Time for a postgame Look, it's your La Clippers. This is Clippers Locker
Road, brought to you by Cedars Seigners sin On, the official health partner
of the LA Clippers, and by Patschonga, official travel casino of the LA
Clippers. Breaking down today's action with the pre and post game voice. If
you're La Clippers, They're locking in every game, every night. Adam Osland,
the Clippers battled, would ultimately fall late in Denver with a final score
of one to eleven to one oho eight in favor of the Nuggets. Welcome
into your postgame show. I'm Adam Oslin, coming up on a M.
Five seventy LA Sports. We'll have Clippers talk for you. Eight six six
nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy
is the phone number. After the Clippers get outscored nineteen to nine in the
final six minutes of the ballgame and come up short. Now they have dropped
six straight, five straight. With James Harden, we're rejoined by your radio
voice of the Clippers in Carlo Jimenez. Carlo, we saw some signs of
life from this Clippers team offensively, and that starting unit as well, but
just wasn't enough. As the Denver Nuggets have Nikola jokicch the best player in
the world, and he showed up late knocking down some big free throws.
Yeah, he was big, fourteen for fourteen for the free throw line.
They continue to feed him late. He continued to go to work late,
and Adam, you feel like if you're the Clippers in twenty nine other arenas,
or I guess there's not twenty nine, but in every other arena in
the NBA against any other team, they probably come home with a win.
With the way they played today, they were active in transition, they were
active on the glass, they forced turnovers, they played with pace. But
at the end of the day, they ran into the NBA champions and Nikole
Jokic, who have been an immovable object here at home, winning their seventh
in a row to start this season. I know the message continues to be
patients and we'll figure it out. This was a huge step forward and you
feel like they're knocking on the door headed to Houston on Friday. Let's hope
they can build all of this. Because James Harden was seven to fifteen,
had twenty one points, ten of those came mostly late in that third quarter
when the Clippers started to really assert themselves. But he just looked more comfortable
and that has to be the biggest takeaway. Granted in a loss, but
you wanted to see James Harden play much better and look more comfortable, and
he certainly was that tonight. Yeah, he was fantastic. There was a
clip I saw on Twitter at a half time where he was telling bones Hieland,
I got my swagger back, and it looked that way today. Seven
for fifteen from the field, twenty one points, three for eight from the
free throw line, and he was running the offense and running it aggressively.
I mean we saw him shoot eight shots in the first quarter. That's what
head coach schron Luce said to do. Be yourself and we'll tell you if
you're doing too much. Didn't look like he was doing too much at all.
He was excellent for this Clippers team tonight. A fun one to watch
out him. A tough finish, but a lot of positive once again,
and you feel like heading into Houston, Clippers have to get it done.
That's the game where it needs to be put together. Also, how about
Terrence Man today, he was excellent on the glass, excellent as an energizer,
and a great job forcing the issue for the Clippers on the rebounding.
Four offensive rebounds from Terrence Man and all of them just seem pivotal critical offensive
rebounds. Love seeing him playing twenty eight minutes out there. Unfortunately, just
an off night from Kawhi Leonard. You brought it up. But if he
just has his average game tonight, doesn't even have to be great. The
Clippers win this one. It's that simple. Yeah, you're on it.
If Kawhi Leonard goes for his regular twenty one, the Clippers have a great
chance at coming away with a win here tonight, and you feel like that's
gonna fuel him going into the next game. But you can also take a
lot of positive way when Kawhi Leonard's fine for fourteen from the field and yet
you're in it late against this Denver team. Probably something you couldn't say pre
James hard and Trade, but his ability to add to your offense not only
shooting the ball, but passing the ball as well. With this four assists
was big time Clippers fall in Denver final score one to eleven to oneh eight.
Clippers now three to seven on this young season. They return home Friday
night to take on the Houston Rockets. Tip time for that one's at seven
thirty. We'll have Clippers campdown for you starting at six thirty. Carlo Jimenez,
great call, safe travels back to Los Angeles, my friend. Thank
you, Adam Moleson. I'll see you Friday for another in season tournament matchup.
No doubt Clippers will look to get back to their winning ways against the
Rockets on Friday. Back at Crypto dot com Arena. More Clippers postgame coming
up next though. Plus we'll have Clippers Talk at eight six six nine eight
seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy In just
a bit on AM five to seventy LA Sports. Right now, you're listening
to the Los Angeles Clippers Audio Network. They want to bring a banner with
them to the into it down. More LA Clippers basketball on the LA Clippers
Audio Network. Clippers losing Denver one eleven to oneh eight to the Nuggets.
They dropped to three and seven on the season as they have lost six straight
five straight. With James Harden show a lot of heart and hustle coming back
in this game where they were down by twelve in that third quarter. James
Harden played much better, but still not enough, as Denver was just too
big, too strong down the stretch, and they outscored the Clippers nineteen to
nine in the last six minutes in a game where Kawhi Leonard was just five
of fourteen from the field, just struggling with his shot. Right now,
let's get to some second half highlights though for you, Clippers were down sixty
to fifty two at the half. In the third, it was James Harden
really finding himself into the right corner, leaves it off for Harden, step
back three in the air, rattles home, James Harden, fear the pier
Clippers with it left to right. Here's James Harden into the front court.
Trailing by two, one minute left in the third quarter, Harden in and
out. Jubbel drives down the left side of the lane and gets it off
the glass and in Harden lets it roll into the front court. Nine third
quarter points were him step back three pointer, bulls eye, James Harden loll
nylon. Yeah, we had some connection issues, but James Garden in that
third quarter ten of his twenty one points. He was fantastic getting the Clippers
back into this one. It was tied heading into the fourth at eighty four.
Al and Paul George, who led them with thirty five, continue to
cook. In that fourth. Here comes George right handed, lamp through traffic
and in Paul George with twenty five. Paul George bounced past to him on
the right block, pulls the ball off the left tip eight to shoot.
Working against Kentavious Conwell. Pope takes a baseline, fades and fires and hits
George wit twenty seven. George has been the assassin all night. Down the
right alley to the ram right in it, lamp up and in Paul George
with twenty nine. He's on fire. At the top weest Brook looks,
finds George of the left flock one on one with Conavious Conwall. Pope pulls
up from fifteen bottoms Paul George stuck on automatic thirty one for PG. Thirteen.
Yoki the inbound holds it at the hip, finds Jackson back to Yoki,
shriveles up on your timeline. George Tay has taken away Leonard's the steel
He's got at the top George left wing, seventeen seconds left, zero step
right handed, lamp up and end Paul George with twelve of his thirty five
in that fourth quarter, But with the Clippers up by seven at ninety nine
to ninety two with six' oh one left, from then on, Denver
would outscore them nineteen to nine, and they go on to win one eleven
to one oh eight. Coming up your final box score, and on M
five seventy LA Sports, we'll have Clippers talk for you. Eight six six
nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six, nine eight seven two five
seventy is the phone number. Clippers trying to get out of this funk and
break a six game losing streak. Now they'll be back home taking on the
Houston Rockets Friday night. More Clippers postgame locker room show coming up next right
here on the Los Angeles Clippers Audio Network loading Clippers fully loaded with Clippers fans.
