It’s unclear if the Clippers can maintain this historic pace, but if they stay healthy, there is no reason they can’t be the team to challenge Golden State in the Western Conference.
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You’d think that as a Nets fan I’d be used to all the losing, but watching Brooklyn’s 125-118 loss to the host Lakers on Tuesday night was doubly depressing.
Sure, Brooklyn (4-7) was far more competitive than the night before. But they got no closer. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points, and Sean Kilpatrick finished with 14 for the Nets. And the Lakers scored at least 120 points for the fourth time, something they did just three times last season. The Clippers are now on a six game winning streak and have a home record of 4-1. It’s not just against Brooklyn, though. But what hurt worse was getting outjumped for 50-50 balls and getting overwhelmed on the boards. But Boston’s Kelly Olynyk fouled New Orleans guard Tim Frazier with 2.5 seconds left, and Frazier sank one free throw for the margin of victory.
Benny Nadeau of the Brooklyn Game says that Jeremy Lin is the right leader for the Nets.
The final rebound margin wasn’t extreme, but it also didn’t tell the whole story.
Why did the Lakers fail to hit the hot hand consistently last season? At 56-53 deficit eventually swelled to 77-64, and they spent the rest of the night chasing the game. They have managed this with a combination of scoring 108.8 ppg (4 overall) and a league-best 92.2 points allowed.
“It’s good, but I can be better though”, Randle said. Therefore, Brooklyn needs to do whatever possible to get as many possessions as they can, and they need to work the Clips every time down the floor. “It starts with me no question”. They play hard, which is supposed to be all you can ask, but in the end, you realize they will probably never be anything more than bit players on a contending team. Although those players in the 26-29 range are typically viewed as in their prime, the Lakers have thrived without them thanks to a nice mix of experience and young skill. Griffin already had 13 points and Paul a half-dozen assists.
And the Lak – wait, you know what, let’s just cut to the chase: Russell – oh, you all should know Russell, Mr. I-Got-Ice-In-My-Veins very well – started off with his best Stephen Curry impression, drilling his first 5 three-pointers… in the first quarter… in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Neither are 22 yet. But when a ball bounced towards the rambunctious guard on his walk towards the bench to wait his turn to warm up, he couldn’t resist letting it fly into from well outside the three-point line.
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Blake Griffin added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while J.J. Redick contributed 18 points for the Clippers, who won their seventh straight. We still had great looks. The Suns are now fully loaded in the backcourt spot having Knight, Eric Bledsoe, and Devin Booker and many pundits are suggesting to trade one of them to prevent jealousy between the three.
