Lue working to get guys in the right spot
The Clippers’ f inal dress rehearsal for the season will be Thursday after they lost a second preseason game to the Lakers in three days.
In the 131- 106 Lakers win Sunday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue played his starters more minutes than in the preseason opener, though starting forward Marcus Morris missed his second consecutive game because of knee soreness. Assistant coach Chauncey Billups and reserve guard Reggie Jackson, both of whom took part in Friday’s preseason opener, were not with the team because of excused absences under the NBA’s health and safety protocol.
Here are f ive things we noticed during the Clippers’ second preseason game.
Scheme theme
Before tipoff, Lue described his preseason philosophy as caring less about winning than ensuring players understood where they needed to be within the team’s offense and defense.
“To know what sets we are going to run, to be able to call them out and guys get to the right spot,” he said.
Unlike the 27- turnover performance Friday, when passes thrown to dead air and unsuspecting teammates led to extra Lakers possessions, the ball often found its intended receivers Sunday, when the Clippers turned the ball over just 11 times. But those players often weren’t in the right place on the court, Lue said.
“Probably eight or nine times we called plays and couldn’t get guys in the right spots,” Lue said.
Star power
Kawhi Leonard scored 11 points in 18 minutes, four more than Friday, and at times played with the pace that wasn’t apparent in the preseason opener.
In one instance during the f irst half, Leonard isolated against the defense of Kyle Kuzma on the right wing, exploding out of his f irst step inside the threepoint arc before stopping and rising for a shot as Kuzma’s momentum carried him backward.
Paul George was more effective from the start offensively than in their opener and scored nine points, making three of six shots to go with four assists. He reiterated that being able to train during the offseason — unlike last year, when shoulder surgeries left him unable to fully practice until after the season began — has aided his confidence.
Mann plan
With Jackson unavailable to play, guard Terance Mann was slotted into his place with the bench unit and displayed some of the things he will need if he hopes to become a viable rotation player in his second season, making an open three- pointer and slashing for a dunk in transition in the first half.
A 35% three- point shooter last season, albeit in a small sample size, Mann was asked by coaches in the offseason to improve his accuracy — something that has been a knock on the guard ever since he was drafted in the second round. It remains a work in progress. Mann missed his last three threepoint tries and made three of nine shots overall. He also had f ive assists and f ive rebounds. He could have more opportunities to make a positive impression because Lue said he did not know when Jackson will return.
Moving better
Lue has preached the gospel of better ball movement since his hiring and understanding that emphasis is easy: Last season, as the Clippers reverted to more isolation given the additions of Leonard and George, the team averaged the fifth- fewest potential assists and third- fewest passes per game, according to Second Spectrum tracking data.
So far, incorporating what has been learned in practice into games has been “not very good,” Lue said, but Sunday revealed two prime examples of the type of movement he envisions. Four players touched the ball during one first- half possession before a driving George dumped a short pass off to an open Serge Ibaka for a layup.
On another, George might have had enough room to f ire a quick threepointer as Markieff Morris closed, but instead kept the ball moving into the paint, recognizing that Ibaka was near the basket while guarded by the much smaller Quinn Cook.
George’s adjustment
It’s somewhat remarkable to consider given George has played in the pace- and-space era of the NBA for most of his career, but Ibaka is the first floor- spacing center with whom he has played. As with every other adjustment the Clippers are attempting to incorporate, the question becomes how quickly a comfort level can be reached given the abbreviated preseason.
“It’s new to me and I’m trying to get used to the spacing and manipulating the other team’s defense,” George said. “I’m used to guys rolling and being rim runners. Serge can obviously rim roll and f inish at a high level at the basket but he shoots the ball so well in the pop game it’s new and it’s something I gotta adapt to.”
Etc.
The Clippers waived Malik Fitts, Jordan Ford and Ky Bowman on Monday. All were signed to deals inviting them to training camp.