Clippers fall in Toronto to the Raptors 115-108

I'm Adam Oslin. Whether you're in the chat and panicking at Clippers Talk on the YouTube side or listening on AM five to seventy LA Sports, we appreciates you, guys. No one's saying you can't be critical of the team. You can be critical of this performance. I was as it was happening in the third quarter. I didn't like the process by the Clippers at all. Let me tell you the stretch and what happened, and I think this

is what decided the ballgame. Kawhi Leonard ends up leaving the game at the five twenty eight mark, the Clippers are down four. At seventy three to sixty nine. You get a James Harden step back jumper. Don't hate the shot, but now we're going to enter the three point contest that the Clippers put on. James Harden three, didn't get it, another three didn't get it. Terrence Man tries to go to the basket, gets blocked multiple times, went there. One of them I felt like was a and over another

James Harden three. There's three threes in a row, a mere coffee three, four threes in a row. Fifth times the charm Nko Batoom knocked one down, but the Clippers were settling A mere coffee. Another miss three in that third quarter, James Harden, another miss three. They went two for ten from three when points were at a premium in the third. They took ten of their twenty eight three pointers in the third quarter, and they only made two of them, and the guy who made two was Nico.

That's it. That was the only guy. Everybody else was over. And meanwhile, those misses were turning into long rebounds. And while I said it was a three point contest for the Clippers in the third, for the Raptors in the third, it was a dunk contest. Dunk after dunk after dunk, Grady Dick, RJ. Barrett. They were just getting out in transition, long runouts, beating the Clippers down the floor. They looked like the quicker, faster team. They were getting the rebounds,

they were making the Clippers pay. That's much of the game right there. That's where they got their separation. To enter the fourth quarter up ninety two to seventy seven, Clippers are down fifteen again. It was a four point game with about five and a half minutes left in the third quarter when Kawhi went to the bench and things just completely unraveled for the Clippers. I'm not saying the transition defense was good. I am saying their offense

wasn't exactly helping their defense in that third quarter. The fact they kept settling for threes that they weren't hitting outside of Nico. It made life way too easy on Toronto. That's where this game was lost. And this Nate g just said it in the chat. The sad part is quote, I don't think Zoo will ever get the touches he needs this season. You don't have a backup big at this point. You don't have Norman Powell in this ball game.

Kawhi's missing, James Harden's missing. I don't know. Maybe go to a guy that choos sixty five percent from the field. If each a Zubos did play for minutes, they don't have Drew Eubanks. Yet he was a plus ten in his forty minutes. So wait, in the other eight minutes they lost it by what seventeen? They lost the non Zoo minutes by what seventeen? He went plus ten and played is thirty nine something about forty minutes and they lost the game by seven, But he was a plus

ten out there. How do you not get him in the basketball more? How many postgame shows do I have to come on and say? Nowadays everybody want to talk, they've got something to say. Nothing comes out when they move the lips, just a bunch of gibberish. They forgot about Zoo. They forgot about Zoo every damn time. He had basically smalls on him the entire game. Who's the biggest guy? Kelly olennok he only played seventeen minutes. Chris

bouche is spelt slight of frame. Zoo only takes eleven shots in the game without Norman Powell when Kawhi, Leonard and James Harden were missing. How does that happen? How does it continually happen? I don't think the Clippers got a great whistle. I also don't think that's why they lost the game. Kawhi was frustrated from the first quarter on because the lack of calls, but he was probably more frustrated with the missus one of five from the outside.

Last two games he combined to go six of eleven from three and just one of five from three in this game, six of eighteen overall, four turnovers. He almost had as many turnovers as made shots. It's gonna happen. Great players have bad games. This is really the only game where I'd say Kawhi was bad in eleven so far. Somebody helped me. Avitza Zubats was plus ten in his forty minutes. So in the eight minutes he was off the floor, they lost those minutes by seventeen points or

by eighteen points. I need to see when he went off the court in that third quarter, because it wasn't just Kawhi. So he goes off. Kawhi exits at the five twenty eight mark, A Vitza Zubas in the third quarter exits Ernico. Buttoom at the five zho two mark. Now I get it. He played forty minutes, he came play all forty eight. But that's when they got killed. Zubos off the court, they got destroyed. That's a big part of this. I didn't notice that earlier. Let's see,

