Friday night's ESPN National double header included a pair of NBA group cup games on the 10 game slate. The first matchup would be between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Minnesota Timberwolves and the second matchup would feature the Oklahoma City Thunder vs the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clippers vs Timberwolves
The Clippers and Timberwolves are two teams heading in very different directions at the moment. The Clippers have won 6 of their last 7 games while the Timberwolves have dropped 4 in a row coming into the game. The Clippers defense has been stellar so far this season as they are top 5 in defensive rating in the NBA. Ty Lue has done a great job of using his collection of wing players and getting the most of his group without Kawhi Leonard. The Timberwolves have had some more national attention than warranted. Anthony Edwards had a pretty public interview calling out the Timberwolves team for their softness amongst other things. Let's dive into the recap.
Recap
The Clippers opened with a lineup of Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr, James Harden, Amir Coffey, and Ivica Zubac. The Clippers had been on their hot streak without Norma Powell, who has missed the last 6 games. The Timberwolves countered with Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert. Conley returned to the lineup after missing the last 3 games for Minnesota. Early on the game felt like the Timberwolves just needed to find a way to win this game. They were out of the NBA cup, but It really just felt like they needed to have a win for confidence in the future and get themselves going. Early on Conley and McDaniels both hit threes. They've both been really struggling shooting the ball while on the floor this season. McDaniels earn himself a big contract in the offseason and feels like he needs to prove the worth of the extension he signed. The Clippers looked a little bothered by the Wolves energy early on. Harden had a couple of turnovers on some early possession as well as just overall discomfort. The Clippers has some long possessions that led to some poor shots late in the shot clock. I liked that the Wolves brought Gobert to the level of the screen instead of playing him in drop coverage and tried to use his length to get the ball out of Harden's hands. The Clippers however, made some timely threes and were able to get back in the game after being down 16-8 very early. You feel how important this game was to the Wolves and the urgency they were playing with. Nickeil Alexander-Walker entered the game and knocked down an early three for the Wolves. He as been fantastic this season for the Wolves. Minnesota took a 26-25 lead into the 2nd quarter. Alexander-Walker really got the second unit rolling with his energy and defense. A big part of the reason why the Wolves have been able to stay a float has been because of Alexander-Walker. He has been their best player off the bench and second best overall behind Edwards this season. A couple stats to back that up are very telling. He's first on the Wolves with a +71 when on the court, -55 when he is off the court. The +72 is the best on the Wolves team. When he is on the floor the Wolves have a net rating of +8 per 100 possessions, with a 113 offensive rating and 105 defensive rating. When he is off the court the Wolves have net rating of -7 per 100 possessions with an offensive rating of 108, one of the worst in the league, and 115 defensive rating, which would also be one of the worst in the league. He's also shooting 52/47 splits this season while being the best defender for the Wolves. He's really picked up the play for Jaden McDaniels, whose has a team worst -46 +- on the court. The Wolves jumped out on a 14-2 run and were able to push the lead to 40-29. The Clippers were able to battle back making some timely threes. Kevin Porter Jr. gave them goo minutes off the bench and Jones Jr. helped provide them with some good defense. The Clippers with no Norman Powell have struggled on offense. His shooting this season has been amazing and he's been one of the best three point shooters. The Wolves got a little lazy on defense and the Clippers were able to get some easier baskets in transition and James Harden started to put his imprint on the game. The Wolves took a 53-47 lead into the halftime break. Alexander-Walker had 12 points to lead the Wolves, Edwards was 2/8 shooting in the first half. Harden had 14 points on 5/8 shooting and Kevin Porter Jr. put in 10 points for the Clippers. Neither team shoot the ball well and it was