This Clipper team is pretty predictable. It’s a given that they’ll play crappy defense, surrendering about 105 points per 100 possessions. They’ll also shoot a ton of threes. On the year, 27.4% of their field goal attempts have been three-pointers; that’s the fourth-highest rate in the league. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this team lives or dies with the three-ball. Tonight, they hit 12-23 and won handily. When the likes of Mo, Caron, and Foye are hitting threes (they were a combined 8-16 tonight), the Clips are a great offensive team. Throw in a 3-4 night from Bobby Simmons, and they’re nearly unbeatable. But it’s not as if they played any differently than they did in their humiliating loss to Minnesota on Tuesday. They played the same clueless defense and the same perimeter-oriented offense. They just made their shots tonight.
Recap of the year right there.
It’s great to see the Clippers winning, but their defense will need to be addressed if they intend on going deep into the playoffs. Defense is a key ingredient for every championship team and the Clippers have the talent to step up their game and make some changes. Coaching is going to be critical with the shortened schedule it means more games in a less amount of time which means staying healthy is going to be essential for any winning team.
Let’s recap the Clippers and Timberwolves game! What a physical brand of basketball, it was a fun game to watch!