Last time that I chet check, it was fine chains on my neck.
It was no smile on my breath, last time that I check. A
seven Clippers sweat win in New Orleans one eleven to ninety five over the Pelicans.
Welcome back into Clippers Talk. I'm in a Moslin's here on a M.
Five to seventy l a sports. We'll get back to your phone calls
at eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy eight sixty six, ninety
seven two five seventy. But first joining the show for the first time in
a good week week and a half is big Will Updyke from Clips and Dip.
We got the Clips and Double Dip going on right now on Clippers Talk.
The man who coined the nickname for the Powell Rangers death lineup is with
us. Luckily they really didn't even have to use it. Down the stretch
and this one will they led by as many as thirty one. Yeah,
it was. It was absolutely unreal. At one point in that second quarter,
I was wondering why parents man hadn't come back in yet. But the
with Norm out there, plus the starters, the Powell Rangers were just going
off and the thing I think that is so impressive about this win is this
went to me a little bit kind of showed the depth. You didn't have
like huge scoring explosions, but the Clipers put this one away. I mean
it was easily over in three quarters. And that was with not high scoring
or high efficiency games from Kawhi Leonard or James Harden. I mean, if
this game didn't get your feeling like what the ceiling of this Clippers team could
look like, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what
to tell You're not seeing the vision yet you should get that check. Some
went to Lens Crafters a while ago and have been seeing clearly with this team
with James Harden. Both of us were pretty high on them bringing in James
Harden knowing that you know Russell Westbrook as good as he is, he has
his limitations with erratic play as your number one playmaker, and James Harden just
takes care of the basketball thirteen assists, one turnover. Since they took Russ
out of the starting lineup, the Clippers have only been turning it over twelve
and a half times per game. But you know, I asked this question
a little bit earlier put it on Twitter, put it out here on Clippers
Talk. To me, this is the best regular season run in the history
of the franchise. I know Ralph Wahler is somebody who would be more adept
at answering something like this. He is the Clippers historian in some ways as
well as the great broadcaster. But the only other team I can compare it
to is the twenty twelve twenty thirteen team that won seventeen straight, and a
lot of those wins they were against some cream puff teams in there. To
me, these wins have been more impressive. Let's say you about this stretcher
in the regular season, will I this is unreal, Like this is just
a different year that we haven't seen two, one, three, And I
thought even last year there were some glimpses, but it would it would rarely
even extend the full games. You know, you might get a really good
half or or a quarter that you know, a quarter could bail two on
three out of an entire game. But now they're kind of playing that they're
on all cylinders. And I do think the hardened thing is so significant,
both of his efficiency with the ball but also just sort of fitting into the
tempo, the rhythm, the metron, almost of wherever it is this team
likes to operate. That think has been perfect and it's one of those things
that I think Russell Westbrook does really well at his own tempo. But I
don't know that it's always the best fit, but I do. I got
to mention him because I thought that he had a superb game tonight eight five
and five with two seals and two blocks. He was really, you know,
doing everything else to help things happen. And that's what I was saying
when I think that this is the best win of the season, Like we
just got really solid performances out of the entire bench, and it's one of
those things that you know, with the loss of some of the wings,
I had questions about this depth and from where I'm sitting right now, like
it's just looking really good and everything is so strong that if you know,
you even have questions about Okay, so like when does Mason Plumley fit back
in? Where does he come back in now? Because we know where he
was at free injury, and that's the perfect fit for where this team is
and where they're heading. Because I still do not think that we've seen the
ceiling yet, which is crazy to say. This has been an insane stretch
of games. Charles and I were just talking, you know that he loves
to talk about March. Clippers have a brutal schedule in which they play seventeen
games and after to night. I was thinking, it's not unfathomable to me,
It's not unstathomable. Fathomable debate if we were looking at fourteen and three,
thirteen and four, is that insane? Don't think Pet's heads are falling
off. I don't think it's insane. I don't think it's that crazy.
I think it's still true that gauntlet of the season. I mean, this
could be a top two team, a top three team for sure, but
possibly top two. No, they're they're right there now. Now. The
teams in front of them aren't exactly losing much either. Oklahoma City, while
they just lost two in a row, they still have won seven of their
last ten. The Denver Nuggets they're eight and two in their last ten,
Minnesota six and four in their last ten. Those are the teams they're chasing.
But the Clippers are one game back of the OKC thunder who they've only
seen one so far. This season, didn't have Kawhi and they would fall.
And I think that was the second game of a back to back after
the game in Dallas, so a tough one for them. But I agree
with you. I don't think they have peaked. I don't think they have
reached their ceiling. What's been impressive to me is early on with James Harden,
it was hard to keep every wanted rhythm. And now even when Kawhi
Leonard has a slow first half, he gets cooking in the third quarter,
like guys are just taking turns and still staying in the flow of the offense
and finding their quarter or their stretch of time where they take over the ball
game. Within all those moments where they're just sharing the basketball and everyone's doing
damage at once, you still see individuals pop within the game and do what
they do best and control the game. When you talk about tempo, with
James Harden, he's just controlling the game and knowing how to keep everyone involved.
It's it's such a beautiful brand of basketball, oh one hundred percent.
And I like that you bring up the great individual performances because I think one
big issue that I've had, certainly, I think a lot of Clippers fans
have had throughout the two to three eras. You know, sometimes it does
feel a little bit like, okay, your turn, my turn thing.
But with this edition of Harden, we're still getting you know, guys can
shine in their role and in their spots, and you do see these great
individual games, but it just feels so much more cohesive. The flow of
the game is just it's it's suiting sort of everybody. And I think that
like the floor has been raised so much. I mean, since the addition
of hard and Mike, you know, Viza Zubas looks like a different player.
We're starting to see Terrence Man come back into his own, which if
that trend continues, I mean, this is just a terrifying starting lineup.
But yeah, it's just it's just the most cohesive that it's ever looked.
And I that is not that those were not my thoughts coming into the season,
and I think this has exceeded my expectations all, you know, all
of a hardened trade. To be perfectly honest, A Vizza Zubas had fifteen
to eight and two blocks on six of seven shooting. I don't know if
I've talked about him enough tonight he had the left handed dunk over Joe's valanchutas
in that first quarter, he had a hook shot, a second quarter over
him, a dunk off a hardened oop, a throwdown again in the second
quarter, a bucket when they went through a drought in the third quarter with
that lineup where it was the big four again where they tried Russell Westbrook next
to James Harden, Kawhi PG and Zubots twice in this game. They tried
it and the Pelicans would go on runs. But Zoo again in the third
put them up by seventeen off a nice pass from James Harden. Just he's
unlocked the best version of Avitza Zubots, and the full potential maybe of Avitza
Zubots is still to come because he has a playmaker like James Harden. He
has his CP three. Now we love Avitza Zubots, of course, will
just talk about the play we've seen from him next to Udo. I mean,
it's been unreal. You know, we heard them talking about the chemistry.
Obviously it wasn't the smoothest to start. But Zoo has always been,
you know, a good roller, a great screen cetter. He has picking
roll chemistry to a certain degree with everybody who handles the ball, you know,
with Kawhi and Paul George certainly, but never with a never with a
guard like Harden. So you know, we knew it was gonna be a
work in progress. It's still not at a ceiling, but where it's at
right now is incredible given the amount of time. But the thing that's so
impressive to me is that, you know, we've always thought like Zoo was
capable of being a double double guy. But I think this stretch, to
me, what's been so impressive is like beyond the box scores, he just
looks like a different guy out there. I mean, I mean, he
just looks you know, we we would always get into things of how like
Zoo needs to be that needs to play like the biggest guy on the floor,
and I just think he's doing that one hundred percent now. He just
he looks different. He has a different sort of confidence, he's playing the
game with a different sort of aggression. It's it's incredible, it's incredible,
and it's uh, I think that that is just another one of those things
that like with this sort of cohesiveness or whatever that they've found. Everybody is
really shining and it's just I don't know, it just feels like a championship
team, and this team feels ready. It's like Zuza made man out there.
Finally, he's a part of being one of the stars on this team
where it's not just oh and then we have this big man starting with us
a Vita zu Bots. He's so important to what they do and is critical
and a lot of us have known this for a while, but I don't
know, there's a different or about him, a different level of confidence.
He's coming into his own. James Harden has emboldened him. It's just so
fun to watch because I've always felt like he's just this unsung hero on the
team, willing to do whatever it takes, and now he's really being rewarded
offensively for how good he is and being the backbone of their defense. Let's
talk about your guy, Norman Powell and the Powell Rangers. How did you
come up with that beautiful nickname which is going to live on for a long
time here, Will, I'm a keeper of receipts positive and negative. You
are the man for coming up with that. It's unbelievable because that is their
death lineup with Norman Powell, who, by the way, is also playing
the best, most efficient basketball of his career. Oh, unreal, unreal.
Yeah, I think I think there were a couple of nicknames floating around.
But uh, yeah, Powell, you gotta have Cower ranges in there.
Uh, they're a whole squad and it's you know, they are the
doors. The sumb is more than the parts. But no, I can't
say enough about about Norman Powell. Correct me if I'm wrong. This has
got to be the longest un This is definitely the longest uninterrupted stretch of play
he's gotten to play as a Clipper. So of course he's you know,
he's playing some of his best basketball. Of course he's like it speaks again
to this cohesiveness where he's finally had a chance, you know, even though
he's been with his team for a couple of years, to have a full
stretch. Uh and and not only him, but have the actual starters available
for you know, nearly every game. It's just there has been an embarrassment
of riches thus far this season for the Clippers. He is will Updyke of
clips and dip fame, the one with the nick names, not like it's
a friend's episode, but the the guy who's come up with a lot of
these nick names. It's it's it's awesome. Well, thanks for doing this
tonight. My throat is killing me and you help pick me up and take
a lot of the workload off my plate. But I know we got a
clips and dip YouTube. I think coming up tomorrow will preview the Lakers game
and we'll have the Big three back together to join up with this new Clippers
Big three here. Thanks for doing this tonight, will absolutely thanks for having
me. Let's go quick, quick, time out. Clippers led by as
many as thirty one over the Pelicans. They win one eleven to ninety five,
five straight victories nineteen and five over the last twenty four games since the
new starting lineup. Y'all want Terrence Man on the starting lineup? Are you
sure about that? Huh doesn't make sense to me. Terrorist Man is starting
to find a shooting stroke six for his last nine from the outside, looks
confident as well out there. Love what t Man is bringing is helping set
that tone early on. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Clippers
far from broken right now. Unbelievable. More clippers stock next year on the
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