YEAHL Murray has the same number. The Raptors outscored the Clippers by seventeen points in the seven minutes and fifty seven seconds that I Visa Zubas was off the floor. Today in Toronto Law and I same page. Two smartest guys in the room, crape minds think alike Mio said Zoo needs to demand the ball. That's not his job. The coaches gotta tell the other guys, Hey, we got

a mismatch. Let's exploit it. Let's get Zoo going. You guys are missing jumpers, you're missing threes, You're taking ten of them and only hitting two in the third quarter. It's just so apparent how important Zoo is all the time, and in a game like this, use him you don't have Norm. It is shocking seeing that number. They lost the eight minutes without Zoo by seventeen points. Zoo didn't lose, y'all lost. I'm kidding, but that was very telling, that

number right there. And I don't always go off of one game sample sizes with the plus minus, but it matches the eye test, right sometimes it does. That run happen, that eight tozero run with all those dunks and miss threes by the Clippers leading to dunks for the Raptors happened with Zoo off the floor. Zoo not gaining the basketball and not getting up more than eleven shots is

just criminal. How can that happen? He's been criminally underrated forever and overlooked, and he's too important to this team not to get him more involved in a game without Norm Powell. Someone's saying the Clippers are five hundred when Norman is not playing, well, how many games is that four? Five? It's not a big enough sample size, but yes, they of course need norm he's their leading scorer. It turns

out he's pretty important while doing it efficiently. I just can't get over how any games I have to do this where I'm talking about if Eats's zoobots not get in the basketball enough post game. Carlo actually brought it up before I did this time during the game. Normally it's me, I gotta be the bad cop and get on my soapbox always talking about it beats a zoo bots not getting the basketball enough. Carlo another great basketball mind.

It's just in a game like this, especially, you're gonna make him do all the dirty work and not reward him on the other end. I can't take it. I'm gonna take a time out. Clippers lose, Zuo Bustin lose. Clippers lose one fifteen to one O eight in Toronto's team game. Everybody lost. They forget about Zoo. What was that? Meete Rix?

back six of eighteen. James Harden, he's been a little bit of a funk in some ways. Seven of twenty. You're telling me if Visa Zubos can't get a few more shots up when James Harden seven or twenty when they don't have Norm Powell. I'm sorry to beat the horse again. I don't even know if that axiom is allowed to be said in this day and age, but I just gotta say, when are they gonna stop forgetting about it? Beat to Zubos. It's funny they got it to him in the fourth quarter. They've made an emphasis

to get Zoo going to start the fourth. Finally they outscored Toronto thirty one to twenty three in that fourth quarter. What were Viza Zubos's numbers when they actually went to him in the fourth, So he had eight and six entering the fourth, Zoo had ten and two in the fourth quarter. He had ten points ten of his eighteen in the fourth when they went to him, and they won the fourth quarter, didn't win the game, probably because

they didn't go to him enough. I do think Harden has not been great defensively, worse than you know usual. He's not known for that as of late. The three point shootout that Clippers had in the third quarter. I don't mind good looks from the outside and playing the numbers. Eventually those are going to fall. My problem is Viza Zubas is out there. There are other ways to score, and clearly they were leading to long rebounds and runouts

for the Toronto Raptors. They were playing right into their hands. They're the younger, quicker, faster team. We're looking for postgame audio from coach lou and the players after this one. But this means that even if the Clippers beat the Lakers Tuesday, the Lakers will have a better record entering the trade deadline. That's coming from Law Murray. They also said seven Raptors in double figures. Yeah, as they shot

fifty two percent from three the twenty eight fast breakpoints. Guys, the Raptors had seventeen fast break points in the third quarter, and a lot of that is all off miss threes or or Terrence Man at least trying to get to the basket and losing the basketball. Even though I thought he had a really good first half, wasn't a great second half. Got KPJ had a really good first half. He came back in probably too late. This was one of the few times I'd say I thought KPJ was

gonna come back in earlier in the third quarter. They needed some offense. Kevin Porter Junior had a really good first half that second quarter. I want to say he had six points ten points in the first half from KPJ on five of eight shooting. He did have a couple of turnovers, but he had five boards in his first ten minutes out there. KPJ. He only ended up playing like the last two minutes and forty five seconds in that third quarter. I thought he could have came

in earlier when the Clippers we're lacking scoring. Punch eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy If you guys do want to get on. Apparently Wayne is here in the chat. He's asking are you taking a calls?

