Last times fine Clippers fall late in Minnesota after their comeback comes up short.
One O nine one oh five was the final with the t Wolves. Get
in the w Welcome back into Clippers Talk. I'm out of Moslin eight six
sixty nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight seven two five
seventy. We'll get back to your phone calls. But first a little Clips
in Double Dip with Will Updyke, one of the hosts on Clips and Dip.
It's a podcast, it's also a YouTube live sometimes. Will, thanks
for doing this tonight. Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having me. Were
you encouraged, dismayed? Concerned about Zoo? Where do you come out after
a loss like this with the Clipper did kind of show a wrinkle with that
small ball lineup late that almost got him a victory. So I'll put it
like this, if you had told me before this game coming in that there
would be no Zoo, I would say, ooh, that's pretty tough game
to win. You would say, no Zoo, Harden and Paul George combined
to go nine of thirty three or whatever. I would say, that's probably
a game. The Clippers lose in an ugly fashion. So I think for
them to make that late rally, it definitely showed a lot about this Clippers
team. I also got to say, this game to me kind of said
a lot about where the Timberwolves are asked. Their defense is really solid.
I thought they did a great job, especially early, getting the Clippers out
of rhythm. But the Timberwolves team offensively has a lot of issues. The
turnovers are going to be an issue having a center who can't make free throws,
I guess unless it's clutch time, I think it's going to be massively
difficult for the Timberwolves to make a deep run with the small ball lineup.
I wasn't feeling it. I gotta be honest, I don't understand the point
of going with a small ball lineup if that lineup also can't face the floor.
I think that rusted a lot of incredible things this game. I think
some of this decision making, especially late, was a little bit questionable,
and I don't know, maybe it would look different if Zoo or I know.
I mean, if you're keeping it small, I don't. I don't
really see that as a winning formula, so you're not buying it. Even
though they took that seventeen point lead down to three points. You still think
it's a one off type thing that doesn't have a lot of meaning moving forward.
I mean, what did you think of the final possession of the game,
like what like what you know? What did you think of the like
the erroneous A couple of erroneous fouls that put Rudy Gobert back to the line
when and he finally got in a rhythm. I mean, I agree with
you. And there was something that like they were able to pick up some
momentum, and I just thought that there were I just thought there was a
lot of inconsistencies from the Clippers in this one, which makes it hard to
take away a lot. Like, like I said, overall positive, this
is an encouraging loss, but I thought some of the defensive effort at the
start of the at the start of the game and to start the second half,
I thought that that's actually really where they fell behind. I mean,
the shot making was tough. It's really hard to have, you know,
to be down a starter and then have two other starters who are you know,
massive parts of your offensive games have the games that they have, So
I think it says a lot about the Clippers that they were still in this
one, right, they were still able to almost grit one out. But
I just think their their margin of error was a little slimmer than normal,
and I didn't really think that they were putting the clamps on them, like
we know this team can do for the full to the full forty eight.
Yeah, I hear you. It's tough to say what the takeaways could be
or how some of this stuff could look moving forward. And Russ definitely had
his up and down, mixed bag type of game. I'll give them credit
though. The thirteen assists to three turnovers, we'll definitely take that. It's
just I wish I wish you would never try to lay it up again at
this point. I wish you would just dunk it because he still has the
springs. Just go up and dunk it each and every time. You might
even draw more and ones that way. What do you think, Well,
yeah, absolutely, I mean he's right there. I just I don't see
why not. And the thing is, like, look, I think that
Russ did a lot of good. I think that he does a lot of
good on this Clippers team, But those like blown opportunities at the rim,
I just don't get how that's so much of your shot diet, right,
it has been for his entire career. Yeah, if you don't, if
you still at this point somehow don't have the touch around the rim, you
better throw that thing down, buddy, Like, I don't know what else
to tell you. Yeah, And he had another miss layup where it's basically
a turnover led to a three the other way. It's just when you're when
you smoke a layup going that fast, the other team's gonna have numbers and
they seem to always capitalize in those situations. But I like the aggressiveness overall.
I like the intent at least, but just pretend everybody's ready. Gobert
like the two dunks he tried on him in this game, Yeah, that
was I love that. First. I think that it's important. I think
that it's important for this team that you know, has finally found a rhythm
and and identity. But you know what I like more than effort is result.
Yeah, and I think that we've I think that there's a decent sample
size about some of these results that we've seen throughout the season, And I
just I don't know that going small with a guy who I mean, at
least you look at the Timberwolves defense already a very strong defense, have one
guy who's essentially a non factor out there for them, You're making it too
easy. I'm sorry, like you're just you're making it too easy for the
best defense in the league already. I think them, you don't have to
make their job any easier. They're already really good. I think the more
interesting lineup to me because of Russ's deficiencies from distance, even though he did
knock down to big three pointers in the fourth if Terrence Man was next to
that four with two pin three hardened and Norman Powell, because I'm assuming you
keep Russ in because of his rebounding acumen, Well, Terrence Man brings that
too, but he also so cuts the basket, sets more screens, and
has shot it much better from the outside for his career. Like that might
have been the small ball five I would have tried, but look they had
it to within three weeks minute left. Oh sorry to jump over you.
I'm just like the terrace minutes him being sub twenty, I mean didn't necessarily
fill out the box score, but I thought he looked productive out there.
Was there anything that you saw that maybe like led to an indication of why
you think we didn't see as many minutes from him, especially late in this
one. I don't know if they just wanted to ride the hot hand because
they started making that run with Russ and he just decided to stay with that
and go small. But I thought he was chasing around Aunt early and got
that turnover when they were trying to find Anthony Edwards. I think it was
Carl Anthony Towns that threw it over his head and out of bounds. He
got into it with Rudy Gobert. I don't know if he was being a
punished for that, even though Gobert missed those free throws or what. I
think it was just you know, odd man out in this particular game.
Hopefully not too much to read into theirs Terrence Man has been. They're thirty
three and what twelve now in the last forty five games that Terrence Man has
started. That is over half a season's worth of data. Aside from the
numbers, and as you mentioned, you look at the box score, it's
not that impressive. But typically Terrence Man is always a plus. He always
ends up blending in with stars and being a really good connector out there somebody
else. I felt like, you know, we talked about him on the
podcast with Chuck Monckler yesterday and I thought, Mason Plumbley, this may be
a game for him, but I didn't know if EATSA Zubots would be out
and therefore he definitely was going to get minutes. He played sixteen, he
had eight points. They won his minutes. He was a plus three out
there. I like what we saw from Big plumb in some of those meaningful
minutes. Finally here will Yeah, I mean that was really reassuring. He
was part after that, like after a rough first quarter of getting this team
back in it, and really overall, you know, you have to like
the bench effort against against what the Timberwolves have. It goes to speak to
the depth overall. But seeing Mason Plumley where he was, I think he
finished four or five from the field really really good to see. Uh.
You know, it's such a it's such a jump from what we had seen
previously, right like strictly garbage time minutes and you know, kind of kind
of up and down. It's about what you would expect from a player coming
back from from missing so many games and just trying to slowly work his way
into game speed. So that was super That was super super reassuring, especially
because I I didn't love Tyson's game in this one, so I was glad
that we had another seventh Twitter. I guess maybe that led to some of
the small ball things as well, is you know, you have to keep
Plumbley's minutes and check Tys wasn't super effective like we you know, we have
seen him in other games. This just wasn't his backup, so I wonder
if that sort of went into that too. But having having Plumbly back and
ready for some real rotation minutes, I mean, that could be major,
especially if it's Vita Zubos cast. Thing is anything more serious than you know,
a single game or two. Yeah, I saw an update from law
Murray who joined me pregame on Clippers Countdown. Apparently the calf started to bother
Big Zoo on Friday. He tried to go, couldn't get it to work.
But it's the same one that gave him issues last February in Phoenix for
a ballgame, so it's worth monitoring. It's a little bit concerning, I
guess, uh, I mean kind of to me is always injuring. It
is always a worrysomeone, right, and you start to think of Kevin Duran
and what happened with Golden State Warriors and all that, and yeah, so
I don't mind him. Yeah it was a big game. Yeah, it
would have been a big game for Vita Zoobots. You still aren't even at
the midway point of the season, and with all the wins they have been
banking recently, I think it's okay to not push it too much with a
guy that I think he's one of their top fore most important players at worse.
To me, oh, easily, easily. And I mean, you
know, like I said, this isn't like a this isn't a bad this
isn't a bad loss. I mean, I think Minnesota has only lost two
or three times at home all season. Yeah, two times at home.
They're fifteen and two. We're hoping to see or the sixty and two now,
I guess after beating the Clippers, uh one more for you here will
How big is that game looming on Tuesday against SGA and the OKC thunder who
the Clippers have seen before, but they didn't have Kawhi Leonard obviously in Okay
See. I mean it's it's absolutely massive. I think like of these teams
that are you know, this year, having their resurgence, their you know,
their surge to the top of your Okacs and your Minnesota Timberwolve. To
me, Oka See now seems like definitely the more real of the two teams,
especially we've talked about previously, like they have all the ammunition in the
world to go out and get something else if that's something that they want to
do. That's the only bummer to me about the about the late game surge
is it kind of felt like even in that surge that we didn't quite have
enough to get over the hump. So you you know, I don't know,
it's it's a tough call, right, Like, I think it would
have been nice to maybe get the UH, get Kawhi and some of the
other guys a little bit more rest. But I understand fighting it out too
and Nail. I think that that's winning process. But this game, this
game is huge. This game is huge, and like these tests, you
know, you're not gonna you're not gonna pass one hundred percent of the time,
but you would like to see out of this UH, out of this
brutal kind of to two games. The Clippers get one out of the two,
right, like they need to make up some sort of grounds too.
I mean, if they want to ascend anymore in the in the standings,
and certainly if they want to stay passed. Uh, they you know,
they gotta keep They got to keep things going. They got to keep in
this rhythm that they've been in. I just wonder if it's a big enough
game to get big Will Updyke at Crypto on Tuesday night. I just wonder
these things I don't know, and we'll say, oh oh baby, let's
go clips and Dip crew and attendance for that one. Clippers lose tonight by
four in Minnesota to the Timberwolves. Will Updyke has been our guests here with
the little Clips and double Dip on Clippers Talk. Will, thanks for doing
this is always my friend. Absolutely thanks for having me with j Clip quick
time out here. We'll come back, get to your phone calls eight six
six nine eight seven two five seventy. We'll also hear from Coach lou postgame.
In our final segment, Clippers lose one o nine to one oh five
in Minnesota to the t Wolves, and you're listening to the Los Angeles Clippers
Audio network on the impis everyady al a Sports