Speaker 1: Phoning in.
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Speaker 3: This is Clippers Talk on Aaron.
Speaker 1: On Demand, the Clippers Show of Record, your chance to
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Speaker 2: Clippers Clippers news happens. Let me guess it's about Kawhi.
Speaker 2: Here we are and now here.
Speaker 1: He is the host of your LA Clippers pre and postgame.
Speaker 2: At follow Adam a Adam Osley.
Speaker 4: And then there were three just three games left in
Speaker 4: the regular season. After the Clippers win one twenty two
Speaker 4: to one seventeen over the San Antonios first tonight, hear
Speaker 4: it into it home as they have won fifteen of
Speaker 4: their last eighteen games and are playing their best ball
Speaker 4: this season leading into the playoffs. Welcome in. I'm out
Speaker 4: of OSLMS. This is Clippers Talk. Eight seven seven five
Speaker 4: two zero eleven fifty eight seven seven five two zero
Speaker 4: eleven fifty is the phone number if you want to
Speaker 4: get on or just get in the chat at Clippers
Speaker 4: Talk on the YouTube side. We're with you for the
Speaker 4: next forty five minutes. Here. This Clippers team didn't have
Speaker 4: Kawhilin did a show on that yesterday. I was under
Speaker 4: the impression that would be wise to not play Kawhi
Speaker 4: against San Antonio because you could need him for his
Speaker 4: full thirty eight plus minutes against Houston tomorrow night. Now
Speaker 4: Houston may be resting guys because they have the two
Speaker 4: seed wrapped up. We'll see, but that was my thinking.
Speaker 4: Yesterday we heard from coach Lou pregame about Kawhi and
Speaker 4: what the reasoning was why he played the last back
Speaker 4: to back and why he's not playing this back to back,
Speaker 4: and it sounded like the difference was they knew after
Speaker 4: he played on Saturday, the second night of a back
Speaker 4: to back against Dallas. Here it into a home that
Speaker 4: they could get him three days off. They could get
Speaker 4: him at least two days off, but then you turn
Speaker 4: it into three and now you play every other day
Speaker 4: the remainder of the season on tomorrow for Kawhi against Houston,
Speaker 4: off Thursday, on Friday in Sacramento, off Saturday, on Sunday
Speaker 4: up in San Francisco gets Golden State, and that is
Speaker 4: how the playoffs typically go. You're often playing every other day.
Speaker 4: So in essence, it might be able to get Kawhi
Speaker 4: Leonard and even more of a rhythm of what to
Speaker 4: expect in the playoffs and get his body prepared for that.
Speaker 4: Clippers currently in the four spot in the Western Conference. Guys,
Speaker 4: they are in a four way tie where they shoot
Speaker 4: to the top of it, above Denver, Golden State and
Speaker 4: the Memphis Grizzlies. The Minnesota Timverwolves dropped to eight after
Speaker 4: they gave up a thirty nine to eight run in
Speaker 4: the last ten minutes in Milwaukee tonight to lose that
Speaker 4: game to the Bucks. A consequential loss dropped them all
Speaker 4: the way back into the plane, and that helped catapult
Speaker 4: the Clippers to the four spot. Currently. My understanding is
Speaker 4: if the Clippers went out and Denver loses a ballgame,
Speaker 4: the Clippers will end up as the four seed. At
Speaker 4: least they would need multiple losses from the Lakers to
Speaker 4: end up in the three spot. Lakers in Dallas tomorrow
Speaker 4: night after losing in OKAC tonight where Lukadantis was ejected
Speaker 4: for talking to a fan. I'm sorry, but that stuff
Speaker 4: is soft. I don't know why an official would make
Speaker 4: that about them. Maybe he said the magic words. I
Speaker 4: don't know. Uh, I'm not really concerned about it. Go
Speaker 4: Dallas tomorrow, Go Sacramento Kings tomorrow, where the Denver Nuggets
Speaker 4: will be Go Clippers tonight, and they did. They would
Speaker 4: go on to win once twenty two to one seventeen.
Speaker 4: It wasn't easy, though, there were consequences. Even in a
Speaker 4: win No. One. Powell had to play forty one minutes
Speaker 4: to get it finish with twenty five My player to watch.
Speaker 4: I thought he would get up at least fifteen shots
Speaker 4: without Kawhi Leonard. He looked to be in rhythm for
Speaker 4: the most part. He had nine of his twenty five
Speaker 4: in the fourth quarter and a huge rebound offensive rebound
Speaker 4: put back for him. Great to see little hustle plays
Speaker 4: like that from some of the smalls. James Harden had
Speaker 4: one of those two. Avitza Zubas had to play almost
Speaker 4: thirty nine minutes tonight. James Harden had to play almost
Speaker 4: thirty eight. The Calvary is on the way in Kawhi Leonard.