This is LA Clippers basketball. You're listening to the LA Clippers on the
LA Clippers Audio Network. Well, how do you lose a ball game?
When you shoot forty five percent from three? You get beat up on the
interior? Denver had fifty eight points on the paint, the Clippers just thirty
four, and Denver controlled the glass at the end as the Clippers went small
against Nikol Jokic and they fall one eleven to oneh eight in Denver. Saw
some positives, saw some good things, but ultimately six straight losses for the
Clippers. They're three and seven on the season. They've dropped all five ball
games so far. With James Harden, he finished with twenty one on seven
to fifteen shooting, had all twenty one of those points through the first three
quarters as he came alive at the end of the third. Paul George with
thirty five thirteen to twenty six shooting four of eleven, missed that three pointer
though we had a weggie and a jump ball to end things with Jokic and
Zubots Big Zoo only playing those last ten seconds of the fourth quarter. I
know that will be a talking point coming up on Clippers Talk. Eight sixty
six nine eight seven two seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy
is the phone number outside of Los Angeles. We are leaving you until Friday
night, when the Clippers try to get back to their winning ways. They're
back home, taking on and up start surprising Houston Rockets. Team tip time
at seven thirty pregame at six thirty outside of Los Angeles. We'll talk to
you then in LA. It's Clippers Talk next. This has been LA Clippers
basketball really good on multitude of levels. Don't miss a moment. All cease
and longs and long on their official home. Join us next time on the
LA Clippers Audio Network. Hello Clippers fans, if you're gonna go for it,
if that's what you want to do, you do. Welcome the Clippers
Talk. Your first chance to react to all the action of Clippers basketball.
Do it to hear every episode. Subscribe to Clippers Talk on iHeartRadio or wherever
you podcast Diperation on Henry right Now your host on your home for the Clippers.
They were in attack mode. Adam Astley Clippers were up by seven with
six minutes left on the fourth quarter, just to get out scored nineteen to
nine the final six minutes of the ballgame. And now they have dropped six
straight, five straight with James Harden as they lose to the Denver Nuggets in
Denver one eleven to one eight. Welcome into Clippers stock eight six six nine
eight seven two five seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is
the phone number. We'll get to all your calls tonight, even people who
just call and then don't want to talk, and Katie tries to put them
on hold, but they don't say anything. It's like they have to get
on right away or they're not gonna hold for two seconds. Maybe a prank
caller. Do I deserve it? I don't know. Clippers drop six straight,
and while you can say there were some silver linings in this one,
there were a lot of positives. James Harden had twenty one by far was
the most comfortable. He is looking at the Clippers' uniform and you can say,
Kawhi Leonard was just five or fourteen. How often does that happen?
He has his usual game. Clippers win this one, but you got to
understand something. Nikola Jokic also was off. He was eight for twenty three
the reigning finals MVP still finished with thirty two, sixteen and nine, but
eight for twenty three. It wasn't exactly lighting it up. And I like
the way the Clippers played him. They threw Kawhi at him. Paul George,
PJ. Tucker, Terron's man kitchen sink approach beats the Zubots early on.
But I know one of the big subjects coming out of this ballgame is
why the Clippers go small for so long in that fourth quarter. Big Zoo
didn't come back in until the very end for that jump ball situation where he
was out there on the court for rebounding purposes on free throws after Paul George
missed a three pointer that would have tied it was a wedgie. Paul George
had thirty five and went four of eleven from the outside, just got stuck
in between the rim and the backboard. There was a jump ball between Yokich
and a Beata Zubats and Denver would end up winning it and winning the ball
game. In the game where Reggie Jackson would get a little revenge on the
Clippers seven of eleven from the field, eighteen points, four assists, and
blue pass Terrence Man on the perimeter for a big lay up. Late Clippers
offense failed them in some ways late their defense and rebounding just because they're so
small out there. I'm not faulting the effort whatsoever. The guys who were
out there played so hard late. It's just tough when you're throwing three guys
at you that are small, So try to slow him down even if he
misses, which he was. Well, who's gonna be there to box out
the guys whose defenders left them to help guard Jokic. So if it's not
one thing, it's another. Right now, Clippers just can't get over the
hump. I like the fight, I like the heart. I like Paul
George being that aggressive. I love seeing James Harden be much more aggressive.
There was a point I was getting a little frustrated myself after the first quarter
where he had a quick nine points that in that second quarter he went about
I want to say, four minutes without putting a shot up, and it
carried over into the third quarter. So ultimately I want to say he went
about eight in game minutes without taking a shot, and I was saying,
he's deferring again. He has to be more aggressive. Don't worry about stepping
on anyone's toes, Harden, and then he caught fire to end that third
quarter. He had a three pointer, he got to the basket for a
layup off the glass, and the Clippers outscored the Denver Nuggets in that third
quarter thirty two to twenty four, after being down by twelve, and they
were tied heading into the fourth, and James Harden was a huge part of
that. He had the step back three to end the quarter. The only
problem was Aaron Gordon responded and hit a thirty two footer as the buzzer went
off to end the third period. You could say that's the difference in the
ballgame. Clippers lost by three, he hits a thirty two footer and he
has absolutely torched the Clippers since he came to Denver. Gordon finished with twenty
but effort plays, hustle plays. Remember they didn't have Jamal Murray tonight.
So as the Clippers are still trying to figure things out. Sure, Okay,
that's fair they are. It's also fair to point out Denver was missing
their second best player and they're still just a well oiled machine. They hit
big shots, they played championship basketball late, and they outscored the Clippers nineteen
to nine in the last six minutes. Kawhi had some good looks and missed
a lot of them. Now, I do think Aaron Gordon is probably the
best defender in the league on him. I've been telling people this for a
while. He's become extremely underrated with his defense and the little things he's been
doing for the Denver Nuggets as the third or fourth option. He's their hustle
guy, and he's doing the little gritty things, making winning plays and guarding
your best player. Kawhi in thirty eight minutes, five or fourteen, fifteen
points and he was the one that hit that jumper and it was over brawn.
I want to say it was really a double team, but you could
tell Kawhi wanted it bad because he put a little fist pump out there.
