Draymond Green is my favorite center in the NBA. The 6-foot-6-inch Green toggled down to the five spot in Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli’s absence and was able to anchor the Warriors’ defense against 7-footer DeAndre Jordan while also leading the attack on offense. After the game Dray told reporters that he is the “best center in the league.” That may have been a joke but the Clippers aren’t laughing, especially not after having lost all three meetings versus the Warriors this season.
Here are 10 thoughts on the game:
1) Draymond Green, have yourself a night! The All-Star forward/center grabbed his league-leading 11th triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He managed all that while playing point guard for the Warriors on offense and guarding a behemoth in the paint on defense. Dray did well on Jordan by getting his backside low into DeAndre’s legs to keep the big man from jumping and he also stayed close to thwart lobs from CP3. (The only negative from the game was Dray picking up his 12th technical.)
2) Stephen Curry had an off shooting night (5-15) but with the Clippers defense focused on getting the ball out of his hands, he was a wizard finding open shooters (9 assists) and continually made the pass that led to the assist (usually to Green with a behind-the-back whip). Contrary to what Charles Barkley might have to say, Steph isn’t just a shooter. He scored 23 points on a night when he connected on only 5 baskets.
3) Sometimes it feels like Steph and Klay are just taking turns being the leading scorer. With the defense draped all over the MVP, Klay stepped up and connected on 50% of his shots for 32 points. He also chipped in with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. When one All-Star has an off night, the other two are there to pick him up. That’s how this team has 49 wins in 54 outings.
4) I love watching Chris Paul play basketball but really dislike watching Chris Paul argue over calls. During the second quarter when he got fouled on a rip-through move, CP3 walked to the free-throw line expecting two shots when everyone knows the rip-through rule equals side out of bounds. Save everyone’s time and inbound the ball please.
5) Don’t let the final stat line (2 fouls) fool you, CP3 fouled Steph on just about every possession. This has been going on for years, but for the third time this season against the Clippers, it was Steph that was plagued with early foul trouble and had to sit in the first quarter.
6) Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith and Paul Pierce were supposed to breathe new life into the Clippers bench. Two of those guys are now playing for other teams and Pierce looks just about done as a reliable NBA player (1-7 FG, 2 points). Now Jeff Green gets to be the guy that’s supposed to breathe new life into the Clippers’ bench. He had 5 points in his first game for LA.
7) Mo Speights didn’t play particularly well (Cole Aldrich scored 4 points and grabbed 6 boards in 8 minutes against him) but he did have the jam of the night!
8) Fans have been hard on Harrison Barnes recently but these are the games that show off his value. He scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting while playing the power forward position. Not many small forwards are able to defend 4s and also hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
9) Pablo Prigioni plays basketball the same way I do against my elementary school-aged nieces and nephews. I’m never actually looking to shoot, just to pass the ball to an open kid for a confidence-boosting layup. This works great with kids … not so much in the NBA.
10) Why you should never gamble lesson 1,000: With 1:13 left in the game, the Warriors had a 115-102 lead. Somehow in the next 73 seconds, the Clippers’ reserves were able to whittle the lead all the way down to 3. CJ Wilcox had a chance to tie the contest with a desperation heave but the Warriors prevailed with a three-point win. The line was 3.5.