Speaker 4: But some of these guys are definitely gassed and they're
Speaker 4: gonna need Kawhi to pick him up tomorrow against Houston
Speaker 4: because San Antonio they just would not go away. I
Speaker 4: don't even think it's so much the Clippers played poorly
Speaker 4: San Antonio. The Spurs were hitting shots, and you can
Speaker 4: go back to the opening quarter of this one, the
Speaker 4: Clippers went three minutes and ten seconds without scoring a point.
Speaker 4: The Spurs went on a seven to zero run to
Speaker 4: go up eighteen to sixteen midway through that first quarter.
Speaker 4: After it looked like the Clippers were in control early on,
Speaker 4: but Stefon Castle hit a three pointer CP three baseline
Speaker 4: fade away over zoo seven oh Spurs run eighteen sixteen.
Speaker 4: Clippers ended up missing I think five straight shots turned
Speaker 4: into a nine zero Spurs run. Got worse for the Clippers.
Speaker 4: Harden finally had the and one. Those would be their
Speaker 4: first points over three minutes of going scoreless for the Clippers,
Speaker 4: but two went hit a three pointer, Hardwin hit a
Speaker 4: three pointer. Norm got a reverse layup to go near
Speaker 4: the end of the first quarter and the Clippers led
Speaker 4: by just two at twenty eight to twenty six. Couldn't
Speaker 4: create any distance there then in the second quarter, San
Speaker 4: Antonio was leading throughout much of it throughout much of
Speaker 4: that second quarter, and the Clippers got really sloppy with basketball.
Speaker 4: There were some self inflicted wounds. They had a runout
Speaker 4: off a steal on a bogie pass thirty eight thirty
Speaker 4: six Spurs, another turnover the very next possession, but tomb
Speaker 4: pass thirty nine thirty eight Spurs. There was a James
Speaker 4: Harden long outlet passed to Derek Jones Junior that went
Speaker 4: over his head out of bounds. Just sloppy play from
Speaker 4: the Clippers. Meanwhile, the Viza Zubats was doing his part
Speaker 4: out there, but the Clippers had seven turnovers in the
Speaker 4: second quarter alone. Norman Powell missed two free throws in
Speaker 4: the second quarter. Sometimes the wall is that effective. There's
Speaker 4: some friendly fire because San Antonio chose to go up
Speaker 4: go up against the wall in the second half, so
Speaker 4: Norm missed those two free throws going up against the wall.
Speaker 4: Not that they were cheering against him or anythink. It
Speaker 4: just happens. The Clippers went five minutes and ten seconds
Speaker 4: in the second quarter, scoring four points. At one point
Speaker 4: it was a thirteen to four Spurs run during that time.
Speaker 4: The Clippers eventually were able to take control. Near the
Speaker 4: end of the second dun would hit a three pointer,
Speaker 4: who has been hot from three as of late, shooting
Speaker 4: over forty eight percent from the outside his last ten games.
Speaker 4: Chris Dunn, as he was two to four in this
Speaker 4: game from three CP three, would hit a three to respond,
Speaker 4: though on the second, no one would go to the
Speaker 4: free throw line, knocked down a couple, and the Clippers
Speaker 4: eventually went on a nine to two run the last
Speaker 4: two fifteen to end the half and put themselves up
Speaker 4: two at fifty four to fifty two, after trailing by
Speaker 4: as many as five in the first half. Those turnovers
Speaker 4: were a problem. That's why they couldn't and gain much
Speaker 4: separation then. But the other problem was Harrison Barnes. He
Speaker 4: had thirteen points. He led all scores through the first
Speaker 4: twenty four minutes. He was three or five from the outside.
Speaker 4: The Spurs were shooting fifty four percent in the first half.
Speaker 4: They weren't missing. They were seven of eighteen from three,
Speaker 4: just like the Clippers. They did have ten turnovers. Meeting
Speaker 4: the Clippers there pretty much Clippers were nine at the half.
Speaker 4: Third quarter, norm Pal started off hot, hit a jumper
Speaker 4: fifty six to fifty two, Clippers Norm three fifty nine
Speaker 4: to fifty two. Quick time out, Dunn creates a steal
Speaker 4: off a deflection on vsell out of bounds in the
Speaker 4: far side corner. It was an incredible defensive play. Dunn
Speaker 4: had a few of those in this ballgame. Chris A.
Speaker 4: Dunn really flex in the defensive muscles with three steals.
Speaker 4: He is such a special defense. After a zoo floater,
Speaker 4: Clippers are on a nine to zero run. Once Hard
Speaker 4: knocked down a floater two and it's sixty five fifty two.
