Clippers keep the Hawks on the ground 105 - 131 in Kawhi's return

two five seventy is the phone number. It gets me at follow out of May, whether or not you're watching on the YouTube side at Clippers Talk or on AM five seventy LA Sports where you can be listening on the iHeartRadio. App Appreciate you, guys. Kawi returned to the court tonight in his first game at Into It Dome. Looked good out there. We're gonna hear from him in just moments as he spoke with Lauren Rosen on FanDuel TV postgame, Kawhi finished for twelve points in twenty minutes.

I know some people were upset. You know, it's only playing twenty minutes. Why would he only played twenty minutes? It says first game back. I told you guys, you should probably expect around twenty minutes. And he played a big chunk of him in that second quarter where from the nine to fifty nine mark to about the one to thirty mark, so about eight minutes of play straight for him, and Coach Flu said that was part of the plan. And so at the half, I want to say,

he had already played fifteen minutes. So therefore, when he hit that twenty minute mark early in the third quarter with the Clippers up twenty, Coach Lou had a sense of urgency called the time out and said, Okay, no moss for Kawhi tonight, but the rest of the crew could hold it down for this Clippers team because they were excellent. And Kawhi's return with the unselfish play from him and getting others involved. I mean there's a play

that stands out early on the ball game. He's got a wide open three on the far side corner and turned it down to give it up to Chris Dunn. I think it ended up with the Norman pal three, who, by the way, may have had the quietest twenty points ever.

Because we're focused so much on Kawhi's return. Terrence Man, how the team is looking different, rotations, DJ coming off the bench, and oh yeah, Noran Powell once again has twenty on Just how did he end up at sixteen shots eight of sixteen, four of ten from three led them in the plus minus category. Was a plus twenty eight out there. It just looked like the piece is fit. We do you have eight guys in double figures just the eleventh time in franchise history that happened tonight for

the Clippers. It just fell seamless, and I credit Kawhi for not forcing things and for making those unselfish passes to keep things moving with this team. He took multiple threes that he was knocking down the first half started three or three. They were all threes, And I said to myself, this is a guy who has his legs underneath him already. That's great to see because when he first came back from the ACL in the fall of twenty twenty two. He did not look like himself with

his lift, with his elevation. It took him time. It took him. First of all, he goes out with the right knee stiffness two games in. He comes back three weeks later, then he has an ankle injury. Then he's out for two more weeks. Then he started to build things up and by January he was averaging twenty eight per game. But that's coming off in ACL and that's what I've been talking about over the last week. It's different and he definitely looked different than he did in

that first round series against the Dallas Mavericks two. That was encouraging to see just with his movement. I'm watching his gate. Is he limping as he's showing burst out there. There was a play where he started to run down the courters he thought they had numbers, and I saw Kawhi get into maybe third or fourth gear just for a second. I noticed a defensive play on Dyson Daniels where he was just suffocating with his defense on the interior and he sat down with sliding, moving his feet

really well. There was burst there, there was athleticism, explosion, so that again as he wrecked that play. Eventually, I think it was after an offensive rebound by the Atlanta Hawks that turned into a far side, far sideline turnover by Dyson Daniels. The defense was there, and I've wondered how excited Kawhi Leonard would be just to get to perform defensively with this roster and playing next to guys who actually enjoy playing defense, and Chris Dunn and Derek

Jones Jr. Every possession they don't take any off. They don't those two guys, and DJ comes off the bench and was willing to sacrifice like that. Coach lu said pregame, it's gonna be situational depending on the opponent, the matchup, on who starts tonight. They went with Chris Dunn because he felt like they need another ball handler out there because of the ball pressure by the Hawks. So we'll

see if that changes Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Put the buy in from those two guys to just say, yeah, whatever is needed, whatever is needed from the team. DJ gets a new contract, comes over, wins that job to start, and came off the bench like it was nothing tonight and had four huge dunks, I think all of them in the second with one of the biggest dunks that big brother Jake said he had seen, and that left handed thrown down off a lob from about half court from James Harden.

in rhythm as fast as possible. The way to do that might just be blending in, might just be playing like one of the guys, and then at some point he's gonna have a twelve point quarter or he gets hot, finds his touch and starts to take over. But it's gonna happen organically. I think they're not going to force it.

