Today, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the league leaders Cleveland Cavaliers 132-119 at home. This was a very important game, marking the emergence of the strongest version of the Clippers. Although the Clippers have been an incomplete team this season and have looked like a “broken ship”, this victory shows that they can count on at least two lives in the playoffs.
Throughout the season, we have seen flashes of brilliance from different stars, such as Powell, Harden and Zubac, and even occasional flashes from Leonard. But this was the first time that they were so comprehensive. Leonard tied his season high with an efficient 33 points, Zubac contributed 28 points and 20 rebounds on his birthday, and Bogdan, who was on the bench, scored 20 points on 8/8 shooting. In this way, Harden’s pressure was greatly relieved. He only scored 22 points today, but in the previous 39 games the Clippers had won, Harden’s average scoring was over 20, and the winning rate was over 70%; when he scored less than or equal to 20, the Clippers’ record was 10 wins and 16 losses.
Another statistic shows that Harden has scored an average of over 25 points in 14 games, including the 50 points he scored against the Detroit Pistons recently. In these 14 games, the Clippers have won 12 and lost 2. This means that until the perfect Clippers appear, Harden’s offensive performance directly affects the team’s wins and losses. And today’s game changed this situation, and this was only the second game after Powell’s return. He is still under strict time control and scored 11 points in less than 18 minutes. It should be noted that when the Clippers were still in a “broken boat” state, Powell was the team’s top scorer.
What’s even more gratifying is that the Clippers are on an upward trajectory, with a recent 8-game record of 7 wins and 1 loss.
In addition to relieving Harden’s burden, this victory also brought three major gains:
1. The return of the dominant Leonard
Including today’s victory over the Cavaliers, Leonard has scored more than 20 points in four consecutive games. In the past eight games, he has won seven, and he has played in six of those games, scoring more than 20 points in five of them. He scored 33 points today, which is comparable to the last time he played against the Lakers, but the Clippers lost that game. It’s not easy to wait for Leonard to produce at a high level. In the previous six games in which he scored more than 25 points, the Clippers had a record of just 3-3, and they didn’t win any of those games, including the 33-point game against the Lakers and the 29-point game against the Pelicans. In addition, he didn’t play in the first half of the season, and after his comeback, he was rested in six consecutive games, which was not conducive to maintaining his rhythm. But today’s game seemed to show us the best forward who once won the FMVP.
In the first half, Leonard mainly took 3-pointers from the outside, and was highly efficient, making all three. Despite this, the Clippers were down by as many as 12 points, and were down by five at the end of the first half. In the third quarter, we saw an all-around Leonard. In addition to continuing to make 3-pointers, he penetrated deep into the basket many times, showing accurate shooting, and was calm and aware in the fast break. He scored 15 points in one quarter, helping the Clippers to a 38-29 comeback in the third quarter.
2. Bogdan’s firepower has returned
The Clippers traded Bogdan Bogdanovic from the Atlanta Hawks with the intention of strengthening the bench firepower, because Powell was promoted to the starting lineup this season to ensure the stability of the starting offense in the event of a possible absence of Leonard. However, after joining the Clippers, Bogdan’s performance in the first 9 games was disappointing, averaging only 10.9 points and 6.8 three-point attempts, with a field goal percentage of only 32.8%. He even had consecutive poor performances of 1 for 8, 1 for 12, and 1 for 6.
However, during the recent 7-1 winning streak, Bogdan has changed a lot. He has reduced the number of three-pointers he takes from 7.8 to 3.5, and his success rate has rebounded significantly, reaching 48.5%. He even scored 30 points and 10 rebounds in the game against the Miami Heat. His 8-for-8 shooting against the Cavaliers today was a highlight, as he was surrounded by defensive players like Simmons, Jrue Jones, Batum and Kofi, who don’t score many points. With Bogdan’s efficient performance and the defense of the bench, the Clippers had four of their five substitutes with double-digit plus-minus values today, with Bogdan reaching +19 and Jrue Jones and Simmons each with +17.
3. Zubac enters the prime of his career
The night of this game was the birthday of center Zubac, and starting today he enters the iconic prime of a professional athlete’s career—the age of 28. 28 points and 20 rebounds was the best birthday gift he could have given himself, and he obviously cared about it. After the game, a female reporter caught him on the sidelines for an interview, congratulating him on scoring 28 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. He glanced back at the big screen and pointed out seriously that he had grabbed 20.
This was the third time this season that Zubac had 20 rebounds in a single game. As the only big man on the Clippers roster, and one of the top five big men in the league in terms of rebounds, the Clippers win every time he scores and rebounds well at the same time. The standard is 18 points and 16 rebounds or more. Including today’s game, there have been a total of 8 such games. Since the Cavaliers have a double-tower structure, Zubac’s transcript is even more valuable. In contrast, Allen only scored 8 points and 8 rebounds, while Mobley scored 17 points and 3 rebounds. Zubac helped the Clippers outscore the Cavaliers by a landslide 49-29 in rebounds, with 8 of the 14 rebounds he collected coming from the front court. Zubac’s impressive performance reached its climax in the fourth quarter. When Harden, Leonard and Bogdan pulled away, the Cavaliers were fighting a losing battle, but Zubac kept grabbing rebounds and scored six points with three free throws. In contrast, Allen played for eight minutes in the quarter and did not score a single point from the rebounds, while Mobley did not score any points from his three points.
In this victory, the Clippers‘ three-point performance rebounded, hitting 16 of 35 shots for 45.7%, even though Harden made only 2 of 11. The Clippers usually take relatively few three-point shots, averaging 33.8 per game this season, which is only the third-lowest in the league, and making 12.2, which is the fifth-lowest. So far this season, they have only had two games in which they made 20+ three-pointers, and they basically can’t win a game if they can’t make three-point shots. There were a total of 8 games in the whole season in which they made less than 10 3-pointers, with 1 win and 7 losses. Today, when they were behind in the first half, the spurt of 3-pointers saved them. They made 12 in the first half, which allowed their firepower to be unchecked by the Cavaliers, as the Cavaliers had the league’s best 3-point shooting percentage, making 11 in the first half and scoring 45 points in the first quarter. But in the second half, the Clippers relied on defense, rebounds, and second-chance points to keep them alive, and the three-pointers returned to normal, with 4 of 12 in the second two quarters. This instability may not improve until Powell returns, as he is the team’s most prolific and accurate three-point shooter, taking 7.7 shots per game and hitting 42.2%.
After beating the Cavaliers, the Clippers widened their lead over the fourth group. They are at the end of the third group, behind the Warriors and Timberwolves, but four games ahead of the Kings in the fourth group. This means that the Clippers have a very good chance of playing the playoffs with two lives. Even if the first life is lost in the first game of the playoffs, the Clippers have a good chance of winning the second game with their current fighting power, which means that they can stay in eighth place at the bottom.
After playing the Cavaliers, the Clippers have 13 games left, with strong opponents in the near future (Cavaliers, Grizzlies, and Thunder), followed by games against New York, the Nets, the Cavaliers, and the Magic, of which the last two are back-to-back, and Leonard will definitely miss one of them. If they can get two wins, that would be considered a good result. The last seven games will be easier. The opponents after returning from the Eastern Conference – the Pelicans, Mavericks (two consecutive home games), and Spurs – are all considered weak teams at the moment. These four games are the best time to fix the record. The Rockets, Kings, and Warriors are at the bottom, but if one of the strong teams wants to rest at the end, it will be easier. The Clippers need to do their best to improve their ranking, try to surpass the Timberwolves and Warriors, and fight for a direct playoff spot.