Speaker 4: After DJ got in transition for a layup, he would
Speaker 4: end up scoring six straight for the Clippers. Another layup
Speaker 4: going left on CP three, then a hardened lob to DJ,
Speaker 4: and it's sixty nine to fifty five with six straight
Speaker 4: points from Derreck Jones Junior, who ended up in this game,
Speaker 4: gained the start and gained them eighteen points, just one
Speaker 4: to five from three, but eight to fifteen from the
Speaker 4: field and was really good with eight of his eighteen
Speaker 4: in the third. Done would then cause a back court
Speaker 4: violation and the Clippers are off to a fifteen to
Speaker 4: three start in the third where they hit their first
Speaker 4: eight shots. After a Hard and three pointer made it
Speaker 4: seventy two to fIF fifty five. The Spurs San Antonio
Speaker 4: had four turnovers in the first three minutes of the
Speaker 4: third quarter. Clippers defense came out and was suffocating the
Speaker 4: Clippers first miss of the third guys. Their first misshot
Speaker 4: came in about the seven to forty mark. It was
Speaker 4: an eighteen to three run before Harrison Barnes of course
Speaker 4: hit a three pointer after starting eight for eight, though
Speaker 4: the Clippers would then shoot one for their next eight
Speaker 4: from the field and san Antonio continued to chip away.
Speaker 4: Castle almost dunked on Aviza Zubas something fierce Stefan Castle
Speaker 4: as a stud. He has All Star potential, maybe even
Speaker 4: in a higher ceiling than that. He's one of the
Speaker 4: better players in this league. He's likely going to win
Speaker 4: Rookie of the Year. He was in the dunk contest
Speaker 4: and almost had his best dunk of the season on
Speaker 4: a Viza Zubos. He would end up getting fouled instead.
Speaker 4: It's seventy eight seventy one Clippers and Bogey hits a
Speaker 4: baseline fallaway. Some timely shots from bo Don Bogdanovitch, wouldn't
Speaker 4: you know Zoo offensive rebound and put back eighty two
Speaker 4: to seventy one. Dj have put back off his own
Speaker 4: miss eighty four to seventy one Clippers after only being
Speaker 4: up by seven, going a six to zero run up thirteen,
Speaker 4: Castle and one Spurs would battle back again get it
Speaker 4: to within nine. Castle went to the line, missed the second,
Speaker 4: but he had nine of his eventual nineteen points in
Speaker 4: that third quarter. Was getting active. It was eighty six
Speaker 4: seventy eight Clippers late in the third. Then Bogey hit
Speaker 4: a three off Norm falling to the ground and making
Speaker 4: that pass to him. Champenny missed a layup for the Spurs.
Speaker 4: On the other end, Nico had a nice tip board
Speaker 4: bog he Goes left for an easy layup and the
Speaker 4: Clippers lead heading into the fourth ninety one to seventy eight.
Speaker 4: Thought that would be it. It looked like Coach Lou
Speaker 4: was going for the kill shot to start the fourth
Speaker 4: quarter when Nico hit a three pointer and his lineup
Speaker 4: was Zuu, Simmons, Bogie, Btoom and Norm keeping Zoo out there.
Speaker 4: But then Norm had a turnover Harrison Barnes three man
Speaker 4: twenty four for Harrison Barnes on eight of ten, shooting
Speaker 4: six of eight from three. Incredibly, after a Johnson layup,
Speaker 4: it's a nine point game. They just continued to stay
Speaker 4: within striking distance. Zuo had a bad turnover to Harrison Barnes,
Speaker 4: but then Norm would hit a big three pointer and
Speaker 4: make it one on one to eighty seven. Little bit
Speaker 4: of a cushion timeout. San Antonio Basel would hit a
Speaker 4: three though out of that time out when James Harden
Speaker 4: came back out onto the floor one on one to
Speaker 4: ninety Castle and one after a Simmons Ben Simmons bad
Speaker 4: turnover looking for Norm, Zoo came in for Simmons. Shortly afterwards.
Speaker 4: Castle then airballed the free throw. Least that's what it
Speaker 4: looked like from section twenty five. He completely aired the
Speaker 4: free throw going up against the wall. After an and one,
Speaker 4: Norm layup going left one oh three to ninety. This
Speaker 4: has got to be it, right. Norm had scored their
Speaker 4: last seven points at that time. In the fourth quarter,
Speaker 4: Doune comes in for Nico after he got crossed up
Speaker 4: Mamu Kells Billy ended up hitting a three pointer on
Speaker 4: that and now you got done Zubots hardened Bogie and
Speaker 4: pale on the floor. Zoo, after it looked like CP
Speaker 4: three taking it away, took it back and got a
Speaker 4: bucket over him. Castle driving dunk on hard and going
Speaker 4: baseline one oh five to ninety seven. It's an eight
Speaker 4: point game, but then a done miss three led to
Speaker 4: and I think this was one of the most critical
Speaker 4: shots in the ball game. A done miss three pointer
Speaker 4: badly led to a Norman pal rebound and put back
Speaker 4: that made it a ten point lead. And then Chris
Speaker 4: Dunwoin hit a three pointer, hardened floater, hardened three pointer,
Speaker 4: and san Antonio is waving the white flag as the
Speaker 4: Clippers are up one fifteen to ninety seven after a
Speaker 4: quick ten to oh run in less than two minutes,
Speaker 4: Clippers go on to win evel with san Antonio's backups
Speaker 4: knocking down some three pointers, one twenty two to one seventeen.
