite defense off the dribble to create paint opportunities for himself as well as wide open looks for his teammates. But he didn’t achieve this result on his own. Marcus Morris also had a really strong night, making some difficult shots in response to being asked to shoulder a greater offensive load with George sidelined. Eight of his 25 points on the night came in the second period.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the Clippers took control of the game coming out of halftime, jumping from a 57-57 tie in the opening seconds of the half to a 68-59 lead. While Milwaukee would remain competitive throughout the second half, they never challenged their hosts’ lead again, in large part because Reggie Jackson went on a scoring tear in the third quarter, scoring on three drives within a minute at one point as part of his massive 15-point period. Leonard made a healthy contribution with 8 of his own, Mann continued attacking and found a couple more assists, and well-rounded contributions–two Morris jumpers, a pair of Batum threes, a couple of Zubac finishes–made for a 39-point third quarter outburst from the Clippers that would give them a strong 10-point buffer heading into the final frame.

The Bucks, led by reigning NBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo, weren’t going to let a 10-point deficit scare them away. The two teams exchanged scoring possessions early in the fourth, flirting with the double-digit threshold. And then, it was over. After a Nicolas Batum offensive rebound, some smart passing found Luke Kennard for an open three that pushed the Clippers’ lead back to 10 with 7:11 to play. Then, after a Milwaukee basket, Kennard came back down and hit a stepback three to reset the lead to 11. Then, after steal by Leonard, Kennard hit another three–his third in as many possessions–to push the lead to 14. And then, just two possessions later, Kennard hit another three to give LAC a 17-point advantage with 5:12 to play–4/4 from beyond the arc in 5 possessions in 1:59 of game time. Not bad for a guy who has found playing time hard to come by in recent weeks.

It was a fitting bit of parallelism to end the game for the Clippers, with each of their three fringe rotational guards dominating one of the contest’s quarters to lift them to a surprising, shorthanded victory. Mann’s downhill playmaking in the second, Jackson’s three-level scoring in the third, and Kennard’s red-hot shooting in the fourth each catalyzed a run that swung the game about 10 points in the Clippers’ favor–from down 10 to tied, from tied to up 10, and from up 10 to up 20, turning a game LAC really had no business winning into a blowout in their favor.

Clippers vs Bucks Player Grades

Reggie Jackson: A. For the reasons I mentioned above, there’s little doubt that Jackson deserves flying colors for his performance tonight. He had an efficient 20 points in a game where LAC needed some scoring help (on paper, though so many guys stepped up in George’s absence that it was actually fine), and–pinch me I must be dreaming–took over the game offensively to help the Clippers pull ahead in the second half against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Luke Kennard: A. Man, Ty Lue is going to have difficult decisions to make when Beverley, George, and to a lesser extent Rondo are all available to play. Kennard has been simply fantastic in recent weeks, and it isn’t just his blistering shooting–he’s been sharper on the ball, decisive and aggressive, and it’s even fueled some good defensive engagement too.

Kawhi Leonard: A-. Kawhi was good tonight, but perhaps not the kind of special you’d expect him to have to be in order for the Clippers to beat, let alone crush, the Bucks without PG. He had 23 points on 10-21 shooting, hitting some timely shots in the mid-range, and came close to a triple-double with 9 rebounds and 8 assists in his 36 minutes. Milwaukee brought extra defenders, he made the right play, and his teammates converted.

Marcus Morris: A. Marcus had a really nice presence tonight, both converting the good shots that the Clippers created within the flow of their offense and bailing them out in some key moments where they got a little stuck to keep the momentum flowing. He finished with a very efficient 25 points on 9-16 shooting, including 4-7 from beyond the arc, and also added 5 rebounds and 3 assists. In his normal role, he can dial back the forced post-up/mid-range looks a bit–and he won’t hit them at this rate over a larger sample size–but man, it’s a luxury to have a guy like this who can play that role comfortable when needed.

Ivica Zubac: A-. Zu wasn’t quite as dominant with his finishing tonight, but he continues to take advantage of his nightly opportunity in the starting lineup to prove that he should keep playing heavy minutes as the Clippers’ primary center when Serge Ibaka returns. He’s far and away the team’s best option against Giannis, in addition to already having established himself as the team’s best option against Jokic. Is he their best option against Anthony Davis, too? It wouldn’t surprise me. Even without a key match-up, he’s the backbone of everything good that happens defensively, and his offensive rebounding might be the most undervalued skill of any Clipper–not only does he win the team extra possessions, but he competes on the offensive glass so tirelessly that even when he doesn’t end up with the ball, he is constantly forcing extra defensive rebounders back into the paint to secure the ball, stalling opposing transition offenses.

Terance Mann: A. Despite not joining the 20-point club with Reggie and Luke, Terance was in my estimation the most important of this trio in tonight’s game. His downhill attack set the tone for the Clippers earlier in the game when they were still struggling, and it truly changed the dynamic of what LAC could do offensively and how the Bucks were forced to guard them. In addition to his 14 points on 6-12 shooting, he had 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and his court vision was phenomenal in this game. I honestly have no idea if we’re in the midst of a host streak for Terance that will eventually subside, or if we’re just scratching the surface for a guy who might actually be becoming a star.

Nicolas Batum: A-. He didn’t have the explosive impact of some of his teammates, but Nic was still really good in this contest. His 8 points on 2-5 from three were of course important, but it was defensively where he added the most value. It’s understandably hard for him to play small-ball center against Giannis-led lineups, but aside from those moments he continues to be an essential, switchy, gluey teammate for the Clippers on the defensive end of the court. A chasedown block followed up by a putback dunk? Who is this guy that Robert Flom was calling washed?

Patrick Patterson: B-. If PatPat’s job is to come in and hit his shots, he did that tonight, going 3-3 from deep in 12 minutes (one came in garbage time, but the other two were still with the game very much in play). And he even earned a nod from C+ to B- because he was much more competitive on the defensive end in the second half, playing with a bit of pride and even moving his feet well to take a good charge against a Giannis drive. But it’s always troubling to me when Patterson has a night where he can’t miss, and yet his minutes are still a disaster, and that was the case in the first half tonight. The rest of the Clippers were good enough tonight that it didn’t matter, but if you played tonight’s 2nd half 100 times, the Clippers probably lose most of the time and that 5 minute, -12 first half shift for Patterson would be harped on. The good news is that their buyout market activity indicates that the Clippers know they need a new backup big man and will look to add one soon.

Amir Coffey: B. I don’t think Coffey did anything really spectacular to stand out in this game, but for a guy on a two-way contract pressed into some rotation minutes, that’s a good thing in and of itself. I’d like to see more of Amir–not in the normal rotation of course, but I’m 100% ready to prioritize increasing his minutes when shorthanded to keep Patterson off the floor.

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. Bucks Recap and Grades: LA Cruises, 129-105
Lucas Hann

LAC fell to Milwaukee in a close one Sunday afternoon; let’s check how each player fared in our Clippers vs Bucks player grades.

