Her early. Clippers are victorious in game one of a two game mini series
up north against the Portland Trail Blazers. They win tonight, one sixteen to
one oh three. I, Madame Oslin, this is Clippers talk. We
got a little clips and double dip for you. Though. Here you hear
the music, it's will Updyke joining because the Clippers won. And he eventually
picked up his phone, Well, how are we doing? I'm doing good,
doing good. Uh, you know, a lot of a lot of
people on the line when the Clippers are are pulling out these these crucial,
crucial victories against a stout Portland Trailblazer. Hey, I don't like the sarcasm.
You know they just lost to the Atlanta Hoffs on Sunday. Was it
not a decisive victory by this Clippers team tonight? It was definitely a decisive
victory as well it should be. And I, you know, I don't
mean to get down on the team if this is just it's one of those
unfortunate matchups where it's kind of darned if you do, darned if you don't.
A win is expected against a short handed Land Blazer's team, and a
loss would be merely unfathomable. But that being said, there was still some
stuff to like in this one continued twenty point plus games from the two one
three connection. I thought an inspired James Harden performance despite some of the turnovers.
Still with fourteen assists, you know there was a lot to like this.
When and Paul George continues his this five game streak of twenty plus points,
He's shooting over fifty percent from three over this stretch, he is looking
to be re entering his rhythm and hopefully hitting a late season peak. Last
ten games, he's getting twenty four points on fifty two percent from the field
and forty four percent from three. Seems good. I like the word you
said though. There inspired inspired play from James Harden when he started cooking that
second quarter four to three pointers were made, but also the way he was
auditioned and diamond and looking for big Zoo. Thank god, sorry, I
I needed to see him get up almost ten shots in this ball game after
he got just one attempt against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. They forgot about
Zoo nowadays ever been one of off the guys. I'm gonna say, but
nothing comes out with they forgot about Zoo sometimes I don't understand it, and
I feel like that's when the game really turned that high. Pick and roll
finally with James Harden and Visa Zoobots. Am I wrong? Well, no,
you're not wrong at all. And the thing is, it's like it
really unlocks the both of them. Like we know how beneficial James Harden has
been in a Viza Zoo for Viza Zoobots, especially offensively. But let's not
deny the inverse of that. I mean, it helps Harden's game as a
facilitator. It makes things easier for him. He gets more in the flow
of the offense, and I think that that helped his personal scoring because he's
got the juice he's going. So it's it's one of those mutually beneficial things
that just have to get back to good to see it in this game.
You know, like I said on the Clifton did podcast last time we all
chatted, was this is an easier stretch of the schedule. This is a
time where it's you know, you can kind of get back to your good
habits. You know, you can kind of lick some of the wounds that
you know you've accumulated over this long season when we're in kind of this hard
part where every time there's a there's a bit of a hard foul, or
every time someone's on the ground you're worried that they might not be getting up.
This is a great opportunity for this team to round back into form,
and you know, if we see more of what we saw tonight, then
I'm going to be very very happy with with with where this team is at.
There was definitely a level of concern when Kawhi Leonard was shaking that left
wrist and just trying to work through it there, but postgame coach lou said
he's good, so hopefully he's good enough to go on Friday. Although they're
still taking on Portland. I don't care who's available. You just have to
win that game because the Clippers have the depth, and they showed it off
tonight. A mere Coffee was out there. No Terrence Man, no Norm
Powell, A mere Coffee in the starting lineup, and when he looks for
his offense. I just love the way he just kind of facilitates his way
or Vanessa is his way into fitting in with this team. What he's in
the starting lineup, he just performs. He steps up a mere coffee.
You know, he's starting to come out of the funk that he's been in
over the last couple of weeks a couple of weeks too. Well, Oh,
absolutely, absolutely, And you know, when but Tom was on the
team, we know that he was a big fan of nurturing Musa Diabat.
But I would be very surprised if some mere Coffee wasn't taking some notes too,
because he's he's sort of formed himself in the mold of a similar glue
guy, albeit a couple of inches shorter. But he yeah, he absolutely,
he is the embodiment of sort of the stay ready Clippers, what this
team has been. I mean really even preceding the two and three era,
he is right there. The three point shot wasn't completely going for him tonight,
but hey, he knocks down one more and that's a completely different conversation.
He looks great tonight. Somebody who didn't look too good that I feel
like we got to talk about your man skeleton, key Bones Highland. He
is not looking too hot after a great performance in Chicago. He got pulled
early in that second quarter, I think for Brandon Boston when the Clippers started
to go on a run with PG and Harden out there with Big Zoo.
I don't know what it is the last two games. It's strange, uninspiring
play from Bones Highland. After how good he was against the Chicago Bulls.
I don't know. He just doesn't seem to be fully there the last two
games. The energy, the spark, he was over four, he had
a turnover, you know, zero two assists. But yeah, Bones Highland,
I don't know what it is right now, but he doesn't look right.
The thing that was sort of disheartening to me, And again not to
pile on him. He's a young guy. He's in faced with a pretty
difficult challenge there filling in while Harden was out, But even in those minutes
at the end of the game, I know they're colloquially called garbage time.
I just didn't like how disengaged he looked. Because I understand that the game
is in the bag, don't have to play like it's the playoffs, but
I would like to see a little effort out there and him just looking completely
disengaged, especially on the defensive end. It's one of those things that he
just has to tighten up. You just have to tighten up because you look
at the team right now, especially you know, with Norm being in the
bench, and then obviously Parent's out tonight, which is a bit of an
anomaly. But you just you look at the depth of this team outside of
your starting five, and things start to get a little carry and if he's
one of the guys that you can't rely on, I mean, this rotation
shortens to I mean, hopefully if Norm is there, you got I mean,
optimistically, if Russ is back, eight guys total. Yeah, I
look, I don't want to speculate too much. Shoul be a body language
expert, but it just seemed like since Harden was back the last two games
and Bones was back to coming off the bench, he hasn't looked right,
I don't know, the same focus hasn't been there. Disengaged also an appropriate
word. But now let's talk about your guy, PJ. Tucker. What
did you think of his performance tonight? Here? Will h he was certainly
there, no, I mean, look, racking up seven boards. He
rackediced seven boards and that assists you know, didn't turn the ball over,
didn't take a shot, which is something that like, look, I mean
you've talked tobout you I know, that you are believe that that PJ.
Tucker can have value in a playoff rotation. I'm not gonna say I'm completely
off of it, but you know, offensively, it's it's not great.
I mean, you're looking at You're essentially looking at a four on five and
I he's got to he's got to take the shots. And like luckily tonight
against the opponent, it wasn't something that was really gonna hurt up. I
did like I did like his high effort feel in the I believe it was
in the third to kind of secure this Clippers lead. But yeah, you
gotta take shots. I just don't. I don't know what else to say.
This is the NBA in twenty twenty four. There's not a guy that
can be out there on the floor for twenty plus minutes and not take a
shot. I'm sorry, Like Dennis Rodman would have to take shots in today's
game. You can't be out there doing nothing. You can't do what he
and Ben Wallace used to do. You become a liability. Guys hunt you
out too much, or they just don't guard you at all. And it's
fair to say they're playing four on five at times on offense when Pj's just
hiding in the corner and not taking a shot. He's been better in that
area recently, but twenty five minutes didn't get one up in this game.
I did like his effort on the boards. I did like what I saw
defensively. For the most part, I still believe he can be a situational
defensive specialist in a playoff series against the right opponent. But we'll see what
happens moving forward with the offense, because it is something to be desired,
and we're not asking a ton just he has to take the shot that he's
taken the last fifteen years that corner three. Not many have been better than
him. You know who is happy to take a shot tonight, Daniel tight
my man one from three tonight. If he is somehow finding his three point
stroke late in this season, that is going to be an interesting wrinkle to
watch for especially given the, like I said, the shakiness of what this
depth could look like in an actual playoff rotation. Putting Chuck Mockler in those
shooting splits he had for his career on Daniel Tyson a body bag tonight going
two of two from the outside, Just how are you going to stop this
guy? Last one for you here? Though, Chuck? Do you just
want to see the exact same type of ballgame from the Clippers on Friday?
What are you looking for as we move down the stretch here? What fourteen
games left? I think now in the regular season one that is good process
in your mind, it's will. This is will get the name right.
I was just thinking about Chuck. I'm sorry, I just bodied him and
now I bodying myself Chuck on the brain. Yeah, I want to see
more of the same in this one, A comfortable leave. I liked that,
you know, say what you will about the opponent, you still have
to beat the teams in front of you. And I like the energy.
I like the way the team did get locked in. Still a bit of
a slow start initially, but they overcame it. I just want to see
more of that energy, more of that connectedness, and more of getting back
to like I know this team says that they don't have an identity, but
it just it doesn't feel like that's true, given you know, the nine
game stretch that we saw, given the sample side that we saw going into
the All Star break, I just think they need to get get back to
basics, and I think a big part of that is keeping hard and engaged,
and I think along with that is keeping Zoo involved offensively. It just
opens things up for everybody. It gets everybody easy shot. James Harden said
that the biggest, the biggest thing that he can do is stay aggressive in
keeping his teammates engaged, not necessarily always looking to score for himself, but
getting into those double digit assist numbers. We know how good the Clippers can
be when he's there, and he's there to make everything easier for everybody else.
So let's do that. Let's let's generate good shots, Let's get some
easy looks, and let's let's stack up a couple of wins while we have
a little bit of breathing room right now in the schedule. Once again,
not to bag on any of our illustrious opponents over this next couple game stretch,
Well said, he is Chuck Updyke, I mean Will Mockler, I
mean Will Up Dyke of Clips and dip pod. Well, we got a
YouTube I think coming up maybe alive this weekend or something, who knows,
but thanks for coming on tonight doing a little clips and double dip here on
Clippers Stop my friend. Absolutely always a pleasure and, as our co host
Charles Mockler always says, let's go clips, let's go clipper rist