Clippers vs Wolves Preview + Why The Clips Are 7-7 Since The Grammy Trip

Clippers vs Wolves Preview + Why The Clips Are 7-7 Since The Grammy Trip

Tuesday night is set to be one of the biggest games of the season for the LA Clippers against the Minnesota timber bvs the injury report is lengthy on both sides who will play what does this game mean for the Clippers and why are we seven and seven since the Grammy trip G

To be talking about it all on today’s lockon clipper you are locked on Clippers your daily Los Angeles Clippers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every [Applause] Day yes sir you are locking in with the clips thank you for making locked on Clippers the first listen of your day your team every day I’m your host Daren vizeri born and raised in LA and in my 19th season as a Clipper fan you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram

At Dime dropper pod And subscribe to my own YouTube channel dime dropper for even more LA Clipper and LA Sports content and locked on Clippers is free and available wherever you get your podcast including YouTube and I want you to give me your score prediction for the game against the Timberwolves on Tuesday

And what a big game it is going to be talking about that and why I believe the Clippers have been struggling so much since the Grammy trip and then I’m going to be checking in on our stars and how it relates to what I just said so

That’ll be this episode and this episode is brought to you by Nissan take the Nissan Rogue Nissan Pathfinder or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure just shop Nissan USA .c Clipper Nation coming off that rough one against the Milwaukee Bucks now when

I say rough one I just mean that we lost we actually played pretty well obviously didn’t have 213 for the first time this season and still competed and made it a game now this Minnesota game is absolutely massive they are 44 and 21 we are 41 and 22 so they’ve played 65 games

We’ve played 63 games but if we defeat the wolves on Tuesday night not only will we tie the season series we will now have two less losses than them but the I’m sorry two less wins than them but the same amount of losses at 22 so one step closer to getting that

Three seed and with Carl Anthony towns out for the foreseeable future it is a golden opportunity as I talked about last episode in securing that three seed now as far as the injury report this comes from TOA Zari Clipper beat riter for clutch points he goes here’s who’s

Out Carl Anthony towns with the miniscus tear Russell Westbrook with the fracture of his left hand and then questionable for the Wolves Monte Morris left hamstring strain Kyle Anderson right shoulder pain Rudy goar right hamstring tightness Ant-Man left ankle soreness and then for the Clippers 213 left groin

Soreness for Kawai and then left knee soreness for Paul I believe that both two and three will will play if I had to predict from the Wolves side I think Anthony Edwards will play as far as Monte Morris and KY Anderson I don’t know but the major thing is if Rudy

Gobear doesn’t play that’s huge because he’s made an incredible impact in every single one of the games that we’ve played against them this season protecting the rim and what I saw in the last game Lakers wolves this past weekend was with without Carl Anthony towns and without Rudy gobear they had

Nas Reed playing the five and as good as Nas Reed is he is like 69 so they’re not going to play Drop coverage with nas Reed they’re going to try to either switch him onto the perimeter or Blitz now let’s say they do Blitz the Lakers for example who are a

Worst three-point shooting team than us were getting the ball moving getting into those fouron three situations and then swinging to open guys for three so they were taking advantage of it now if they do that with us we really need to look at swinging the ball quickly zubot

And Ty mainly Zoo CU I’m assuming he’s going to get more minutes needs to make quick reads in that short roll and we got to knock down our threes we are second in the league in threes and most teams go with drop coverage or high drop

Coverage against us if we can get that four on3 situation and generate open threes we got to knock them down and we can run run them out of there blow them out now if they try the other strategy which I think they will because James Harden and Paul George and kawhai their

Weakness as a collective is that none of them get to the basket very often can have much of a quick First Step anymore so Nas Reed being a fairly mobile big will likely try to switch now that will put us in position let’s say James Harden is on the ball now you’re

Probably going to get Mike connley guarding James Harden McDaniels guarding kawwai and the Ant-Man guarding Paul George like we’ve seen in the first three matchups so let’s say James Harden runs that pick and roll with zoo and Nas Reed is guarding Zoo if you switch NZ

