Last time that I check check, it was fine chaze on my neck.
It was no smile on my brett. Last time that I check, Clippers
went what's twenty three to eighty three over the San Antonio Spurs. Welcome back
into Clippers Talk. I'm out of Moslin. We'll get back to your phone
calls eight sixty six nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight
seven two five seventy. Believe me, we will get there. Jose Morris,
hold on, but first you hear the music. You know it's a
clips in double dip episode of Clippers Talk. Chuck Mockler is joining us.
Chuck, what's up? Not much man? I am in Montana. Thank
you for having me. It's about twenty four degrees here right now. But
watching the Clippers have an end to end victory has warmed me up a bit
after a hell ish day of travel. So I'm feeling pretty good. Colder
in Montana than the Spurs were tonight here at Crypto dot com a Renos,
they shot us thirty seven and a half percent. Wemby was just four of
ten with eleven points. What did you make of the clippers defensive performance against
San Antonio and specifically Victor woman Yama. Tonight, well, it felt like,
you know, the game against the Jazz, there was some physicality issues.
There was just not shyness. I don't want to make a team like
that, but it felt like the Clippers were kind of resetting themselves with this
game on how they should play defense for every single game. Wemby is such
a tough guard because who do you throw on him? But Nick Patum was
weirdly nice. Wemby stopper. I'm wondering if there's some kind of elderly French
magic that Nico used on Victor there, but I was pretty happy with it.
The Spurs, you know, they're not going to be competing for a
top playoff spot, even probably a bottom playoff spot, but you still have
to beat who's in front of you, and the way you build good habits
is by doing it every time, even against a team like this. This
just in middle playoff spot for the Spurs. Yeah, Boocket, you mentioned
Nick Batoomb, though I forgot to bring that up. That's a great point.
He had a couple of really nice plays where he stripped him, the
ball went out of bounds and went back to San Antonio, but he made
him uncomfortable, and then he had a block at the rim, a little
French rejection with the French connection between those two where it looked like they were
gonna have an easy oop to Wemby, but Nick Batoum was there, block,
tomb batoombo, whatever you want to call it. I just like the
fact that they got back to contesting everything at the rim, which is what
we saw against the Portland Trail Blazers. I can live with some fouls,
even the one they called on Russell Westbrook, which seemed like a weak call.
When there's that level of effort to stop an easy basket, you know
what I'm saying, right, and we're making them second guess. You know,
there was some I think it was the second quarter where the fouling,
or maybe the end of the first it was a little sloppy. But if
you can tighten that up, you're still making a young team second guess what
they're doing, which is, you know, out of the death sentence for
a young team against such a defensive minded squad like the Clippers. So I
yeah, this defensive I mean, I don't know. It's just nice to
see the Clippers beat a team they should be in a fashion like this.
And for the second time now this season, also for the second time already,
as it happened in Game one, Russell Westbrook a plus thirty. I
want to say he's had less than ten of these in his career where he
entered a ballgame at being a plus thirty or more. And I thought after
a short stint and where he wasn't as effective early on, Russ was really
good providing that energy. I mentioned the play in transition against Wemby, and
he was the one guy I saw it early on was not afraid or not
thinking about where's Wemby at as I attacked the basket. You know. Plus
he knocked down three three pointers in this game. Great game from Russ and
a nice bounce back performance. I would say one hundred percent Russ probably,
you know, if I'm sure Paul George will play a lot longer, he
would have been player of the game. But this is you know, I
initially when the Russ trade happened, had some you know, skepticism, but
this was a great example of even in the game you win by you know,
a bunch of points or something like that, that that doesn't matter to
Russ. You know, the score was zero zero going into the fourth quarter
in Russ's mind, and you combine that with the efficiency from shooting, which
is just a bonus for sure, and then, like we just talked about
with Batom, kind of doing these contests, all of these things actually trickle
down and it worked, and Russ is a big connector for these things,
kind of affecting the rest of the team and holding meaning as you go on
throughout the game in big games for sure, and in games where you win
my thirty. It's very important because there's this level of the Clippers when it
comes to quote unquote taking things seriously. They took it seriously tonight and this
is I love what standard they're setting for the fans because now they all want
to see this every single night. Like we've gotten this tape of real focused
championship, ninety five percent healthy Clippers, Like we need what is it?
We need seventy nine more games of this. But the first three, aside
from the stumble against a pretty good Jazz team, feeling pretty good. I
know on clips and dip, we were very excited about being three and l
on Monday, we'll all take two and one after how to Night went.
Yeah, especially when the Lakers are one and two and lost in No TV
might have more tires as Zack Town made them work tonight with that matchup coming
on Wednesday. But of course, the Clippers really need to get back victory
against the Orlando Magic first, as they took him down twice last season.
But Russ Russell Westbrook knocking down that three pointer at the end of the first
half, big shot, a little bit of momentum, shot in the arm
heading into the locker room, and then the Clippers, you know, they
stepped in the throat in the third quarter and Russ had another three. He
had that mislay up that he tipped in himself. But getting in transition and
finding Kawhi and Paul George for open looks, that's just not something we're accustomed
to seeing those guys getting wide open looks, and Russ and Bones are making
it happen with the pace they're playing at and those guys running and streaking down
the floor and finding them on the wings. I just like this brand of
basketball just a lot more exciting, more entertaining, and it gets your superstars
easier shots. Yes, there's more zip on the ball. Bones, little
caroless with the ball in the first half, but he tightened it up.
Listeners of our show will know your fantastic rant about bones, which might be
true. By the way, after this game we might have surprise. Shots
don't act, so surprise might be true. And you're right, it's exciting
basketball, and it still remains to be seen very early in the season.
What happens when the Clippers don't have those transition opportunities, what the half court
offense is gonna look like. But because of these last couple of seasons,
when everyone's healthy, I don't think anyone's really worried about the half court offense.
We just want to see it again. A quote unquote elite opponent.
Yeah, justin Russell on pregame, and I believe he said they were the
second best team through a couple of games half court offense wise, so they
were executing very well in that respect. You got to marry those two things.
You got to be great in the half court, you've got to be
great in transition. And while in past years it's been a little bit of
an adventure when the Clippers get out and run, they're starting to get better
in that area. They really are eighteen fast break points in this one.
The stuff they have worked on, the themes and things they have preached throughout
preseason and training camp, they're starting to play out now, and I just
I like seeing that because it's one thing to talk the talk is another to
walk the walk. As our friend Will said recently on the podcast, I
thought it beats Zubats speaking of bounce back for Formwards is twenty two minutes,
sixteen and eight. He and Mason Plumbley were much better in this game bringing
that physicality and also beats to Zubos was being a focal point and they were
looking for him on offense. Feed him. He gets easy looks. I
mean, the guy finished six of seven. He's going to shoot seventy percent
from the floor or something like that. You have to use him. He
can be a weapon out there. He's you know, it's funny. I
think of Zoobots almost like an NFL kicker for this Clippers team. Right when
it goes well, when he shoots seventy percent, you're like, yeah,
hey, sixteen to eight, way to go, big Zoo. But then
he has the game like against the Jazz, and you just think, what
do you know? Fans like, what what is he doing out there?
Like Zoo is very underappreciated, but nights like this, I hope fans can
see that even if it's not that big in the statue, that his presence
out there is huge and he's eufficient, which with the Clippers new you know
outlook on if the easy buckets there, let's go for it. Great spot
for to be to help that overall team mentality. He is Chuck Mockler of
Clips and Dip. Follow him at Chuck Mockler on Twitter on x and guess
what. Tomorrow we will have the trifecta, the Triumphant Trio return will be
on YouTube with Will Updyke as well and preview the next couple of games for
the Clippers. So look for that. Chuck, thanks for doing a little
Clips and Double Dip tonight here on clipperstock. Hey, thanks for having me.
I hope the callers are chills. So far, so good. We'll
get back to him. Oh what a segue, thanks Chuck. The handoff
coming up next. Back to your phone calls eight six six nine eight seven
two five seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy and we'll close
things out in preview Tuesday Nights game against the Orlando Magic and Franz Wagner.
He's good, tough. Did you see him during FIBA, Yeah, he's
real good. More Clipperstock next here on the F five to seventy ELI Sports