a defensive battle throughout the entire game. The Clippers in the second continued to bother Edwards on the ball screens, they started doubling on the sideline with Zubac and then scramble out of it. It worked well in the first half, Edwards hadn't made the adjustment yet to beat them. This is definitely the next progression Edwards needs to make. His offensive scoring ability is one of the best in the NBA, but he still hasn't been able figure quickly how to beat defenses. I'd like him to be able to make defenses ay after they throw the same coverage or defense at him for a second or third time in a row. The Clippers really caused a lot of problems for Edwards and you could see Edwards frustration boil over as he got a technical foul on a pretty clear missed call. However, the technical foul seemed to fire up the Timberwolves and get themselves and Edwards going, after being pretty average in the 3rd quarter. The wolves when on an 8-0 run, but not before the Clippers were able to come back in the game. Another thing for the Clippers that was interest was the Terrance Mann minutes. he had been a big part of the rotation in the past for the Clippers, but has really seen his minutes dip. His shooting has dipped and the Clippers has a whole have not been good in his minutes on the floor. The Clippers were able to battle back in the game and cut the Wolves lead to 72-68. The Mo Bamba minutes in this one weren't great for the Clippers. He was a little lost on the defensive end, and the Wolves really attacked him on both offense and defense. However, Nic Batum hit some huge threes after a 5-0 Wolves run to force a timeout and bring the game to 80-80. The Wolves were able to score on the after timeout play and take some control of the game. The Wolves also went back to drop coverage which I did not like against Harden in the pick and roll and he made a couple very easy passes and got the Wolves out of that coverage pretty easily. Harden hit and And-1 three to take a short lead before Any hit a three on the other end to take a 92-90 lead with about 2 minutes left. Zubac was able to get a putback layup with minute left and Edwards made a free throw on the other end to put the score at 93-92. The Clippers had an unfortunate turnover in transition after a Wolves miss. The Wolves ran the clock down and got an offensive rebound to put the game away with a 93-92. Edwards had 21 points to lead the Wolves and Harden had 20 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals for the Clippers. The Clippers dropped to 12-9 on the year while the Timberwolves moved to 9-10.
Reaction
This game felt like a must-have for the Timberwolves if they wanted to keep pace in the Western conference. Must-have usually don't happen 20 games into the season, but the vibe around the way this team had played recently suggested they needed a win. For the Wolves it was nice to see Conley hit a couple threes in this one and be able to find a rhythm in the game. Hopefully that can carry on throughout the season and get him going. I'm more concerned about Jaden McDaniels though. He has not been good this season and the Wolves have really hurt because of it. He's taken a step back on defense and his lack of shooting has really hurt them. Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished the game over him in this one.
The Clippers have already outdone expectations this year. Ty Lue has again proven the elite coach that he is with his sets and ability to get the best out of the players on the floor. They've really struggled with shooting since they lost Norman Powell to injury, but the defense is legit. They've gotten great production from Dunn, Jones Jr. and Coffey on that end of the floor. The Terrence Mann storyline is something worth monitoring because they gave him a contract extension last offseason. Overall, I still love the way the Clippers have played this season.
Thunder vs Lakers
The Lakers vs Thunder was the second part of the double header. The Thunder have been able to find their footing behind their defense after losing 2 of 3 games. They own the number 1 defensive rating and Isaiah Hartenstein has really elevated both the offense and defense for Oklahoma City. The Lakers however, have been very up and down. The defense has not been good and the style that Redick wants to play has not yet fully reached the game. The Lakers have had some stretches where they look really good, but stretches where they look really bad. They are on a 3 game skid coming into this one and have not allowed less than 120 points. Let's dive into the action.
Recap
The Lakers rolled out the lineup of Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht, and Rui Hachimura. The Laker some experimented with some lineups this season, but I think this one has the best combination of shooting and size. This one is -15 in 36 minutes together. That isn't great but it's better than the lineups starting Reddish and I think Russell coming off the bench. I've also really liked Reaves handling the ball. The Thunder opened with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, Cason Wallace, and Lu Dort. The Thunder have been a revolving door with the injuries they've had this season. They'll be without Holmgren and Caruso in this one. A key area to watch in this one was the fastbreak points. The Thunder force a ton of turnovers and want to play with pace in transition. The Lakers have mostly played in the half court so far this year and really struggle defending in transition. The Thunder however would prove their pace was a big factor. They jumped out to an 18-8 lead and forced some early Lakers turnovers. The Los Angeles size should give the smaller Thunder problems on the glass though. The Lakers however, would play through Davis and help them get back in the game. Another number that was concerning to me was the Lebron on/off numbers. The Lakers have not been good with him on the floor this season. I think mostly because of the recent blowouts have inflated those numbers a bit, but in the non-Lebron minutes the Lakers have a net rating of +12 pre 100 possessions with an offensive rating of 122 and a defensive rating of 110. This was pretty surprising since he's been good with shooting and passing this year, but the defense has significantly dropped. At this point in his career, he's not a good defender for 48 minutes a game. Partly, is just because he's old and can only give so much of his energy at 39 years old. Jalen Williams really got after the Lakers in the first quarter and helped the Thunder just out to a 32-24 lead at the end of the quarter. The Lakers bench however, has gotten them back into games this year and a big part of that was D'Angelo Russell moving to the bench. He's been great running the second unit and the athleticism and defense in that group has really helped the Lakers this year. He has the best +- of any Laker on the roster this year. His energy along with the second unit of Max Christie and Cam Reddish off the bench helped a lot. Isaiah Hartenstein really showed in the second quarter the next level he's able to take the Thunder to in his 128 minutes this year the Thunder have a net rating of +18 per 100 possessions with an offensive rating of 111 and defensive rating of 93. He's been great so far in elevating the floor on offense with his passing and the rebounding he's provided them on both sides of the ball. The Lakers were able to get back in the game with Anthony Davis disrupting both sides of the ball. His activity in pick and roll coverage was unbelievable. He's one of the best in the league as disrupting both the ball handler and roller at the same time. Teams have averaged 0.60 point per possession with him defending in a pick and roll. The Lakers were able cut the lead to 3 with OKC leading 51-48 at halftime. Shai lead the Thunder with 15 points. He gave the Lakers a lot of issues in 1-on-1 isolations. Jalen Williams had 11 points. Russell had 8 points and Davis had 9 points for the Lakers. The Lakers started Cam Reddish in the second half over Reaves. Reaves hit the floor hard following a drive and would sit out the first couple minutes of the second half to get some treatment. The Thunder started out super fast in the second half and went up 59-50 at one point. The Lakers however would come back. Dalton Knecht lead the charge for LA. He attacked the basket really well and his shooting was unbelievable throughout the game. JJ Redick has some really creative sets to get him open and has done a great job of putting him in positions that force the defense to make some tough decisions. The Lakers behind him and Davis would give the Thunder some problems and would cut into the 9 point lead. The pace of the game really slowed down and felt like it favored the Lakers entering the 4th quarter. OKC lead 71-69 after the 3rd. The 3rd quarter was a rock fight with the lead changing multiple times, however the Thunder hit back-to-back threes and OKC played with the pace they wanted to. Hartenstein also got a couple of offensive rebounds to get the Thunder some extra possessions. Shai and Knecht were going back and forth late in the 4th hitting threes and mid range shots. Redick has been great this year with his ATO plays and has the Lakers getting the shots they want late. Reaves got an And-1 down 3, but couldn't make the free throw. Shai came back down and connected on a huge three. I wasn't crazy about his shot selection throughout the 4th quarter in this game or their game Wednesday against the Warriors. He was able to hit threes when it mattered though. His three made it 95-91 OKC. Max Christie made a mid range shot to make it 95-93 before Shai free throws made it 97-93 The Lakers took the ball out of bound, but a late Lebron turnover on the pass gave Williams an easy dunk to seal the game. The Thunder went on to win 101-93. Shai took over the fourth quarter and had 36 points. Williams had 19 points and Hartenstein had 11 points and 17 rebounds to lead OKC. Knecht had 20 points to lead the Lakers, and Russell had 17 points off the bench. Davis had a nice stat line of 15 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 blocks. The Thunder improve to 15-4 and take control of NBA Cup group B, while the Lakers drop to 11-8 and need a lot of help to advance to the knockout rounds.
Reaction
Two great wins for OKC in these last two games. Shai has hit some clutch shots to give OKC the daggers to win. The Thunder outshot the Lakers 93-73 in their win last night and had 15 offensive rebounds. Hartenstein has been great for them this season and adds the passing and rebounding the offense and defense needed. I still want to see the shot selection improve in the 4th, but great win nonetheless.
The Lakers have been on super rough stretch recently. The defense is not good, especially in transition. The Lebron numbers are a little concerning on the floor and this is going to sound a little crazy, but the Russell minutes have been good since his early scenes of laziness in the Grizzlies game. Redick has some really good sets for the Lakers, but ultimately they need to figure out the defense as they are now 25th in that department for far this season. They also haven't gotten to the offensive glass and the three point shooting has been bad, areas Redidk emphasized in the pre-season.
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