The Clippers have acquired Charlotte Hornets center Mason Plumlee for Reggie Jackson and a 2028 2nd round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:

Plumlee was one of the most talked-about centers on the market at this trade deadline, as the Charlotte Hornets are clearly in tanking mode and had no need for a solid veteran center who will turn 33 years old in March and hit unrestricted free agency this summer. He represents a sorely-needed addition for the Clippers, who have lacked a second NBA-quality big man behind Ivica Zubac all season long and are especially vulnerable on the interior with soon-to-be 3-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic blocking any likely path to title contention in the Western Conference. Averaging 12.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists for the Hornets this year, Plumlee is having a strong season and I am surprised that it only cost the Clippers a single future second-round pick to acquire him. While he is offensively limited to finishing around the rim as a scorer, he is capable of crafty passing that might help the Clippers via short roll creation on the second unit, where he should spend lots of time with Norman Powell. He isn’t as strong of an interior defensive presence as Zubac, but still represents a massive upgrade over smallball options and a little more foot speed than Zu on the perimeter. I’m a big fan of this pickup at this price point for the Clippers.

The loss of Jackson, one of the best playoff performers in Clippers franchise history during their 2021 Western Conference Finals run, stings. He had been the emotional centerpiece of this team for much of the last two years. However, his inconsistency this season was difficult to overlook, and it seemed inevitable that the team would seek to upgrade his role at this deadline. While Eric Gordon isn’t the point guard many expected the Clippers to acquire today, Jackson was going to struggle for playing time after his arrival and replacing his salary slot by filling a pressing need at backup center is a good piece of business–even as it is a reminder that the NBA is, in fact, a business. Jackson is reportedly expected to reach a buyout agreement with the Hornets so that he can join a playoff team down the stretch, with the Phoenix Suns linked as an early suitor.

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.

NBA Trade Deadline: Clippers Trade Reggie Jackson for Mason Plumlee
Lucas Hann

Reggie Jackson jumped on the pod after a tough loss to the Sixers to talk about his career, his time with the Clippers, and just exude his good vibes. Lucas and Shap talk about the game, the standings, and injuries in the second half of the pod.

Check out the podcast here! Be sure to rate and review us five stars on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback in the comments below!

Reggie Jackson Comes on TLTJP
Shapan Debnath

The Clippers let a big first-half lead slip before coming back to take the win over the Lakers in the closing seconds, 105-102. Sound familiar? It was a lot like their last contest, only longer. Read on for this full recap of the Clippers’ victory over the Los Angeles Lakers:

Summary

Basketball is a game of runs reviews; a tale of two halves; role-player heroes; adventures in transition; and more. Here’s what you need to know:

— The lead story of this game was going to be about two disparate halves. But the officials turned the last 30 seconds of game-time into 30 minutes, so let’s talk about that first.

With 24.5 seconds remaining and the Clippers leading 103-102, LeBron James landed out of bounds while trying to pass the ball away. Robert Covington intercepted the ball but his first gathering dribble was called out of bounds. In real time, it seemed clear that LeBron’s foot was on the floor before he’d gotten the ball away, but it was fast and it was close, so we’ll be fair.

Tyronn Lue challenged the call on the floor.

The officials watched the replays. For more than 10 minutes.

Eventually, they realized what most everyone else knew and awarded the Clippers the ball while resetting the clock to 25.6 seconds. The Clippers inbounded the ball to a gassed Reggie Jackson in the backcourt, who dribbled sideways for a while before drawing an apparent bailout foul with 17 seconds on the shot clock. Close one. The Lakers challenged.

Many more minutes later, the officials rescinded the foul and gave the Clippers a side-out with a single second to advance the ball into the front court. Nic Batum passed to Reggie way back near their own defensive baseline. Reggie crossed half-court four seconds letter. Lakers’ ball.

