Clippers Bench Experiences Some Growing Pain-Orange County Register

Immediately after Friday’s early defeat against the Golden State, Tyronn Lue couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was plagued the Clippers bench, beyond the obvious. ”

The Clippers reserve scored 20 points, shooting 9 at 23. It was 22 less than the men off the Warriors bench.And the Clippers starter continued to work effectively, but ended up with a box score of plus 7. 115-105 loss, The reserve was minus 17.

This reflects a trend that is incompatible with the recent Clippers season, with the bench being one of the most effective features (as a result, the Sixman of the Year award in a row).

Not so many this season, but at least not yet. The Clippers reserve is the league’s worst minus 5.3 over 10 games.That is, so far It exceeded 53 points.

In the last round, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell led the bench production, and the Clippers reserves Third best plus-2.0.. A year before that? Plus-1.1, 6th place.

According to Lou, this is the result of early tinkering in progress.

“If you want to stagger PG (Paul George) and Kawhi (Leonard) like in the first 7 or 8 games, find the right combination and see who is playing well together. The new coach is just trying to figure out the rotation before the defeat on Friday. ” His team abandoned the 22-point third-quarter lead, including evaporating 10 points in Final 2. : Third quarter 19, when Leonard was the only starter on the floor.

“We’re going to understand that,” Lou added. “It’s a good problem, especially if you’re a starter and you can get Marcus (Morris) off the bench right now. Such talents come out of the bench and add another dynamic to the team. . ”

Morris returned from pain in his right knee on Wednesday and made the first three shots. Since then he has become accustomed to his new role and has been 2 to 13.

But he wasn’t the only one to find a way.

Williams’ average shooting – 43.2% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point range – is on par with recent seasons. But under Lou, the 34-year-old three-time Sixman of the Year averages 20.3 minutes per game, about eight minutes less than last season. And it shows that: On average, he has about eight fewer shot attempts, only 8.9 points per game. This is the first (for now) single digit since 2006-07.

Ivica’s Batch has slotted into the backup center position as former Williams running mate Harrell works for the team below the hall.in spite of A flash of things that can be a beautiful work relationship The idea that Williams, and the previous starter, could probably celebrate the opposition of the second string-Zubuck’s contribution was not particularly strong.

Zubac averaged 17.9 minutes from the bench, below 18.4 as a starter last season. He shoots 71.1% off the field, but only takes 3.8 shots per game (compared to 5.3 last season), averaging only 3.8 rebounds (compared to 7.5 in 2019-20). hand).

And Zubuck’s influence (and opportunity) has recently diminished: in the Clippers’ last five games, he averaged 16.6 minutes and 4.8 points. In the first five times he averaged 19.2 minutes and 10.4 points.

Defensively, the Clippers bench isn’t exactly impressive. Not only do they give up more points than 34.5 per game they contribute to (19th overall league), but the units most often feature a combination of Williams, Zubuck, Luke Kennard, Reggie Jackson and Teransman. And. 25th place with defensive rebounds (32.5 per game) and committed fouls (22.2 per game).