But full court pressure. We all four corners at them, all four quarters, and you know that kind of Clippers ain't really good at like, you know, getting out of that. We rely a lot on them hardened and then when we try to move the ball. The Raptors were really physical today. And like you said, Zoos wasn't getting rewarded at all, but he was. He was doing everything he could to get the rebound he had. Of course he had a great night. But when your stars, when they

not hitting they shots, it can ugly. And that's what happened. But I mean they're gonna be games like that. It's the NBA. You're still playing against a group of professions. Why would you overblow it, Why would you be so upset? Don't overthink it.

And that's why I keep saying. Their record has them seven games over five hundred, they're twenty eight and twenty one, and they've only had Kawhi for eleven games. That to me should be jarring in a good way. That should wake you up and go, Okay, not all is lost.

I don't expect to play much. He could be bought out, and even Drew u Banks could be bought out if the Clippers on the buyout market bring in someone that's better. Because guys, they're in a really good position in the buyout market. They have an inside track to getting some of the better players who are likely going to be bought out around the trade deadline. We'll talk about that next. I'm at a Maslin Clippers lose in Toronto one fifteen

to one, oh eight to the Raptors. You're listening to the Los Angeles Clippers Audio Network and AM five seven LA Sports.

Those are shots he normally knocks down. He seemed flustered because he wasn't getting a foul call. You could see it out there. Kawhi was talking to the officials, maybe too much. Honestly, at some point you just got to play the game. You know you're not getting calls. But as easier said than done, too so I understand it, and I understand why some people are upset about this loss to the Raptors. But if you put it in context, they have one eight of ten now they just won

five in a row. The Raptors almost beat him the first time around it into it Dome. They're playing better basketball than I think most people have picked up on now. The trade deadline is next Thursday, but the Clippers have already made a move. They trade a second round pick, Mobamba and PJ. Tucker for Drew you Banks and Patty Mills. I think the main objective of this move was a money play to get under the luxury tax, which they are by about four million dollars now. But let me

tell you something else that could be coming soon. The Clippers have three point one million dollars left from the mid level exception they used on DJ this summer. They didn't spend that money. What happens in the buyout is teams bring in guys that are bought out. They still got paid contracts are guaranteed by whatever team bought them out, and so then you typically yet good players on a minimum that were bought out for a variety of reasons. A team wants to move on, they have a youth

movement the second half of the season. Maybe there's a locker room issue. It's just a guy they're giving up on in their particular case, but that doesn't mean he's not a good player still. For instance, you could see somebody like Ben Simmons bought out from the Brooklyn Nets, who are I think, not being as competitive as possible this season to try to get Cooper Flagg, and they actually won too many games to start the year. They're

gonna end up trading Cam Johnson. That's happening. There are teams that are openly trying to get worse to eventually get much better. It's smart, it's strategic. I don't hate on it. Trust the process. The draft is more important than ever because of the new CBA. It is how and Jerry West used to say, is the lifeblood of your franchise. So somebody like Ben Simmons could get bought

out because he makes like forty million dollars. If that happens, what the Clippers can offer is more money, and a lot of teams are restricted from offering Ben Simmons anything because if you are over the first apron the Clippers are not. You cannot pick up a guy in the buyout market that made more than the mid level exception, which is about thirteen million dollars. Well, Ben Simmons contract is forty, so he would be one of those guys

that makes more than that. He would be sought after and the Clippers would have more money to offer him than just the veteran's minimum, which is pro rated around one million I think one point one at this point, because we're later into the season, they could say, oh, we got three million, we can throw your way Ben if you come here. And he's actually been playing pretty well as of late. I know some of you guys have soured on him. Understandably. He's not lived up to

the potential. He had some mental health issues and he left Philadelphia didn't end great. But he's had a ten and six game, five and eleven assist game recently a fourteen to nine assist game, ten and seven assist game in limited minutes. He's had some good games. He's still

a solid defender. He's not what he was before. Also, like the back injury, I think it was, but on a buyout for not giving up anything, you just have to create the roster spot, which means the Clippers might end up buying out somebody like Patty Mills, who is on an expiring deal. The guy they just brought in,

you probably remember him from San Antonio, maybe Brooklyn. They might buy him out on his two million dollar expiring deal to open up a roster spot, or they do it to open up a roster spot to convert Jordan

Miller's to a standard contract. The Clippers have some options, and they have some advantages in the buy out market because some teams can't go after the players they'll be going after, Like the Lakers can't go after some of the players they're going after because they're over the first apron, so they can't compete with the Clippers for some of

those guys in the buyout market. And the Clippers could offer more because they still have three million dollars left, about three point one from the mid level exception they gave to Derek Jones Junior this summer. That's not nothing. You never know what shakes out after some of these trades are made and which guys get bought out by teams. Talked about it with Robert Flahm yesterday. But somebody like Steven Adams maybe becomes available, somebody like Lonzo Ball maybe

becomes available. That's how the Clippers can really improve the other way. Well, I would want to see it, but it's the business. It's a part of this. Terrence Man is still an asset that's very tradable, even on that three year contract extension that starts after this year. And they're in Toronto today, and it made me think of the time that it sounded like there was an offer with Toronto trying to get Terrence Man for Fred van

Vliet a couple of years ago. Didn't happen. Clippers held on to teach Team Man, but teams and we heard from La Murray about this earlier. In fact, Daniel, could we pull up this sound? We had La Murray on the pregame show and I asked him about Terrence Man and if he could be available out there, and you know what, why don't we take a quick time out. We'll come back. I'll tease it out and you'll hear from La Murray who was on with me pregame regarding

Terrence Man and if he could get moved. I thought the answer was interesting. I'm out a mouslin. After the Clippers losing Toronto one fifteen to one oh eight. You're listening to clipperstock here on the M five seven LA Sports.

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Then you just go to Underdog Fantasy dot com. You can see okay, Milwaukee's at Memphis tonight, Gianni's denikumpo higher or lower than thirty three and a half points, or what about Dame Dalla higher or lower than twenty five and a half points. It is that easy to play underdog fantasy, make picks win money. So coach lu there talked about how they have to be better with pace and handling pressure, as many of you have talked about in the chat here, the Clippers not being good against

heavy ball pressure. And this goes back to that game against the Golden State Warriors for me where the Clippers, I think this is accurate, had twelve turnovers in the fourth quarter of that game at into It Dome where they led big and still won, but there were some bad signs with them not handling a press very well

at all. Twelve turnovers in a quarter is I think what it was in the fourth after they were up big, and I noticed it then and talked about it a lot postgames, saying other teams are gonna look at this and pressure the Clippers. And I remember Matt Mattawarren of talking shit was like, ah, what's the big deal? A win's a win, so it is a big deal. You put out bad tape in the fourth quarter, and you showed a flaw and other teams have picked up on that. And now you see it with the Raptors today too.

The Clippers have to be better. The book is out on them there. You pick them up in the back court. They have trouble getting into their offense. All right. Let's hear from lot Marie of the Athletic when I asked him about Terrence Man. This was pregame earlier today, inquiries before about Terrence Man a couple of years ago. Do you think Terrence Man is realistically available.

than the Clippers have this year. So while the Clippers are not playing him as much, while his contract number is lower now than it will be over the next couple of years, you know, other teams certainly are interested in Terrence and the Clippers are. You know, they're not going to just I wrote this, They're not just going

to give him away. You know, if Terrence Man is here, it's because the Clippers look at Terrence Man as a valuable piece of a team's playoff rotation, this team's playoff rotation, and if he's traded, he's going to be traded for, you know, a player who can help at the very least.

And so Terrence, I think is interesting. And we're just gonna have to see who's going, like what direction the team winds up going in here as of now I don't like I said, I don't look at the Clippers as the ones picking up the phone looking shot Terrence.