Clippers Starter Grades

Patrick Beverley: C. I don’t want to be too harsh on Pat for a game where his primary offense was just missing good shots–after all, he’s over 40% from deep on the season, so we’ll just have to live with a 1-6 outing from time to time. But he didn’t really make an impression on this game, and there were several times where the defense clearly opened up for him (not just for open threes, but to potentially get into the lane and take a floater or find the open man) and he was too passive.

Paul George: C. At halftime, Paul George had 14 points on 6-10 shooting, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. At the final horn, he had 16 points on 7-21 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. Everyone has their good and bad nights, and George is still shooting over 50% from the field and 47% from deep on the season, but he just didn’t bring enough to the Clippers tonight. That was especially true down the stretch of the game as LAC went scoreless in the final 4 minutes, with George and Kawhi Leonard running a brutally stupid plan of attacking Milwaukee’s best defenders head-on instead of strategically putting their weaker defenders in compromising positions.

Kawhi Leonard: C+. I thought Kawhi was pretty good for most of this game, but not great, with 25 points on 10-21 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. But like George, Leonard was responsible for the Clippers’ awful late-game offense that was somehow as poorly conceived as it was executed. That’s where LAC lost the game.

Nicolas Batum: B-. After a furious start to the season, Nic has settled in to much more pedestrian contributions on both ends in recent weeks. He’s mostly invisible offensively save for some sharply-regressed shooting from the corners, and has been much more average than good defensively. He is rarely going to do anything terrible to cost you games, but it’s definitely fair to ask if you’d get a little more production were some of his 30 minutes given to more impactful players on the Clippers’ bench.

Serge Ibaka: B+. This one was really tough, because Serge was terrible in the first half, but carried the Clippers offensively through their third quarter comeback. Milwaukee clearly came into this game not scared of Ibaka, and happily funneled the ball to him, where he either missed (starting the game 1-7) or even worse, didn’t shoot at all, causing the offense to sputter as he passed up good looks. But a hot stretch in the third quarter took the Clippers from down double digits to ahead 5 at the end of the frame, and as his shots started falling he picked up his activity defensively and on the glass as well, resulting in the best quarter he’s played all season.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Lou Williams: B+. Lou didn’t have an explosive game, but he had an effective one, with 14 points on 5-11 shooting and 4 assists as he engineered the offense off the bench. With Milwaukee lacking the prolific scoring guards that many other teams have, the Clippers could get away with a little more of Lou on defense than against other contenders–but even hiding off-ball, he got caught napping multiple times on backdoor cuts, keeping him from the A- territory warranted by his offensive production alone.

Marcus Morris: B-. Marcus had a rough start to the night, going 1-5 in the first half, but was 3-6 from deep in the second half and probably should be allowed to play a bit more than 23 minutes on a night like tonight where LAC could have used all the shot-making it could get.

Ivica Zubac: A-. Speaking of “should be allowed to play a bit more,” Zu only getting 16 minutes in this game is a massive error by Tyronn Lue second only to the Clippers’ horrific late-game strategy offensively. Lue admitted after the game that Zubac had the most success of any Clipper guarding Giannis Antentokounmpo, so playing him just 16 minutes feels like a pretty big missed opportunity, especially as Giannis burned the Clippers repeatedly down the stretch.

Terance Mann: B+. Mann did about everything you could ask for in the box score tonight, coming in for 15 minutes and getting a couple of buckets, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. But while he had a couple of noticeably nice plays, there were a couple drawbacks as well. The spacing visibly suffered with Mann and Zubac on the court together in the first half, and Terance just wasn’t effective in limited action defending Khris Middleton–including a poor effort at the end of a quarter where he let Middleton walk from coast to coast and get an uncontested layup.

No Grades

Reggie Jackson appeared briefly, but not enough to warrant a grade. Mfiondu Kabengele and Luke Kennard remained glued to the bench. Patrick Patterson is not with the team for personal reasons, while Amir Coffey is with the struggling Agua Caliente Clippers in the Orlando bubble. Jay Scrubb and Daniel Oturu are both recovering from injuries.

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 Bucks Player Grades
Lucas Hann

The 2020 NBA off-season had a chaotic opening when the transaction moratorium lifted Monday, as numerous high-profile moves were executed and the breaking news tweets stretched past midnight on the East coast. To get caught up on all the deals and how they impact the Clippers’ offseason, I put together Monday’s NBA trade recap.

Lakers acquire Dennis Schroder

The transaction window got off to a premature start on Sunday, when it was reported that the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder had reached a deal to swap Danny Green and the 28th pick in Wednesday’s draft for Dennis Schroder. The Thunder, who are seemingly ready to lean into their rebuild after a one-year detour with Chris Paul and company, were able to add a late first round pick in exchange for an expiring veteran who would have left in free agency next summer anyway. In addition to the 28th pick, Danny Green’s expiring deal likely has positive trade value–look for him to end up with a team like Dallas or Golden State with additional draft compensation headed to Oklahoma City.

Schroder helps the Lakers, but maybe in a different way than a lot of folks seem to think. With LeBron James only getting older, coming off of a short off-season, and playing an accelerated schedule, a Lakers team that was already somewhat weak in terms of offensive creation simply needed to add another weapon in that category. Schroder, who finished second in sixth man of the year voting last season, will help the Lakers give LeBron nights off, play him fewer minutes, and manage his usage rate. He has his limitations defensively, though, not unlike Lou Williams, and could be a candidate for shooting regression after being a below-average shooter (32.5%) in his first six seasons before hitting 38.5% from deep last season.

The pursuit of Schroder at point guard is also connected to an apparent belief on the Lakers’ part that they will be unable to retain Rajon Rondo in free agency, which could be noteworthy as the Clippers are rumored to have interest in him. The Lakers are also expected to chase Wesley Matthews in free agency, which makes sense as his starting job in Milwaukee is likely gone with their acquisition of Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Nets Add Bruce Brown

In a much quieter deal, the Brooklyn Nets added a bit of guard depth by swapping little-used forward Dzanan Musa and a second-round pick for Detroit’s Bruce Brown. Brown has started 99 games over the last two seasons for Detroit and the Pistons were better with him on the court than off both years. The pick is Toronto’s 2021 2nd rounder, which figures to be late again, so it doesn’t feel like a particularly great deal for Detroit since they lost a rotation player. Maybe their front office believes in Musa, who is still just 21 years old and was a first-round pick in 2018.

Suns Win Chris Paul Sweepstakes

It’s hard to say what the “big” news was on Monday, since so much happened, but this one is up there. The Phoenix Suns brought closure to the question of how CP3 would get out of Oklahoma City, and to where. In exchange for Paul and Abdel Nader from the Thunder, the Suns sent out Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and Phoenix’s 2022 protected 1st round pick.

