Speaker 1: Sloppers handle business in DC. They win once twenty one
to ninety six over the Wizards. I'm Adam mo Oslin,
Welcome back in This is Clipper Stock here on the
M five seventy LA Sports. Let's get to him. You
hear the music, you know the name. It's Big Chuck
Mockler of Clips and Dip. Fame for a little clips
and double dip. After the Clippers win by twenty five
in our Nation's Capital over the Wizards, Charles, Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks for doing this.
Speaker 2: Hey, thanks for having me happy to get to go
into Thanksgiving with a win that they very much should
have gotten going into this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they pretty much did exactly what Clipper Nation was
hoping they do while it was a three point game,
because Jonas Valanciunis has some dark magic working against the
Clippers now as a member of the Wizards, it would
make sense that he'd bring out the dark magic like that.
He had it down to three after he started seven
for seven with about seven minutes left in the second quarter,
but then the Clippers on a run, got up by seventeen.
And the story is James Harden twenty three points in
the first quarter, forty three for the ballgame his Clippers high.
He's been spectacular this season. The efficiency hasn't been there,
but tonight he was uber efficient and I'm glad he's
getting his flowers a little bit right now. Chuck.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is kind of the perfect example of why
you get a guy like James Harden right to help
kind of carry the team when Kawhi and Normans out.
He did. He played a lot better. So maybe we
thought he was going to obviously when he hit that
hot streak, but it was fantastic to see and maybe
this start something for him going forward. Right the percentages
haven't been where you know, some people have wanted him
to be, so maybe this kind of kickstart something with
him scoring.
Speaker 1: Live tonight thirteen of twenty two from the field, seven
of eleven from three. I want to say he made
his first five to three pointers that he took and
again twenty three points in a quarter. I know it's
the modern NBA. I know what happens here and there,
but that was a special, special performance. Somebody else going
to big night, a special night for themselves, a career
high for Jordan Miller, who ended up I thought he
did some good work early on even before there was
a blowout. He had a lefty layup near the end
of the first quarter, a floater after getting a board
in the second, but then helped pour it on late
as the Clippers kept the pedal to the medal. Jordan
Miller with his young career high of fifteen points and
now everybody's talking about how do they keep him in
the lineup when Norman Powell returns, which I think might
be on Friday. Chuck, you got a solution for this?
Speaker 2: I do't. This is and I feel bad for the
Jordan Miller truthers out there. He's been very good. He's
done everything kind of that you expect him to do
if you've been a fan of Jordan Miller, right he's
gotten to the line. He's shown, you know, competent defense
for the most part, and things like that. Like but
this team, you know, Tyler doesn't want to make his
rotation bigger. I don't think I think he would prefer
it to be smaller. And I'm it's a shame, but
it is. Probably Jordan Miller is going to be out
of that rotation. That's not indicative of how he's been
playing or anything like that. Not to say it might
not change, you know, with trade deadline stuff, but it's
just hard to see anyone else going out when Norm
comes back in.
Speaker 1: The only thing I could think is maybe they take
minutes away from somebody like Niko Batoum who's older, who
could be out for a week or two and come
back and look exactly the same, or they shave minutes
off of him. Kevin Porter Junior, Terrence Man, like, they
find it in the aggregate a way to get Jordan
Miller more minutes by just ramping back on some of
the other guys. But yeah, it's a good problem to have,
but it can be a problem. And a season like
this where he's about to be turning twenty five in January, like,
they do need to find a way to get him
minutes because I think it can help them win. Now.
I know. We talked about it a little bit last
night on Clips and Dip, and I brought up you know,
Terrence Man. I'm not saying he's expendable, but this is
a guy who has a tradable contract and you have
to make tough decisions at some point. Unfortunately, if you're
going to get a young guy minutes out.
Speaker 2: There, Yeah, and we will really know kind of what
maybe the future in general on the Clippers holds for
Jordan Miller at this upcoming trade deadline, seeing if they
do try and move off some of this surplus of
guys who kind of do the same thing that they
have right now between you know, Terrence Mahn and kind
of what he's been overlapped with in terms of what
Derek Jorns Junior does from the starting lineup, we'll learn
a lot. You know that there's a handful of guys
who can be traded after December fifteenth, some of the
Clippers maybe are looking at or something like that. But
it is a good problem to have. But it's one
of the Clippers that've had before and it's not necessarily
worked out that great. So let's hope it's different to
them and those.
Speaker 1: In past years when they weren't playing young guys, there
was a better excuse for why that was happening. Not
in a year, I mean maybe their years. As Will
Updyke has said many times, it is a piece of zoobots.
This year in season right now, he had eighteen points
and sixteen boards. He's averaging fifteen in twelve and when
they single cover him, when they don't double. It is
too easy for a visa Zubats right now when he
is being decisive out there like we saw him tonight, Charles, like,
he is a force on the interior.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was good to see him bounce back from
what was a really tough game against Christaps in his return.
You know, he is a solid defender, so it was
nice to kind of have him get back into his
stride a little bit. And you're totally right. There's not
a lot of guys one on one who can constantly
go up against when he has the ball in his
hand in his back to the basket. We've all kind
of wanted you to be that double double guy, and
now he's a legit double double guy. Right. It's you know,
it's not ten and ten or something like that. These
are this is a real double doubles averaging. Not to
mention the stuff he's doing on the defensive end to
help out this team. He's also you know, he's been
a consistent guy. He knows the system. He's incredibly valuable
to the Clippers, even more so maybe this year with
how thin the margins are.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's not kissing ten points in ten he's getting
you fifteen and twelve right now, Charles, just big picture review.
I would have signed up for ten and ten after
the first twenty games given the schedule, and they are
twelve and eight, and the schedule might loosen up at
some point. I would expect it too. If you got
the top three toughest schedule so far this season, I
would guess at some point that things are going to
get a little bit easier. I know Minnesota is not
exactly that team, even though their record is poor right now,
but they are talented. But just what do you think
of this Clippers team in their first twenty games so
far this season? Where have they exceeded your expectations and
where do they still have room to grow?
Speaker 2: Well? I mean, the number one thing has been the
start from Norm Powell. He is other than James Harden
and the Meats Zubats who we kind of come again
do We're going to be important? Norm Powell's blown all
of his expectations out of the water to start this
season and is a very large reason why they've started
as well as they have. The other side is the defense,
which I wouldn't say I'm surprised by. I'm surprised how
good it has been, but I think a lot of
us kind of thought it was going to be kind of,
you know, good no matter what. But it's probably got
to be the rebounding, which I think trickles down to
kind of the overall desire and want that this team
seems to have. There's no switch flipping. This team knows
that it can't afford to flip the switch right even
tonight against a team like the Wizards. So I think
it's probably that. And you know, that bill of goods
we were you know, given in the preseason has come
true and it's been great. I hope Norm can get
right back in a stride when he comes back. They're
really going to need it these next two games because
right after the Timberwolves is the Nuggets, who we've been there.
Let's just say we know what happens when we're playing
nuggts most of the time.
Speaker 1: Tell me if you've seen the same trend over the
last week and a half or so. But it feels
like the Clippers are moving the basketball much better as
a collective group. They had twenty seven assists on their
forty five makes in this one, and I feel like
they've had I don't know a handful of games where
they're right around thirty assists over the last week and
a half. That to me is I'm passing much better
out of the short roll and just keeping the ball
moving more around the perimeter and maybe a little bit
less one on one play from James Harden too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you kind of look at every box score the
last couple of games, and you're right, there's crooked numbers
in a lot of guys assist columns, which is really
cool to see in it. I think it goes back to, like,
you know, this team kind of skips its spark off defense,
So when the defense is playing well, the ball is
moving on offense because guys are excited to contribute and
things like that. They're obviously a well drilled team. Tyler's
doing a great job this year preparing them. I think
that's a big part of their start too. But you know,
to feel that comfortable to pass as much as they
have been, you got to be prepared. So it is
nice to see the balls zipping around. For the Clippers team,
it's things they've talked about doing and again ra actually
seeing it happen, which makes it so much more exciting.
Speaker 1: Clippers win by twenty five in DC over the Wizard's
final score of one twenty one to ninety six in
favor of your Los Angeles Clippers. They get after it
in Minnesota on Friday. Big job, thanks for doing this.
Happy Thanksgiving. Might see you tomorrow, my friend.
Speaker 2: There we go, Happy Thanksgiving and let's go clips.
Speaker 1: Cave it up next. Final phone calls eight sixty six
nine eight seven two five seventy eight sixty six nine
eight seven two five seventy. Your Clippers are twelve and
eight and turn in some heads nationally. It is impressive.
I'm proud of this team. They take a lot of
pride in what they do. All that talk in training
camp at media Day where they were talking about being underestimated,
well they're backing it all up right now. Addition, by subtraction,
they lose Paul George, they get better defensively, and they're
starting to make strides on the offensive end. Oh, by
the way, they are four and one now without Norman Palace. Somehow,
I'm hoping they get them back on Friday, though they'll
need them against the t umber Wolves. More on that
coming up right here on Clippers sock on Ampive seven.
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