Speaker 4: Hear it into it Dome, Clippers over the Spurs. We'll
Speaker 4: be right back here tomorrow night. We'll take a quick
Speaker 4: time out, we'll come back. We'll get to your phone
Speaker 4: calls at eight seven seven five two zero eleven fifty
Speaker 4: eight seven seven five two zero eleven fifty. I'm at
Speaker 4: a Mazland and you're listening to the Los Angeles Clippers
Speaker 4: audio network in the Patriot anbleven fifty.
Speaker 3: I love this team. I never miss a game.
Speaker 1: You're listening to LA Clippers basketball free ball, Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: right here on the LA Clippers Audio Network.
Speaker 4: Clippers win one twenty two to one seventeen over the
Speaker 4: San Antonio Spurs. Here it into it Dome. I'm at
Speaker 4: a Maslin Clippers are one fifteen of eighteen and they
Speaker 4: are currently in the fourth spot in the West with
Speaker 4: just three games remaining. Gonna be with you guys eight
Speaker 4: seven seven five two zero eleven fifty eight seven seven
Speaker 4: five two zero eleven fifty. Let's go to Aaron leaving
Speaker 4: the ballgame. Aaron, what's up here on clipperstock?
Speaker 5: How's it going?
Speaker 3: Adham?
Speaker 4: Oh, I'm good now, as good as the Clippers. But
Speaker 4: I'm doing all right.
Speaker 5: I would this was my first time at the into
Speaker 5: a dome, phenomenal arena, and I just want to say,
Speaker 5: I don't think we win this game tonight. If Zoo
Speaker 5: doesn't have the game that he did, I mean, he
Speaker 5: was unbelievably efficient, and I just think the way Santonio
Speaker 5: was hanging around. If he doesn't have that game, I
Speaker 5: think we lose that game.
Speaker 4: Do you agree? I agree with you, Aaron. It's a
Speaker 4: great point. With out of eats Zubats being that steady
Speaker 4: force out there getting to twenty four and twenty boards
Speaker 4: and eight offensive rebounds, they lose this game. They needed
Speaker 4: those thirty eight minutes from Viats to Zubots.
Speaker 5: And one more question what do you think we need
Speaker 5: to go the last three games to avoid.
Speaker 2: The play in?
Speaker 5: What do you think we need to finish well?
Speaker 4: It's a good question, Aaron. I appreciate the phone call.
Speaker 4: If they win the last three, they will at least
Speaker 4: avoid the play in. At worst, they would then be
Speaker 4: in the sixth spot. If they win the last three
Speaker 4: games at work, and it might be after the loss
Speaker 4: from Minnesota, it might have a chance to be at
Speaker 4: worse than the five spot after this. I gotta consult
Speaker 4: Justin Russo, who knows everything. You can tell who the
Speaker 4: new listeners are that don't understand when we're at into
Speaker 4: it DM, I'm sorry you guys can't hear the callers.
Speaker 4: When we're back in Burbank, you can. Matt Man and
Speaker 4: Warren points out from Talking Shit podcast Zoo belongs on
Speaker 4: an All Defensive team and James D. Harden belongs on
Speaker 4: an All NBA third team. I think it beats the Zubots.
Speaker 4: Might have a case for an All NBA third team
Speaker 4: as well. He's definitely making an All defensive team. I'm
Speaker 4: not even worried about that. He's being talked about for
Speaker 4: Defensive Player of the Year by a lot of the
Speaker 4: talking heads. Now he may finish top three, it's possible.
Speaker 4: I don't think he's gonna win it. I think it'll
Speaker 4: be Dort or Draymond or Evan and Mobile. But maybe
Speaker 4: Zeus sneaks into being top three. That would be great
Speaker 4: to see. Who else do we got in here? In
Speaker 4: the chat? Clippers win only by five. I know, guys,
Speaker 4: but they were up eighteen with just a few minutes left.
Speaker 4: San Antonio was knocking down some crazy shots of this
Speaker 4: ball game. Tip of the cap to the Spurs. They
Speaker 4: kept playing hard. Get well, Greg Popovich, the Spurs are
Speaker 4: completely headed in the right direction, with a situation where
Speaker 4: they could have sustained success for like a ten year run,
Speaker 4: maybe seven years. We always overexaggerated run. But they're that good.
Speaker 4: They're impressive, playing hard out there and pushing the Clippers
Speaker 4: in this ball game to have to eventually shut the
Speaker 4: door with that little ten er run. Maddix said, Adam,
Speaker 4: can the Clippers get to the finals? In your opinion?
Speaker 4: I feel like Maddicks asked me this all the time.
