December 3rd - New Orleans Pelicans VS Los Angeles Clippers - 12-12
Back at .500 and this time, taking on the LA Clippers for the second time this season. We already beat them once, but that was back at the beginning of the year. Both teams looked a little different at the time.
Little evaluation of record here: LAC have a 15-7 record, which is currently one of the best in the league. However, that record is a liiiiittle bit inflated. Firstly, they have two early season wins against Houston, back when the Rockets sucked. They also have an early season win against the (then) 0-3 OKC Thunder, which was missing Westbrook. They beat Golden State, which was missing Steph at the time. Washington, Orlando, and early season Minnesota are also on their win list. That said, they also have wins against a fully healthy Milwaukee, Memphis, Portland, and San Antonio. So their record isn't as impressive as the numbers may suggest at first glance, but it IS still good. That said, let's look at the team evaluation:
Offensive Rating: 4th
Defensive Rating: 14th
Rebounds per game: 14th
Assists per game: 22nd
Steals per game: 30th
Blocks per game: 17th
2pt percentage: 20th
3pt percentage: 3rd
Pretty simple to analyse, in some respects: they have a really good offensive game largely carried by the fact that their primary ball handlers (Gallinari, Harris, Teodosic, Mike Scott) are all shooting above 40% from three, and that their 6th man is Lou Williams, who is shooting under 40% from the field and under 35% from three, but is getting to the free throw line around 6 times a game and converting at 94% clip. Essentially: this team isn't great at rebounding, protecting the rim, stealing, or passing, but they can sure put the ball in the net, usually from deep. Which is a problem when, like us, you are a team that has had serious, ongoing issues defending the perimeter.
Tobias Harris is their largest threat. He's averaging around 21pts and 9 rebounds, on 50+% from the floor and 43% from 3. He can't be fouled either, as he's shooting 84% from the FT line, and is not fouling or turning it over. He's a big guy, so he'll need to be defended with size: unfortunately, Jrue can't take this one. That means we'll be looking for good minutes from Wes Johnson, and maybe Solo given how solid he's looked on D recently. AD might need to kick into defensive gear at times to handle switches and cuts from Tobias.
AD will be better served putting the majority of his defensive minutes on Montrezl Harrell though: he's averaging 17/7, on 66% from the floor, and is a real energy player. He cuts hard and often, runs to the rim, and averages nearly 2 blocks a game. He pulls down basically three offensive boards per game, and if their offense is going to be cut short, it's going to take cutting off their second chances. AD, and even Randle, will need to invest some serious defensive energy keeping him off the offensive boards and stopping him from running pick and roll all game.
Beyond that, it's just Jrue on the guards (SGA, Lou Will), and solid games from everyone else. The D was brilliant in the last game, and I'd love to see it carry it on. Our offense has been pretty good most of the season, so the defense is the real problem. If we can consistently guard like we did last game, I don't see why we couldn't rise up the Western Conference rankings pretty quickly. A win tonight solidifies the tie-breaker against LAC, in case that comes up.
Let's go, #DoItBig.
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Originally Posted by msusousaphone
if people do, and they appreciate it, then awesome. I know they're long though, so they're more for me to focus in on the game and gear up my expectations reasonably.