Reed on a Harden that puts Mike Conley on zoo we got to switch we got to throw that to zoo all the time now I don’t think they’re going to do that because they’re not stupid enough to put Conley on zoo I think that particular action

They are going to Blitz I would be shocked if they go drop and if they do Harden has to take advantage he has to and get good shots and make them send a third Defender to rotate onto Zoo so that we can find an open shooter because

If they play that pick and roll two on two with Conley fighting over the top and Nas Reen drop coverage Harden will either get a lob or a bucket or he you know he should get a lob or a bucket now the kawaiian Paul pick and rolls they will definitely switch because Jaden

McDaniels will guard zoo and then you’ll have Reed guarding Kawai and they’ll like that matchup so I think they’re going to do it with both the one exploitable matchup mainly is Conley in the pick and roll because he cannot guard Zoo so I would like to see us if

We’re going to go with the pick and roll combination I would like to see the James Harden zubats pick and roll more so than the Kawai and Paul CU they’re going to try to switch that action I already know they’re going to try it’s the most logical thing they could do so

It’ll be interesting we need to knock down our threes defensively not having Carl Anthony towns is Big because we struggled with his size this season that it wasn’t until the last game that we beat them where Paul George was guarding him we kind of found okay PG does a

Pretty good job on him but you know Terren was getting lit up by him when he was trying to guard him they would just switch get kawhai switched off of him and he would dominate shoot over the top and be aggressive so not having him will

Even out the size matchup so we should win if goar doesn’t play if he does play I still think we should win because even though it’ll be tougher at the rim no Carl Anthony towns that is pretty big not all of a sudden our lack of front court size

That’s not a big deal anymore so I think we should be good I think we can get the job done I think we should get the job done and we need to this is a huge game the Ant-Man is going to try to go off we

Need to do as good a job at the point of attack as we can I would suggest besides the first couple minutes of each half where Terence man will guard him I suggest we have kawhai or Paul George guarding him in this game for the rest

Of it because again I still don’t fully trust Terence man on number one options at the highest level but I know I have some people that disagree with me on that I’m a big teren man Advocate anyway coming up going to be talking about the reasons why the

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Weeks we are seven and seven since the Grammy Trip s and seven and in those 14 games we’ve only had two good performances in my opinion the Minnesota win on the road and the Chicago I sorry the Washington blowout every other one was a mediocre performance at

Best we haven’t been playing very well the last 14 games we haven’t and I’ll tell you the biggest reason in my opinion our three-point shooting this thatat comes courtesy of our radio host Adam osland in the Clippers last 13 games they are shooting just 31% % on wide openen

Threes And Wide Open is uh qualified as or categorized as a Defender that is six plus feet away that’s last in the league over that span and I don’t think that’s going to last but that really tells you know 13 of those 14 games that are used in my sample size here being

Seven and seven that’s not like us we’re the second highest three-point shooting team in the league still to this day 39% right behind the Oklahoma City Thunder now the Boston Celtics and the Minnesota Timberwolves are right on our tail only point two behind but I feel like it’s

Just a matter of time before we start shooting wel from three again now here is part of the reason why it doesn’t feel like we’re generating as many good looks as we did earlier in the season now I’m not saying we’re not still generating them we are but it

Doesn’t seem like we’re generating them as much now we I’m not going to say we’re a three-point shooting team because our volume isn’t super high but our efficient three-point shooting is a big part of what makes our offense really good and that’s really what has struggled the last couple of weeks and

Has hurt us offensively and that in turn gets us to set our defense because we’re not the best team defensively in transition we know that with our Personnel we’re on the older side but our three-point percentage I think that’s really what’s hurt us the most and it comes down to Stars creating good

Shots now James Harden in the month of January and December he looked really really good you know you could argue he’s our second best player you can still argue it too because Paul George has been all over the place but James Harden has looked slower the last couple

Of like I want to say the last month or so since the Cleveland game he still has had some really good games where he hits his threes but it’s gone back to like what I said before we got him it’s like if it step back three is in Falling is he

Creating as many you know the amount of good shots that we need at the highest level I’m not saying he’s not going to still create shots he’s always going to create some good shots throughout a game he’ll always have the opportunity to get eight to 10 assists but if that’s not

Going to be enough at the highest level to win at all we’re not just going to need that we’re going to still need for him to score and be getting clean clean looks for everybody on a consistent basis in his role if he’s going to be the number one ball handler playmaker on

This team we need him to create some advantages especially if he’s getting the third best defender on the other team now in Paul George is another part of this right he is so passive and he settled so much in the sense I mean you know what recently he hasn’t necessarily been

Passive he’s actually been shooting a good amount but he settles so much he doesn’t put pressure on the defense and get them to collapse and when he does does get the defense to collapse that’s when he can find open Shooters and then he’s becoming part of us getting open

Shots so when he settles for those contested jumpers without getting a second Defender to come help that’s not helping us create open shots and get open threes so he’s also hurting as well and then kawh Leonard I mean let’s be honest he doesn’t really get by guys like that he doesn’t and he

Does at times Garner a second Defender but a lot of times that’s in the mid post and I think part of the reason why our three-point shooting is gone down and we’re not getting as many clean looks is because teams are starting to see and I’ve mentioned this for a couple

Weeks now that Kawai is not the best passing out of double teams you got to remember that these teams have so much data nowadays they probably say like oh when kawhai gets doubled they get this many points per possession and that kind of stuff like this is the kind of aess

They have to scout these days and I think you’re starting to see when Kawai catches the ball in the post especially when teams switch smaller Defenders onto him they will be much more willing to double now because they’re starting to see that kawhai doesn’t always get rid

Of the ball quickly enough and so I think that has really hurt us as well so it my main takeaway is our three-point shooting part of it is I think just the law of averages it’s going to come back in my opinion it’s going to come back

But I think our process just hasn’t been as good that’s just off the eye test I have no proof of how many open threes we’re getting compared to the month of December and January I’m just going off my eye test and it doesn’t feel like we’re generating the same amount of

Clean looks and I think it comes down to our shot creators now Russell Westbrook also being out for a couple games that can definitely hurt because he generates open threes because of his ability to get to the basket and draw two Defenders so that definitely is a part of it as

Well but coming up going to be going more in depth about kawhai Paul Jordan James Harden how have they really been doing these last 14 games going to be talking about that coming up I got to tell you a little something about Nissan are you the kind of driver that

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Right so let’s do a little star check and the stars begin with Kawai in the last 12 games he’s averaging 22 points let’s just stop right there 22 points that’s not good enough this is kawii Leonard we’re talking about one of the best players in the NBA a guy we

Were putting in MVP talks just a month ago 22 points that’s kind of pushed him out of those MVP talks in my opinion cuz they were starting to heat up when we were doing well but he hasn’t had enough big scoring games lately and it has hurt us

It has and I don’t think that’s and here’s the thing let me just preface this by saying he’s still playing the best of anyone on the team don’t get it twisted he is still playing the best of anyone on the team but again he is our hope to win a championship the other

Guys they’re not getting anywhere in this conversation without him he’s the man 22 points in the last 12 games kind of concerns me he needs to get that up to 25 plus as we head towards the playoffs is he looking tired a little bit on the you know is he looking older

I mean he has been so healthy this season I’m still knocking I still am but that could be a part of it you know the wear of the Season he hasn’t played this many games in a couple of Seasons 22 points per game in the last

12 he’s shooting 48% though in the last 12 so he hasn’t been inefficient obviously that obviously that’s a little bit down from his normal average but he hasn’t been inefficient from the field but and this definitely relates to our poor three-point percentage 29% from three in the last 12 so kawai’s in a

Little bit of a three-point slump but I also don’t feel like he’s gotten so many clean looks like before he is a contested shot maker but it felt like he was getting a lot of clean looks from Harden and Westbrook and I feel like he hasn’t gotten as many and here’s the

Concerning thing about those 12 games Kawai was only the leading scorer in five of those you want to see him be you know kind of take this by the scru for the net going forward and I think again I’m going to mention it I think more teams