Speaker 4: I feel like you might be a bot, but AI
Speaker 4: Boston need love to and I'll show some love to them. Sure,
Speaker 4: with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, they have an opportunity, they
Speaker 4: have a puncher's chance, they draw the right matchups. Yeah,
Speaker 4: I think this Clippers team is good enough with the
Speaker 4: defense they have shown and how good they've been on
Speaker 4: the offensive end last seventeen games heading into this one,
Speaker 4: believe they were first in net rating. At worst they
Speaker 4: were second. That's contender type stuff, meaning once Kawhi kick
Speaker 4: things into gear with looking like Kawhi Leonard again. They
Speaker 4: have similar advanced metrics to the Thunder, the Celtics, the
Speaker 4: Calves everybody who's playing well right now, like that's where
Speaker 4: they've been at bench would out score the Clippers bench
Speaker 4: fifty two to twenty eight in this one, and the
Speaker 4: Clippers do win despite the Spurs shooting fifty three percent
Speaker 4: from the field and forty one percent from three, but
Speaker 4: the Clippers ended up getting up eight more shots than
Speaker 4: San Antonio. That was a big differentiator. Clippers also had
Speaker 4: sixty points in the paint and nineteen second chance points.
Speaker 4: Those nineteen second chance points on nine of sixteen shooting there.
Speaker 4: That was big. That's what I'm talking about with those
Speaker 4: offensive rebounds, where the Clippers had fourteen of them, crucial.
Speaker 4: They led by as many as eighteen, and by the way,
Speaker 4: eight of the fourteen offensive rebounds came from Big Zoo
Speaker 4: Norn Powell had nine of his game high twenty five
Speaker 4: points in the fourth quarter. Clippers had five players score
Speaker 4: eighteen or more clips were plus sixteen in the rebounding department.
Speaker 4: Love seeing that statistician Chris Taylor handing me these notes
Speaker 4: a little bit earlier. Joey Kimball also always helping out
Speaker 4: if eats a zoubats. His season high in offensive rebounds
Speaker 4: was ten. And then it happened against San Antonio earlier
Speaker 4: this season, in the twenty six point comeback here and
Speaker 4: into a dome, their first victory here at into a dome.
Speaker 4: I think they're twenty nine and seven now and into
Speaker 4: a dome after starting off oh to four. Believe that's
Speaker 4: the number. Seems good. Seems like a team that could
Speaker 4: really use home court in the first round, which, hey,
Speaker 4: three weeks ago, seemed like a pipe dream. They've gotten
Speaker 4: some other teams to finally fall back a little bit.
Speaker 4: The Warriors have actually lost a game. Minnesota just lost
Speaker 4: the game tonight. The Denver Nuggets are three and seven
Speaker 4: their last ten. The Lakers lost tonight. Memphis had been
Speaker 4: losing a little bit more. Some teams have fallen back,
Speaker 4: and the Clippers are taking advantage of it. Winners of
Speaker 4: fifteen of eighteen. They've been playing some of the best
Speaker 4: basketball anybody has all season long at the right time.
Speaker 4: Last season, when they had that twenty six and five run,
Speaker 4: it spanned from like the midway point of December through January,
Speaker 4: maybe a little bit of February, but then they hit
Speaker 4: the skids after the All Star break, as they did
Speaker 4: this season. And then last year Kawhi ended up getting
Speaker 4: hurt with the knee flaring up. They weren't playing like
Speaker 4: this heading into the playoffs. They weren't this hot. A
Speaker 4: lot of people in here saying this is our year.
Speaker 4: Some people like cap Ross said this season's team is
Speaker 4: better than last season's team. Zoo and norm have improved
Speaker 4: hard and is better than orders. The second option Kawhi
Speaker 4: is Kawhi, and the bench is deeper this season. It's
Speaker 4: hard to disagree with that. The defense is significantly better.
Speaker 4: I think they finished sixteenth in defensive rating last season,
Speaker 4: their second this season.
Speaker 2: And.
Speaker 4: When you look at how the offensive numbers have been
Speaker 4: over the last eighteen games. Now well, they're a top
Speaker 4: offense when they're fully healthy with Kawhi playing at this level.
Speaker 4: I said back in November, this is all about maintaining
Speaker 4: that level of defense while getting Kawhi back and turning
Speaker 4: into a completely different offensive team that is a top
Speaker 4: ten offense. Well, they've been even better in that the
Speaker 4: last month and a half now, and you guys can
Speaker 4: look back at some of the bad losses. I get it.
Speaker 4: I try out to hang on to that stuff because
Speaker 4: like the twenty three point loss of the Phoenix Suns
Speaker 4: that never should have happened. You know, maybe because of
Speaker 4: a loss like that, it fires them up and James
Speaker 4: Harden to have fifty points the very next game. And
Speaker 4: that is the line of demarcation, or the point where
Speaker 4: the Clippers had a turning point in the season. Coach
Speaker 4: lu was asked about a pregame it's from that point
Speaker 4: on they played eighteen games and have gone fifteen to
Speaker 4: three since that Phoenix loss. So sometimes some of your
Speaker 4: failures you learn from them because something was exposed in
Speaker 4: a loss and it actually helps you in the long run.
Speaker 4: That loss can turn into some victories down the line
Speaker 4: that you otherwise might not have gotten because of those
Speaker 4: lessons you learned along the way. The real treasure is
Speaker 4: the friend we have friends we've made along the way.
Speaker 4: I'm not saying I love the losses, and there are
Speaker 4: some regrettable ones this season, the Pacers big comeback on
Speaker 4: the Clippers losing both those games against the Lakers in
Speaker 4: that weekend series at Crypto when they were in both
Speaker 4: of them. But I'm not gonna look back or go
Speaker 4: too far down that path. They're in the fourth spot.