I just love the way this team played and the way Hawaii came out with that mentality tonight, and they looked so feisty on the defensive end outside the last two minutes of the first quarter where they're kind of a mess, and pour on the offensive end too, and gave up that fourteen to zero run. Outside those two minutes. For the most part, it looked like Atlanta won and no part of this game. They saw how good the

Clippers can play on the defensive end. They hadn't seen them yet so far this season, and they said, now we're good. You know, I guess we're going zero to two in LA. They lost last night to the Lakers. They didn't have Jalen Johnson tonight. Trey Young did play, But man, this Clippers defense, it could make you tap

out when you know it's not your night. I think there are teams sometimes that come out and say, all right, if we're hot from three, if we're feeling it, even though it's a back to back, even though we're tired and we're gassed, we're gonna go for it. But if not, if things go the other way and we don't like the way this game is trending, maybe it's just not our night. And that might have been their mindset because I didn't as a basketball fan, I didn't like the

way Atlanta was played. I'm sure coach Quinn Snyder aka worm Tongue from Lord of the Rings didn't like it either. I likewise off from the Clippers. Though they can break you like that. They can do that to you, they can drag o you where you know. It's gonna take so much effort to generate good looks out there. A team that averages one hundred and twenty points per game

only has one oh five. You get held to forty three by the Clippers thirty four percent from three and you have twenty three turnovers teams against the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard, No, it is going to be a tough night. And I told people in here that were concerned about Kawhi disrupting the flow and hurting them, And I kept telling you offensively, they're almost bottom five in the league. How exactly is he going to hurt them on the offensive side? And he's a two time Defensive Player of

the Year winner, How's it gonna hurt him there? That never made sense to me. People's concern about Kawhi Leonard throwing them off. Now there was less of that talk after they had lost to in a row, but I had heard that over the last three or three weeks Kawhi Leonard could hurt them. Kawhi Leonard is a rare breed of superstar. Not just he's a two way player. He's really unselfish, sometimes to a fault. Lot Murray says it was his idea to come off the bench when

he was coming back from the ACL. We didn't see that tonight, but that was him being like, well, if I'm only playing twenty minutes, you know, maybe we could do it in a way where I could still be available late in the fourth quarter. I just won't start. Not many guys are going to offer not to start. That's Kawhi.

Does he want to play? In all these things. It's always been ridiculous to me because the stuff that's not fun is what has got him to this level, to being this type of player. All the training during the offseason, so first of all, you have to love the game and want to be great to go through the rigorous training sessions that he does, and then for his body to betray him and keep him from actually playing in the games. So all he's been doing is the hard

work and not the fun stuff out here. It just seems like some cruel irony. So I'm happy for him just to be able to play again. This is what he loves to do. You don't train the way he does. If you don't love the game, you don't get to be I think one of the top ten best playoff performers ever in NBA history like Kawuiet his best in a seven game series is probably a top ten player ever. I don't know if there's ten, I would take over

him in NBA history. That's how he's been able to raise up his game since coming out of San Diego State. He's a tough shot maker, incredible defender, and incredible team player. High IQ guy doesn't make many mistakes. Out there has always been a winning player. I give san Antonio credit being in that culture, that environment, Tim Duncan and the way they brought him up, like yeah, you're gonna be disciplined and you're gonna play the right way. But a

lot of this is just Kawhi. This is what fuels him, this is what he wants to do. So to get to see him out there again, you know. Part of me is selfishly is like, yeah, I want to see the Clippers that of course reached their peak, their pinnacle this season, and they can only do that with Kawhi. Part of it, I'm just happy for Kawhi. Like, Kawhi isn't on social media, he doesn't have all these other hobbies apparently that he's doing, at least that we know of.

