Clippers lose in New Orleans to the Pelicans one twelve to one oh four,
as Zion Williamson had thirty four points made eight straight buckets at one point.
Leppers tried just about everything. Their offense really ran out of steam late as
well. Welcome back into Clippers stock. I'm in a moslem. We'll get
back to your phone calls. Eight sixty six ninety eight seven two five seventy
Morris Tage. Just hold on. First, we got Chuck maclron from Clips
and Dip. Chuck, what's the biggest warning sign to you regarding this Clippers
team right now, aside from just, you know, the losing, give
me something at a more granular level. Well, I don't know how much
granular this what I'm about to say is other than the losing, but you
and I talked about it for ninety just barely ninety seconds before I came on
here. It's the defense, right like this team had a bit of a
defensive identity for a little bit, but right now that you know, TYLERU
talked about it at the end of this game, about how Zion took over.
We've seen guys like Ant, you know, takeover against the Clippers.
There's a defensive issue right now. If guys are able to quote unquote takeover
this often against this team. And yes, we were shorthanded, Terrence was
hobbled, you know, you know all that stuff. But the Clippers got
and I'll say it, I will say it, the Clippers got good stuff
from three J. Tucker tonight and still we're not able to get a win.
He played the defense they needed and things like that. But for me,
it's got to be the defense. I think it's fair at this point
twenty games, I mean since February first, they are twenty fifth defensively over
a twenty game stretch, and I thought there were moments they played really good
defense. The first half. It was a low scoring affair. Both teams
had to earn everything. But you start to load up on Zion and was
dangerous or what makes this new Oral as Pelicans a dangerous team to me is
because they're so balanced, like they could score on the interior, but they're
also a really good three point shooting team. So when they did try to
give more attention to Zion, understandably, they also got picked apart along the
perimeter and big shots were made by the Pelicans. It's just you see guys
like Marshall and Murphy. He's become a Clippers killer. Even though CJ.
McCollum has eleven points and Brandon Ingram has thirteen, they still lose this game.
And also to me, we talk about the defense, but offensive execution
late they had four points in almost the last five minutes. The Clippers of
this one shot. Yeah, yeah, it's it's just something you know,
and it is fatigue, right, like I don't because of how the schedule
makers did the Clippers, those of us who talk about the team do have
to mention it because it is not easy to play five games in seven,
ninth or whatever. This was back to back, obviously never easy. The
Clippers are I think, what eleven and one against teams on the second hand,
but back to back. But there was tired legs you shot with this
with the shot selection. You mentioned the low scoring output towards the end of
this game, and some of the shot selection was just guys looking tired,
right, And I'm not here to blame guys for looking tired. This is
a brutal schedule, but we're not in a position where there's any real moral
victories from the Clippers right now, right like the Clippers need when it does
seem like we're on a path to play the Pelicans in the first round,
be that with home core advantage or not, is you know, yet to
be seen, but we all got to hope that it lines up. So
the Clippers do have home court advantage in this first round. They also have
another five and seven starting April fourth against the Tenver Nuggets. So yeah,
want to close out the season. Basically. The one thing that has really
set alarm bells off with me, one thing that has kind of crystallized with
me and just my thinking about how this team has been constructed in one of
their flaws, and I hope it's not a fatal one, but they don't
generate enough shots. They just they have a steady diet of jump shots.
They have two of the best ever in that area, but late in games,
who's that guy that can get to the basket and get a bucket?
They don't use aviatza zoo bots. He still only had seven shots. Coach
lu said before yesterday's game that they were gonna try to get him more opportunities.
I think he took three shots yesterday and seven today. He had at
least one easy one that he got to go on and put back on his
own miss in the fourth quarter. But Norman Powell has juice getting downhill,
but the problem is he's small and it's tough for him to finish around the
trees. Kawhi and Paul George don't attack the basket as much, certainly not
as much as they used to. Like to me, that's a real void
missing on this team right now that just gets exploited more when you see a
team like Zion on the Pelicans, just you know, being a battering ram
downhill. Yeah, the Clippers kind of go to play when they need a
bucket, right and you know, give the ball to Kawhi and clear out
let him do it thing, which we trust when it's Kauai because you know
it is Kawhi. But there isn't a set, you know, it's not
like, oh, the Clippers are running the Spain pick and roll so well
and this is our thing or something like that. It still does to like
a little bit of a wild card. We love the pick and roll with
Sue and James Harden, which has been from all of the Clippers, and
that we're going to see that spammed a lot in the playoffs, but you're
right. When that's not working and when the court shrinks from the playoffs,
sometimes you need a quote unquote easy bucket or something like that. But that's
gonna We're gonna have to rely on kind of you know, well executed set
plays, which is something we haven't seen a lot from the Clippers. Where
we have, it's been phenomenal. But I totally agree with you Harden getting
some reps and hopefully he doesn't miss too many, if not any more games
to really get this ironed out. Because we've seen this team be elite and
offense right like we've seen them do these things, they've just removed themselves from
that good process so much and have half a month from why I said I
wanted the Clippers to win ten games in March and have good process the last
two weeks, I'm pretty sure there are five and four right now with two
weeks left. So if that was, if your measuring stick was similar to
mine, we're gonna have to see some really encouraging things from these next two
weeks. One thing I will say that has been encouraging the last two games.
Paul George, he played forty one minutes. He knocked down some really
tough, just high degree of difficulty three pointers back to back shots in that
fourth quarter. There was a Jose Alvarado three right in between those. But
making tough shots again, playing within himself, but being more aggressive. He
attempted twenty one ten to twenty one, three of nine from the outside.
I mean, the last two games from Paul George, there is something there.
Looks like he is turning a corner now one hundred percent. I was
on here yesterday. You checked me a little bit because I was like,
hey, I love the efficiency, I just wish it with more shots,
and you were like, he put a twenty eight on twelve shots is pretty
good, and that was phenomenal. I would say I'm more encouraged by his
twenty one field goal attempts tonight because that is what we're going to see in
the playoffs. Kawhi, Paul George, and James Harden's field attemps are all
gonna go up. It's great to see Paul George wanting that opportunity in the
regular season right now, and he's also filled the statue in other places.
He had five boardon six sis tonight. Right, like he was doing a
little bit of everything. Defensively, you know, second game, move back
to back against a really a giant team that always gets to the problems.
He wasn't as sharp as he totally could have been. But offensively, I
think it was Jamal Christopher who said on Twitter Clippers the Power user that the
Clippers ceiling is kind of dictated by Paul George, right, Like which Paul
George, we gonna get if we get twenty one field goal attempt Paul George,
I feel a lot better about the Clippers. Yeah, and like you
mentioned, six assists, just two turnovers. They're running more pick and roll
with him, of course right now, especially because no James Harden, he
took care of the basketball over. I just his activity level the last couple
of games has looked a little bit different out there. He looked more comfortable,
looked to be in rhythm. But unfortunately the Clippers fall in New Orleans
to the Pelicans. They get back after it, back home against the Atlanta
Hawks coming up on Sunday night. In between now and then, I believe
we will have a YouTube coming up. Do we have a YouTube live coming
up tomorrow? Chuck Okay exciting stuff. Maybe I'll give away another sticker.
People seem to be after that. It's a big deal, Katie. Our
producer here is give me a dirty look like a sticker. What are you
going to give him a gold star? No, it's a sticker of the
new Clippers logo. Okay, just some respect. We need it, Katie.
Let us. Let's let us have something right now. Katie will be
able to respond a little bit here. Clippers lose tonight once twelve to one,
O four. He is Charles Mockler. Charles, we'll see on the
YouTube tomorrow. My friend absolutely go Clips