Many Clippers fans had hoped that Paul would ultimately return to LAC this offseason, but there really wasn’t any way for the team to compete with this offer from Phoenix once the Suns decided to pursue CP3. Even though they weren’t directly involved in this trade–which has already been made official–there are ramifications aplenty for the Clippers. First of all, Rubio seems like a likely candidate for a re-trade, as the rebuilding Thunder have little use for him. He’d be a big-time upgrade for the Clippers in terms of a starting point guard who can create good looks for others, but Oklahoma City has proven that they’re stubborn enough to let veterans hang around until they get a good return, so it’s unclear what the Clippers would have to give up (and what other teams would be going after the veteran point guard).

The Suns’ decision to execute the trade now also eliminates the possibility of them creating a significant amount of cap room to add a free agent, which has ripple effects. It means that the most they can offer a free agent like Danilo Gallinari (or Marcus Morris) is the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, potentially keeping them from outbidding the Clippers for a veteran free agent, but also means that they likely plan on keeping free agents such as Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky, and Aron Baynes, all of whom could have become Clipper targets if cut loose as LA searches for frontcourt depth to replace Montrezl Harrell. The inclusion of Nader similarly implies that the Suns intend to keep him when the Thunder would not have, taking a minimum-salary wing off of the free agent market.

Perhaps most importantly, the Suns just got a lot better. The Clippers already share the Pacific Division with the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers and returning-to-health Golden State Warriors, so the addition of a legitimate Suns team could mean that four of the Western Conference’s best five teams play in the Pacific next season. If the NBA emphasizes divisional games in their shortened 2021 schedule, the Pacific will be particularly brutal.

Blazers Land Covington in Wing Upgrade

In a sign that the Houston Rockets might really be blowing it up, they pre-empted the impending superstar trade(s) by selling off one of their top role players to a Western Conference playoff competitor with a serious need at the forward positions. Covington is a really solid two-way player, and probably becomes the best wing to play in Portland during the Damian Lillard era. In return, the Rockets got Trevor Ariza, the 16th pick in Wednesday’s draft, and Portland’s 2021 protected 1st round pick.

It’s hard to place either of these teams right now. The Blazers’ 2019 Western Conference Finals run–and subsequent lost sweep–was a bit flukey, but their sub-.500 2020 was largely due to injuries to key players and a severe lack of options on the wing, which Covington addresses in a big way. The Rockets, on the other hand, have been a conference finalist in recent years and will always be at least decent with James Harden on the roster (which isn’t a guarantee). Are they officially dropping out of the hunt? Are the Blazers good enough to challenge the new top tier in the West? Keep an eye on Trevor Ariza as a potential re-trade or buy-out candidate, now or at the trade deadline.

Jrue Holiday Joins Giannis in Milwaukee

In one of the big shockers of the day, the Milwaukee Bucks officially committed to going all in on an attempt to upgrade their roster and keep Giannis Antetokounmpo, who can leave in free agency next summer if he doesn’t sign a “supermax” extension this off-season. In order to get Holiday, the Bucks paid an incredibly steep price: Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, the 24th pick in Wednesday’s draft, two future Milwaukee first round picks, and two future Milwaukee pick swaps. That’s right: New Orleans got the Paul George package for Jrue Holiday, a very good two-way player who made one All-Star team in 2013 and made the playoffs just twice in six years playing with Anthony Davis.

Squeamishness about the massive draft compensation aside, it’s a wonderful trade for Milwaukee to get a major upgrade at point guard over incumbent Eric Bledsoe. Holiday is a legitimate #3 guy who can average 20 points a game (though he likely won’t as his shots are reduced alongside Giannis and Khris Middleton) and is one of the league’s better defenders.

It’s also a wonderful trade for the Pelicans, who add this stash of assets to the haul they received from the Lakers for Anthony Davis last summer to allow them to build long-term around Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson. Keep your eye on the guard situation in New Orleans–Bledsoe and Hill likely aren’t part of their long-term plans, and the future of Lonzo Ball depends on the Pelicans’ willingness to pay him in restricted free agency next summer. Any of the three could be available over the next couple of weeks.

Bucks Tamper; Sign-and-Trade for Bogdanovic

In a second big upgrade designed to keep Giannis in town, the Bucks are going to add Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade deal when the free agency window opens this weekend. To be blunt, this is a flagrant violation of the league’s tampering rules, since teams are not even legally allowed to begin negotiations with free agents until Friday afternoon. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some serious punishment for the Bucks here. Blocking the move itself is unlikely due to the player’s union standing up for Bogdanovic’s freedom of movement, but financial or draft penalties could be imposed upon the franchise.

In order to execute the trade, D.J. Wilson, Donte DiVincenzo, and Ersan Ilysaova will head to Sacramento. With the Suns getting better, as noted above, the Clippers will take any talent leaving the Pacific, though the Kings still have an interesting collection of young talent.

So, six trades in one day, five of which featured teams that will be good next year adding quality starters. Let’s turn our attention to some other news, even if it isn’t exactly trades.

James Harden Wants Out

Yeah, this is the big one. It’s unclear if this is actually going to happen, but this is definitely more than just rumors:

I’ll wait until a Harden deal actually happens to really think through the ramifications, but one thing to keep an eye on is Spencer Dinwiddie, and LA native who has been connected to the Clippers in some trade rumors. He’d definitely be a part of any Harden trade, though Houston’s willingness to part with him afterwards is unclear. As far as what a Irving-Harden-Durant trio would look like… well, we’ll have to wait and see what the on-court fit looks like, but it certainly wouldn’t be a boring year in Brooklyn.

Bulls Let Dunn, Harrison Hit Free Agency

I gotta be honest here–I have no idea what the Bulls are doing. With 12 guaranteed contracts on the books for next season, two picks in Wednesday’s draft, and three players eligible for restricted free agency, Chicago was always going to have to make some tricky choices to trim down their roster. Kris Dunn, who has become an elite defender but is still atrocious offensively, was probably a coin flip at $7M. The Bulls opted not to extend a qualifying offer, letting him enter unrestricted free agency. At 26 years old, it’s hard to know how much upside he really has left to develop into a complete player. The Clippers were linked to Dunn at last year’s trade deadline, and have been again headed into this free agency period. I’m not really sure what price point or role makes sense for him at this point, but he’s an intriguing option because of his defensive versatility at the guard position.

The Bulls also didn’t extend a $2M qualifying offer to Shaquille Harrison, which is odd as he’s made well-rounded contributions in a rotation role over the last couple of seasons. The 27-year-old can now leave in free agency, and could be a really nice addition to someone’s depth as a 6’7″ guard. They did, however, extend a $4.7M qualifying offer to Denzel Valentine, who looks like a fringe NBA player after missing the entire 2018-19 season and playing an underwhelming 36 games last year. Even if the front office likes Valentine and wants to keep him around, $4.7M is above his market value.

Cauley-Stein Opts In, Lopez Opts Out

In a couple of surprising choices, Willie Cauley-Stein opted in to his $2.3M player option with the Dallas Mavericks next season, while Robin Lopez opted out of his $5M player option with the Milwaukee Bucks. Cauley-Stein wasn’t likely to get a big raise in free agency, but he couldn’t have done worse and could have chosen a new team, while Lopez almost certainly won’t beat a $5M salary on the open market.