He loves ball and he gets to do that again, and I think that gets lost Sometimes people don't talk about that because it's easier to, I don't know, be cynical about it, be skeptical about, oh, does he want to play if he's not one hundred percent. I mean, Harold called in last show was like, he will only play if he's one hundred percent, and I had to point to all these different instances of him obviously playing

hurt in his career. If he can, he will. There have been times when the Clippers have had to stop him from playing, save him from himself. So Kawhi has been one of my favorite players before he was a Clipper, and damn it, I am happy that he's a Clipper and happy who was able to go tonight. And now it's prayers up after every show that the knee responds, after every game that the knee responds. Well, right now,

it's just I hope the knee doesn't swell up. Unfortunately, those are the things we're gone be thinking about after every Kawhi Leonard game because I played sixty eight games last season and then out of nowhere, the knee swelled up. So there was no warning signs. So we'll hear from him coming up next. Might get to your phone calls, and I'll text Chuck and will here see if we can do some double dip tonight here on Clippers Talk after they win in Kawhi's return one thirty one to

one oh five over the Atlanta Hawks. I'm out of mazas and you're listening to the Los Angeles Clippers Audio Network in AM five seventy LA Sports.

game in so many different ways. But forty six fast breakpoints that's a season high. That's got to be close to a franchise record. That's an incredible number from them. They had sixty nine points off the bench with Terrence Man being back for the first time in a month, he had twelve. Derek Jones Junior came off the bench because Chris Dunn got the start. Because it's matchup dependent now between those two, he had twelve, KPJ played one of his best games as a Clipper. I love the

way Kevin Porter Junior played, guys. There was a moment in the second quarter when a mere Coffee was cooking and had twelve points in the second alone, and he carried over that hot shooting that he had in Okac with the twenty six points he had seventeen tonight. But

KPJ missed him in the far side corner. He was wide open from three and he was on a heater and instead KPJ got fouled trying to create for himself, and he immediately went over Kevin Border Junior to Amir Coffee and apologized for not finding him there and said, my bad. That was a great moment, great moment in this game, great moment in a Clippers jersey for KPJ. And he was much more unselfish out there, found a beast zubots for multiple easy ones in the second half.

Clippers win by twenty six over the Hawks. I want to hear from Kawhi Leonard postgame on with Louren Rosen on fan Dual TV by Leonard.

career high is fourteen assists in a half. James was dishing, it's an adjustment for everybody. As much as I've been saying credit Kawhi for wanting to blend in, it still is an adjustment. DJ's coming off the bench. Now, how many shots is Normanna get, Zu gonna get James Harden. It really just upends things and it's unavoidable. But everybody played their part and made it work. James said, Okay, I'm facilitating. I'm gonna make it look easy out there,

and it did. When they went on that's forty four to seven run in the second court after giving up the fourteen to Oher run at the end of the first quarter. The Clippers they look like they were completely outclassing the Atlanta Hawks, who maybe wanted to tap out and give up this Bowl game early when they saw the type of energy the Clippers were on. But I am extremely proud as I say a lot during this season of the way they played with a different challenge tonight,

integrating or reintegrating Kawhi Leonard back in. This was the right way to play. This was the perfect type of performance in Kawhi's first game back, and the Clippers went by twenty six over the Atlanta Hawks. Let's go to who do we got? Mike in La Mike, you got thirty seconds here on Clippers Talk. What's up?

highest level all the time. So I just I get what you're saying. I appreciate the phone call, Mike, but I kind of agree to disagree there. Chris in La, you're on Clippers stock without a Miles and I Chris.