Are starting to Double Take the ball out of his hands now James Harden I mentioned that he’s looked slower his stats are actually pretty much the same 18 points five rebounds eight assists in the last 14 games but and his three-point percentage is still really good 41% but he’s shooting slightly

Worse in the field 42% so he he’s had some more inefficient games but stat-wise he’s looked about this he looks around the same defensively though I don’t think he’s been as good the last month or two as he was the first two months and then Paul

George I think this is the most blatant culprit last 11 games he’s averaging 19.9 points per game so 20 but like 20 points on 44% from the field and 33 from three that’s not good enough simply not good enough so when you look at what’s

Going on it’s the Stars they need to be better they’ve looked older and slower they are the ones that sometimes you know at the end the games against the Lakers against the Bucks they’re dribbling the ball at the top of the key for way too long and we’re not getting

Good possessions we’re not getting downhill and creating good shots so it’s down to them it’s down to them they contribute to the three-point shooting I mean Paul George is shooting 33% from three the last 11 games and kawhai shooting 29% from three the last 12 games so and I checked Norman pal he’s

Still shooting 40 the last however many you know 13 14 games so it’s really about those guys 213 and of course James Harden creating advantages it’s all about the Stars it is a Stars league so keep an eye on that and you know what I will say what else has hurt

Harden in the pick and roll not having zubats zubot is the best screener on the team and even though he’s not the greatest roller or lob threat he gets he get he sets such good screens that James Harden will have more space now Zoo’s Defender has to really rot

And that leaves him open for lobs but also if somebody tries to sink and take away Zoo’s lob or layup that’s when Harden can make that pass for corner 3es and it creates open shots with Zoo’s roll gravity and it starts from that screen so that’s another reason why I

Think we haven’t been creating as many shots uh or good looks from three so let’s keep an eye on how the three point percentage is going forward because we are absolutely going to need it now this is a big one as I said if we

Lose oh man I’m not going to be looking forward to that I won’t be at the game I have an Allstar my first Allstar wreck game to coach in the regional tournament I am super excited for that but I won’t be at the game it’ll be my I believe my

10th Miss game of the season or 11th it’s either 10th or 11th Miss game of the season I’ve been a 22 so far and we have played 31 so yeah it’ll be my 10th Miss game let’s see how it goes we got to get it done like Carl Anthony towns is not

Playing no matter what we’ve got to get it done who do I want to see play the best I’m hoping even though Kawai was the guy the last time he played them I want to see it be a Kawai again because I believe that he needs to be the best player on the

Court in basically every series for us to win the championship which is power for the course like whoever wins the championship that best player on their team was probably the best player in every single series just like yic was last year just like Kawai was in 2019

Sorry Warriors fans I said it so same story but yeah let me know what you think of the episode you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @ dim dropper pod subscribe to my own YouTube channel dime dropper where I posted a vlog of the Bucks game and of course the Bulls

Game so check those out on the channel been trying to give you know the fans a voice all season long more than ever before and of course locked on Clippers is free and available wherever you get your podcast make sure you’re subscribed and make sure you hit the notification

Bell so you know every single time we post a video your only 5 day a week Clipper podcast sorry about the lack of guests recently I’ll try to do better to get some more on because you don’t want to just hear me all the time I don’t

Think anybody wants to hear me all the time either but let me know what you think and give me your score prediction for this game and let me know what you’re thinking of what I said about the three-point shooting and our stars and don’t just make excuses for your

Favorite which a lot of you do in the comments because you’re just fans of one guy anyway the age old proverb continues go Clippers

The LA Clippers play their biggest game of the week and one of the biggest of the season on Tuesday Night vs the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the three seed very much in reach and the Timberwolves sitting in that spot right now, the Clippers will look to tie them in the loss column with a win over them.

In this episode, die hard Los Angeles Clippers fan and Host Darian Vaziri previews the game and looks at the lengthy injury report. Then he looks at the teams’ 7-7 record in the last 14 games. What’s the cause? How much are the stars responsible for the recent dip in form? Darian goes through the numbers to offer some clarity.

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