He knew he'd been struggling. Now, credit Kawhi forgetting the hustle steal late
that could have won the game for the Clippers. If your offense isn't there,
you gotta try and find other ways to win. Kawhi was battling,
he was playing big. He had five steals. Incredible, but I thought
of each the Zubats had the best game so far of his season. Even
though he went two for eight, I don't even care. He missed a
couple of bunnies in the first core and then started to really find his sea
legs, but defensively and the way he cleaned the glass thirteen boards, seven
offensive rebounds in twenty six minutes. He and Terrence Man did work on the
boards. Terrence Man and a Visa Zubats combined for eleven of their fourteen offensive
rebounds. That's what's tough. They out rebounded to Denver forty two to thirty
six, fourteen to six when it came to offensive rebounds, and they ended
up getting thirteen more shots up because the Clippers only had ten turnovers to fourteen
for the Nuggets and then lost. Still, they didn't shoot it well enough
from two. They shot it great from three. They shot better from three
than from two tonight and lost. It's gonna happen when you take naturally more
two pointers. But it's a frustrating one because you thought if they got this
win, what it would do for them. I mean, PJ. Tucker
came through with some clutch threes. I told you if you follow me at
follow out of May on X. PJ. Tucker has been one of my
favorite players, and when they got him, I said, oh, I
think the Clippers are onto something. There is no Nikola Jokic stopper doesn't exist.
Maybe David Robinson in the nineties or a Keem somebody like that would have
done better against him. He doesn't see as many bigs today. But I
pulled video and put it at follow out of may on X on Twitter A
PJ. Tuckerdeing him up last season with James Harden in Philadelphia, and he
caused a few problems for Jokic here and there, and I love the way
they switched it up, changed levels, gave jokicch different looks. It's not
a fluke that he went eight of twenty three. They did frustrate him some.
To lose a game where he's eight of twenty three is most frustrating.
Though. If you're a Clipper fan, you got the poor performance from Jokics.
You got the hustle, the heart, the energy, the effort that
the Clippers needed on the boards defensively, and he's still lost by three.
Now, you can make the argument they're not running on all cylinders, but
this was a game within reach up seven with six minutes left and they lose
one to eleven to one oh eight. Well, we have a moment.
Let's pause ten seconds for station identification here on five to seventy LA Sports.
This is LA Clippers Basketball, AM five, seventy KLAC Los Angeles, ninety
eight seven KYSR HD two Los Angeles and iHeartRadio station. I know of eats
A Zubots, I want to say, picked up three of his four fouls
on that third quarter and the Denver Nuggets were starting to feast at the free
throw line. They attempted thirty two, but I was a little bit surprised
he didn't come in sooner later in the game as the Clippers were scrambling defensively
to throw multiple bodies at Jokic, which leaves other guys wide open. And
I feel like a Visa Zubats, he does about as good of a job
as you could ask for against Jokic at times two he gets up for these
games the Baltic players a Visa Zubats. Remember, I don't know if it
was last season or the season before, as I'm trying to digest this one,
but he had that thirty two point his career high game against Jokich.
Jokic had forty in the Clippers loss, but he was going toe to toe
with him for a little bit, and I thought he played well. But
doesn't come back in late Clippers stayed small. There's logic to it. That's
what got him back into the game. PJ. Tucker played well. I
like a lot of the moves coach Lou made. When the game starts to
slow down, you put Harden in there over Russ. Late. Love Russ.
He had his moments, but just four of twelve shooting. Was making
effort plays six boards, three assists, two steals. But as the game
gets slowed down, more methodical late in the ball game, Yeah, I
like that move. Having James Harden in didn't work out. He missed a
layup late. Just could be him knocking off the rust. Just kissed a
little too hard off the glass and the Clippers were right there. But it
doesn't matter in the loss column. It's a l all the same. They
have lost six straight, eight five straight with James harden to start things off,
Let's go with Tajus and Walnut. Taj just here on clipperstock without a
Mason. What's up, hey, Adam? You know it's it was an
encouraging loss. I know it's our six to one in a row, but
it's aw some good things. Finally, it felt like and a little bit
more. You know that they had a little bit more rhythm to their offense.
Hey, if they had played like this against the Grizzlies, they win
that game. If they had played like this against Brooklyn, they win that
game. Unfortunately, they played their best game against the Denver Nuggets. It's
a good thing in some ways they rose to the occasion. They were down
twelve. It looked like they were just gonna be in an uphill battle the
entire time. But it's all the much more disappointing when you're up by seven
with six minutes left and can't find a way to pull it out. Yeah,
I agree, Before I make a couple of points, Adam, did
you see like in the third quarter it felt like Zubuck was just getting terrible
calls when he was Yokich where Jokic would just turn and kind of like hook
his arm and then jump into him. It happened a few times, and
there were some tough calls in this game, not just with Big Zoo,
but also Norman Powell guarding Reggie Jackson where they're like holding hands. It was
awkward, it was weird. They didn't get a great whistle, But I'm
not gonna blame it on that. No, I just yeah, there's just
a few Uh. I just remember that third quarter and it felt like Zoo
got a little deflated and they had to pull him for that. Yeah.
Yeah, And then I liked the aggressiveness Paul George and and uh, it
just seemed like I wish that when Harden came back in the game, he
was utilized a little bit more where he was kind of creating. But it
felt like since Paul George had the hot hand, they were letting him go.
But towards the end, it felt like they were settling from the perimeter,
and I would have liked to see Harden kind of created and then like
Paul George of Kawhi on the receiving end of the passes or Hardened take it
to the rim, because he actually was getting to the rim, he just
missed a few layups and that would have changed the game as well. I
just think that, you know, we ended up settling for those long outside
shots and it was kind of like, you know, he was in rhythm
and he went with it. But I definitely think that's why you bring Hardened
in to create those easy shots for especially for Harden. And I mean for
PG and Kawi. And lastly, I love Terrence Mann's activity, but I
felt like there were a handful of times where he was wide open by the
three point line and he just was looking to pass. I would like to
see him a little bit more aggressive when he has a wide open three.
He's a good shooter just to you know, shoot it. Yeah, that's
what I saw from the game. Adam, all right, Tay, just
appreciate the phone call. I agree with you. He's a thirty eight three
point shooter for his career. It it's all part of guys being worried about
stepping on each other's toes. You're out there with four Hall of Famers or
three, depending on who's out there, might make you think more about taking
that three point shot. But Terrence Man just has to show that confidence that
game six down twenty five against you, the Utah Jazz type of confidence he
does. He's too good to only take one shot. I applaud him because
he doesn't care and he's out there playing in some ways like Aaron Gordon and
I mentioned him doing all the little things for the Denver Nuggets, but he
also does a lot more for you offensively. Eight to twelve twenty points,
but Terrence Man five assists to just one turnover, six boards, but four
of them offensive rebounds. Like, they have no shot in this game without
Terrence Man. And it could just be he's not that comfortable yet because he
hasn't been in rhythm. He hasn't taken that many shots since he returned.
I want to say this was just game three for him. Back, let's
go to Brad and mission via Brad, you're on Clippers sock without a mazen.
