Welcome back. In the Clippers talk, we got a little clips and double
dip with Will Updyke. Now, Will I want to start with Big Zoo
because we've got a lot of calls on it. Rightfully, So, since
November seventeenth, with the new starting lineup, he's at thirteen and a half
points per game, he's at ten boards per game, he's shooting almost seventy
percent from the field, and just looking like a new man and a made
man, as I like to say, out there, because they're involving him
much more now and they respect and trust Big Zoo. Oh, I mean
he was absolutely huge. Look he turned into that double double guy that we
always knew was in there. He just needed the right point guard to un
locket and defensively like what he does cannot be overstated, and he played.
He played use of Nurkic off the for tonite and the Suns were completely out
of moods. They had nothing else to do. They tried to go small,
just and just shoot the Clippers out of the building. Didn't work.
The defense was too good and the Clippers were shooting the Sun out of the
building themselves. The efficiency to night was overall insane, but the level that
Zoo has gotten to. Really, I mean it not only raises the floor
for this team, but if you don't see it, like elevating the ceiling
or smashing the Clippers through whatever ceiling has been holding them back, you're missing
it. You must be in the shadow of Big Zoo and you're blinded.
The sun is blocked out. I thought Kawhi Leonard in a much he had
bounced back performance, did it on the defensive end those four steals in the
fourth quarter, and it was him and Daniel Tye kind of working in unison.
But Kawhi's defense on Kevin Durant in the third quarter only gave up three
points when he had twenty in the first half. Tone setter leader, guys
get in line and they follow him. They're just a different ball club whenever
they have Kawhi Leonard. And I know you can say that's obvious, but
to me, it's more than the numbers. There are intangibles. There's an
attitude there, there's that safety blanket of having Kawhi Leonard out there. Just
I thought a great defensive howarts from him? Yeah, I mean one hundred
percent. Like look, I feel like the big criticism has always been at
this Clippers team in the two and three era. Oh there's not a leader.
There's no leader. They don't have that vocal voice in the locker room.
Kawhi is the silent leader and he always does that. He had a,
you know, a rough game against the Lakers, not his best performance,
not the level that we've seen him at so far this season, and
tonight, you know, struggled a little bit offensively, kind of got it,
started things going in the right direction. But defensively he can always pick
that up. That is one of those things that's always going to be in
his backpack pockets. He's got the motor. You know, he's he's played
the most consecutive games I think he's ever played as a Clipper. Like he's
he's locked in. He's looking great, and I mean, you know,
this team goes as far as Kawhi carries them, and right now it's looking
like he's ready to do a lot of heavy lifting. I thought Paul George
also was a tone setter in the first quarter, just Punk and d book
I think he had I want to say, three of his four makes in
that first quarter were on Devin Booker ten points, just like in Phoenix.
He gets up for this matchup and the Clippers followed him as well. Oh,
I mean one hundred percent like Paul George offensively, I mean on both
ends before really, but offensively, he is so smooth with it. He
was another one of those guys like the Sun's just offensively. They had no
answer for him. There was just nothing then. There was no way to
really slow him down. And yeah, he's been absolutely great. I think
this is one of those matchups he circles on the calendar. You know,
the Sun's gotten the better of the Clippers and two playoff series. I don't
see that happening again, even with this fully amped up stuns. I mean,
as long as the Clippers are healthy, I wouldn't have seen them losing
those two series if they had Kawhi Leonard for all of them, and Paul
George was missing all of it last year too. Terrence Man ten of his
last eighteen makes from the outside. Now, I think that's over the last
four games. Kawhi Leonards spoke about a post game, so you just gotta
keep shooting the basketball, making those open shots. Everybody has slumps. It's
about fighting, keep shooting and keeping shooting out there. Unquote. I just
love that Terrence Man was able to work through this shooting slump because everything else
he does is so important. The shooting is almost like a bonus at times.
But now I don't know how you stop this starting lineup when Terrence Man
is going from the outside too. Yeah. Absolutely, it's just another weapon.
It's another feather in the cap. And I think the great thing about
the shooting thing. I mean, obviously he's scoring, which is is cool,
but I think that he has he's gotten that confidence back. We're seeing
less of an indecision. He seems a lot more sure of himself on the
floor, which you know, we know he has the skills that we know
he has the tools to play at an elite level. We've seen it,
Frankly, we've seen it. We've seen it gets them to a Western Conference
final, So you know, it's good. It's good that he's getting the
offensive part of the game going, because even through that slump, I thought,
you know, I thought demands to remove Terrance from the starting lineup were
rash at best, absolute insanity at worst. So it's it's good to see
him turn that round. And it was bound to happen, right we know
what he is. He's a high thirty percent shooter. You know, kids
seem forty if you will. So it was bound to come back. It's
law of averages. You just got to shoot through it. Three or six
from the outside. I seen it. Little half baked reference there for you.
One more here, Daniel tis fantastic run in that fourth quarter he Kawhi,
James Harden all kind of working together to open that game up. He's
been amazing. I still think they got to reintegrate Mason Plumby at some point
just because of his size. He's the much better rebounder and finisher at the
rim. But Daniel Tice in the Clippers time of need, I don't know
where this team would be without him. Yeah, absolutely, Entice, another
guy. I gotta give credit to you for playing through. He started out
one for three, the hands flicked a little rough, it was like a
little wobbley. And then yeah, in that fourth quarter he lit it up.
And he and you know, James Harden have a great connection. It
just type has been great. So this is in no way disparaging him.
I think he's been an absolute, an absolute great piece, and he has
definitely helped the Clippers turn things around on this on this tear that they've been
on as of recent But you know, watching James Harden out there with Tys,
you just I mean, you've got to kind of marvel at the possibility
of a second unit with James Harden and Leason Plumbly on it like that.
I it's boggling my mind. It just seems like it would be so devastating
and very difficult to slow down having an actual seven foot are out there to
back up due. I think it's gonna be great. And Tys I still
think has a place in this rotation and come playoff time. You know,
he's an interesting piece. He's another move that you have. And with the
Clippers getting a little bit smaller across the wing, I like this sort of
versatility that they have at the five. I think it's interesting. I think
it's something a little bit different and with the shooting that they have to go
around it, there really isn't a super wrong combination. And I think Tyleru
has been it has been kind of dialing in the lineups a little bit.
I like this game that you know, we saw very minimal of Westbrook and
Harden on the floor together it was like it was like maybe a minute it
was. It was not very many possessions. But he's getting these things figured
out, and it's not just the closing lineups, like he's figuring out how
to maximize things throughout a forty eight minute game. And I mean, it
looks really good. It feels like such a turnaround from from last night,
which which really felt like a pretty big disappointment. And it wasn't necessarily a
step backwards, but it didn't feel like the Clippers that we've seen since they've
turned things around in the Harden era, playing them out like it's the Golden
Globes. I'm sorry, Well, we had to do it. We gotta
get out of here. Clippers win one thirty eight to a little eleven over
the Phoenix Suns will Opdyke of Clips and Dip. We'll have a YouTube for
you tomorrow before we get out of here. I'm sorry, Mark, I'm
sorry, Jose, I'm sorry others. I couldn't get to you on the
phone lines calling on Wednesday. I do want to say thing Clippers organization,
Ralph Lahler, Brian Seeman, Noah Igo, Carlo Jimenez on the call,
Big Brother Jake Warner, our head engineer Zacho Kaldy back in the bank,
our producer tonight until Wednesday at six thirty with the pregame show I'm Ouda Maslin.
We will talk to you then