Speaker 4: They can win the next three games and at least
Speaker 4: guarantee they're out of the plan. Easier said than done.
Speaker 4: We'll see what happens with Houston tomorrow night. But they
Speaker 4: got some guys on the injury list. They may not
Speaker 4: be going for it now. They clinched that two seed
Speaker 4: that could be in the Clippers favor, And so is
Speaker 4: this Kawhi Leonard expected to play, expected to be back
Speaker 4: tomorrow night. This was a situation where they were keeping
Speaker 4: him out on the front end of back to back
Speaker 4: I think wisely. I know a lot of people were saying, no,
Speaker 4: Kawhi needs to play every game. I said, guys, if
Speaker 4: they lost to San Antonio without Kawhi Leonard, I wouldn't
Speaker 4: come out postgame and say should have played Kawhi. I
Speaker 4: would have said they blew it. They had enough to
Speaker 4: win and they found a way to lose the game.
Speaker 4: So I wouldn't be second guests seeing that decision. I
Speaker 4: said pregame, I think it's the right decision. If they lose,
Speaker 4: I'm not saying it's because they didn't have Kawhi. I'm
Speaker 4: saying this because they didn't play well enough, because they
Speaker 4: had plenty. They had more than enough to win this game,
Speaker 4: and they did. One twenty two to one seventeen. Clippers
Speaker 4: over the San Antonio Spurs. We'll take a quick time out.
Speaker 4: We'll come back. Also, postgame quotes for you guys eight
Speaker 4: seven seven five two zero eleven fifty eight seven seven
Speaker 4: five to zero eleven fifty amount of Mazzland. And you're
Speaker 4: listening to Clippers talk here in the Patriot Ame eleven fifty.
Speaker 3: I love this team. I never miss a game.
Speaker 1: You're listening to LA Clippers basketball free ball, Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: right here on the LA Clippers Audio Network.
Speaker 4: Clippers win one two, one seventeen over the San Antonio Spurs,
Speaker 4: and they hop up into the fourth spot as they
Speaker 4: leap frog over the Denver Nuggets tonight. They have the
Speaker 4: same record as the Nuggets, the Warriors, the Memphis Grizzlies.
Speaker 4: Due to some insane tie breakers, the Clippers are ahead
Speaker 4: of those teams in the fourth spot. It is tenuous
Speaker 4: they need to continue to win, but it was good
Speaker 4: to see them figure it out when they needed to.
Speaker 4: In around the three minute mark where they went on
Speaker 4: that ten ozer run against San Antonio tonight, and the
Speaker 4: score looks a lot closer than the game actually was.
Speaker 4: We're up by eighteen. Late in the fourth, san Antonio
Speaker 4: called off the Dogs and some of their backups knocked
Speaker 4: down some three pointers on the Clippers. No, morm Pwal
Speaker 4: did have to play forty one minutes. If viatz zubats
Speaker 4: thirty nine Harden thirty eight, that's taxing that. You know,
Speaker 4: san Antonio took some skin off him that can come
Speaker 4: back to hurt them against Houston tomorrow. But we're all
Speaker 4: expecting Kawhi Leonard to be playing in that game. They
Speaker 4: just held him out of the first game of back
Speaker 4: to back and it makes sense to do so against
Speaker 4: San Antonio. As I had said leading into this game,
Speaker 4: they had lost seven of eight. They don't have much
Speaker 4: to play for. They still played hard out there. I
Speaker 4: like the way they competed. But here's what coach Lou
Speaker 4: said at the half, when the Clippers only led by two.
Speaker 4: He told the Clippers this at the half, quote, we're
Speaker 4: playing for something. We have a chance to do special things.
Speaker 4: We can't mess round with this game. They went on
Speaker 4: a run. They led by thirteen, hanging inso the fourth
Speaker 4: things I think got down to an eight point lead,
Speaker 4: but then the Clippers eventually got up by eighteen and
Speaker 4: put them away. Tyleru on into a dome when the
Speaker 4: Clippers potentially having home court advantage in the playoffs, quote,
Speaker 4: we have our own building. We don't have to worry
Speaker 4: about other banners hanging up. We don't share an arena.
Speaker 4: This is home. The wall has been great, our fans
Speaker 4: have been great. We got to continue to keep building
Speaker 4: on it. Unquote. How special would it be to have
Speaker 4: home court in the first round of the playoffs in
Speaker 4: your first season opening up this arena? Hear it into
Speaker 4: a dome in Inglewood. That would just be incredible. Because
Speaker 4: the home court advantage is real. Teams are missing free
Speaker 4: throws at a high rate. Here the wall is working
Speaker 4: the dream. The vision of Steve Valmer has been brought
Speaker 4: to life with this home court advantage the Clippers have.
Speaker 4: Noran Powell postgame says the Clippers are a championship caliber team. Quote.