Hey, thanks for taking my call. Yeah, Reddy Jackson, right,
he's a Clipper for about three years, and he was a difference maker
for them a little bit. I was wondering the Clippers didn't they could use
a few more wings, right, you know, like forwards, Well,
they traded all of them. They traded Marcus, they traded Roco, they
traded Nicholas Batoom And yeah, there is a dearth of wings right now on
this Clippers team. Right. And and the thing also was that you know
that that Shotty made it the third quarter, right, You're right, that
was the different in the game, because Ady, all it would have been
the Clippers would have been have been up by three. I hate you know
what, though, Brad, I did bring it up like that, But
I hate myself for bringing it up like that and approaching it like that,
because the truth is, everything plays out differently if it's not a tie game
there, So you can't say for certain and just tack on those three points
at the end and say, see, that's that's the difference in the ball
game. No, because if the score is different, you're playing different.
So it's there's a butterfly effect there. It's not necessarily just oh, that
shot from Aaron Gordon. Otherwise you could say any three pointer or earlier in
the game also was the difference. Right, that's cried. Yeah, Suster
didn't go in. I think they'll get Kawhi will get more of those mid
rated jumpers going again like he always does. Yeah, I agree. Kawhi
Leonard off night five or fourteen, and I'm looking to see what he was
in the fourth quarter. Kawhi missed three shots in the fourth quarter on Sunday
against the Memphis Grizzlies, and he ended up one for three in the fourth
quarter tonight, so it's not like he took a lot, but shots he
typically makes, they were there for him. Love the hust on that steal.
Though in a Jokics pass to Reggie Jackson, you don't often see Jokics
pass intercepted like that. Kawhi is more than just a score out there.
Appreciate the phone call, Brad. Let's go to Kyle in La. Kyle,
you're on Clippers stock without Maas and what's up? Hey man? How's
it going at him? First of all, I'm with you on Tucker,
all right, the guy is a dog. There isn't a player in this
league that wants to see him defensively. I just I don't care if he's
thirty nine. I love that we have him. He showed a lot of
heart tonight. I think, honestly, like a lot of our guys showed
a ton of heart tonight. Loved what they were doing, even Zoo,
who have been pretty damn hard on lately. To be honest with you,
but I thought this was his best game of the season for Big Zoo.
Even though he went two for eight from the field, he missed him easy
ones early. I don't even care. Thirteen boards, seven offensive rebounds,
Oh yeah, I saw him. I saw him hustling, I saw his
heart. He made some really nice also out of the short role. Yeah,
yeah, I mean as far as what our guys did, I was
super happy today for the first time in a couple of games. The thing
which I think I'm kind of precios to chuire on is the lack of identity
which we all suffered through last season. Yep. And what to me,
the starting lineup still says about that. And to me, my issue is
the motivation behind that decision, like why are you part in RUSS together?
You are some egos and if you're serving some egos, that means that these
guys were not having conversations, but we hope they were backdoor and talking about
what this thing was going to look like. And that's the thing that still
I can't it's still you know, I'm unsettled about it. We still don't
believe Kyle. I'm confused by it too. When you're saying we want to
split them up as much as possible, but they're also in the starting backcourt
together, it just seemed like a little bit of a mixed message. Now
it could just be the only way to get both of them to over thirty
minutes a night is likely to start them. It would be hard not to
if you're not getting that first stint out there now. Russe only played twenty
four and I commend coach lou for taking them out about midway through the fourth
quarter. I don't think that's what did the Clippers in whatsoever. I think
when the game slows down, that's not when Russ is at his best at
all. Yeah, and I'm totally with you, and you've said many times
the starting lineup is not that big of a deal. But I will say,
when you're setting an identity and you're setting a tone for your team,
the starting lineup does mean a little something. That's fair, and it's just
what I'm seeing here. Yet I'm just not seeing them looking ahead. I'm
seeing you know. I feel like we all kind of assume they all talk
to each other, you know what I mean, Like they all had a
conversation at some point and said how this is going to go? Because let
me ask you this one last thing, how would this have gone if he
had just gone up to him, if Ty had just gone up to James
right at the beginning, said we are so happy you're here. But Russ
earned it. So he's going to start for us, and you are going
to run the second unit, and you are going to be James Harden.
We want you to be exactly who you are. Could he be who he
is if he's not starting, though, it seems like an even if it
doesn't work. Even if it doesn't work, though, then in a couple
this ten or fifteen game thing that he's trying to do, then you say,
look, Russ, we tried. James is the better basketball player.
We need him in the starting unit. But right now, what he's done
is he's put both of them in a situation where one of them has to
be the loser. This is not healthy for our team. In my opinion,
I understand the point. I think the first mistake was saying James is
going to play off ball. Russ is going to have the ball in his
hands, because obviously he can't play off ball. That's not his strength.
So to get more out of Russell Westbrook, he's got to have the ball
in his hands. But the truth is he's the second best playmaker on the
team. James Harden is the better playmaker, and he's not even getting started
yet with some of the stuff that he can do. I saw a few
different pick and rolls that should have been executed, and it wasn't on James
Harden. It wasn't on James Harden. He had guys set up and ready.
Well, I think James Harden's great. I'm sorry to in rug you.
I think James Harden's great. I am I think that what's happening here
is TYLERU wants so badly to start James Harden, but unfortunately they had a
conversation with Russ. Because Russ earned it, and he earned his starting job
and he gave us a well I forgot his contracts, like four million dollars,
some crazy contract. He earned this right. And so now Tyler's trying
to figure out how do I juggle? It's how do I juggle? If
he's doing the same sheets, that's sorry, doing the same stuff he did
with Marcus Morris last year. I need to show you for six weeks that
you're not working. No, you don't. You're the head coach. Here's
what I'll say, Kyle. If guys are willing to sacrifice, it has
to be more than just saying that word sacrifice. It has to be actions
out there. And look, maybe the starting lineup is the correct configuration and
we're all wrong and coach Lou knows, or maybe it is just going to
take time and eventually, with seventy two games left, there will be changes
in the starting lineup. But I appreciate the phone call, Kyle. You're
a smart listener, great analysis there. I trust Coach Lou. I also
see things sometimes that make me scratch my head too. I have to give
you my opinion on what I saw tonight. I can't just because I haven't
even heard from Coach Lou yet. Well here from a postgame. We're looking
for that audio. But I gotta give you my opinion on these things.
And I find the starting lineup a little bit conflicting. They said pregame,
well, on made shots, we're gonna get the ball in James Harden's hands
after a make, but off of miss anybody who gets it, bringing up
the court so that way they can still play fast. But they originally said
he's gonna play off ball. Then they said James Harden's going to the team's
gonna play through James Harden. It just seems like we can't get on the
same page. But there was progress tonight. I thought it was better overall,
and I think the highest ceiling with this team is James Harden being the
third best player, the third option. Some of those layups that he missed,
and he made some too, but that one he missed about two thirty
left that would have put him up by four. I think those will start
going in once he gets his timing and rhythm back. Before we take a
break here, Carlos and Southgate. Carlos, you're on Clipper stock with that.
Amlson. Hey, how you doing, Carlos? What's up? Hey?
No much? How you doing? You know what? I was just
wondering. I did not like the like like the last five minutes of the
game they lost. No, it's just it's just no, It's just that,
you know what. I just felt like he should have brought in Tubac
and he should have just brought him in, you know what I'm saying.
I felt like this was Sueboch's best game of the season, and he could
have banging bodies with Joker with the Joker because the Joker was actually killing us.
And that's how they make the comeback. You know, one day,
if you look at the last six minutes of the game, that's exactly how
they made a comeback. They missed a lot of shots but then they also
had these bigger guys getting all the offensive rebounds, and I was thinking,
where's where's subacat And he never brought it me in the game. I don't
know, maybe it's just maybe I was just it's just my opinion. I
just felt like he should have just brought it in. No, I was
wondering about that too. I thought Zoo had his best game of the season,
and while the small ball got you back into it, I could see,
just like I'm saying with bringing in James Harden for Russ, once the
game slows down late in the fourth quarter, I could also say, yeah,
the game slows down, put into Viatza Zubots. That would make sense
to me too. I'm trying to see how many offensive rebounds the Denver Nuggets
ended up with in that fourth quarter, and I believe it ended up being
three. They had three at the end of the third quarter total, and
they had three offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, so alone second chance
points, they ended up going four to six with thirteen second chance points.
Clippers were just four of twelve for their thirteen second chance points. But Carlos,
it's a good point, Uh, I'm interested to hear from coach lou
I'm sure he was asked about that post game heavy As the head that wears
the crown, it's not easy when you have to make all these decisions and
the guys who got you back into it, you can make the argument,
yeah, we're gonna ride with them. They got us into this. It
was trading defense and rebounding for offense. It was working until it didn't late.
And yeah, we'll look for that postgame audio. We'll get back to
your phone calls. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy, Marvin
Roman, Sean Morris will get to you all. Eight six six nine eight
seven two five seventy. Clippers have lost six straight, five straight with James
Harden. This is like a roar shack test tonight. Is it just a
loss to you all the same or do you see any progress? Do you
see them getting closer to clicking in offensively with James Harden. I'm Adam Oslin
and this is Clippers stock here on M five to seven e LA Sports.
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fans, this is LA Clippers basketball. You're listening to the LA Clippers on
the LA Clippers Audio Network. Clippers fall one eleven to one oh eight in
Denver to the Nuggets. Make it six straight losses, five straight with James
Harden do you see positives? Do you see them turning the corner or do
you just say, hey, it's another loss? Was a matter. I
personally feel like you can learn things in losses that eventually lead to wins later
on. I think that's a fact. You can also have wins where you
develop bad habits that lead to losses later on. I thought, for the
most part tonight the Clippers played the way they need to and are getting closer
to running on all cylinders with James Harden. But the wins do need to
come when you're three to seven. Next game coming up for them Friday night
at home against a Rockets team that has taken off to start off this season.
Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy eight sixty six nine eight
seven two five seventy is the phone number. So I'm looking at the final
game log and how many of those offensive rebounds late were consequential that led to
putbacks. Aaron Gordon had won off a Jokic miss a big I don't get
three forty seven mark to bring the Nuggets within one, and then Jokich also
missed a layup, got the offensive rebound, got to go to tie the
game at one oh two at the two to twenty five mark of the fourth
quarter. So two pretty big, significant offensive rebounds where Zubats isn't out there,
And I'm not saying it's an easy decision, but I do think it's
a storyline tonight, and we're talking about because Zubats hasn't been trusted late in
games for years and I haven't really understood it, and I thought he was
having a really good game. I know he had those three fouls in the
third, but he was at four. You could bring him in late.
And I thought with his seven offensive rebounds, his thirteen boards overall, his
presence and impact was felt tonight. But just played about ten seconds in the
fourth quarter and was involved in that jump ball that eventually led to the three
point win for the Denver Nuggets. All right, let's go to Roman in
Santa Clarita. Roman, you're on Clipper stock without a MAS and what's up?
How you doing? I just I called a couple of weeks ago.
I'm a lifetime Lakers fan, but I've been watching you guys and you know,
like evaluating your team because I think you guys have made some good moves.
Definitely, James Harden, I think we'll bring you. Know, everybody's
bringing up James Harden. Does he start? Does he does he go to
the second unit? But I think your offense has to go through James Harden.
That's the reason you got him. Things weren't things weren't clicking the other
way. And you know, being a Lakers fan and having Russell Westbrook on
the Lakers at one time, you know you've seen that that he does have
to have the ball. But he offers a whole lot more than just his
scoring. I mean, he's a triple he was a triple double machine.
He can rebound, he can do other things that will help you guys not
having to just run the offense through him. I agree with that, but
Roman, let me point this out. In the starting lineup, having two
non shooters out there with Zubots in Westbrook can be problematic. And that's why
they do say at least, and we'll hear the audio a little bit,
they're trying to split them up. You just can't have that many non shooters
on the floor in today's ballgame. And when the Clippers open things up,
it was because the spacing on the floor in the second half, and that's
what I'm sure coach Lou saw with a Viza Zubots off the court when they
made their run. It was because the spacing was wide open. And that's
how you can get James Harden to operate better. That's how you get Paul
George going off like this. That's how you would have hoped Kawhi Leonard could
have found his shot. So it's not as simple. There's always a trade
off with big men when you have bigs out there like a Vita Zubots who's
not a shooter. When you have Russell Westbrook out there who's not a shooter,
they're not being guarded the same way. Guys just sag off of them
and it clogs up the paint and it creates problems for your offense. So
you could say, well, why wasn't a big out there you get those
rebounds. Well, if he is out there, your offense could be uh
congested on the other end. So there's always a trade off there unless you
can shoot everything. Having a down game, Yolkic having a down game wasn't
just because he was having bats. You know, you said they played excellent
defense on him. They did, and in the in the you know,
I would even say, because he's a throwback type center, you have to
go the way the throwbacks back in the nineties, back in the you know,
early two thousands, where you have a big body like Zubak in there
and allow him you know, three fouls. Oh well in the fourth quarter,
let him go in there. If he gets picks up a couple more
fouls, that's fine, you know, but get a body in there on
him and a lot like you said, those two rebounds that they scored,
that can turn into six points, that can turn into nine points, and
we can't we can't allow that. You gotta you gotta allow somebody to be
in there. They turned into four points in a game where they lost by
three offensive and that's and that's the difference. And PJ. Tucker did amazing.
He's an amazing defender. Man did amazing. I Kawhi was all hustled
tonight, so I think he had an excellent game even though he wasn't shooting.
Paul George did what he was supposed to. And I think you're right
about James Harden. They have to give him the opportunity to just take those
shots and say, you know what, where you're looking for something, nothing's
open. Take control and take those shots. Because if Russell Westbrook's not on
the floor, then there's no there's no h you know, there's no conflict
there the other if the big guys are not open or they're having an off
night, then take your shot, because that's that's when he starts get going.
Everybody starts get starts to get going on every team he's ever been on.