Cauley-Stein’s reasoning isn’t clear to me here, and it’s a bit disappointing as he was one of the more intriguing minimum-salary backup centers in this year’s free agent pool. Depending on whether or not the Mavericks want his contract on the books taking up a roster spot, adding him via trade (the Clippers have a small TPE that could absorb him) could still be an option. Lopez, I’m assuming, grew concerned that opting in would result in his $5M expiring being used in one of Milwaukee’s trades and take away his control over what team he played for. Due to acquiring Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade deal, the Bucks will be hard capped this season, so they would have likely found a way to dump Lopez’s deal. Now, he can sign a new deal anywhere–even back with Milwaukee, which is probably most likely–and control his own destination.

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.

Monday’s NBA Trade Recap
Lucas Hann

We’ve (understandably) been focused on the Clippers’ second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, but now feels like a good time to take a step back, look around the league, and check in on our Rooting Interests as the second round is nearing conclusion in the Eastern Conference and past the halfway mark in the Western Conference.

Let’s dive in!

East 1. Milwaukee Bucks 1, 5. Miami Heat 4

Lucas’ Prediction: Heat in 7

Was my prediction right? No. But considering how many folks thought the Bucks would come out on top, I’m feeling pretty good about my belief in the Miami Heat in this match-up.

Now that the Heat have dethroned Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, it’s time to flip perspective and, with the presumptive Eastern Conference Champions out of the playoffs, consider just how dangerous these Heat are. I think that the national narrative will largely write the Heat off in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I’m not sure how wise that is–I wouldn’t be shocked if they challenged or even beat either of their potential ECF opponents. And, with Miami now recovering from the second round and Toronto and Boston headed to a decisive game 7 after each playing four guys 50+ minutes in Wednesday’s double overtime game 6, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll be able to get the jump on a tired opponent in the next round.

The Heat have solidified a very strong identity as a gritty, defensive-oriented team led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Goran Dragic brings finesse on the offensive end, Jae Crowder is playing elite 3-and-D ball, Tyler Herro provides a boost of firepower, and Duncan Robinson makes everyone else’s life easier on the offensive end with his gravity. They’ll be put to the test against either Brad Stevens or Nick Nurse, two great coaches who will make adjustments to pick at the weaknesses they find in Miami’s armor, in the conference finals. If they survive, they will be a legitimate threat to whoever they face in the Finals. These Heat are 100% capable of winning the title this year.

East 2. Toronto Raptors 3, 3. Boston Celtics 3

Lucas’ prediction: Raptors in 6

The prediction died with Boston’s game 5 win, but the Raptors stayed alive–against all odds–with an OG Anunoby three with 0.5 seconds left in game 3 and a double OT win in game 6. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Celtics have been the better team through six games of basketball, but the Raptors have been just good enough in the right moments to get to a coin-flip game 7.

Either team would be favored over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but both would be unwise to overlook Miami. If the Heat can smother Giannis, there’s no reason to expect they can’t have success against Tatum or Siakam. The Raptors will struggle to score consistently against Miami, just as they are against Boston, but have the same kind of elite team defense and intangibles that the Heat pride themselves on.

Who will win this game 7? I have no clue. But I’ll be watching–6pm PT on Friday, after the Clippers and Nuggets play their game 5 at 3:30pm.

West 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2, 4. Houston Rockets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Lakers in 6

Obviously, I want the Rockets to win here–and through 3 games, they actually look like legitimate challengers. They won game 1 and have been close in the fourth quarter in both games 2 and 3 before ultimately falling apart, mostly because of Russell Westbrook’s struggles.

As vulnerable as the Lakers look, I just don’t trust the Rockets. They go cold at the wrong times, Harden can disappear late in games, and Westbrook is a constant liability to go through a 2-minute stretch where he throws the game. Danuel House, definitely one of Houston’s top 6 players, might not play again due to a disciplinary matter, which means more minutes and shots going to inconsistent backups like Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, and Jeff Green.

I do think that Houston is capable of beating the Lakers on a given night, since the Lakers just haven’t been able to score consistently because of their lack of perimeter shooting and the Rockets are capable of hitting such a high volume of threes that even a good defensive team like the Lakers can’t do much to stop them. Can Houston do it 3 of the next 4 games? Probably not. Does their competitiveness in games 2 and 3 indicate that they have a pretty good shot at winning either game 4 or 5? Probably.

It’s also worth tracking the Lakers’ lineups. In order to match up with the small Rockets, Frank Vogel has gone away from Dwight Howard and cut back on his usage of JaVale McGee as well. Anthony Davis is starting to play the lion’s share of minutes at center. Will that stick against a more traditionally-sized Clippers team, or will Vogel revert to a larger lineup?

West 2. LA Clippers 3, 3. Denver Nuggets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Clippers in 6

I am actually leaning towards Clippers in 5 now–I think they won game 3 despite being outplayed by Denver, and won game 4 despite not hitting shots. Now, I have a gut feeling that the three-point floodgates will open for LA in game 5 and help them put the Nuggets away.

• Where Are They Now: Sindarius Thornwell
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• Clippers 2025 Summer League Game 4 Thread

The Clippers’ top priority is winning one more game against the Nuggets and advancing. Inside the locker room, they can’t afford to look at what’s next. Sitting at home in Los Angeles, across the country from the NBA’s Orlando bubble, we have that luxury, and the sooner the Clippers close out Denver, the better they position themselves to get extra rest before future rounds.

Right now, the LAC-DEN series is a day ahead of the LAL-HOU series, meaning that if the Clippers and Lakers both win in 5, LAC would get 2 days of rest before game 1 of the Western Conference Finals while LAL would get just 1. If the Clippers close their series in game 5 on Friday and the Rockets take another game from the Lakers, the WCF would likely begin next Wednesday–meaning 4 days off for the Clippers and just 1 for the Lakers.

But both LA teams also have to look across the bracket and realize that one Eastern Conference finalist is already set and waiting for the other, which will be decided in Friday’s game 7 between Boston and Toronto. That series could start as soon as Sunday, though the league could give the winner of the Celtics and Raptors extra rest since the East is so far ahead of schedule.

Still, if either Western Conference second round series stretches to 6 or 7 games, the WCF will start well behind the ECF, which could leave the EC champ waiting around for their Finals opponent.

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.

Rooting Interests: Second Round Continues
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 11th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

Monday’s games began to provide more clarity in some of the seeding races out West, and more will come as the teams that have stubbornly refused to separate from each other throughout bubble play face their final, crucial games this week.

The NBA’s August 11th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Brooklyn Nets vs Orlando Magic, 10:00am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Orlando Magic

These teams have clinched 7th and 8th in the East already, making what could have been a climactic late-bubble head-to-head relatively meaningless. I’d like to see Orlando win to help them build a little momentum heading into their first-round series with Milwaukee, but this game really isn’t an important one.

Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs, 11:00am, NBATV

Rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are still technically alive in the fight for the 8/9 play-in tournament, and we’d actually like to see those hopes squashed. Portland and Phoenix are the two stronger teams that we’d like to see potentially play the Lakers, and if they can’t battle each other in the play-in, then we’d like them to face the weaker Memphis Grizzlies, who seem likely to go just 1-7 or 2-6 in bubble play.

But a Houston loss is far more important to the Clippers than the play-in race at the bottom of the conference. Currently, the Clippers’ magic # to finish above Houston is 1–that means just a single LAC win or Rockets loss puts the Clippers officially in 2nd or 3rd and closes the door on a nightmare scenario where they fall to 4th and face the Lakers in the second round instead of the Western Conference Finals.

After the Lakers beat the Nuggets Monday night, Houston winning out would drastically increase their chances of moving up into 3rd. If they lose just one game, though, Denver will have a significant upper hand in the race for 3rd–and could clinch a top-3 finish by beating the Clippers Wednesday night.

And if the Rox lose this week, that Denver win becomes more likely. Once the Clippers know that the Rockets cannot pass them, it gives them the flexibility to manage their remaining games (vs Denver on Wednesday and vs OKC on Friday) to manipulate the standings and set up their preferred bracket.

Houston is holding James Harden out of this game, and Eric Gordon continues to be out, so Russell Westbrook will have his hands full. It’s still a winnable contest for the Rockets without Harden and Gordon, but hopefully those absences and this game coming on the front end of a back-to-back are an indicator that Houston will limit their starters’ minutes and concede this one, clinching a top-3 finish for LAC.

Phoenix Suns vs Philadelphia 76ers, 1:30pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Phoenix Suns

Man, if you had told me that the Suns would be the NBA bubble’s must-watch team, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are, with a perfect 6-0 Suns team really looking like they might pull off a play-in berth.

At 8-0, the Suns wouldn’t clinch a spot, but they would force Portland to be perfect (finishing 6-2) to stay ahead of them. The 8-0 Suns would also move ahead of Memphis if the Grizzlies finish 1-7. But if the Blazers win their final two games (DAL/BKN) and the Grizzlies win even one more game (BOS/MIL), Phoenix could see their 8-0 record leave them in 10th, out of the play-in picture.

7-1 doesn’t mathematically eliminate them, but they could no longer pass Memphis and would need the Blazers to lose both remaining games, plus the Spurs to pick up another loss, in order to finish 8th to Memphis’ 9th.

We don’t really care about the Sixers here. They’ll have a chance to move up from 6th into the 4/5 matchup, as Indiana and Miami have another head-to-head coming up this week, but I don’t buy them as an impactful playoff competitor with how they’ve trended in recent weeks (and all year).

Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies, 2:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Boston Celtics

As I just mentioned, Memphis losses greatly help the Suns stay strong in the play-in race. With two losses in their final two games, the Grizzlies could drop out of the play-in tournament entirely, opening up the spots for the Suns and Blazers to challenge each other.

Short of that, though, we’d still prefer for Memphis to lose at least one more game, leaving the door open for Portland to finish 8th. Remember, the 8th-place team only needs to beat 9th once to qualify, while 9th needs to beat 8th twice in a row. Portland reaching the 8th position would not only increase their chances of advancing but also give them an opportunity to do so while playing one fewer game.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks, 3:30pm, TNT

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

It’s a full day of the play-in race, as San Antonio, Phoenix, Memphis, and Portland play back-to-back-to-back-to-back in Tuesday’s first four games. We want Portland to win here, for reasons that have mostly already been laid out above. This would give them their 5th win, and leave them needing just one last victory against the lowly Brooklyn Nets (we saw how that went for the Clippers) to not only clinch a play-in berth but in all likelihood finish in the 8th position.

One interesting sub-plot to watch if this game doesn’t go Portland’s way: Utah’s struggles (the Jazz are 2-5 so far in the bubble) has opened the door for Dallas to move ahead of the Jazz and/or Thunder. Dallas’ last game after Portland is against Phoenix on Thursday. Oklahoma City has two games left, against the Heat Wednesday and Clippers Friday. Utah’s finale comes against the Spurs on Thursday.

If Dallas wins out, including Tuesday’s game against Portland, they put themselves in a position to pass Utah if the Jazz lose to San Antonio as well as potentially pass the Thunder if OKC loses their final two games. In that case, Utah would finish 7th to OKC’s 6th on tiebreaker. I’m not ready to root for Dallas just to make this scenario materialize (and frankly I like the Clippers’ match-up with Dallas in a 2-7), as too many things need to happen with 0 margin for error. But it’s something we’ll definitely track if they win here.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings, 6:00pm, TNT

Milwaukee Bucks vs Washington Wizards, 6:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: taking the night off

After a bunch of impactful games earlier in the day, this dual nightcaps are both sleepers. On TNT, we’ve got the two earliest eliminated teams in the Western Conference playing head-to-head. This could have been a fun and impactful contest if either team showed up to Orlando intending to compete, but they both seemed eager to go home as quickly as possible.

On NBA League Pass, the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks have already clinched the no. 1 seed in the East and will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a Wizards team that is 0-6 in the bubble and didn’t bring their best players to Orlando (not that their roster was very competitive when intact).

There’s been a lot of basketball over the last few weeks. This pairing Tuesday evening makes for a nice excuse to watch something else (or maybe go outside, if you’re into that kind of thing), and get ready for an important Wednesday, where the Clippers could clinch the 2nd seed, and the right combination of outcomes could officially block Denver into 4th as well.

Yesterday’s Games

Oklahoma City Thunder 101, Phoenix Suns 128

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns improved to 6-0, notably against an OKC team that rested their entire starting lineup except for Chris Paul (who only played 24 minutes). We talked enough about the road ahead for Phoenix above, but OKC’s throw here is enough to make you wonder if the Thunder see the standings taking shape ahead of them and want to play Denver in the first round instead of Houston.

Dallas Mavericks 122, Utah Jazz 114

We were rooting for: Utah Jazz

It would have been really nice to see the Jazz win here and put themselves in position to finish ahead of the Thunder in the standings, as we’d like to see a slugfest between OKC and Denver in the first round tire out LAC’s 2nd round opponent while the Rockets get an easier match-up in Utah and rest up before facing the Lakers.

But the Jazz can read the standings too, and they feel the sting from two 5-game eliminations at the hands of James Harden and the Rockets the last two years. They sat Donovan Mitchell today and no starter played more than 16 minutes. With the Thunder, we’re wondering if they’re throwing games to avoid Houston–with the Jazz, we know it.

Toronto Raptors 114, Milwaukee Bucks 108

We were rooting for: nobody

This game didn’t matter for anyone, least of all the two teams playing. Milwaukee and Toronto have both cliched the 1 and 2 seeds in the East, respectively, and are favorites to play each other in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Indiana Pacers 92, Miami Heat 114

We were rooting for: Miami Heat

Not that it’s a huge deal, but in a compact 4-5-6 race in the East between these two teams and Philadelphia, Miami is the strongest, so we’re glad to see them stay in 4th and presumably take on Milwaukee in the second round.

