Darian Vaziri here, the host of the daily Locked On Clippers podcast, with your daily Locked On Clippers newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Clippers and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
How The LA Clippers Can Get Revenge On Houston
Nov 13, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; NBA referee Jenna Schroder (20) talks with LA Clippers guard James Harden (1) against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images|Erik Williams/Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Clippers’ Strategy Against the Rockets: Key Adjustments Needed
As a lifelong Los Angeles Clippers fan, I’ve seen the highs and lows of our team. After a tough loss to the Houston Rockets, it’s clear we need to make some strategic adjustments to secure a win in the upcoming rematch. Here’s what I believe needs to change.
Reevaluating the Small Ball Approach
One of the critical areas we need to address is our reliance on small ball lineups. In our recent game against the Rockets, we struggled on the boards, largely due to our smaller lineup. Ivica Zubac has been a standout performer this season, averaging 16 points and 13 rebounds per game. However, in games where he played less than 30 minutes, we suffered our most significant losses. It’s evident that maintaining a strong presence in the paint is crucial, especially against teams like the Rockets, who have skilled post players like Alperen Sengun.
Tyronn Lue’s strategy of using Nicolas Batum at the five might have worked in the past, but it seems less effective now. Batum’s ability to battle for position and maintain physicality has diminished with age, and we may need to adapt. Keeping a traditional center on the court could prevent our offense from stagnating and help us control the glass better. Kai Jones was not used in this game. I hope that changes.
Performance of Key Players
Our stars need to step up, particularly James Harden and Norman Powell. Powell had an off night in our last game, shooting under 30% for the first time this season. He needs to adjust to defenses that are now top-blocking him, a tactic used to prevent him from coming off screens for open shots. By incorporating more back cuts and spontaneous movements, Powell can exploit these defensive schemes.
Harden, on the other hand, needs to improve his defensive efforts and be more decisive in his offensive plays. An efficient scoring night from Harden, with 20-plus points and solid shooting percentages, could significantly impact our chances of winning. Both players are crucial to our success, and their performances can turn the tide in our favor.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Clippers’ strategies and player performances, tune into the Locked On Clippers podcast for this and much more.
**Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Clippers Podcast:**
- The impact of Ivica Zubac’s increased minutes on the team’s performance.
- Analysis of the Clippers’ defensive strategies against the Rockets.
- The role of Kai Jones and potential adjustments in the rotation.
- Evaluating the Clippers’ early season record and playoff prospects.
- Insights into Tyronn Lue’s coaching decisions and their implications.
I held off on writing about the apparent rash, or rise, of early-season athlete injuries because there’s always some recency bias involved when the subject comes up. Are there really more injuries this year than any other? Do we have the data to support it? Is there a new, underlying cause? Or are injuries due to the same compounding mix of bad luck and the NBA’s 82-game schedule running into a long postseason, running into the offseason, running back into a brand new long regular season and the erosion of bodies this eventually leads to?
A report early this week showed early-season injuries were up 35%, and indeed ESPN’s list of injuries, at a glance, looks like a ferocious Christmas tree, lit up in blazing reds and yellows. A handful of teams (the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Raptors) are cobbling together rosters game-to-game depending on who’s still healthy. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott ran a draft of the injured list this week and each team reads like an All-Star squad on steroids, and when Abbott printed out the league’s official injury report it was 10 pages long.
Injuries are definitely up — but why?
The Paris Olympics proved extra playing time for a few top-tier stars, but most of them remain healthy. The early season schedule hasn’t served up any more back-to-backs to longer road game stretches, which tend to be more gruelling on athletes, than usual. However, when everything appears to be normal and the bodily price is anything but, perhaps it’s time to examine that “normal”.
The NBA’s current schedule of 82 games was adopted in 1967. Already, I’m sure your brain is picturing black and white basketball, that’s good. When you picture that grainy, glitchy footage, how fast is it going? The reality is that the game used to be a lot slower. Not just in its mechanics (think of an offensive passing sequence, the ball flipping from set of hands to hands at a speed that can be hard to follow), but the athleticism too. Bodies were moving slower. The game was still physical — the trope of players from the 80s and 90s complaining about the “softness” of current athletes is a trope for a reason — but full tilt sprinting, cutting, complex rotations, these weren’t the norm. Given that, the bodily mechanics were different. Guys weren’t stopping on a dime, pivoting hard, having to force their ligaments and muscles and bones into exacting motions with all sorts of volatile force behind them.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) holds his leg after a hard following a play against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Paycom Center.|Photo by Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
This week in the fantasy basketball world has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows. A major talking point has been Chet Holmgren’s unfortunate injury, which has fantasy managers scrambling for replacements as the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust with potential lineup changes. Keep an eye on players like Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace — who might see increased minutes — and consider them as temporary pickups in deeper leagues.
