Last time. It was the Sacramento Kings. Here at Crypto dot com Arena
Slippers, winners of five straight. It's ten of the last thirteen just coming
together. It's all happened, and madam oslind welcome back into Clippers talk.
We got a little clips in double dip action. You hear the music Will
Updyke of Courses on tonight because the Clippers won big. I think that's what's
in his contract. They can't just win. It's gotta be a big victory,
right Will, Yeah, it's gotta be a stomping And it was.
This was to me, will their most impressive front to back four quarter victory
of the season given the opponent tonight. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. To
be able to come out and dominate like that and then stick with it,
I mean really putting this game away for I mean, not a full four
quarters, but we'll give them benefit of the doubt that they could have done
it four fourth quarters. But I was really impressed by the way that they
came out on the second night of a back to back because I thought something
that they did really effectively was use a little bit of pace, be able
to kind of change things up a little bit on this Kings team and really
flip flip the script on a team that likes to use pace against the Clippers,
and when they were able to get into sets. I thought those were
some of the few times we saw some defensive breakdown, but overall, just
a great win. Kawhi Leonard. I was watching him closely when they were
up by thirty in the third quarter. He got on Norman Powell and I
think Terrence Man had some miscommunication on a play where they gave up an easy
bucket. Mind you, they are up thirty and Kawhi wasn't having it.
He demands perfection. He knows there's bigger things in play. He's looking at
the long game, long term wise. He wants this Clippers team to be
focused. And there's Jason perfection and I just love that from him. And
defensively, when he had that rip away near the end of the third quarter
that almost ended it up dunk he ended up getting fouled, went to the
free throw line. That was spurs Kawhi defense. That was just nasty.
The octopus defense where it feels like the guy is guarding you with eight arms.
Yeah, I'm not sure what like Kawhi is hitting just an insane stride
right now. And I don't know what fully is clicking, But I mean,
I know you keep having a bit where you're talking about is he okay
though? But physically he is? Like what is going on? Like I
haven't seen him at this level so early in the season, And I don't
know if it's just I think that, you know, maybe it's just the
time on court with like actual time to gel. We hear all the time
that this team just due to the schedule and and and everything, that they
don't get a lot of time to practice, that they have to work out
a lot of these things on court. Is that what we're seen here is
just it's just this extended run of play for Kwis. Does it just have
him in this form this early in the season, Like, what what are
we witnessing? Hit? Yeah, I mean it's the first time since the
twenty sixteen to twenty seventeen regular season where he's played this many games straight.
So it's kind of uncharted territory over about a six year period now. Or
maybe he's finding things out about how he feels now at the age of thirty
two playing all these games, what works, what doesn't? He's obviously caught
a rhythm. There was that adjustment period at first bringing in James Harden and
just where he fit in and how he was going to get up his usual
amount of shots. It's all come together now. But Will, what's your
level of concern with the Paul George injury. It sounds like it's best case
scenario at least where if it was a playoff game, if it was a
closer game, even during the regular season, he might have been able to
play in the second half. Yeah. I just wonder too, what the
calculation was with it. I mean, the second night of a back to
back. I think you know, level of concern is still relatively low for
me, but we'll see obviously, I mean ending the streak of his availability.
Does you know it raises an eyebrow. I don't know that it goes
to like full level sweating concern yet, but it is something to consider it.
And he did look. The think about it is too, is like
he didn't look. He looked a little out of sorts. I thought on
the court tonight as well. The last couple of games forty one minutes yesterday,
thirty seven minutes against Utah, thirty eight against Denver, thirty eight against
Golden State, thirty seven against Golden State, forty against Sacramento in the win
up North, He's been h taking a heavy burden when it comes to minutes
and up until this point, I would say tonight is the night that Kawhi
really took the torch from Paul George from being the best player to start off
this season. But over the last two weeks, I think Kawhi has been
the guy again. He's the number one option and I'm not saying there's any
issue there between those two and a pecking order. We know how Paul George
feels about it, but it's good to see that. Okay, Paul George
not quite shooting the same way he was to start off the year, but
now Kawhi hits the ignition and he starts to get it going. But somebody
else who I don't think he's gotten enough credit for how he's playing in terms
of his passing. James Harden, to me, has sacrificed shots to make
this team better by just being a facilitator out there, and I'm not sure
enough people were familiar enough with that part of his game will and just how
elite he is in that area. Oh. I mean, if you're not
familiar with that part of his game, I think you gotta pull the rock
up over top of where you're living or whatever. Because this has been like
the I feel like this is the cliche thing of the James Harden experience is
too a new team, everybody is excited and then they're like, oh wow,
he can pass, and it's like, yeah, no, that's actually
why he was an m VP. That's that's that's why, that's why those
rackets teams made Western Conference finals. That's uh why the seventy sixers were as
good as they were. That's part of the reason Joel indeed one MVP.
Yes, the man is is a very gifted passer, and I like how
much more aggressive that he's getting offensively, but within the flow of the offense,
right, He's not looking to take away from that part of his game.
He's not. He's still reading the court looking to get his teammates involved.
But we see him a lot more aggressively going to the rint. We
see him a lot more aggressively shaking off the defender, just creating more space.
And I think that that has been huge and it's allow him to be
even more games. Harden right to continue to pass that way, and and
and to set things up on ball is will Updyke fallow him at Will Updyke
on X of clips and dip fame. I think we got a YouTube coming
tomorrow, will Up against the Clock tonight. Wish we could do this for
a little bit longer, but I gotta take a break, my friend.
We'll talk to you tomorrow. All right, all righty, sound good?
Thank you? Then Clippers win one nineteen to ninety eight over the Kings here
at crypto dot com arena quick timeout'or preview Thursday night's game next right here
on Clippers Talk on m FI seven e LA Sports