Yeah, and Clipper Nation is not going to like this. But Denver
ended up shooting eleven free throws in that fourth quarter they got they got to
the line. So to your point of hey, zoobots picks up a few
fouls, he was at four, even if he fouls out, even if
he can't defend without fouling. Well, they weren't doing so anyways, So
what is the matter. So put them in there, get the body on
them, give yourself a chance to get some of those defensive rebounds that they're
turning into offensive rebounds, and you know, turn turn those into you know,
turn those into your scoring opportunities instead of just giving them the fouls to
shoot, you know, shoot shots, eleven shots, you know, two
turnovers to turn into points. I mean, you're easily fifteen points down right
there, just based on that Roman. You know what I always say with
you, right, you know what I always say with you. You're my
favorite Laker fan. Thank you. I appreciate it. I like calling this
show because, you know, like I like to give us a fresh perspective
because I do, you know, I'm a ram Sam, but I like
the Chargers because I want them to do well. I'm a Laker fan,
but I also like the Clippers because I want them to do well. You
know what I mean, LA good for the city. Yeah, I'm an
LA fan. I'm a Dodger fan lifetime. I'm not an Angels fan.
Sorry, that's where you draw the line. Huh. Yeah, I draw
the line on the Angels and anything south of us. So all right,
Roman, well let's do it again on Friday. Okay, I appreciate the
phone call. Yeah, definitely. Clippers fall eleven to one eight in Denver
to the Nuggets. Here's the point. I think I tweeted it out at
the time, get Zoobots back in there. But when Russ comes out,
so there's a shooter off the floor, or excuse me, a non shooter
who's off the floor, so you can afford to have one non shooter on
and that could have been a Visa Zoo bots. I just wanted to see
Big Zoo at the end close out the ball game next to Kawhi PG Terrence
Man. Yeah, I think that's what I wanted to see. Let's go
to Kyle. Ah, I already went to Kyle. David Encino, Dave,
what's up Aaron clippersock? Alright, Adam, thanks for taking my call,
and yeah, I wish we could have finished that game. They were
up for a little while and then just gonna finish it out. But I
also gotta say thanks for I was on the listen on the radio and I
got to hear your call of the game. That was pretty cool at that
time. Didn't expect that to happen tonight, but we had some technical difficulties,
so I had to jump in for a second. Hey, it was
a great call. It was a great call, but yeah, they were
up by seven there and then we just kind of couldn't finish it at the
end. But it was Yeah, you have to say there were some good
highlights tonight, but they could finish that off, and hey, they could
be seven and three instead of three and seven right now. Yeah, but
they're three and seven and we got to deal with the reality of that.
Now. Do I think ultimately they're a team that has the talent that should
be four games under five hundred. No, They're going through a transitional phase
trying to integrate a huge piece they didn't have with them in the preseason range
training camp in James Harden, and there were bound to be growing paints.
They have to figure this out because their highest ceiling is with James Harden.
This isn't something where oh, just get rid of him then just go back
to playing Russell Westbrook. No, pretty sure. James Harden is the guy
that you want next to PG and Kawhi in playoff games because of his passing
ability. I think he can help unlock two, one, three and get
the most out of them because les will be asked of them. And when
James Harden has that dynamic going, when he's aggressive like he was in that
area much better tonight, it makes the defense have to make a decision,
Oh, is this guy going to be a passer right now or is he
looking to score? And that's why he blows by guys even though he has
lost a step. He's thirty four, But he had layups that were right
there. And it's because of that pick and roll where I saw him with
a Viza Zubots just using him as the decoy. He never passed it over
to him and instead dove down the left alley for a layup. That's what
you want to see, So flashes and there was a ton of heart and
I don't fault the effort at all tonight. And maybe if this was two
weeks from now, the Clippers would have built up enough continuity to beat Denver
who knows, But they also didn't have Jamal Murray. You got to take
that into account. Dave. Appreciate the phone call. Oh boy, Sean
and Inglewood Sean, you're on Clippers sack without a Mausen. Hey, Adam,
I want to say that I listened to Big Perkins on the ESPN.
I listened to Scheck, I listened to Kenny, I listened to Berkley.
God help us, I listened to Reggie Miller. Every person and watched the
game said the same thing I've been saying for a long time. They're too
small and they're playing too slow, and so basically that's why I want Russ
to start to get them going fast no matter what. And then Harden comes
in with this second unit and just goes full out Harden whatever he does,
and then he builds his momentum. Then from there, okay, now you
get hardened into his game. So now you can come back with the first
unit whatever. But Russ has to start to get them going and or else
you won't have a Rust for the rest of the game. Rust is gonna
mess with his head Secondly, the shortest, one of the shortest players that
ever played the NBA loves small ball, and I've been pointing that out for
a last couple of years, and everybody changed the same thing that I said,
even all the announcers, that Zubac should have been in the game,
because if Zubac was in the game, then the Joker would have been out
there shooting from distance instead of trying to back him down. And guess what,
he wasn't hitting his shot tonight. He really wasn't, so he was
credit the guys who were guarding him late and making him miss those shots.
Though too, I take your point. I do think the Clippers smalls who
were on him, it was impressive the amount of energy they expended guarding Nikola
Jokic. I tip my cap to those guys. I agree. I think
ultimately a beata Zubots. Once Russ was out of the game, I would
have brought Big Zoo in. I don't care who was in the game.
I just needed Zoo to play some defense. Well, when Yoker came back
in, they went seventeen to five in points. It was ridiculous, and
he just not only were they backing down the other guys that that was trying
to stick Joker. Then nobody was paying attention to the back cutter. Will
just come in and got it. They got three or four dunks in that
fourth quarter off the cutter going to the rim. So it happened because of
all the attention that went Joker's way. I agree with you there, right,
And so the instinct of that smaller guy is, oh, I have
to go do this. I can't like defend the basket. And so hey,
these guys, I'm cutting to the basket because there's nobody there I can
stick me. I'm just gonna slammed up. So it's a disfunctional thing to
have. Everybody's saying, not just me, they're too short, okay.
So basically, yeah, there was a valid effort, I'll give them that,
And there were a few positives. But Zoo really was affecting the Joker
in this game, and I would have loved to see him get a chance
to have finished that game. If he had a came in, I think
they would have won the game. Look, if you had the lineup I
wanted to see was Kawhi, Paul, George Terrence Man, Norman Poalll and
zoo Bos to close out the ballgame. Eh. You know what, I'll
trade out Norman for James Harden because you have four shooters there and one big
and you can you can play that all day long. The spacing's still gonna
be there for you. Offensively, you can still try to run pick and
roll with Zoobots and Harden, even though it's been clunky so far, but
that threat is there. I just yeah, give me Harden, PG Kawhi,
Zoobots and Man, that's the lineup I wanted to see. Okay,
I got you. And I still think Terrence Man is just not quite the
Terrence Man we know yet he passed up a lot of shots as the other
caller brought out. Yeah, and I think he'll be more aggressive in a
couple of more games. But yeah, they death really need to get somebody.
Hopefully it can snatch your Michael Green. Hey an big Ayson Plumbley has
been out a week and they haven't done anything. And I know it's been
a huge talking point by Clipper Nation, and I get it. I don't
blame him. I would have thought they would have picked up Winning Gabriel or
Jamichael Green right after Plumbley went down it's been over a week, so I
don't know if that's happening. And Musa didn't get in the ball game tonight.
PJ. Tucker did play really well, but they don't have anything close
to a true backup seven footer right now and winning Gabriel and Jamichael Green aren't
that, but they are just bigger bodies out there at six' eight six'
nine, and they could help. It's it's baffling to me too, because
these games are often won on the margins and something like that could make a
difference. And to add to that, Adam, there's two roster spots that
they need to feel. Yep, it's actually the league rule that they need
to feel them. So they should have filmed well. They brought up Kobe
Brown after sending him down earlier today, but he ended up getting DNP.
Anyways, so they only played eight guys. They went eight man rotation and
I look for the most part, it worked. We're having this conversation tonight
because they came up just short. But you just have to press the right
buttons at the right time. Uh, and that zoo bots move. I
can see why it's being second guest. I can so Sean tonight. I
guess I'm with you is Haley's comment flying in the sky. I'm with Sean
in Inglewood for once. Sean will do it again Friday. Okay, yeah,
we're still for enemies, right, that's a good way to put it.
Best, my best fiend. Thanks Sean, appreciate you. Marvin in
downtown Los Angeles. Marvin, you're in Clippers staff withou Amasi. Hey,
I don't good game. Clippers almost got the win and getting closer to figuring
out twenty one points. Whether we love him or hate him as a player,
I think he would be better as a point clard to start the game
rather than Russell Westbrook, even though he earned it because in Game two of
the Suns last year he paid. Westbrook and Norman Powell played together good as
a combo because Paul was more of a shooter and Westbrook is more like a
slasher along with Terrence Mann and Plumbley when he comes back. And one more
thing, I also want to comment on the Maps announcer who made disparaging remarks
Brian the Marius about Harden. I thought it was irresponsible because not even chick
Hern or Robb Lawler, who has stood that though in an attempt to get
publicity and click well, of course they wouldn't have. Of course those guys
wouldn't have it, says more about the Maps announcer. Obviously I heard some
of it. It's whatever, clickbait, but hey, prove them wrong,
prove them wrong, Marvin, Yeah, next time, and quite a hater,
thank you, Adam. There you go, there you go. I
appreciate it. Mores long beach. Ne're on Clippers sock after they fall one
eleven to one eight in Denver to the Nuggets, Adam, Adam, Listen,
we're not gonna lose seventy more games. Okay, we're not gonna lose
seventy more games. But you know what, every game is a playoff game
to meet. But now every game is pretty much a playoff game for me
right now. And and I'm gonna tell you some I'm gonna tell you something.
That Houston game that's not gonna be a walk in the park. That's
so right, I know it. NBA team right now and them guys they've
won sixth straight. But I mean, we're making progress. We're making progress.
Hey, guess who they beat? The Denver Nuggets. They beat they
they're not They're no joke. So I think they're real. Another not to
goal to all another test this Friday. Uh, I don't see him losing
seventy street. I think they're gonna get better. Well, they don't need
to lose seventy straight for it to be a problem. They keep they lose
three straight and all of a sudden they're three and ten. It can't happen.
They got the Spurs twice coming up, they got Houston, as you
mentioned on Friday, they got to start stacking wins because, let me tell
you something, this was the easier part of their schedule and they're three and
seven. Didn't go to State. Hean't. They lost three games so wide
this year. Uh, they've started to falter a little bit. I don't
know if they won tonight. I know there were some ejections in a ball
game, I believe. Yeah, the West is tough, and the Warriors
did lose by three to Timberwolves. How many If everybody's going to go through
that, and it's just that when your team is magnified, I'll see you.
That's a fair point. Everybody's going to take their lumps. The Clippers
are taking theirs early and they're trying to figure it out with James Harden right
now, and there was progress on that end. You got to admit that
even in a loss, this was by far the best he looked out there
thirty five minutes. By the way, so any high altitude, James Harden
played his most minute so far as a Clipper. For a guy who didn't
have training camp to have a preseason, that's encouraging. Twenty one points.
Ten of them came in the third quarter where he was really starting to cook
and find himself and look like James Harden. My point is this, you
got it in Bolden He and Russell Westbrook? How do you do that without
them stepping on each other's toes or getting in each other's way? And here
was coach low On and this was pre game on Sunday. How he's going
to handle Westbrook and James Harden ty? How do you let James b James
without hurting or stepping on the toes of Russ? Well, the things you
know with James is just trying to split those guys up as much as possible,
I think, because you know, Russ has been great for us over
the last you know, last twenty games. He was with us and in
the playoffs, and then it started this season as well. You know,
so both of those guys with the ball in their hands have proven that they
can they can get things done as far as making plays or scoring to basketball.
And so I'm just trying to, you know, split those guys up
as much as possible and to kind of let those guys have their own unit.
That's the right idea. Now, you may be scratching your head because
they're talking about splitting them up, but they're both in the starting backcourd.
But they took out Russell Westbrook early in the first for Norman Powell, he
was the first guy off the bench. So if you want that energy from
Russ to start off ball games, to play faster, to get the Clippers
engine turning, maybe that makes sense there. You have Russell Westbrook play the
first three four minutes, get them into their offense, get them playing at
the right pace, and then pull them and then bring in Powell and then
bring Russ back in. With that second unit in the second quarter with Paul
George, it eats the Zubo's Terrence Man and Norman Powell, which I've liked
overall. Clippers fall from one eleven to one oh eight. Final segment coming
up next, Chuck Mockler will be here from Clips and Dip. Clippers still
reeling. They've lost six straight, five and row of James Harden. Did
they find something tonight that is repeatable and we'll lead to a win Friday against
the Houston Rockets back at home? I hope. So we'll talk with Chuck
about it next. Not Charles Barkley. You're listening to a five to seven
LA Sports loading Clippers fully loaded with Clippers fans. This is LA Clippers basketball.
You're listening to the LA Clippers on the LA Clippers Audio Network. Clippers
hit just two field goals in the last six minutes. And for those talking
about a beata zoobots, this comes from La Murray. At La Murray,
the NU covers the Clippers for the athletic for the first ten forty eight of
zubots minutes off the floor. In the second half, the Clippers outscored the
Denver Nuggets by twelve. Then the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by ten the last
half of the fourth quarter. Something I've been talking about, but don't tell
me there's no logic whatsoever. To playing with out Avisa zoobots. The spacing
was there, and they outscored the Nuggets by twelve in his first eleven minutes
off the floor. In the second half, you hear the music, you
know what it means. It's a Clippers or Clips and double Dip episode here
on Clippers Talk with Chuck Mockler from CND. Chuck, thanks for doing this.
Are you encouraged or still overly discouraged because the Clippers lost six in a
row now five straight? With James Harden, I think I'm still a discourage
trade if I'm being honest, Adam, I think I'm still not super excited
about the team tonight. I guess you know, they lose to the champs.
It was how they were gonna lose right because of a size issue,
you know what I mean. We talked about how the Clippers looked good offensively
when they were small. The offense was there, but it's also kind of
a what's outscore them on the other end and not really stopped them situation.
The Nuggets had twenty points in the paint in the fourth quarter alone, which
is a little tough to deal with. But I don't know, I you
know, we play a team that they should be able to get a win
against on Friday in the Rockets. But it's just tough. Th three and
seven. Rockets have won sixth straight. Be careful what you wish for.
They're playing very good basketball right now, and the Clippers will have gone seventeen
days removed from their last win when Friday comes against the Rockets. That feels
like as close as you can get to a must win this early in the
season. I saw this from La Murray as well. Coach Lou apparently did
not believe the Clippers got the same calls as the Nuggets did. When the
Clippers were driving to the basket tonight, did you feel like they were getting
a tough whistle out there? Yeah, it was a little goofy. The
game started off. There was a couple of possessions that started on defense.
I thought they kind of let zoo, you know, go, I guess,
play physical defense against Jokich to kind of start this game like four minutes,
and then they really clamped out on everything. I thought the whistle was
definitely, I don't know about definitely. The Freeestowe disparity is tough to see.
Thirty two to twenty four in favor of the Nuggets, and the Clippers
have kind of been on this other end so far this year. But I
mean, I think it's a home whistle. I think you're playing against a
team that does a good job of getting foul calls, and I guess they
did a good job of it tonight. I wish this wasn't something we had
to, you know, maybe point our fingers out because of the loss,
but it doesn't help things. Yeah, James Harden did score twenty one.
He had that surge near the middle towards the end of the third quarter,
and for the most part, if there's something to be encouraged about is the
fact that he looked more like James Harden, right. I mean, ultimately,
for this Clippers team to get on track and to look like a dominant
elite team and turn this around, they need James Harden to be great.
And I thought we saw enough flash of that to say, hey, they'll
get this going eventually. Here it's still there. They just still got to
develop that chemistry totally. If you look at James Harden's shot chart tonight for
the Clippers, I think he made his first bucket as a Clipper inside zero
to three feet to night he made three of them. It was the first
three he made in his tenure here, so you love to see the three
level scoring. He had a mid range bucket. He had like some threes
too, Like that's what you want from James. And he also there's a
pass he found Norm with for a three pointer that is I think it was
the second quarter or something like that. But like we saw glimpse of what
James Harden can and really really needs to bring to this team. We just
kind of need everyone to do everything right at the same time, which I
do think is a time issue, you know, just all more time together
issue and not necessarily something to be super worry about. But again they are
still three and seven, so the winds need to come pretty quickly. The
main subject to Night on Clippers talk was of Viza Zubots not returning to the
ballgame, at least playing significant minutes late in that fourth quarter. Were you
screaming at the television saying, bring a Viza Zubots back in. We need
more size because I thought overall, I know he was two for eight,
he missed some bunnies early, but I thought his rebounding and he was just
a force in the pain. I thought he was great well, and even
if you don't love Zoo, you still I think want I'm out there at
your other option is like Paul George with no help, or you know,
Norm Powell, or even PJ. Tucker. Right like TYLERU brought Tucker out
for the last two minutes, and then it looked like he was going to
close the game and then brought Norm back in, which I guess I had
more of an issue with, maybe because I kind of assumed he wasn't going
to bring you in. I don't know if that's a good thing that I
assumed that or not, but it is a It is something to kind of
scratch your head out when it comes to needing a stop versus getting a bucket.
But I think if you've watched his Clippers team under tie, you kind
of know in those situations he kind of leans towards get a bucket. So
I can see where Tylu was doing it from his end of the logic puzzle,
but I think I agree with most people who maybe wanted to see doing
there for the last little bit. Kawhi Leonard was five of fourteen, just
fifteen points, and he's been very up and down, mostly down since the
trade, since that game against the Lakers where he was out of this world
with those eighteen first quarter points, had thirty eight overall, scored all their
points in overtime. They lost, but Kawhi looked spectacular. Do you have
any concerns right now with Kawhi Leonard just struggling to this degree where last couple
of games five of fourteen, six of sixteen, he's got a seven to
sixteen game in there. That to me a lot of it just you look
at the attempts. It's not enough. Like he's a rhythm player too.
Yeah, he is a rhythm player. You're totally right about that. I
you know, I think he's one hundred percent. We came into the season,
you know, before this hard and trade, guys were playing a little
bit faster from the eye tests and things like that, and Kawi was getting
up there. But it is a bit of an older team and learning the
new system. I think things will they don't look as good that loss in
you know, maybe losing that little quarter of a step. It looks a
little more pronounced, you know, when you're in the mix of a six
game losing streak. But I think he's going to bounce back. I don't.
Let's not pretend like we're going to be shocked when the Clippers going around
it come times with Kawhi playing very well, that's a good point. He
is Chuck Mockler at Chuck Mockler on x He is one of the three hosts
of C and D Clips and Dip. We will have the Triumphant trifecta tripod
whatever you want to call it tomorrow on YouTube for you guys, Chuck.
Thanks for staying up late tonight. Yep. Hey, here's to getting a
win soon please. Yeah. Clippers fall one eleven to one eight in Denver.
This is the last segment, right, no more, Well, I'm
worthless coming back after this. We'll finish off with some phone calls. I'm
at a Maslin and this is a seven ELA Sports. They want to bring
a banner with them to the into It doll More LA Clippers Basketball on the
LA Clippers Audio Network. Postgame, coach Lewis said, quote, I still
have confidence and what we can do. PJ. Tucker came in tonight and
did a really good job of guarding Jokic. Yeah, I did. I'm
definitely encouraged by what I saw tonight, will come out of this. That's
what you need from your leader, your head coach. Clippers have an opportunity
Friday to start to turn things around. Saw some flashes, some good signs
tonight, but ultimately a loss. Nonetheless, they fall in Denver one eleven
to one eight to the Champs. Before we get out of here, I
do want to thank the Clippers organization, Noah Eagle, Ralph Lawla, Bryan
Seaman, Carlojmenez on the call, Big Brother, Jake Warner, Katie Newton
in the bank, the callers, the listeners. I medam Oslin. We'll
talk to you at Friday at six point thirty with Clippers pre game as they're
taking on the Rockets. So why was doing his thing? All they want
to do is win in La. I win. I thought they gave everything
they had. I'm very proud of them. This has been Clippers Talk,
the official postgame reaction of the La Clippers. God bless Paul George. Are
you not? It's just changed. Don't miss an episode all season Law,
go to wherever you podcast and subscribe today. Well up the show. I
got you on the iHeart Radio. You guys are great Thank you for joining
us for another exciting broadcast of LA Clippers basketball.