Denver Nuggets 121, Los Angeles Lakers 124

We were rooting for: Denver Nuggets

This game was deeply disappointing, as the Nuggets could have easily come away victorious but chose instead to rest their starters down the stretch, ultimately losing to a Kyle Kuzma game-winner that put the Lakers up by 3. The Nuggets, trailing by 3, attempted a 2-point shot at the buzzer, if you were wondering how interested this tired, shorthanded Denver squad was in another overtime game.

Now, Denver has severely jeopardized their odds of landing in the 3-seed in the West. A Clippers win over Denver on Wednesday–which would clinch the 2-seed for LAC (which means a lot, since they are currently still able to slide all the way to 4th) would set the Nuggets back even further in the 3/4 race with Houston. This is where the Clippers’ bad loss to Brooklyn really hurts–if they had taken care of business, there would be no way for LAC to fall to 4th regardless of the Rockets’ upcoming success.

A lot depends on how Houston fares in their Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back, but if the Rockets win both games and the Clippers beat the Nuggets on Denver, Houston will be squarely in the driver’s seat to finish 3rd heading into Friday’s finales.

Denver’s magic number to finish ahead of Houston is 2–that means 2 Nuggets wins or Rockets losses, with Denver having 2 games left to play to Houston’s 3. That means if the Nuggets split their games because the Clippers beat them, then Houston can secure the 3-seed by winning out.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

Check out the spreadsheet for updated seeding scenarios.

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.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 11th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 8th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

The Memphis Grizzlies’ surprising win was the key headline in yesterday’s games, as they significantly boosted their odds of staying in the Western Conference play-in tournament and put a number of teams behind them on the brink of elimination. Saturday brings another full slate of games.

The NBA’s August 8th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers, 10:00am, TNT

Rooting for: surprise! The LA Clippers!

Saturday’s morning game is the most controversial of the NBA’s August 8th bubble games, impacting both Western Conference races we’ve been tracking.

I’m going to write a bit here–the most I’ve written for any game in Rooting Interests–but it’s going to be focused on the seeding races. For an actual preview of the basketball game, check out 213Hoops’ game preview.

For the first time in these, there’s actually likely to be some debate about whether we want the Clippers to win (in fact, the debate already began in 213Hoops’ comments yesterday). The argument for the Blazers is that since Portland is likely the toughest 8-seed match-up for the Lakers, the Clippers could rest their starters and help Portland in the race for 8th.

I get it–I’ve been as much of a proponent of the Blazers as anyone. And I’m not opposed to strategically resting guys to help set up the 1-8 matchup we prefer. But I think 2 things are true: first, the Blazers are likely to end up in the 1-8 with or without this game (we’ll talk a lot about the race for 8th today), and second, setting up Lakers-Blazers in the first round is less important than setting up Lakers-Rockets in the second.

Losing to Portland to help set up that 1-8 series could put the Lakers-Rockets match-up at risk, as the Clippers could end up needing to beat Denver on August 12th, opening the door for Houston to move past the Nuggets into 3rd.

If the Clippers win their two games this weekend, against Portland Saturday morning and Brooklyn Sunday evening, they’ll be 4-2 in the bubble, putting them in a strong position to secure the 2nd seed. Even if they lose their 7th and 8th games (vs Denver and OKC), that would leave them with a .667 win percentage–a mark the Nuggets could only beat by winning out and going 6-2.

Denver plays two games between now and Wednesday’s LAC vs DEN game–today vs the Jazz, and Monday vs the Lakers. If the Clippers win both of their games this weekend and Denver loses at least one of their two games, the Clippers will have clinched the 2 seed. Then, they can rest players against Denver to help them lock up 3rd (while also not giving the Nuggets reps against LA’s starters).

If the Clippers and Nuggets both win both of their next 2 games, we’ll have to consider how Houston does in between now and then. If the Rockets lose a game (Sunday vs Sacramento, Tuesday vs San Antonio, and Wednesday afternoon vs Indiana before LAC-DEN tips off), then Denver will have clinched 2nd and LAC can beat them with no regrets. If all three teams win all their games between now and LAC-DEN, it might be a good idea to throw the game even if it puts the 2-seed in peril. The good news is that even if the Clippers lose their head-to-head to Denver and the Nuggets win out, LAC can clinch 2nd by winning their finale against OKC.

Since that was a lot, I made a spreadsheet of possible outcomes for the 7 games in question and what LAC should do in each scenario, with the following priority rankings:

1. Do not risk falling to 4th
2. Keep Houston 4th
3. Finish ahead of Denver

So, in theory, I’d rather share the 2/3 with Houston than fall to 4th, but I’d rather finish 3rd to Denver’s 2nd than 2nd to Houston’s 3rd. Long story short, losing to Portland increases the odds that the Clippers will either a) need to beat Denver to clinch 2nd or b) need to throw to Denver to keep Houston 4th, but put 2nd in risk to do so.

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets, 12:30pm, TNT

Rooting for: Denver Nuggets

Speak of the devil. This game doesn’t influence the play-in race, but ties Clippers-Blazers for the most important of the NBA’s August 8th bubble games. While Denver is on the Clippers’ heels and a Nuggets loss helps them get closer to clinching 2nd, remember that I’m prioritizing keeping Houston 4th over clinching 2nd. So, Denver maintaining their narrow lead over Houston is important here.

The bonus is that the Jazz, who haven’t looked particularly threatening in the bubble, get pushed closer to a 6th-place finish with this loss. That’s good news, since it gives the Clippers a fairly easy first-round series in the few scenarios where they have to jeopardize the 2-seed to keep Denver ahead of Houston.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Indiana Pacers, 3:00pm, TNT

Rooting for: Los Angeles Lakers

In terms of seeding races, it would help to see the Pacers lose here, as they’re currently tied for 5th/6th in the East with Philadelphia, and the Sixers likely pose a bigger challenge for Milwaukee in the 2nd round if they can make it to 5th. One perk of keeping this race close: Houston’s last 2 games are against the Pacers and Sixers. It would help keep the Rockets away from 3rd if those teams were trying to win.

To be honest though, watching the game I’m sure we’ll all be pulling for the underdog Pacers against the Clippers’ rivals. The bonus to a Pacers win would be that the Lakers’ bubble struggles would continue–I’m not taking it too seriously, since LAL has handily clinched the 1-seed, but they’d drop to 2-4 in Orlando.

Phoenix Suns vs Miami Heat, 4:30pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Phoenix Suns

After Memphis’ surprise win against the Thunder yesterday, the margin for error for any non-Portland team to pass the Grizzlies became 0. The Suns, Pelicans, and Spurs would each need to be perfect–with Memphis losing out the rest of the way–to make a play for 9th. The Kings can no longer pass Memphis after their loss Friday.

Here’s what I’m rooting for in the play-in tournament: Portland in 8th vs either Memphis or Phoenix in 9th. Since the 8th-place team only needs to win once, on August 16th or 17th, while the 9th place team would need to win on the 16th and 17th, the Blazers finishing 8th and having an easy match-up would mean one fewer game before game 1 vs the Lakers.

If Portland has to play both games of the play-in tournament, then game 1 of the playoffs would be their 7th game in 10 nights. Giving them a break would be nice. My only exception to wanting the Blazers to face the Grizzlies, the easiest potential play-in opponent, would be the Suns–because if Phoenix can actually pull off an 8-0 bubble and then beat Portland twice, their unbelievable hot streak would make them the best opponent to face the Lakers.

On Miami’s side of things, this loss puts them a little closer to Indiana and Philly in a 4-5-6 cluster, but ultimately things will come down to their two remaining head-to-head games against the Pacers, so I’m not sweating this result for them.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Dallas Mavericks, 6:00pm, TNT

Rooting for: Milwaukee Bucks

After a high-impact morning, the nightcap is the least important of the NBA’s August 8th bubble games. Milwaukee has clinched 1st in the East, and Dallas has clinched 7th in the West–so the only thing that can happen here is the Clippers’ likely first-round opponents, already just 1-3 in the bubble, continue slumping a bit and have their confidence shaken.

Yesterday’s Games

Utah Jazz 111, San Antonio Spurs 119

We were rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

Oklahoma City Thunder 92, Memphis Grizzlies 121

We were rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

I’m going to combine the breakdowns for these two games since they’re so closely related. The primary win here for the Clippers is that Utah and OKC both lost–now they both have one more loss than Houston, drastically reducing the chances of the Rockets sliding down to 6th. Slowly, Houston is getting boxed in to the 4-5, just as the Clippers want.

For the Spurs and Grizzlies, Memphis’ win reduced the margin for error to every non-Portland team pushing for the West play-in tournament to 0. That means it’s good for San Antonio that they won, as it keeps their play-in hopes alive.

If the Spurs win their last 3 games (NOP, HOU, UTA), they’ll finish 6-2, ahead of a 1-7 Memphis, any Portland record 5-3 or worse, and any Suns record 7-1 or worse. If they go 2-1, they cannot pass Memphis and their only hope is that the Blazers (currently 3-1) finish 4-4 or worse and the Suns (currently 4-0) finish 6-2 or worse. At 1-2, they aren’t mathematically eliminated, but would need Portland to lose out and Phoenix to lose 2 games.

Sacramento Kings 106, Brooklyn Nets 119

We were rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

The Nets’ win helps them stay in 7th in the East, leaving the stronger Orlando Magic in 8th to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. It’s the preferable seeding outcome for LAC, but in the most marginal way.

The Kings’ loss leaves them unable to pass Memphis, meaning that their only path toward 9th place and the play-in is winning out and Portland losing out and New Orleans finishing 1-2 or worse in their last 3 and San Antonio finishing 1-2 or worse in their last 3 and Phoenix going 2-2 or worse in their last 4. At the end of the day, the fact that they won’t get that much help from the other teams doesn’t even matter–the Kings just lost to Brooklyn and are 1-4 in the bubble, they aren’t winning all of their last 3 games.

Orlando Magic 101, Philadelphia 76ers 108

We were rooting for: Philadelphia 76ers

We wanted Philly here to help them potentially climb into the 4-5 match-up (for the reasoning discussed above when we talked about Indiana), as well as keep Orlando in the 1-8 (for the reasoning discussed above when we talked about Brooklyn). It worked, but Philly didn’t make it easy.

Washington Wizards 107, New Orleans Pelicans 118

We were rooting for: Washington Wizards

The Pelicans are on the cusp of elimination, so a Wizards win would have helped push them out of the race and start clearing up the field for the desired Portland – Memphis/Phoenix play-in match-up.

New Orleans has a legitimate chance to make the play-in, as they’re now 2-3 and their last three games are against San Antonio, Sacramento, and Orlando. A 5-3 finish is certainly in play, and it would beat out a 1-7 Memphis record, any Portland record 4-4 or worse, and anything but 8-0 from the Suns. If 2 of those 3 conditions are met, they’d make the play-in.

Boston Celtics 122, Toronto Raptors 120

We were rooting for: Toronto Raptors

Toronto is essentially locked at 2nd in the East, and Boston 3rd, so this game didn’t mean much. There could only be movement if one of the teams loses out and the team behind them wins out (the Raptors have 4 games left and are 4 losses ahead of Boston, the Celtics have 3 games left and are 3 losses ahead of 4th-place Miami).

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

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.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 8th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 6th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

Of all of the NBA’s August 6th bubble games, our eyes will be on Clippers vs Mavericks today, as LAC looks to improve on their 1-2 start against the team that is their most likely first round opponent.

The NBA’s August 6th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings, 10:30am, NBATV

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

The Kings are 0-3 in the bubble and have played so poorly for so long that Kings fans are calling for general manager Vlade Divac’s resignation. With their 0-3 record, they’re at the very edge of elimination, as a 3-5 or worse finish would keep them behind even an 0-8 Memphis. That means 4-4 is the minimal hope. At least one, if not two, of Portland, San Antonio, and New Orleans will also beat that mark. With games left against the Pelicans twice, the Nets, Rockets, and Lakers, it’s likely curtains for the Kings if they leave themselves needing perfection with games left against two of the conference’s best teams.

But we aren’t rooting for the Kings because we care about their hopes–in fact, it’s their lack of hope that’s why we’re hoping for them to pull this one off. Right now, the West play-in tournament is slated to be between Memphis and Portland. I expect Memphis to slide to 10th or lower without Jaren Jackson Jr., but in case the Grizzlies steal a couple of games, Portland needs to fend off New Orleans and San Antonio.

The Pelicans, with the friendliest remaining schedule in the league (Sacramento, Washington, San Antonio, Sacramento, Orlando), are the biggest threat to Portland right now.

Miami Heat vs Milwaukee Bucks, 1:00pm, TNT

Rooting for: Miami Heat

Bam Adebayo vs Giannis Antetokounmpo should make for a fun match-up in this one, even if the Heat are without Jimmy Butler and/or Goran Dragic.

It’s hard to call the Bucks’ 1-2 start to the bubble shaky when they’re clearly embracing it by rotating their lineups to get different guys playing time. This is essentially pre-season for Milwaukee, who can only lose the 1-seed if they finish 1-7 and Toronto goes a perfect 8-0. I’m not going to take that potentiality seriously for now.

But Miami’s chances of passing the Boston Celtics, while slim, are more worth monitoring right now. Miami (2-1 in the bubble) needs to lose 3 fewer bubble games than Boston (2-2) to pull ahead (Boston has the tiebreaker after winning the season series 2-1), so the margin for error for the Heat is slim. If the Heat win out, they’d need Boston to split their last 4 games against Toronto, Orlando, Memphis, and Washington 2-2. That’s already unlikely. Any Heat loss essentially ends this race.

Remember, of course, that we only want Miami to pass Boston because we think the Celtics are the better team–and therefore a more formidable challenger to Milwaukee in a second-round series from the 4-5.