Fortunately for the Clippers and their place in the standings, Carmelo Anthony missed the go-ahead three-pointer, Reggie Jackson splashed two free throws, and LeBron heaved a literal last-second miss to seal the season-series victory and playoff-seed tiebreaker for the Clippers

As long as it took you to read that, rest assured that it took much longer to happen.

— Let’s talk actual basketball things, of which the Clippers were much better in the first half than in the second.

After a cautious post-All-Star-break start for both teams, the Clippers’ offense cranked into motion, eating when either LeBron or Dwight Howard was off the floor.

Luke Kennard connected on 4 of 6 threes, a couple coming from Highland Park, to record 14 of his 18 points before halftime. He was a man in motion, encapsulating a first-half team effort that crackled with defensive intensity and crisp ball movement, neither of which were matched by the creaky Lakers.

For 24 minutes, the Lakers’ offense failed to get unstuck. They attempted 11 wayward threes before finally connecting on their 12th. Their offense mostly consisted of Dwight Howard rebounds. His first-half double-double, on the way to 14 and 16 for the game, helps explain how the Lakers trailed by just 10 at the half while being outshot 51% to 38%.

Two very different teams came out for the third quarter. The Lakers discovered their urgency. The Clippers, whose current roster leaves little room for margin, failed to execute to the same level.

Half-time wasn’t the exact turning point — the Lakers had already begun clawing into the Clippers’ largest lead of 16 in the second quarter — but the third quarter clarified that the game had indeed turned. Law Murray of The Athletic observed that the Clippers’ 16-point third-quarter shortfall represented their worst mark for any quarter this season.

Much of the Clippers’ struggles were in transition, going in both directions. Officially, they lost the fast-break battle by just 5 points, but that hardly accounts for missed opportunities. And the Lakers made the most of theirs, executing their open-floor chances to build both rhythm and crowd enthusiasm. It was here that the difference in available playmakers really became apparent.

The fourth-quarter was more closely contested, teeter-tottering as Brian Sieman is fond of saying. But it was the identity of the key contestants that made it really interesting.

— With Reggie Jackson faltering under the weight of his playmaking burden, the Clippers needed somebody to step up. Terance Mann and Amir Coffey did.

Terance was the leading Mann, coming through with timely buckets and pacing the Clippers with 19 points and 10 rebounds. His energy is game-breaking, and tonight he showed a real feel for the moment, taking over at critical junctures to break the Lakers’ rhythm.

Coffey provided the fourth-quarter buzz — pats self on back — tallying 12 of his 14 points in the final frame. He still has his adventures in transition, but he brought the necessary downhill element to force cracks in the Laker wall.

Even for the Lakers, it was the secondary players who largely carried the night. LeBron was listed as questionable yesterday, but started and played a game-high 36 minutes. He struggled under heavy defensive attention, recording a game-high in points with a pedestrian 21 on 33% shooting. The Clippers made him pass early, and the lack of incisive opportunities is reflected by his 3 meager assists against 6 turnovers.

With LeBron neutered, Carmelo Anthony and Talen Horton-Tucker managed a heavier load. (Yes, Carmelo is a role player now.) Carmelo did his thing from the low-post while also homing in from beyond the arc. He scored 18 off the bench with 4 made threes.

Horton-Tucker put forth one of his better efforts of the season, scoring all 16 of his points in the second half. Much to the relief of the Lakers, he looked dangerous off the bounce and connected on both of his three-point attempts.

— Reggie Jackson scored 17 points in another high-usage role. He added six assists but turned it over five times. He was conspicuously spent by the fourth quarter.

Robert Covington finished plus-19 in just 20 minutes. He scored 10 points and was an absolute wrecking ball on defense. He probably should’ve played more.

Ivica Zubac won’t put this game on his CV. He was bullied by Dwight in the first-half and played sparingly in the second after drawing an early fourth foul. Isaiah Hartenstein played 28 capable minutes in his stead, matching Reggie for the team-high in assists.

Marcus Morris Sr. scored the Clippers’ first 6 points and made a tough go-ahead jumper in the final minute. He didn’t do a lot offensively in between.

Russell Westbrook scored 18 points in 33 minutes and didn’t turn the ball over once. Laker fans will still find ways to be mad at him.

Austin Reaves only scored 6 points but made 2 blocks, including a power swat on Reggie Jackson. He did positive things all night after earning a starting nod.

Thanks for reading this recap of the Clippers’ win over the Lakers. Stay on the lookout for more game coverage and analysis and an episode of TLTJTP soon.

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. Lakers Recap: Game of Reviews
Thomas Wood

Lucas, Rob, and Shap get together in Part 1 of their two part series going through player grades for your favorite Clippers so far this season, fresh off a strong win heading into the break. Part 1 features Eric Bledsoe, Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Brandon Boston Jr., Paul George, Norman Powell, Rodney Hood, Keon Johnson, Xavier Moon, and James Ennis III.

Check out the podcast here! Be sure to rate and review us five stars on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback in the comments below!

All Star Break Player Grades, Part 1
Shapan Debnath

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

With the Clippers season over, we’re going player-by-player breaking down the season each Clipper had, reviewing our pre-season expectations for them, and considering their future with the team going forward. As we look at the team’s guards this week, we’re kicking things off with perhaps the season’s most notable storyline: Reggie Jackson.

Basic Information

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 208 pounds

Position: PG/SG

Age: 31

Years in NBA: 10

Key Stats: In 67 regular season appearances for the Clippers, started 44 times and played 23 minutes per game, averaging 10.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 45.0% from the field and 43.3% from three. In the playoffs, played in all 19 games and started the final 17, averaging 32.7 minutes, 17.8 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 40.8% from three.

Contract Status: Finishing his second season in LA on a minimum contract, which gives the Clippers his early bird rights. These rights allow the team to offer him a contract starting at 105% of the league average salary in 2021 (projected to be $10M) and running for 4 years with 8% raises–making for a maximum total of 4 years and $47 million (give or take depending on where the actual league average comes in compared to the projection).

Expectations

When the Clippers originally signed Reggie Jackson off of the buyout market during the 2020 NBA season, there was some mild optimism about what he could bring to the table: a legitimately proven NBA point guard with over 300 career starts at the position, he brought far more viability at the position than your typical third string point guard. But as has been the case with a lot of potential point guard additions discussed in recent years, it had to be noted that just because the Patrick Beverley/Lou Williams duo was flawed didn’t inherently mean that other players in the Clippers’ price range weren’t also flawed in their own ways (think Rajon Rondo). That certainly played out in the 2020 postseason, where Jackson was completely lost defensively and made dreadful decisions with the basketball, forcing Doc Rivers to bench him and start Landry Shamet at point guard instead when Beverley was injured.

Coming into the 2021 season, it’s fair to say that expectations for Jackson were even more muted. By his own admission, he considered retiring and wasn’t sure if he was going to return to the NBA. He didn’t sign with a team during the shortened free agency window last fall, and it briefly looked as though the Clippers were going to roll with Ky Bowman as their third-string point guard instead. But when Jackson decided to return, the team signed him back to another minimum-salary deal for what would presumably be a third-string role–or, as I wrote before the season began, a 2.5-string role where he’d play pretty frequently either as a fill-in shot creator on the 2nd unit or getting spot starts at point guard for Patrick Beverley, leapfrogging Lou Williams to allow the legendary 6th man to remain in his off-the-bench role.

But I have to admit, there was not very much excitement when it came to the prospect of another season of the Reggie Jackson experiment. I did admit that I thought Jackson would help the team win a few more games than Bowman would have, but I meant regular season games, not playoff games. And most of all, Jackson was not a fun player to watch in the bubble, often out of control and generally unable to keep up with the elevated level of play in the playoffs. As I said, I admitted that keeping Jackson over Bowman was the right move–but a big part of me was ready to move on to a new, younger depth guard and spare us all more of what Reggie showed in the bubble.

Reality

Reggie’s season began a bit unevenly, as his poor decision-making from the bubble reared its head early and saw him pulled quickly from the team’s opening night game against the LA Lakers. As his play stabilized in the early weeks of the year, his fit on the second unit with Lou Williams and Luke Kennard was clearly disastrous, and his warts continued to show just enough that it made sense to remove him from the rotation entirely. His role fluctuated until Patrick Beverley fell out of the lineup with an injury, at which point Jackson predictably began starting–and his level of play began to rise. Between Beverley’s injuries costing him 45 games and keeping him restricted to around 20 minutes a night for many of the contests he did feature in, and Paul George missing a stretch of games in February with a toe edema issue, Reggie was able to grow comfortably into consistently starting.

As he grew into his role, his level of play rose dramatically. Ty Lue suggested that continued recovery from injuries might have contributed to his progression, while Jackson himself credited the organization with “empowering” him. But you stopped feeling anxious when he was on the floor. He had fewer WTF moments, and he was good enough in a large enough quantity that you could accept some inevitable errors.

Still, heading into the playoffs, the feeling was that Patrick Beverley would regain his starting point guard spot, and with newcomer Rajon Rondo essentially guaranteed to get consistent playoff minutes, any role for Jackson would be much smaller and highly competitive with Terance Mann and Luke Kennard also vying for opportunities. But with Beverley ineffective against Dallas as a defensive specialist without a matchup, Lue made the choice to insert Jackson into the starting lineup in game 3, and while the results on paper weren’t exceptional, it was the start of a truly exceptional playoff run for Reggie. He had 16 points on 6-12 shooting in 33 minutes, which is a good game but nothing groundbreaking. But he’d go on to start the team’s final 17 playoff games, averaging 18.9 points on 49.6/42.0/87.2 splits during that span. Before Kawhi Leonard left the lineup with a right knee sprain during the second round, Jackson was crucial as a high-volume, high-efficienty three-point outlet to relieve pressure. In the 9 playoff games Reggie started alongside Kawhi this year, he shot 47% from three on 7.3 attempts per game. Then, with Kawhi sidelined, Reggie became the team’s second option on offense, burdened with a heavier creation load. Through the final 8 playoff games, he averaged 21.2 points and 4.4 assists, still shooting 48.5% from the field on increased volume even as his three-point shooting cooled off to 36.9%.

It was almost certainly the most exceptional hot playoff run by a role player in recent Clippers history, and maybe one of the most notable ones ever when you consider that just 16 months prior, in February 2020, Jackson was bought out of his contract by the Detroit Pistons, paid by his former team to go away and play his basketball somewhere else. In 2021, he was nicknamed “Mr. June” on national television en route to 9 20-point playoff games–tied for 10th in the NBA this season and likely to hold that spot unless either Jrue Holiday or DeAndre Ayton, each currently with 6, have 4 such games in the NBA Finals. As significant as Terance Mann’s development and breakout year for the Clippers was, and as iconic as Mann’s 39-point closeout performance against the Utah Jazz will remain in Clipper lore, I can say pretty confidently (without taking anything away from Terance) that Reggie was the biggest surprise breakthrough player on this iteration of the Clippers.

Future with Clippers

The real question with Reggie is one of sustainability. At this point, I don’t have a ton of questions left about his shot, despite him being a lackluster shooter for much of his career. Even as a Clipper, he’s shot the ball substantially better on catch-and-shoot attempts than off the dribble, and it’s not surprising that he gets a much higher share of his attempts that way playing off of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The comfort level he has in taking high volumes of them is apparent (only Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Reggie Jackson have made 3 or more threes in a playoff run as often as Reggie did this year). He’s now made 43% of over 500 regular season and playoff three-point attempts as a Clipper in the last 16 months. That’s stable.

But some of the other stuff we saw in this playoff run? Not so much. Think about the acrobatic finishes in transition, the courageous drives directly into Rudy Gobert’s teeth, the assortment of floaters and runners and pull-up jumpers, some of which were tightly contested. Jackson made 51% of his shots within 10 feet this season. He made 60% in the playoffs. He hasn’t shot better than 48% on his two-point shots since he was a backup in Oklahoma City early in his career. This season, he hit 46.5%. In the playoffs, he hit 58.2%. Those numbers are going to come back down to earth.

And so you’re left, whether you’re the Clippers or another potential suitor in free agency, wondering how to appropriately determine the price point for a guy like Reggie Jackson, who just had the best month of his life at 31 years old. For teams who are still looking to build their core–the type of team that tends to have cap space to throw at free agents–there has to be serious, serious reservations about signing a 31-year-old with an injury history based on one month of outlier efficiency offense. Established teams with playoff cores might be more likely to have a similar role for Reggie to slot into, but are less likely to have more money than the mid-level exception to offer to a veteran free agent. If an offer is coming from a team that is willing to invest $15 or $20 million dollars a year into Reggie Jackson, it’s hard for me to figure out where it’ll come from.

The Clippers, for their part, can offer Reggie a contract that will be worth approximately $47 million over 4 years. If other teams don’t want to go beyond the mid-level exception, that Clippers offer represents a nice bump against competing offers–and then there’s the fact that Jackson seems to really have found a home with the Clippers organization, playing alongside one of his best friends in Paul George. It only makes sense that he’d want to stay with the Clippers on a contender and need a big money offer to lure him away, as opposed to potentially looking to jump ship.

Then, the Clippers have take a look in the mirror and ask themselves, assuming Kawhi Leonard also re-signs this summer, how willing they are to tether the next four seasons of George and Leonard to Reggie Jackson, including $13M for him in 2025 when he’s 35 years old. It would definitely be preferable to keep the deal slightly shorter–even a 3-year, $34 million contract significantly lowers the long-term downside by giving the Clippers an additional year of flexibility and making him more tradeable.

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 2021 Exit Interview: Reggie Jackson
Lucas Hann

Dr. Shap and Lucas Hann discuss the Clippers’ pair of wins in Florida as the team narrowly beat the Miami Heat without both of their stars and then were at full strength as they trounced the Magic on Friday. Did Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann do enough this week to carve out permanent roles? How worried should Clippers fans be about Lou Williams’ struggles? What should we expect in the back half of this road trip? That and more in this episode.

Check out the podcast here! Be sure to rate and review us five stars on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback in the comments below!

Podcast: Clippers Beat Heat, Magic
Shapan Debnath

Dr. Shap, Robert Flom, and Lucas Hann break down the Clippers’ tight loss as they slip to the Atlanta Hawks and discuss expectations as the team navigates this six-game road trip without three of their starters. Then, the trio give their takes on early trade rumors involving the team.

Check out the podcast here! Be sure to rate and review us five stars on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback in the comments below!

Podcast: Clippers Slip to Hawks
Shapan Debnath

Did you have Nicolas Batum performing competently on your 2020-21 bingo card? With the clouds of his previous lucrative contract dissipated, Batum now finds himself outperforming his new minimum deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, as Batum’s offense has been a welcome addition for the franchise.

Just like every other team in the NBA, the Clippers have suffered a myriad of setbacks in reaching their ceiling early in the season: Marcus Morris, fresh off a 4 year, $64 million deal, is dealing with a knee issue and remains sidelined; Kawhi Leonard is playing with a mask following a mouth laceration; Luke Kennard is still adjusting to the game after not playing since early 2020; Reggie Jackson is still Reggie Jackson.

But just like we all expected, Nicolas Batum has emerged as a sound rotational player, averaging 10.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.9 steals in 29 minutes per game, filling in as the primary four while Morris heals. More impressive are his shooting splits of 51.6/45.7/93.8, a year removed from an abhorrent 34.6/28.6/90 season.  He’s coming off another strong game against the Phoenix Suns in which he hit 4-7 (57%) from deep, including a dagger three to repel Phoenix’s last push.

Despite the breaches in the rotation, the Clippers have catapulted to a 5-2 record, tied for first in the staunch Western Conference, and Batum’s offense has assisted that start.

Batum’s momentous output through seven games always circles back to his shooting. Last season’s abysmal production from deep in Charlotte rang bells of concern when Los Angeles picked him up. Would his shooting revert to his career average three-point percentage of 35.7? Or was last season a clear indicator the 32-year-old forward was destined for “washed” territory? This blistering start has put those concerns to sleep. Off this baseline out-of-bounds set (BLOB), the Clippers run an elbow stagger for Paul George to curl off of as Batum is situated just outside the initial down screen by Patrick Beverley. Beverley will leak out to the corner, and Batum will split between the screens as Serge Ibaka sets another one for Batum. Jae Crowder is caught ball-watching, allowing for George to stop his drive and find Batum for the open look. Splash.

Here’s another BLOB set later in the game. This time, it’s a wide pindown for Paul George, a play he’s commonly involved in. Mikal Bridges’ defensive prowess cuts off the dribble hand-off, but Devin Booker gets caught in a daze after Ivica Zubac’s down screen, permitting Batum to pop out for a three. Splash. Batum’s three-point resurgence hasn’t sparked just himself, but the entire squad. When Batum is on the floor, the Clippers are hitting their non-corner threes at a difference of +11.2%, ranking in the 92nd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. That number will likely decrease under more minutes, but as the last two plays indicated, Ty Lue can trust Batum in these spots to convert.

Speaking of trust, how about Batum’s dagger mentioned earlier? Ibaka sets the high screen for George, but Deandre Ayton sticks to Ibaka rather than cutting off George’s lane downhill. That forced Devin Booker to collapse into the paint, freeing up the path to pass to an open Batum. Chris Paul cannot rotate in time. Splash. Batum is essentially a new toy dusted off from the top shelf for initiators like George and Leonard. With the abilities of George and Leonard to drive-and-kick, Batum’s offense, theoretically, is perfect. Per NBA.com tracking data, Batum is shooting 50% on catch-and-shoot triples; three-point attempts comprise 58.5% of Batum’s overall attempts.

Here’s Batum in action with George against Portland. LA runs a stagger screen for George, which flows into a George-Ibaka pick-and-roll set. Jusuf Nurkic shows high to prevent George’s downhill lane as CJ McCollum tagged Ibaka’s roll. That opened a window for George to hit Batum in the corner. Splash. Batum is usually on the court with one of George or Leonard in at all times, and we’ve seen the chemistry developing between George and Batum. Per pbpstats, Batum has played 158 of 202 minutes with George on the court. George’s expertise in setting Batum up has led to Batum possessing an eFG% of 63.2 with George versus a 57.1 clip without.

Moving to assists, Batum’s assists per game have steadily dipped since eclipsing at 5.9 a game in 2016-17 with Charlotte. Last season, he averaged 3.0 APG, not a stark difference to the 2.9 he currently averages. But there’s context to that; Batum didn’t play alongside stars like George and Leonard in Charlotte. Assists per game don’t always tell the complete story, either. Per nba.com tracking data, Batum is averaging 4.4 potential assists per game, fourth-most on the team. The typical ball-handling triumvirate of George, Leonard and Lou Williams spearhead that category.Still, Batum’s a ball-moving forward, a contrast to Morris, who often counters that trait. Per Cleaning the Glass, Batum’s usage rate of 11.3% ranks in the 9th percentile among fellow forwards. However, his assist-to-usage ratio is at a beaming 1:16, good for the 98th percentile. Batum’s excelled in this category dating back to his Portland days, but it’s a positive sign for a Clippers team hoping to secure a balanced attack with a variety of players. Batum’s offense has been superbly effective. The eye test definitely supports his per-100-possession offensive rating of 139 and a defensive rating of 113, a +26 differential, which would be a career-high if it sustains. Not only that, but his points per shot attempt mark of 135.6 ranks in the 91st percentile, a perceptible distinction from being in the 10th percentile a season ago, per Cleaning the Glass. While the Clippers wait for Morris to fully heal, Batum, even when he inevitably comes off the bench, is flying under the radar as one of the offseason’s best transactions by any team this season.

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.

Nicolas Batum’s offense has been a welcome addition
Sanjesh Singh

Today, we’re putting together a season preview for Reggie Jackson, continuing our annual tradition of going player-by-player through the Clippers’ roster to break down expectations.

Basic Information

Height: 6’3″
Weight: 208 lbs.
Position: Guard
Age: 30
Years in NBA: 9
Key Stats: In 17 appearances for the Clippers last season, averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per game, shooting 45.3% from the field and 41.3% from deep. In the playoffs, played 14.2 minutes per game in 12 appearances, averaging 4.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.9 assists while shooting 43.8% from the field and 53.1% from deep.
Contract Status: Signed a one year, minimum-salary deal to stay with the Clippers.

Expectations

Although he might not have the “prominent” role suggested in the initial reporting of his re-signing, Reggie actually should play quite a bit for the Clippers this season on the 2.5 string–not quite a primary backup, but someone who will regularly feature in the 10-man rotation due to absences in front of him. If we look at LAC’s depth chart, it’s easy to see where Jackson will likely slot in:

Sure, if everyone is healthy on opening night, Jackson might not play. But Patrick Beverley is notoriously injury-prone, and Jackson figures to be first choice to get spot starts at point guard. If Williams or Kennard are unavailable on the second unit, Jackson will join the second unit as an offensive creator off the bench–and Kennard’s absence on the second unit could be frequent, not only due to his own injury history but because he figures to slide into the starting lineup whenever Paul George or Kawhi Leonard are injured or rest for load management.

Jackson’s job description should be pretty much built around those potential rotation gaps over the course of a campaign that is not only 72 games long but features an accelerated schedule. As a minimum-salary player in a depth role, we should have limited expectations as to his impact… which is probably well suited to his abilities at this stage of his career. Just be available, be solid enough for regular-season minutes, and hopefully don’t be needed when the playoffs role around.

Strengths

This is, um, hard. Maybe the best way to describe Reggie’s contributions to the team is that he doesn’t bring specific strengths so much as he brings all-around shaky play that’s just a little bit less shaky and more consistent than your typical minimum-salary point guard. He definitely brings more to the table offensively than defensively, though the effort will be there to be passable in regular-season minutes, especially flanked by the Clippers’ all-league defenders on the wing.

The truth is, though, that as I discussed above the minutes load for LAC’s 11th man this season could be significant. Jackson’s main strength–and the reason why the team retained him–is that he’s more experienced and dependable for that role than a younger, less proven player.

Weaknesses

Reggie’s weaknesses are the reason he was available for a minimum deal and a third-string role. A high-usage and middling-efficiency offensive player throughout his career, Jackson has had struggles with decision-making. As injuries have hampered his explosiveness, the decision-making hasn’t improved, resulting in turnovers and lots of heavily-guarded floaters. As a spot-up shooter, he thrived with the Clippers last season, but has shot just 33.7% from deep for his career, so it’s likely that some of his weaknesses will become more glaring when he’s no longer making half of his threes.

His defensive issues honestly might be a little overstated, to be fair. Doc Rivers rather inexplicably gave Jackson a lot of burn guarding Luka Doncic in the NBA playoffs, particularly late in games. Luka is one of the most gifted offensive players in the league, and Jackson is… an adequate second-unit defender. So I’m putting defense in the weakness column for Jackson, but it’s worth noting that smarter strategy would make that weakness far less exposed than it was last season.

Summary

Overall, the Clippers have in Reggie Jackson one of the best third-string point guards in the league–but not much more than that. We’ll see plenty of him this season but the less we see of him, the better it will be for the team, as his time on the bench will be heavily correlated with their primary rotation players staying healthy.

Clippers 2020-2021 Season Preview: Reggie Jackson
Lucas Hann