Speaker 4: We have unwavering belief and what we can do and
Speaker 4: what we can achieve with everybody healthy and everybody playing
Speaker 4: the brand of basketball we want. I think we can
Speaker 4: make a deep playoff run and get to the finals
Speaker 4: and win a championship. I think this is a championship
Speaker 4: built team. He's been there, He's seen what it looks like.
Speaker 4: He won with Kawhi and Toronto in twenty nineteen. Those
Speaker 4: words have weight. I'm glad to see that the guys
Speaker 4: are setting the expectations in the bar. Norm Powell said, quote,
Speaker 4: I think this is a championship built team. Lawrence Frank
Speaker 4: did this staying under the first apron. If you didn't
Speaker 4: know he cooked this summer, if you've been hating on him,
Speaker 4: if you didn't like the fact that he traded Terrence
Speaker 4: Man to get Bogie because he struggled at first, how
Speaker 4: about now did it not make sense? Look at Bogie
Speaker 4: in this game with nineteen off the bench, seven of
Speaker 4: eleven shooting two of three from the outside. He is
Speaker 4: shooting over fifty percent from three his last twenty two games.
Speaker 4: Vote Don Bogdanovich hits some big points in the fourth
Speaker 4: quarter for the Clippers. Coach Lou also said this about
Speaker 4: the Clippers attacking home court advantage in the playoffs. Quote,
Speaker 4: We're just taking it one game at a time. From
Speaker 4: where we come from and now where we're at. From
Speaker 4: where we come from and now where we're at, we
Speaker 4: just want to get in. If we are able to
Speaker 4: get home court, that would be very special, especially with
Speaker 4: how we're playing at home. Coach Lou also said this
Speaker 4: about James Harden, who told him he felt quote stuck
Speaker 4: in mud in the first half, but eventually got going
Speaker 4: in the second half. Despite it. James Harden had twelve
Speaker 4: assists to three turnovers his last two games. He has
Speaker 4: Good Lord twenty six assists to five turnovers. Going back
Speaker 4: to Saturday night when he had fourteen assists to two turnovers.
Speaker 4: He wasn't the guy turning it over tonight, and it
Speaker 4: wasn't anybody in particular, but Norm had three, Zuo had two,
Speaker 4: Nico had two. Uncharacteristically, Jordan Miller had two. At the
Speaker 4: very end. So really, the Climbers had fifteen turnovers, those
Speaker 4: two by Jordan Miller at the very end of the game.
Speaker 4: Inconsequential completely, Clippers went one twenty two to one seventeen
Speaker 4: over the San Antonio Spurs final time out. We'll come back.
Speaker 4: I'll get back into the chat and back to some
Speaker 4: phone calls here, Mike in La is online, clay Von
Speaker 4: is online. The problem is, Clayvon, they won't be able
Speaker 4: to hear you in the chat. You gotta do it.
Speaker 4: You gotta call in for me when I'm back in
Speaker 4: Burbank and out into it Dome. I want them all
Speaker 4: to hear you. You know that. For it up. Then,
Speaker 4: I'm Adam Maslin, and you're listening to Clippers talk here
Speaker 4: on the Patriot eight eleven to fifty.
Speaker 3: I love this team. I never miss a game.
Speaker 1: You're listening to LA Clippers Basketball free ball, Yes, sir,
Speaker 1: right here on the LA Clippers Audio Network.
Speaker 4: Clippers win one twenty two to one seventeen over the
Speaker 4: San Antonio Spurs here and into a dome. I'm bet
Speaker 4: A Maaslin. We'll be back here tomorrow night. Clippers taking
Speaker 4: on the Houston Rockets team they went zero and three
Speaker 4: against without Kawhi Leonard this season. He'll be back tomorrow
Speaker 4: for that one. We'll see who plays for the Houston Rockets.
Speaker 4: Because they have locked up the two seed and they
Speaker 4: have some guys on the injury report, they may start
Speaker 4: sitting some guys. Clippers didn't play their best tonight. San
Speaker 4: Antonio had some hot shooting seventeen or forty two from
Speaker 4: the outside. Harrison Barnes went six of eight from three
Speaker 4: with twenty four points, and they fought, and I like
Speaker 4: their competitive spirit, and this is a team that moving
Speaker 4: forward next season, they could be a top four seed
Speaker 4: in the Western Conference. San Antonio could be that good.
Speaker 4: They could have a quick turnaround like that. Carlo I
Speaker 4: think brought it up in the pregame show. But they
Speaker 4: could be next year's Houston. I thought coming into this
Speaker 4: season the Houston Rockets potential was at best around six
Speaker 4: or seven. Well, they've exceeded those expectations because their defense
Speaker 4: was fantastic all year long and their offense has been
Speaker 4: coming around. They still struggle with their half court offense,
Speaker 4: but they got athletes. Javari Smith Junior went down. I'm
Speaker 4: in Thompson kind of ascended after that. Now they're healthy
Speaker 4: for the most part, they've been playing well. I don't
Speaker 4: think any team wants to see them in the first round.