Indiana Pacers vs Phoenix Suns, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Phoenix Suns

This is probably the lowest-stakes of the NBA’s August 6th bubble games, but what the hell. This might be recency bias, but the Suns’ win over the Clippers on Tuesday impressed me. They’re 3-0 in the bubble with Devin Booker averaging over 30 points, and while LAC was their only impressive win in those 3, you can only give them credit for playing the teams on the schedule. The Suns clearly came to Orlando with something to prove, and they’re doing it so far.

If Phoenix is capable of having big enough nights to beat the Clippers and Bucks, it only figures that they have the firepower to be a threat to take a game off of the Lakers in the first round, right? The Suns would essentially need a perfect bubble–even 7-1 ties them with Memphis, and the Grizzlies won the season series 3-1–plus help from other teams, but I wouldn’t hate to see a Portland vs Phoenix play-in game. And the fanbase could sure as hell use it (you could say this for the Kings too, but their roster isn’t winning games).

The Pacers are less important overall, as I haven’t worked out any significant preference for where the Clippers would like them to land, but they’re a helluva fun watch with TJ Warren the early MVP of the bubble.

LA Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks, 3:30pm, TNT

Rooting for: LA Clippers

A preview of the likely first-round 2-7 series in the Western Conference! The Clippers will not want to show their hand here, but also do need to start winning some games if they want to hold on to 2nd.

Check out Niels Pineda’s game preview here.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

The most impactful non-Clippers contest of the NBA’s August 6th bubble games, with two factors at play here: Portland’s push to the play-in tournament, and Denver’s status in the top half of the Western Conference. As far as Clipper priories go, Denver is the more important team, as they are directly challenging LAC for the 2-seed.

The Clippers need the Nuggets to walk a bit of a tight rope in the back half of bubble play. Obviously, LAC wants to hold on to 2nd place (although if the Utah Jazz, currently narrowly in 4th, fall to 6th, it might not be a big deal). But perhaps even more important is keeping the Houston Rockets out of third place. Houston and Denver are each 2-1, and if Houston wins out (LAL, SAC, SAS, IND, PHI) they’ll need the Nuggets to finish 4-4 (last 4 games after this one against Portland: UTA, LAL, LAC, TOR) in order to move into 3rd.

Denver’s ability to go 4-4 with that remaining schedule isn’t certain, but I also don’t fully buy Houston’s high-variance offense going undefeated against several good teams. For now, a Denver loss helps protect the Clippers’ 2nd seed more than a Rockets rise threatens their second-round matchup. But we’ll likely root for Denver in future games, keeping them walking the tightrope between LAC and HOU.

The Blazers, our preferred 8-seed, likely need a 5-3 record in the bubble to secure a spot in the play-in game (4-4 or 3-5 leaves things a bit up in the air based on other teams). They’re 2-1, with this game, LAC, PHI, DAL, and BKN left on their schedule. A win here against Denver puts them in a strong position.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Houston Rockets, 6:00pm, TNT

Rooting for: Houston Rockets

This one is tough. Houston (2-1 in the bubble) is currently in 5th, a half-game behind 4th-place Utah (2-2) and a half-game ahead of 6th-place OKC (2-1). The Clippers want to keep the Rockets out of 3rd and 6th.

But after today’s game against the Lakers, I expect Houston to go 3-1 in their last 4, while OKC should finish 3-2 (4-1 if the Clippers rest guys in the finale) and Utah 3-1. Given Denver’s difficult remaining schedule likely producing a 4-4 or 3-5 finish, that leaves those 4 teams all very close to each other from 3-6. For now, though, Denver still has a 2-loss lead, so we’ll work with the information we have. But if we end up with a Denver loss (to a sub-.500 team) and a Rockets win (vs the 1-seed) tonight, Houston’s odds at the 3 will jump dramatically.

Things are nudged a little Houston’s way by my general dislike for the Lakers, and any potential impact this loss could have on their mentality, especially if they do end up seeing the Rockets in the playoffs.

Yesterday’s Games

Memphis Grizzlies 115, Utah Jazz 124

We were rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

It’s not a surprise to see Memphis lose here, but a Jazz loss would have drastically reduced Houston’s chances of falling to 6. The Grizz move to 0-4 (remaining: OKC, Toronto, Boston, Milwaukee); 2-6 keeps them in the play-in tournament, 1-7 leaves things up in the air, and 0-8 likely leaves them out. No offense to the Grizzlies, but with JJJ out, we’d like to see other teams in the play-in games.

Philadelphia 76ers 107, Washington Wizards 98

We were rooting for: Philadelphia 76ers

Yesterday, I had this to say:

this is a freebie for the Sixers, as Washington is primed to go 0-8 in the bubble. Unfortunately, they’re the Sixers, so they might lose just for the hell of it.

It almost came true! The Sixers are very likely going to finish 6th in the East, away from Milwaukee’s side of the bracket, but this win keeps the door open. The Pacers are a game ahead of them and hold the tiebreaker, so Philly (ORL, PDX, PHX, TOR, HOU) needs to outplay Indiana (PHX, LAL, MIA, HOU, MIA) by 2 games the rest of the way.

Denver Nuggets 132, San Antonio Spurs 126

We were rooting for: Denver Nuggets

I got some pushback in the comments for picking Denver, who is now just a half-game behind the Clippers in the 2-3 race. But due to the Nuggets’ extra game played (a loss) before the season was suspended, they’d need to outplay the Clippers by another game in each team’s final 5 games to pass them on win %. For example, a 4-1 Nuggets finish leaves them at 6-2, with a 67.1% winning percentage. The Clippers could finish 4-1 (5-3 overall) and finish at 68.1%. Crucial is the remaining head-to-head between the two teams.

The Spurs are now 2-2. They need to go 3-1 in their last 4 games (UTA, NOP, HOU, UTA) to have a shot at the play-in–if they go 2-2, they’ll finish 4-4, behind even an 0-8 Grizzlies. Just one of Portland, New Orleans, or Sacramento finishing 4-4 or better (or Phoenix finishing 6-2 or better) beats San Antonio’s 4-4 in that case. At 5-3, they have a chance to be one of the top 2 teams passing an 0-8 Memphis.

Oklahoma City Thunder 105, Los Angeles Lakers 86

We were rooting for: Los Angeles Lakers

An OKC loss would have pushed them quite a bit of the way towards 6th. Now, they’ve got a couple easy games ahead against Memphis and Washington (and potentially Phoenix if the Suns start losing and pack it in), meaning they should keep pace with Houston.

At least the Lakers got blown out.

Toronto Raptors 109, Orlando Magic 99

We were rooting for: Toronto Raptors

This game doesn’t do much for anything, except keeping Orlando in 8th instead of 7th in the East, a race that I’m not sure matters much.

Brooklyn Nets 115, Boston Celtics 149

We were rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

The Nets pulling off the upset would have helped Miami try to catch Boston for 3rd place, but it was simply never going to happen. It takes some kind of defense to concede 149 points while no player scores more than 21.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

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.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 6th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann