Just a few games ago on December 11^th, the injury-riddled LA Clippers defeated the underwhelming Orlando Magic 106-104. As exciting as that sounds, the game was actually pretty thrilling, and a lot of that has to do with Reggie Jackson’s beautiful game winner.

Despite having a piddling 5-20 record at the time, the Magic played much better than advertised against the Clippers’ top 5 defense and were able to hang around all night long. There were 9 ties and 12 lead changes during the back-and-forth game, which eventually found itself tied with 23 seconds left in regulation. On the final possession, the Clippers won thanks to a buzzer-beater from Reggie Jackson.

It was awesome, as all buzzer-beaters are, but there was something different about this particular buzzer-beater. In fact, it instantly became one of my favorite Clipper buzzer-beaters of all time. But not for the reasons you might think.

Setting the Stage

Heading into this game, Reggie Jackson had been in a slump. In the previous 5 games our hero was scoring at a paltry 41% true shooting efficiency (34% from the field, 24% from three).

He’d had an eerily similar rough patch to start the season where he shot the same 41% true shooting efficiency (31% from the field, 29% from three). But that rough patch was ended at the end of a comeback victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 1^st, where Reggie made an absolutely huge floater to complete the comeback and was rewarded with a bear hug from his friend Paul George. “I needed that hug,” Reggie would say after the game, known thereafter as “the Hug Game.”

Between the Hug Game and the second shooting slump, Reggie shot a very respectable 55% true shooting efficiency (44% from the field, 37% from three).

This is something we’ve started to grow accustomed to with Reggie, as he had a similar turnaround mid-season last year that led to a truly fantastic playoff run. This resulted in Reggie becoming a true fan favorite, and contributed to the tears of appreciation we saw from Reggie in his post-season exit interview. Many of us (myself included) had doubted Reggie in January 2021, and many of us (myself included) vowed to never repeat that mistake again.

So after the last game of the recent shooting slump, I had commented that he was in need of another hug game. And this was that game… literally.

After this second Hug Game, Reggie is once again scoring at 55% true shooting efficiency (46% from the field, 38% from three). That’s some damn consistent streakiness, for all you oxymoron aficionados out there.

Unlike the first Hug Game, Reggie was great from the tip-off in the second Hug Game. And this time his finish was more than just a big bucket; he carried the team. Reggie scored or assisted on 12 out of the final 13 points of the game for the Clippers. He was just incredible. And for the final possession, he had the entire arena chanting his name “REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE”—it would take more than a cold spell to dissuade us from our Reggie fandom. This was our guy through thick and thin.

But Reggie’s redemption story isn’t the only reason this buzzer-beater was one of my favorites.

The Classic Underdog

Let’s take a quick detour and talk about Clipper Fandom. I love underdogs. If you’re a Clipper fan reading this, you probably do too. And whenever a shorthanded Clippers squad puts together a scrappy win, I know I’m not alone in finding it especially satisfying. We all grew up watching underdogs in sports movies like the Karate Kid, Hoosiers, the Little Giants, Rudy, the Mighty Ducks, Miracle, Rocky—we’ve been conditioned to love this stuff.

The Mighty Ducks Triple Deke:

The Karate Kid totally legal kick:

Rudy’s Heartwarming 27-Second Collegiate Career:

Rocky III when Rocky finally makes his comeback against Clubber Lang and, with the crowd chanting his name, “ROCKY, ROCKY, ROCKY” and he…

…punches Mr. T in the face 500 times while Apollo Creed shadowboxes in the corner?

Okay better example, Rocky IV when the hostile Russian crowd starts chanting his name as he defeats the seemingly unstoppable Ivan Drago:

All of these scenes have something in common.  The stage is set perfectly as the music swells as they finally achieve their seemingly impossible goal. And Reggie Jackson’s buzzer-beater was no different. It was a go-ahead shot with 23 seconds left in the game, with the crowd chanting “REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE” while Europe’s The Final Countdown (1986) played in the background.

On the broadcast you could barely hear the music, but in Farbod Esnaashari’s incredible video from the baseline, you could hear it, clear as crystal, the fans’ “REGGIE” chant and subsequent cheer as the shot swished through the net synchronized perfectly with the music. The result was straight out of a classic sports movie, and truly epic in every sense of the word:

Who care if it was against the 5-20 Orlando Magic?

Perfection is perfection.

Reggie Jackson’s Picture Perfect Game Winner
Erik Olsgaard

Tuesday’s game against the Orlando Magic was the fifth in seven nights for the Clippers, and it showed–the result is some poor player grades. The energy-depleted, and roster-depleted, Clippers fell to the Magic 103-96 for their only second game of a back-to-back loss all season. Let’s take a look at how the players performed.

Clippers Starter Grades

Reggie Jackson: C. Reggie provided a bit of the full Reggie Jackson experience. I thought he was mostly good, as providing much-needed scoring punches throughout three quarters. However, there was a lot of over-dribbling and some not-so-great shots taken given that sunk possessions. It certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort but as the game wore on he just couldn’t find the basket. 6/18 from the floor and 3/11 from distance, including a good look at the end to tie the game, is never good, but it’s hard to be too upset given the circumstances. Reggie ended the game a team-worst minus-13.

Luke Kennard: B-. This was a hard game to judge. As with Reggie, Luke shot pretty poorly from the field at just 6/16, including 3/8 from three, and failed to create much offense for anyone else. But he did have 17 points and probably would’ve closed this game if he didn’t foul out. Defensively, he wasn’t exposed by any means, but he wasn’t sharp — which is indicated in his foul totals. He got lost on off-ball screens and gave up and-1’s that were untimely. This game won’t go down as one of his better recent performances but it won’t be remembered as a bad one either. Just a “meh” game.

Kawhi Leonard: C+. One of the last times I graded the players was when the Clippers played their second road game against the Grizzlies. I recapped Kawhi’s performance by stating that from the opening tip he put the team on his back and energized the guys while doing everything he needed to do to get the Clippers a victory. Last night wasn’t that. After an efficient but nonchalant first half, Kawhi tried to rev it up as the Magic hung around midway through the second half, but there wasn’t much gas left in the tank in his fifth game in seven nights. It was quite easy to see how his night was going to unfold once he pulled up for a fourth-quarter middy and left it about two feet short of the rim. With not many other scoring threats available to close the game, the double-teams came and forced Kawhi into some ugly live-ball turnovers down the stretch.

Nic Batum: C. Nic started this game off amazingly and was well on his way to an A-performance, but then the wheels came off in the second half. Uncharacteristically, Nic gave away a lot of possessions. He had four pretty sloppy turnovers with two of them coming directly after timeouts. He also made just one shot in this game despite playing 34 minutes. Speaking of those 34 minutes, I do credit him for being able to be on the court for that long while essentially being the only available 4-man and having to be the backup 5 as well. For what it’s worth, the 10 rebounds and 5 assists were fantastic, but the late turnover and missed three hurt.

Ivica Zubac: B+. The Clippers’ best player tonight was Ivica Zubac. He battled on both ends of the floor to the best of his abilities. Zu went into halftime with 10 points on 4/4 shooting from the field — all dunks, while completely dominating the offensive glass. He did his usual stellar job on the defensive end and protected the paint although some foul concerns zapped him of a few important minutes. The second half wasn’t quite as productive — the offense was a mess, guys couldn’t create any looks, and the Magic fought a little harder to keep Zu away from the offensive glass. Still, Zu had more impact than any other Clipper, which has become a regularity. 14 points and 13 rebounds is alright with me.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Terance Mann: B. It was certainly a step backward last night in terms of Terance’s scoring. The long-armed Orlando Magic bigs met him time and time again at the rim to erase all of the easy looks that he’d grown accustomed to converting. So when you take his strongest asset away from him you’ll find shooting stats like this one: 3/12 for 9 points. The great thing about Terance, though, is that he’s learned how to impact the game in many ways. The scoring dipped, but the rebounds (7) and assists (6) were big, and he continued to be one of the few Clippers players who can get downhill and create looks for others. So yes, while the numbers were mediocre Terance probably was the second or third best Clipper last night.

Patrick Patterson. C+: Like most of the guys last night, PatPat had his best moments during the first half. He was surprisingly pretty good on defense, which is always going to be more important than his offense when he’s on the court — he contained dribble drives, made all of the correct reads and rotations, and even came over from the weakside to block a shot at the rim. Just by the way that the second half played out for the Clippers, it was hard to notice PatPat in his minutes. It seemed like he was just out there, which I guess is fine on a night like this? Anyways, 2/5 from three and not a whole else is what we call a typical Patrick Patterson night. 

Amir Coffey: B. The box score won’t show it, but Amir has made many strides in his second season in L.A. You can see the growing confidence he has in his jump shot as he isn’t afraid to shoot open threes or to even create middies off the dribble. Amir’s defense has always been ahead of the other parts of his game, but it was still nice to see him locked in and fighting to keep Terrence Ross uncomfortable. He only managed 5 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes of play, but the fact that he is playable is a huge victory for a two-way player. I’m at the point where I’m fairly confident he will at minimum be a net-neutral whenever he’s out there.

No Grades

Daniel Oturu received a healthy DNP. Rajon Rondo, Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris Sr., Serge Ibaka, and Paul George all were in street clothes for this game as they recover from injuries. To help handle their lack of healthy bodies, the Clippers are reportedly considering a 10-day tryout for veteran center DeMarcus Cousins.

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. Magic Player Grades
Cole Huff

Down four starters and playing an eight-man rotation, the L.A. Clippers lost control of their lead with 1:10 remaining, running out of gas to the Orlando Magic 103-96. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while Ivica Zubac tied a career-high in tallying his 10th double-double of the season. Ultimately, Orlando finished strong with five players in double-figures, spearheaded by rookie Chuma Okeke’s 18 points. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Magic game recap.

Summary

Despite losing two of their main scorers since the release of our preview, the Clippers (32-17) came out of the gates hot with two threes from Luke Kennard. Making four of their first five shots while Orlando (16-31) missed their first three looks, L.A. sprinted out to a 10-0 lead. As the makings of a blowout began to show, the Clippers pumped the brakes on themselves a bit, turning the ball over five times in the period. With balanced scoring from the starters and timely baskets from Amir Coffey and Patrick Patterson off the bench, the Clippers closed the first quarter ahead 26-13.

The second quarter was about dead even as Leonard and Reggie Jackson’s combined 15 points were nearly matched by Terrence Ross and Wendell Carter Jr.’s 13. Although the Magic shot a pedestrian 37.5% from the field, they didn’t turnover the ball and decelerated the Clippers to 2 of 7 shooting from deep. After leading by what turned out to be the largest lead of the game at 16, L.A. ended the first half up 51-37 with more work to do.

Burdened by seven more turnovers and 6-for-22 3-point shooting the rest of the way, the Clippers lost the second half 45-66.

In the opening four minutes of the third, empty possessions by the Clippers allowed the Magic to take the momentum while out in transition. With Orlando head coach Steve Clifford’s squad amping up the defensive intensity, the Magic went on a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to five. As the effort and energy continued to be dominated by the visitors, the Clippers conceded the third up 73-70.

The game remained within single digits the rest of the way. A Zubac putback, a Kennard three, and a Leonard and-1 were each answered seemingly right away by the Magic. Rather than garbage time minutes, the Clippers entered their first clutch time minutes of the homestand. Clinging onto a 7-point lead with 2:52 left, Zubac’s fifth foul became the turning point where the Magic didn’t look back. With a dunk, three layups and three free throws fueling an 11-0 Orlando run, the Clippers fell behind by four with 53.7 left and couldn’t recover.

Clippers vs. Magic Game Notes

• A Tale of Two Halves Defensively: In the opening frame, L.A. held Orlando to 13 points on 27.3% shooting, which tied for the fewest amount of points the Clippers allowed in a quarter this season. The Clippers went on to hold the Magic to a mere 37 points in the opening two quarters, which is the fewest amount of points allowed in a first half this season. In the third and fourth, however, the Magic went on to score 33 apiece.
• Zero Days of Rest Record Blemished: With Tuesday’s loss, the Clippers fell to 8-1 on the season in the backend of back-to-backs.
• Next Up: The Clippers will host the Denver Nuggets at STAPLES Center for their second matchup of the regular season Thursday, Apr. 1 at 7 p.m.
• Goodbye, FOX Sports Prime Ticket: Tonight’s local TV Clippers broadcast was its last run under the traditional moniker as the channel rebrands to Bally Sports SoCal.

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. Magic Recap: Short-handed, L.A. Falls Flat
Ralston Dacanay

In a month that has seen numerous magical upsets involving basketball teams from California, the L.A. Clippers (32-16) look to keep their six-game winning streak intact and handle business at home against the reshuffling Orlando Magic (15-31) on Tuesday. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Magic game preview.

Clippers vs. Magic Game Information

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When: 7 p.m. PT
How to Watch: FOX Sports Prime Ticket

Projected Starting Lineups:
L.A. Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Luke Kennard – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Orlando Magic: Michael Carter-Williams – Dwayne Bacon – James Ennis III – Chuma Okeke – Khem Birch

Injury Report:
L.A. Clippers: Patrick Beverley – OUT (Right Knee Soreness), Serge Ibaka – OUT (Lower Back Tightness), Rajon Rondo – OUT (Right Adductor Soreness), Paul George – QUESTIONABLE (Right Foot Soreness)
Orlando Magic: Cole Anthony – OUT (Non-displaced Fracture, Right Rib), Markelle Fultz – OUT (Torn ACL, Left Knee), Gary Harris – OUT (Left Adductor Strain), Jonathan Isaac – OUT (Left Knee Rehabilitation), Terrence Ross – QUESTIONABLE (Sore Right Knee)

The Big Picture

Make no doubt about it, the Clippers are surging once again. As the short-handed winners of six straight—including double-digit victories over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks—L.A. is back on the heels of the Phoenix Suns for the second seed in the west.

Heading into the third game of their nine-game homestand, the waters appear to signal smooth sailing for L.A. come Tuesday evening. Although playing on zero days of rest typically signals a tough hurdle to overcome, the Clippers are 8-0 this season in the second game of back-to-backs. If Ty Lue’s squad can find its offensive rhythm early on, the box score should reflect heavily against Orlando for most of the night.

The Antagonist

The last time the Clippers faced the Magic back in January, they routed them by 26 despite Nikola Vučević, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier donning black and blue in the Amway Center. With Otto Porter Jr. now being the player with the highest annual salary on the Magic, Orlando will have the odds stacked even further against them this time around.

As usual in the NBA, however, this matchup remains far from a night off for the Clippers. Despite being tasked with incorporating both the newcomers and Orlando’s existing players into elevated roles and a revised gameplan on short notice, Steve Clifford has already had the Magic put up too-close-for-comfort upset bids that fell just short against the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Clippers vs. Magic Game Notes

• Availability questions: With the skidding Magic having four players firmly on the mend, as well as the day-to-day Terrence Ross missing his last seven games, it’s likely that the Clippers rest up some of their key wings. On the flip side, it’s possible that the debut of Rajon Rondo could materialize against Orlando with L.A.’s margin for error being larger than on most nights.
• Figuring out the playoff rotation: Is the confident and decisive Terance Mann that has turned heads in recent weeks part of the new normal? Whose minutes get cut as the team gets healthy? Will Zubac stick with the starting unit moving forward? With Lue mentioning that L.A.’s minutes distribution is something that he’s going to need to figure out, a game like this could be a great opportunity to get closer to doing just that.

Feel free to stick around and chat down below as this article’s comment section will serve as our live game thread tonight against the Orlando Magic. Sign up for a free account and join the conversation!

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. Magic Preview: Containing March Madness
Ralston Dacanay

With Paul George and Kawhi Leonard returning to the lineup, the Clippers coasted to an easy win over the Orlando Magic. Check out our full Clippers vs Magic player grades below.

Clippers Starters Grades

Reggie Jackson: B+. I’ve been very clear from the beginning that these grades aren’t given in a vacuum, but are weighted according to expectations. Think of it as a sign of respect and acknowlegement for how well Reggie has played this season that I’m starting to shift his curve from “minimum salary third string point guard” to a higher standard based on his play through 20 games. Reggie was fine tonight, and did his job–10 points on 4-7 shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and only 1 turnover–but he also was pretty much just the fifth guy plugging a hole on one of the best lineups in the entire NBA. He plugged the hole well and did his job, but didn’t make a noticable impression to the eye test or jump off the page in the box score.

Paul George: A-. It’s remarkable how much easier the Clippers manufacture offense with their two All-NBA players back in the lineup. Sure, they managed to put up respectable offensive outings in their two games shorthanded, but they still didn’t break 100 in Atlanta and relied on a heavy carry from Lou Williams and Marcus Morris in the fourth quarter vs Miami. Tonight, throughtout the game, George had no issue getting Ty Lue’s prized paint touches before disbursing the basketball to LAC’s shooters. He finished with 26 points on 10-19 shooting, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 4 turnovers in 28 minutes–an impressive night, but not the exceptional kind of game required for an A on his rubric.

Kawhi Leonard: A-. Ditto everything I said above, except Kawhi complements PG’s downhill production and three-point shooting by playing out of the post and hitting mid-range jumpers and finding assists out of double teams. The contrast between their offensive preferences has really been highlighted under Ty Lue in a way that diversifies LAC’s offense beautifully. Kawhi put up 24 points on 8-15 shooting and added 4 rebounds and 3 assists, not quite compiling the scoring, rebounding, passing, or defensive contributions needed to warrant an A but overall dominating the game, getting whatever he wanted.

Nicolas Batum: B. Nic had a quiet night, but did what he needed to do–and I am ideologically opposed to holding a 1-4 three-point shooting performance against him when it comes in a blowout win after he went 6-9 from deep the night prior. He finished with just 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, doing just what was needed to keep the trains running on time for the starting unit’s offense and defense in his 28 minutes of court time.

Serge Ibaka: A. On its own, I thought this was more of an A- performance from Ibaka than an A–he was good-but-not-great in most categories, with 13 points on 6-10 shooting, 9 rebounds, and 3 big blocks along with some lacksadasical help defense on other possessions. But the Orlando Magic are a solid, but not quite good, team without a real star, and if there’s one guy on their roster who could be considered an All-Star talent it’s Nikola Vucevic. Serge not only was the primary defender responsible for holding Vucevic to 10 points and 6 rebounds on 4-13 shooting, but he clearly got under Vuc’s skin (even if Nikola’s technical foul was after a clear missed call where Serge fouled him) and overall outplayed him. If the Clippers play a team whose best player is a center, and Serge wins the center match-up, the Clippers are winning that game. Period.

Clippers Bench Player Grades

Marcus Morris: B. I considered making this a B+ for Morris, since he had a nice medium-volume shooting night and put up 13 points on 5-10 shooting. But I ultimately kept him down to a B, not because I necessarily wanted a bigger scoring performance from him, but because he only had 1 rebound in 24 minutes of playing power forward, and I noted several instances where his assignment was responsible for one of Orlando’s 12 offensive rebounds.

Luke Kennard: C. Luke’s performance tonight was probably the epitome of a C for me. If an A is outstanding, a B is a solid performance, a D is a bad night, and an F is a disaster, then a C is the perfect grade for a performance that was as inoffensive as it was unimpactful. Luke finished with 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist on 2-5 shooting in 23 minutes, including a made three in garbage time–an almost nonexistent statline accompanied by no real errors either.

Ivica Zubac: B. You can’t have an A-level performance every night, so it only makes sense that Zu’s run of near-perfection game to an end tonight. But he was still solid in his 21 minutes, putting up 5 points and 7 rebounds and helping an otherwise porous second unit defense play the Magic even while the starters built and then extended their lead. I also like that the team is trusting Zu a little more offensively, even if it results in some reduced efficiency. A few 3-foot jump hooks, even if he misses them, help get him a little more involved in the flow of the game and force the defense to reckon with the big, strong center dominating the restricted area on both ends of the floor.

Lou Williams: B-. After playing a crucial role in the Clippers’ win Thursday night, Lou had a much more low-key outing against Orlando. He shot a bad-but-not-terrible 4-11 from the field, and notably missed all 5 of his shots from the left side of the floor, where he’s typically been far more comfortable. Take flawed shot chart data with a grain of salt, but it looks to me like Lou is just 5-24 this season on shots taken inside the three-point line but to the left of the lane line. He shoots way too much for me to count the Xs and Os on shot charts from past seasons, but he typically shoots more like 40% from the mid-range than 25%. Hopefully those numbers revert to normalcy going forward. Lou continues to be one of the few players in the Clippers’ supporting cast who can consistently create for others by turning the corner in the pick-and-roll. That’s why the Clippers won his minutes by huge amounts in the playoffs despite him being ice cold, and it’s why he still adds value on nights like tonight.

Terance Mann: D. Terance finished with a perfectly respectable line after getting some fourth-quarter run with the game in hand, but the precedent has been established in this column that when a player sees time in real minutes and then more in garbage time, the meaningful minutes are weighted very heavily. Tonight, he played just 4:19 in the first half, missed an open three, missed a shot in traffic after an offensive rebound, and guarded Terrence Ross during the beginning of his hot stretch–including a bad foul on a three-point attempt. He earned the right to stay in the rotation with great performances earlier this week, and promptly earned a seat back on the bench before completing his first-half shift tonight. Terance has a lot of promise for a second-year, second-round prospect, and this week has left me more optimistic that he has a future ahead of him with the Clippers. But tonight wasn’t his night.

Mfiondu Kabengele: A. We’re setting a new precedent tonight: one guy can earn a grade in four minutes of playing time while the others walk away without being evaluated. Fi, along with Daniel Oturu and Amir Coffey, came in with 3:43 to play, but Fi did all of the heavy lifting during that shift. The Clippers tied the Magic 7-7 during that stretch, and Fi was involved in all of LA’s points: two made shots at the rim off of assists from Mann, and an assist to Luke Kennard for a three. It’s a little harsh to give Fi credit for garbage time but not Mann, but Fi doesn’t have any real rotation minutes to weigh against his garbage-time production. All we can assess is his 4 minutes at the end of the game, and he was responsible for the third string holding the line on the Clippers’ 26-point lead.

No Grades

Daniel Oturu and Amir Coffey both got on the floor for the last 3:43 of the game, but neither did much. Patrick Patterson was the Clippers’ sole unused substitute, while Patrick Beverley and Jay Scrubb both continue to be 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 Magic Player Grades
Lucas Hann

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returned from quarantine and starred as the LA Clippers would outshine the Orlando Magic, 116-90. The Clippers didn’t even have to shoot well to do it.

Game Recap

24 hours ago, this looked like it could be a contest. With the jubilant and somewhat unexpected return of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, announced only this morning, it was nothing close to that.

The Clippers welcomed back their stars from a brief two-game absence and followed up their win against the Miami Heat with another victory as they overwhelmed the Orlando Magic, 116-90.

Given the state of these rosters, this result shouldn’t be shocking, even with the Clippers playing on the business end of a Florida back-to-back. While they were still without the injured Patrick Beverley, Orlando was missing Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz, both lost for the season, as well as capable role players Michael Carter-Williams and Al-Farouq Aminu. With the dominating victory in the books, let’s take a walk through what you need to know:

Star Power: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were excellent. Sure, they’re excellent a lot, but I refuse to take them for granted. Ty Lue’s franchise stars returned from a week’s rest to submit complete, if measured, performances.

Paul George paced the Clippers with a game-high 26 points. He attacked with purpose and ferocity, piercing the squishy Orlando defense and putting Nikola Vucevic on the bottom half of a poster. When he wasn’t feasting he was setting the table, using his dangerous positions to serve his teammates open shots on a platter. His five assists were a team-high. He added nine rebounds and two steals for good measure.

Kawhi was his best bully-ball self, leaning into his physical nature and into overmatched defenders. He shouldered his way to his favorite spots, and when that got old, he slithered there instead. He earned a team-best six free throws the bruising way and converted them all. His three-point splash at the halftime buzzer was a sweet addition.

Clippers on parade: The Magic entered tonight’s game 20th in defensive efficiency and 22nd in paint-points allowed. They haven’t been good, but they haven’t been terrible. Unless you’d never seen them before tonight, when they were nonexistent.

Vucevic and company were powerless against a Clippers squad that was rolling decidedly downhill. Not only did Orlando allow 52 points in the paint, but all those Clipper forays to the rim scrambled their rotations, sucking arms and feet away from the perimeter.

The weird thing is, the Clippers didn’t capitalize much, at least not to the extent to which we’ve become accustomed. They converted just 13 of their 37 three-point attempts, a ho-hum 35% rate that reminds you they also played last night. No matter. The 26-point margin of victory explains how effective they were when shooting closer to the basket.

The Terrence Ross Show: The punchless Magic lived up to their reputation, looking mostly helpless when they possessed the ball. Terrence Ross, one-time Clipper tormentor, was the one man who stepped into the void. The journeyman wing had one of those games, converting his first seven field goal attempts and all seven of his free throws to lead Orlando with 24 points in 23 minutes off the bench. Take Ross’ line away and the rest of the Magic combined to shoot just 24 for 75 (32%) overall and 9 for 30 (30%) from deep. They assisted on just 20 baskets while turning it over 17 times (which became 24 Clipper points). Only one non-Ross Magic player also broke double-digit scoring, and that was possible All-Star Vucevic, who scored exactly 10 while wearing Serge Ibaka like a poncho. Ibaka stopped the rain.

There Will Be Runs: Sure, to this point it might seem like it was all fun and frivolity, but the Clippers didn’t totally dominate from tip-to-final-buzzer.

After riding a 12-0 run to a 14-3 first-quarter lead, the Clippers turned to their bench, who turned the ball over, letting the Magic find their breath and a little rhythm. In the box score you’ll see that the frame ended in a 26-26 tie.

After the Clippers restored order in the second to the tune of a 14-point halftime lead, they backslid with an 11-0 Magic start to the third quarter. But, of course, we know the third quarter is the Clippers’ quarter, and they responded with a 15-2 counterpunch, punctuated by a hastily improvised Kawhi-to-Reggie-Jackson alley-oop turnaround jumper at the third-quarter buzzer. (Yes, it actually happened that way.)

Ty Lue, having allowed an all-reserve unit to play as his own spoiler in the first half, staggered his two stars through the second and benched a largely ineffective Terance Mann to ensure the Clippers could complete an early fourth-quarter knockout. Garbage time ensued, as did the official victory shortly thereafter.

Notes

• More Clipper Standouts: Reggie filled in ably for Beverley again, scoring 10 and splashing two treys with three assists and two steals. Marcus Morris Sr. took some unadvisable shots but led the bench with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Ibaka, as alluded to, was a monster. He barricaded the rim and gobbled up boards. He even got some shots to fall, scoring 13. All Clippers starters finished plus-23 or better.
• More Magic Flameouts: Aaron Gordon made many curious decisons, generally looking incapable of handling his heavy creative responsibilities, struggling his way to a pedestrian 9/7/2 line on 4-of-13 shooting. He had six turnovers. Cole Anthony and Evan Fournier combined for just 14 points on five-for-23 shooting. Fournier finished minus-29.

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 Outshine the Magic, 116-90
Thomas Wood

The LA Clippers improved to 1-1 without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverley. Now, how will they cope with the second game of a road back-to-back? The full Clippers vs Magic game preview is ahead:

Game Information

Where: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
When: 5:00 PM PT
How to Watch: Fox Sports Prime Ticket, AM 570

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: Reggie Jackson — Luke Kennard — Terance Mann — Nicolas Batum — Serge Ibaka
Magic: Cole Anthony — Evan Fournier — James Ennis III — Aaron Gordon — Nikola Vucevic

Injuries

Clippers: OUT — Kawhi Leonard (health and safety); OUT — Paul George (health and safety); OUT — Patrick Beverley (knee)
Magic: OUT — Markelle Fultz (ACL); OUT — Jonathan Isaac (knee); OUT — Michael Carter-Williams (foot); OUT — Chuma Okeke (knee); OUT — Al-Farouq Aminu (knee)

The Big Picture

. . . looks a little brighter today.

The Clippers fought back from a big early hole to surprise the Heat in Miami. (Who were missing Jimmy Butler, it should be noted.) Ty Lue’s squad may have lacked its stars — Nic Batum aside, of course — but lost none of its fight, and when they can get their shots to fall, they’ll hang tough.

Tonight’s contest may represent a step back in opponent quality but brings an added difficulty: road travel on a back-to-back. As short a trip as it is up the Florida coast, it doesn’t give the Clippers much time to settle in. And they’ll be facing a Magic team that’s spent the last week at home dieting on cupcakes. (How do you go 1-2 against the Hornets and Kings at home?)

The lone benefit of missing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is heavier minutes for the kids. And the kids, like Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, and even Amir Coffey, may not only have legs better suited to a two-game set across 24 hours, they may now also have the rhythm and continuity that results from carrying the load.

In a more typical load management scenario, the fringe rotation players are asked to step in as one-time understudies. Now, the show is largely theirs, and that stability may breed additional confidence. Stability, and nights like the last. Let’s see if they can build on it.

The Antagonist

. . . is snakebitten.

Review the Orlando Magic’s injury report and you’ll find three of the team’s four most promising young players. (For the record, I’m ignoring Aaron Gordon for Cole Anthony.) The frame of the franchise has been leveled, two of the pillars seriously and facing lengthy rehabilitation. A fourth remains unproductive. Robbed of the buoyancy of their potential, the Magic founder.

Jonathan Isaac, who was good and getting better, tore his ACL in the bubble. Markelle Fultz, who was bad but starting to look alright, tore his ACL three weeks ago. Chuma Okeke, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL, played just five games this year before falling to a bone bruise. Mo Bamba is bad.

Like the Clippers, the story of the Magic tonight is as much about who’s not playing as who is. But, the healthy players include Nikola Vucevic, who’s always game, and Evan Fournier, who’s always trade-rumored, and a cast of stalwarts who will execute Steve Clifford’s defensive vision and plug resolutely along. They’ll fight, but look at their schedule and — geez, have they beaten anybody good?

Tonight’s Clipper team may not exactly be good, but they might be good enough. It says a lot about the state of both teams that this could be a game, but look at the circumstances necessary to make it one.

Game Thread

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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 Magic Game Preview
Thomas Wood

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 9th 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.

Saturday broke perfectly for the Clippers, with them winning and the Denver Nuggets beating the Utah Jazz. Now, the Clippers are well set up to secure all of their preferred outcomes this week. Let’s take a look at the desired outcomes for each of Sunday’s 7 games.

The NBA’s August 9th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Washington Wizards vs Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Washington Wizards

This one is a bit of a long shot, but if the already-eliminated Wizards can pull of a bit of early-morning weirdness against OKC, it would be pretty nice for the Clippers. Technically, the door is still open for the Houston Rockets to slide to 6th place, and losses from Utah and OKC help close that door.

Plus, if we could choose, we’d like for OKC to finish 6th and Utah 5th. I know folks are (rightfully) more scared of OKC than Utah, so let me explain my reasoning here. Between Denver, OKC, and Utah, the Clippers should be able to win their second-round series regardless of opponent. While I agree that the Utah Jazz without Bojan Bogdanovic are the weakest of the three, that actually likely means that if the Jazz finish 6th, the Clippers will never see them–they’ll lose to Denver in the 3-6.

So, I see the choice between Utah and OKC for 6th as being a choice between seeing Denver, likely well-rested after an easy first-round series against the Jazz, or either Denver or OKC, fatigued and beaten up from a brutal series against the other. Remember how the Lob City Clippers never won a first-round series in less than 7 games, and were always heading into the 2nd round on a rest and health disadvantage?

Giving Denver the tougher match-up in Oklahoma City increases the chances of the Clippers entering R2 with a rest and health advantage. Plus, giving Houston the Jazz in the first round could help the Rockets enter R2 against the Lakers without any rest and health disadvantage of their own (especially if the Blazers take a game or two from LAL).

Memphis Grizzlies vs Toronto Raptors, 11:00am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Toronto Raptors

Memphis’ first bubble win pushed every play-in contender except for Portland–New Orleans, San Antonio, Sacramento, and Phoenix–to the brink of elimination. The Kings lost on Friday, ending their hopes of passing the Grizzlies. The Suns, Pelicans, and Spurs are all still barely alive.

A Grizzlies win here would pretty much end any competition down the standings and make it a straight race between Portland and Memphis to determine who will be 8th and who will be 9th heading in to the play-in tournament. Remember, if 8th wins the first play-in game or lose and then win the second, they move on to the playoffs, while 9th needs to beat 8th two nights in a row to advance.

While it would be nice for Memphis to close the door on some of the lower teams, we’ll trust that those matters will take care of themselves eventually and root for a Grizzlies loss to help Portland finish 8th and not 9th. If the Blazers have to play both nights of the play-in tournament, then Game 1 vs the Lakers would be their 7th game in 10 nights. If Memphis finishes 1-7, the Blazers need to find 2 wins in their last 3 games (PHI/DAL/BKN) to finish 8th. If the Grizzlies win another game, Portland needs to be perfect. And if Memphis wins 2 or all 3 of their 3 remaining games (TOR/BOS/MIL), Portland cannot pass them.

San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans, 12:00pm, ABC

Rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

This is a huge match-up for these two, with the loser all but eliminated (either team can no longer pass Memphis with a loss, and move to relying on a bunch of Portland losses to steal 9th). We’re going for a Spurs win here, but it’s nothing personal: San Antonio (HOU/UTA) just has a tougher schedule the rest of the way than New Orleans (SAC/ORL). This is the easiest game left for the Spurs, and they’ll likely be eliminated later in the week anyway. If the Pelicans win here, in their toughest remaining game, they could actually close 3-0 and sneak into the play-in tournament.

There’s only two play-in pairings I care for: Portland against Memphis, giving the Blazers their easiest possible path to the playoffs, or Portland against Phoenix, giving the red-hot 8-0 Suns a chance to improve to 10-0 and prove they’re the strongest team to challenge the Lakers. I’m fine with either–but if it’s not gonna be Phoenix, I’d just as soon root for Portland to have an easier time so they can rest up for the Lakers.

Orlando Magic vs Boston Celtics, 2:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Boston Celtics

The Celtics can’t really move in the standings at this point, but the Magic still can–and we’d rather they stay in 8th and at least make the Milwaukee Bucks sweep an NBA team with a real starting lineup and not the shell of the Brooklyn Nets, who currently sit in 7th.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers, 3:30pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

We’ve been rooting for Philly lately, with hopes of them rising into 5th and challenging the Bucks in the second round. But with Ben Simmons needing a minor knee operation and TJ Warren’s Pacers continuing to surge, I’m ready to give up on the Sixers.

Especially when Portland is the team on the other bench. As discussed above, Portland needs to win at least 2 of their last 3 games if they want to enter the play-in tournament from the 8th spot. Getting the first one here would be nice.

Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

I don’t have a lot of faith in the Kings to pull this off, but maybe relieved of the pressure of a playoff push they can start to have a little bit of fun on the basketball court. If that happens, and the Rockets overlook them and have an off shooting night, maybe there could be an upset.

It would certainly help the Clippers, as LAC beating Brooklyn Sunday, combined with Houston losing one of their 3 games on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, puts us awfully close to confirming LAC’s 2-seed while keeping Houston in the 4-5 match-up.

Brooklyn Nets vs LA Clippers, 6:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Rodney and the McShooters

This would be the Clippers’ 4th win in the bubble, and guarantee them a top-3 finish. Their magic # for clinching the 2 seed would be 1 LAC win or Denver Loss, spread across Denver’s match-up with the Lakers Monday, the LAC-DEN head-to-head Wednesday, the Clippers’ finale against Oklahoma City on Friday, and Denver’s finale against Toronto (also on Friday). I like those odds.

The protection from this win would allow the Clippers to throw Wednesday’s game against Denver if necessary to keep the Rockets in 4th (click the link for a google spreadsheet of different scenarios) and still control their own destiny: a win Friday against OKC guarantees them 2nd place regardless of how Denver finishes.

Yesterday’s Games

Los Angeles Clippers 122, Portland Trail Blazers 117

We were rooting for: LA Clippers

A lot of Clippers fans wanted the Clippers to lose this game to help Portland secure 8th place and a first-round match-up with the Lakers–and it seems like the Clippers were in agreement, as Kawhi Leonard was a late scratch and Doc Rivers benched his starters down the stretch of a tight game, closing with Terance Mann, Landry Shamet, Rodney McGruder, Patrick Patterson, and JaMychal Green.

It didn’t work, though, as the Clippers’ bench–helped by two late missed free throws by Damian Lillard–pulled ahead and ultimately won the game. Check out 213Hoops’ full game recap.

Frankly, I’m glad. Throwing the game against Portland would have been a mistake, both because the Blazers are likely to reach the 1-8 match-up without LAC’s help and because bigger priorities–like clinching 2nd and keeping Houston in 4th–could have been compromised by the loss. Remember that chart up there detailing when the Clippers should and shouldn’t throw Wednesday’s game against Denver to ensure that LAC-DEN-HOU finish 2-3-4? Without this win against Portland, the Clippers’ flexibility to manipulate those outcomes would be drastically reduced.

Utah Jazz 132, Denver Nuggets 134 (2OT)

We were rooting for: Denver Nuggets

This might have been the best game of the bubble, and fortunately it concluded in the way we were hoping: with the Nuggets getting a little further ahead of the Rockets to reduce Houston’s odds of climbing to 3rd, and the Jazz falling a little further behind the Rockets to reduce Houston’s odds of sliding to 6th.

Utah’s last 2 games are against Dallas and San Antonio. In order for them to pass Houston, the Jazz either need to finish 2-0 to the Rockets’ 1-3, or 1-1 to the Rockets’ 0-4. To pass Oklahoma City, they need to lose 2 fewer games than the Thunder (OKC has 4 left, WAS/PHX/MIA/LAC).

Los Angeles Lakers 111, Indiana Pacers 116

We were rooting for: Indiana Pacers

I don’t know what happened to TJ Warren during quarantine, but he’s a different player than he was before. Warren had another massive night, with 39 points on 15-22 shooting, including a dagger three to push the Pacers ahead by six with just under 10 seconds to play.

It’s unclear how much the Lakers’ struggles actually matter–they came into bubble play with the 1-seed guaranteed and have played a bunch of teams with much more urgency. But you can’t deny that they’re struggling, and that’s definitely better than if they were coasting at 6-0 and looking dominant.

Phoenix Suns 119, Miami Heat 112

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns stay perfect in the bubble, and in order to have any hopes of making the play-in tournament, they’ll need to stay perfect–winning their last 3 games against Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.

Even that might not be enough. Phoenix came into Orlando at such a disadvantage that they’ll also need for either Memphis to stay at 1-7 or Portland to lose again and finish 5-3 or worse. The Suns would be technically still alive at 7-1, but would be unable to pass Memphis and have to hope to finish 9th with help from Portland, San Antonio, and New Orleans.

Milwaukee Bucks 132, Dallas Mavericks 136

We were rooting for: Milwaukee Bucks

This game meant nothing in the standings for either team, but both stuck with their starters down the stretch. It served as a nice reminder that the Mavs can play a 120-point game with anyone if you don’t contain Luka. It was a signature win for the Mavs behind 36 points, 19 assists, and and 14 rebounds from Luka Doncic. This was the blueprint for Dallas to steal playoff games against an elite team like the Clippers–which could make it good study material for LAC heading in to the first round.

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 9th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 5th 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 Clippers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns at the buzzer yesterday certainly put a damper on things, but there’s just too much good basketball and standings intrigue around the league to stay discouraged for long. Let’s dive in.

The NBA’s August 5th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Memphis Grizzlies vs Utah Jazz, 11:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

When two teams that you want to lose go up against each other, it can be a blessing and a curse. One is guaranteed to pick up that coveted loss, but the other is guaranteed to win.

We’ve been rooting against the Memphis Grizzlies (sorry, Grizz) because their fall from 8th place in the West opens up more possibilities for stronger teams, like Portland, to make their way into the play-in tournament. With the really unfortunate news that Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, the Grizzlies’ fall now seems almost inevitable.

Utah, meanwhile, sits in 5th place in the West, just a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a half-game behind the Houston Rockets. The Clippers want to make sure Houston stays in the 4-5 matchup–that means Denver winning to hold on to 3rd, and OKC and/or Utah losing to fall securely to 6th.

Because of Utah’s unlikeliness to be able to keep up with the surging Houston Rockets over the full bubble slate, it would be easy to pull for them here in order to help other teams get into the 8-seed battle. But ultimately, the stakes in the race for 8th are low for the Clippers–the Lakers are likely sweeping all of the contending teams. Avoiding Houston in the 2nd round is paramount, so we’ll keep our priorities in order.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards, 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Philadelphia 76ers

I’m going to reverse course a bit and root for the Sixers to win 5th place over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference. Philly is probably one of the least fun teams in the league, but a focused Sixers team has the talent and experience to give Milwaukee a tough series in the 2nd round, no matter how joyless they make basketball.

Fortunately, 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.

Denver Nuggets vs San Antonio Spurs, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Denver Nuggets

With two teams involved in relevant Western Conference seeding races, this is likely the most important of the NBA’s August 5th bubble games for us to keep an eye on.

The Clippers want to be cautious of Denver, who is right on their heels in the 2-3 race in the West, but also need the Nuggets to keep winning and avoid being passed by the 4th-place Houston Rockets. If anything, Denver-LAC-Houston is a preferable 2-3-4 finish to LAC-Houston-Denver, as homecourt advantage in the second round is meaningless and the Clippers should be able to win their first-round series regardless of opponent.

Needing a Denver win is nice, because we’d also like to see a Spurs loss here. Despite looking sturdy in the bubble (2-1, with their loss to Philly on a game-winner in the closing seconds), I am not yet a believer in San Antonio, and they simply are providing competition for Portland and New Orleans, two teams that I rate more highly. Hell, maybe Devin Booker’s Suns belong in the conversation too (though they would need a miraculous run to reach the play-in tournament).

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Los Angeles Lakers

This is a rough one for Clippers fans, who will struggle with wanting their most bitter rival to come away with a win over the unofficial second-favorite team of Clipper Nation: the OKC Thunder with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Danilo Gallinari.

But OKC’s shared duty with the Utah Jazz to be the backstop keeping Houston from falling to 6th is more important than our personal preferences, so I’d be happier to see a Lakers victory here.

But, as always, any Lakers loss helps the Clippers a bit, as we’d love to see them suffer a little losing streak and head into the playoffs with some worries about their weak guard rotation. I also feel like Houston will outpace OKC and Utah without needing much help. So, not the end of the world if OKC wins here.

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Toronto Raptors

I’m more and more feeling like Toronto and Milwaukee might be a tighter contest in the Eastern Conference Finals than we’ve admitted all year–and while that obviously means I have tremendous respect for the Raptors, I still would feel better about playing them than the Bucks (though the narrative power of Kawhi against the Raptors would be overwhelming).

So, in the most inconsequential match-up of the NBA’s August 5th bubble games, the Raptors will get to potentially set Orlando back in their tussle for 7/8 with Brooklyn, making it more likely that the Bucks face an actual NBA team in the first round… though after Brooklyn upset Milwaukee today, who knows what’s best.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics, 6:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

Can lightning strike twice? Brooklyn beat Milwaukee on Tuesday, though the Bucks treated it like a pre-season game, playing all 13 active players double-digit minutes, with Giannis Antetokounmpo playing just 16.

In order for Boston to be passed by Miami, they need to do 2 games worse than the Heat in the bubble. Thanks to Miami’s win over Boston yesterday, the Heat have made up one of those 2 games. Miami’s last 5 games: Milwaukee, Phoenix, Indiana, Oklahoma City, Indiana. Boston’s: Brooklyn, Toronto, Orlando, Memphis, Washington. That’s a pretty significant schedule advantage for the Celtics, so they’ll need to lose at least one game they have no business losing for this to get interesting.

In the race for 7th in the East, Brooklyn now has a half-game advantage over the Magic, with both teams having 5 games remaining. They’ll both be underdogs in their remaining contests, making their head-to-head match-up in game 7 crucial in that race.

Yesterday’s Games

Brooklyn Nets 119, Milwaukee Bucks 116

We were rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

As I mentioned above, this wasn’t really the upset one might believe based on the scoreline, and the Bucks treated it like a pre-season game and played second- and third-string player major minutes, using what is essentially a free game to get different players reps. Milwaukee is locked in to the 1-seed in the East and faces no consequences for any losses in seeding games.

But for the Nets, the 7/8 race against Orlando is a coin flip. I don’t really think this one matters–both teams will get swept by Milwaukee and Toronto regardless of who faces whom, but that doesn’t mean that Brooklyn can’t take some pride in their play and try to finish 7th instead of 8th.

Dallas Mavericks 114, Sacramento Kings 110 (OT)

We were rooting for: Sacramento Kings

Despite Sacramento’s repeated letdowns in the bubble, they still have an outside shot at life–with Memphis likely to slide in the standings and the Kings having two head-to-head games against New Orleans remaining, they’ll need to pass the Suns and either Portland or San Antonio to reach the play-in tournament. It helps that the Kings still have a game left against Brooklyn, plus a more difficult contest vs the Houston Rockets and a finale against the Los Angeles Lakers, who could rest players. The margin for error, though, is virtually nonexistent–if they even go 4-1 in these last 5 games, they need Memphis to go 0-8.

For Dallas, it’s a sign of relief to get a win at last in the bubble, and keeps an outside shot that the Mavs could climb in the standings: it’s possible if they go 4-1 in their last 5 games (Clippers, Bucks, Jazz, Blazers, and Suns) and Oklahoma City and/or Utah struggle, or even if Dallas goes 3-2 and either of those teams truly plummets.

Phoenix Suns 117, Los Angeles Clippers 115

We were rooting for: our team

I won’t talk about the game itself here, as I wrote the recap and you can read my thoughts there.

What I will say is that the Clippers are still in the driver’s seat for the 2nd seed, but not firmly in control–their 7th seeding game vs Denver could decide the race if LAC doesn’t get separation before then.

For Phoenix, the road to a play-in game doesn’t look very passable, but as long as they’re undefeated, I won’t count them out. They have a tough last 5 games with no head-to-head opportunities against their competitors (Indiana, Miami, OKC, Philly, Dallas), and can only really afford one loss before they start needing serious help from the teams ahead of them. At 7-1, they’d be ahead of Portland, New Orleans, and Sacramento if those teams go 4-4, and San Antonio if they go 5-3. But if Phoenix loses 2 games, or any of those teams–eyes on Portland–do better than 4-4, things get dicey.

Orlando Magic 109, Indiana Pacers 120

We were rooting for: Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are pulling away in the race for NBA bubble darlings; they’re now 3-0 while missing key players, and TJ Warren has, by my count, 118 points in those three games. I don’t know how much noise they’re capable of making in the playoffs, but the ride so far has been fun.

Orlando’s loss impacts the 7/8 race as discussed above.

Boston Celtics 106, Miami Heat 112

We were rooting for: Miami Heat

The race for 3rd between these two was discussed in-depth above, so I’ll just pause for a moment here to say that this was a phenomenal bubble game, and Miami winning this one without Jimmy Butler is impressive.

Houston Rockets 102, Portland Trail Blazers 110

We were rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

Portland came through last night in a game that was really a joy to watch, and now are 2-1 in the bubble. If they finish 6-2, they’ll be in the play-in game, while 5-3 likely qualifies them and 4-4 leaves things up to fate. With games left against Denver, the Clippers, Philly, Dallas, and Brooklyn, a 5-3 finish seems attainable if they continue playing well.

Houston’s loss helps slow them down and keep Denver a little safe in 3rd. The Jazz and Thunder haven’t quite fallen enough to insulate Houston from a slide to 6th if they struggle, but I think Houston’s most likely landing spot is now 4th.

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

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Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 5th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann