Clippers were down fourteen, they turned things around. They led by twenty,
They win by eleven in Detroit over the Pistons one thirty six to one twenty
five. I Madam Oslin, welcome back into Clippers talk. Coming up,
you'll hear from the head coach. But first joining us is Will Updyke from
clips In Dip after another Clippers victory, because he only comes on after wins,
after Big W's Will did you want more style points? Take it well?
Did you want more style points from the Clippers in this game? Or
did you see what you needed to see that they had that ability to once
again, just like against the Wizards, figure it out, pour it on
and play well enough when their best was required. Yeah. I mean,
look, it looks very much like the last game towards the end of a
road trip. Seems like legs were a little tired. I mean, how
slow is this thing to start? Like twenty to six run in favor of
the Pistons. It looked like the end of the road, Like you know,
they're getting towards the end of a road trips. But I think in
that second half you see them break off those runs, you know, a
little twelve nothing run that's followed up by another nine nothing run a little bit
later after it was broken. Like, I think that this team still looks
dominant in these stretches, and I think that that's sort of the most important
thing, right, Like they're not gonna blow the doors off every team.
The Pistons were at home, they fought, They fought incredibly hard in that
one. But yeah, I think I think it's more of the same,
Like it just very much feels like not any game is being taken lightly like
this, this was still we still had Kawhi in the fourth quarter. He
was still trying to win this game until they had a comfortable enough lead,
which you know, this is one of the more he's played in the fourth
quarter during this road trip. Yeah, Kawhi learned with two of his thirty
three in the fourth. I just posted on x that follow out of May
some of the latest these were Envy odds coming into today. This is just
one website, not gonna give him the credit, not gonna sign them because
I may get in trouble for that. But there are seven guys ahead of
him, and the odds of Kawhi winning MVP are at plus ten thousand,
meeting if you bet one hundred, you would win ten thousand. So we're
talking about Han Solo navigating through the asteroid field here, like just ridiculously far
off odds. And I don't know, I'm I'm still irked about it.
Will I just I can't believe a player of his ilk is not getting more
love and respect with where the Clippers are right now too. I yeah,
I'm just not getting it. I don't know if it's because the Clippers have
hit that point in their window where like this is just this is like expected
now, you know what I mean. I think it was like a bit
of a turnaround or a surprise to some people after the you know, the
terrible start of the James Harden era. But I feel like maybe there's there's
a bit of an old toy, like it's not the shiny new thing syndrome
anymore. With the Clippers and the media, it kind of feels like this
is what they were supposed to do. And I still think that that is
both overlooking how great just like the level of talent overall across the league is
right now, how competitive this West is, and just how special Kawhi Leonard
has been Despite all that, I don't care if it's expected, I don't
care. You know, if this team has consistently you know, if you
want to say, let down some of the larger media with you know this
what this team has made their postseasons. But this is the most serious the
two and three era has taken the regular season. And it's not just seriousness,
Like I don't think they were not trying hard or anything before, but
that availability that they've had with that time, I mean, how both they've
how great they've both been. But Kawhi Leonard has just been on another level.
And I don't see I mean, like, correct me if I'm wrong.
I'm just not seeing anybody doing it on both ends of the floor at
the same level right now this season. I'm not seeing it. The only
guy who I think could make that argument on both ends of the floor would
be Honest. But the Bucks are a bottom ten defense and had their coach
fired basically over it. What are we talking about. He's plus eight hundred,
Kawhi is plus ten thousand. He's tied with Anthony Edwards. The rest
of the guys with better odds than him are Jalen Brunson, who has a
cheerleader on TNT and Charles Barkley talking about him every night. Great player.
I'm fine with him being in the conversation, but not over Kawhi Jason Tatum.
Okay, Clippers just blew out the Celtics. Now the Celtics have lost
to the Lakers, and he doesn't have the numbers, but he does have
a team with the best record in the league. I'm okay with that.
Giannis, No, I'm sorry, like your coach was fired and you've been
a bottom ten defense. Luka Dancis. Are they eighth or ninth? Right
now? Will? How far down are the Mavericks and the standings? I
mean, come on, shake gillss Alexander, I'm okay with SGA. You're
too far for me to say exactly way up here, Nikola Jokic, I'm
fine with I'll give you like three of those guys, but that means Kawhi
Leonard should be top five, not eighth. Top five, and it is
not five folks exactly. All right, Let's move on to somebody that got
twenty five thousand points in his career now in Russell Westbrook, who I thought
played one of his best games this season off the bench for the Clippers and
was so vital, especially in that turnaround where they Lookedda to start off the
game in Detroit. Then Russ got in there and he did what he did
best, and that's push pace, or did what he does best, push
pace, play with tempo speed, and everybody else kind of followed him.
Yeah. Absolutely, And tonight the finishing was there, which is is kind
of the big thing, right It's he still has that I know we were
talking a little bit about this, but he still has that athleticism. Like
the way he still gets up at this point in his career is wild.
It's just a matter of if he has the touch around the basket obviously incredibly
efficient tonight, and that like when he has his offense going, it allows
him to be more of a facilitator, like nine isis only two turnovers tonight.
I think those things obviously go hand in hand. But the bench overall
really great performance. Fourteen points from very efficient a mere coffee and fifteen from
Powell, which is you know, I think he's good for twenty on any
given night, but still extremely efficient. When you're getting that sort of bench
production, I mean, you would have thought in a vacuum that the Clippers
are walking away with a win pretty handedly in Detroit, but uh, you
know, some some struggles from some of the starting lineup tonight. It's a
good point the bench got them pointed back in the right direction for the starting
lineup two outside of Kawhi eventually come around a little bit, with Paul George
having ten of his eighteen in that fourth quarter. You mentioned Norman Powell,
the King of the fourth on the season. Now, he is shooting fifty
eight percent from the field in fourth quarters and fifty four percent from three,
and he booken the end of the third into the fourth with three pointers that
I thought were huge momentum plays. But it's not out of the ordinary with
this guy, Norman Powell. That's what he does. Yeah, I mean,
he's he's that. I don't know, he's the he's can be the
closer. He's the perfect off the bench guy. I love where he's at
in the rotation right now. Would have love to see some more. I'm
curious to see some more when James come back in. If we stagger Russ
back out and just go a little bit larger, just have Powell and James
in the backcourt, just for a little bit of size given some matchups when
they're running the bench backcourt. But uh yeah, man, love norm I
love him in every lineup. Incredibly efficient. He was my Wait, who
chose him as player of the game? Did you choose his player of the
series over the end of this road trip? That's right, baby, pushing
your agenda here. I love it. Hey, you brought it up.
I haven't even said that yet. Come on, if it's Powell Ganda,
I won it well. Lef Tyke as our guest here on Clipperstock for a
little cliffs and double dip on M five to seventy la sports. Okay,
so you mentioned the bench, but I thought Mason Plumb he was pretty good
in this game too, A former Piston just played there one year, but
he had twelve and nine. I know his play has been up and down.
He has. He is someone coming back from a significant knee injury.
But he and Daniel Tice, I'm not gonna say they've been spectacular picking up
the slack for Big Zoo, but they have done what's been asked of them
overall. They have played to their abilities and giving you enough beef near the
moat near the rim to help this Clippers team. Yeah, absolutely, And
I think you mentioned up and down play, which is fair. I think
that they've performed admirably given the size of the gap of what they were expected
to fill. And we've seen it kind of across the board, right,
I mean, James Harden's rebounding has come in hand some of even his post
defense at times. But back to like Tyson and Plumbly both, I am,
look, things get a little bit different if Big Zoo isn't good to
go for the playoffs. But I think for the time being, this is
one of the better or deeper sort of rotations at the five, which you
know, given some of your Western Conference matchups, could prove to be pretty
valuable, even you know, even in more limited minutes as Big Zoo returns.
But yeah, Mason Plumbley, I mean offensively love him what he you
know, he's still a rim deterrent And yeah, I mean for a guy
who's coming back from injury and immediately back into the starting lineup, I think
he looked pretty good overall. But I agree there's been inconsistencies from both of
them. I think some of them. I think it's still a work in
progress as to where they fit. But I gotta say yeah. Back to
my point, I just think that this is one of the deepest one of
Visa Zoobus returns. Gotta be the deepest rotation at the five in the West.
Yeah, and you're gonna need it if you go up against Nikola Jokics
and the Denver Nuggets and you likely will have to to get out of the
West. Clippers win in Detroit one over the pit Stints. He is will
Updyke from Clips and dip big Will Big victory for the Clippers. Once again,
Thanks for doing this tonight here on Clipperstock. Love it. Love getting
a win in the MotorCity. Let's go quit. Coming up next, we'll
preview Sundays a game in Miami. You'll hear from coach Lou and Katie Newton's
casual Corner thinks she already did some prep earlier with some questions she was asking
me. I'm Adam Oslin, this is Clippers Stock. You're on five to
seventy ELA Sports