Speaker 4: And the Clippers are currently in the four spot. So
Speaker 4: that whole seven to eight playing situation, Yeah, if they
Speaker 4: could drop a couple of games, they could be right
Speaker 4: in there. Clippers could be right back in there, I
Speaker 4: should say. But today it was the Minnesota Timberwolves giving
Speaker 4: up a thirty nine to eight run I believe in
Speaker 4: the fourth quarter in the last ten minutes to Milwaukee
Speaker 4: and losing that game and sliding all the way down
Speaker 4: into the eighth spot from that one loss. So it's
Speaker 4: a reminder, a cautionary tale that you can't slip up
Speaker 4: this time of the year. They let go of the
Speaker 4: rope and blew a game they shouldn't have. They were
Speaker 4: up big in by twenty four. The Clippers have to
Speaker 4: be cognizanto that they have to come in with the
Speaker 4: same fight that we saw in Spurts tonight, but with
Speaker 4: the same way they've been playing overall since Kawhi came
Speaker 4: back and has been at this level. That's what I
Speaker 4: want to see against Houston, for them to continue to
Speaker 4: build good habits and patterns that are going to translate
Speaker 4: to the playoffs. But it's also not just about process
Speaker 4: right now. It is about results. You just have to win, period.
Speaker 4: And if the Clippers win the last three, I think
Speaker 4: it worse. They might be in the fifth spot. Now,
Speaker 4: somebody's got to crunch the numbers because tiebreakers being involved
Speaker 4: make this extremely chaotic and convoluted. But I know they
Speaker 4: need a lot of help with the Lakers losing to
Speaker 4: get all the way up to three, but four does
Speaker 4: seem very attainable. My understanding is if Denver loses a
Speaker 4: game and the Clippers went out, and Denver has three left,
Speaker 4: just like the Clippers. Let's say the Nuggets lose Tomorrow
Speaker 4: night to the Kings and the Clippers went out, I
Speaker 4: believe they'd be in the four spot at worst, with
Speaker 4: an outside shot the three. But they're gonna need the
Speaker 4: Lakers to lose maybe all three, at least two of
Speaker 4: their last three because they have the tiebreaker over the Clippers.
Speaker 4: Lakers have Dallas Tomorrow night, Nuggets, and Sacramento. We're rooting
Speaker 4: for the Kings, We're rooting for the Mavericks there, but
Speaker 4: the Clippers have to handle their own business. If Houston
Speaker 4: is resting guys, and I'll give you the updated injury
Speaker 4: report as I saw a few guys on it for
Speaker 4: them earlier, and it makes sense the Lakers losing to Okay.
Speaker 4: See that told you the Houston Rockets magic number was
Speaker 4: one a victory or Lakers loss. To wrap up the
Speaker 4: two spot. Shngon questionable, Javari Smith Junior questionable, fed Van
Speaker 4: Vliet doubtful. I'm assuming at least one or two of
Speaker 4: these guys are not playing tomorrow, so it could be
Speaker 4: another no excuses game, even though second time been back
Speaker 4: to back. You got Kawhi back in fresh after three
Speaker 4: days off. Get them the ball and get out of
Speaker 4: the way. Let Kawhi cook like he has been. Let
Speaker 4: him lead you. James, you're a little bit tired. You
Speaker 4: played thirty eight minutes. Cool, Give it to Kawhi beats
Speaker 4: the Zubas thirty nine minutes. Give it to Kawhi, Norm
Speaker 4: Palette forty one, give it a claw. Let him be
Speaker 4: the hero. If you're tired tomorrow, you should have plenty
Speaker 4: in the tank. Then you get a day off. Then
Speaker 4: you're in Sacramento Friday, get a day off Sunday in
Speaker 4: San Francisco against Golden State, and yes, it could all.
Speaker 4: It will all come down to that game. Something will
Speaker 4: be on the line. I don't know if the winner
Speaker 4: of that game or the loser will end up in
Speaker 4: the play in, but something will be on the line
Speaker 4: that game against Golden State. On Sunday to close out
Speaker 4: the season, people were saying the Rockets arresting Clippers will win.
Speaker 4: Rockets have some guys in a mindset. Also, they're very competitive.
Speaker 4: In Meo dooka good head coach. They're tough. We'll have
Speaker 4: your pregame show starting at six thirty, tip off at
Speaker 4: seven thirty. Outside of Los Angeles. I do want to
Speaker 4: thank the Clippers. Excuse me, outside of the Los Angeles
Speaker 4: we were leaving you until then, and you know even
Speaker 4: in LA we're leaving you until then. Now, but before
Speaker 4: we get out of here, I do want to thank
Speaker 4: the Clippers organization. Ralph Lawler, Brian Seman, Noah Igo, Carlo Jimenez,
Speaker 4: big brother, Jake Warner, our head engineer here at in
Speaker 4: to It Dome, Joey Kimball and Chris Taylor are statisticians.
Speaker 4: Back in the bank. Daniel West, we'll talk to you
Speaker 4: guys tomorrow at six thirty Clippers and Rockets.
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