Palell on that team too. They had Kyle Lowry, good defender, They had a lot of switchability, they had a different different ways to adapt on the defensive end, and they had a team that, if you want to compare straight up, even when they didn't have Kawhi, they could win games. I want to say they went something like seventeen and five in the regular season without him. If he missed around twenty two games, I want to say it was

like seventeen and five that Toronto Raptors team. Now the Clippers haven't been that good, but they went nineteen and fourteen without him, and they have a Kyle Lowry, a guy who can set the table and get buckets like James Harden. They have a floor razer in that way. Norman Powell, who was on that team, is now a different player. Of course, a beats the Zubats. You know, Marcasol was a different point of his career. He was still good, but he wasn't looking to score as much.

But he's a really good connector great passer out there. I've said Avitsa Zubas is the long lost Gassault brother at times. But yeah, they went seventeen to five. Daniel West just confirmed that without Kawhi that year, So they're also in the East, and Carlo hit me up with this earlier. Today. The Clippers have a bunch of games coming up. Fourteen of their next twenty three games are against the East, and at that time, especially Lebron had just come west. The East was down. Milwaukee was good.

Toronto ended up beating them in six games after losing the first two in the Eastern Conference Finals in twenty nineteen with Kawhi. Actually, Philadelphia was really good because they had Jimmy Butler, Toby Ben Simmons before. You know, he went through a lot and hasn't been the same player since.

Of course, Embiide there are similarities. This Clippers team isn't as dominant record wise without Kawhi, and that torontod team have been together for some time with DeRozan, obviously, and so they knew how they wanted to play, But they just got a new head coach. So there's something there. I appreciate the comment and the phone call Chris that this team can get by without Kawhi and then he can elevate them when he joins this Clippers team, and

it feels like a seamless fit. He's able to just take them to another level, without hurting anything they do, without disrupting anything they're already doing out there. He just strengthens strengths. That's what Kawhi can do. We'll take a quick time out, we'll come back. We'll have Chuck Maklern. Clippers win big in Kawhi's return, one to one oh five over the Atlanta Hawks. I'm at Amsland and you're listening to a five seventy LA Sports.

on Clippers talk post game. Chuck, what were your early returns on that performance from Kawhi.

wasn't able to do out there. But overall, I'm with you, it looked like a B plus to me too, that it was as close as you could get to the perfect game, I would say, in Kawhi Leonard's return, yeah.

a foul. But it was great. I mean, Terrence had an incredible return to but seeing what Kawhi is going to bring to this team and already looking so you know, none of us really thought the comeback would be difficult to fit him into the lineup right, but seeing it look so well in the defensive end especially has to have people, you know, some high hopes, as you mentioned, I believe before I came on.

You know, the Hawks were down some size tonight, so we saw the three guard lineup to start this one. I think right now it's great. Talk to me in like fifteen games if it hasn't solidified. But you know, I think right now it's kind of what you have to do because we just haven't seen Kawhi.

able to adapt. You got to be able to stay ready, I guess with this Clippers team, and that might be another way they have to do it.

I can't imagine Chris Dunn has a super far off mindset from that one. So it is with the two best guys. But I think with fifteen games lest for the regular season, we'll be seeing in the same lineup into the playoffs.

think for the most part. I'm sure against larger teams will need him to spot some minutes. But Niko with the five looked great. Kawhi was plus twenty one in his eight minutes in the second quarter. Like it. It was a perfect night Into It and credit to the into A crowd, they were phenomenal tonight. The pop when Kawhi was announced was great. His first three pointer of the roof is going to blow off. It doesn't.

in the far side corner. He was just so in rhythm that to me, I didn't see that coming at all, and it ended up, you know, being a footnote because Kawhi was back, so everybody's talking about that, but Loki, Terrence Man has just missed a month and looked that good.

coming up on Monday. But credit to Terrence Man. He didn't miss a beat and I think points total wise, this was his like second or third highest scoring game of the year. He scored fifteen against Denver in that

game you mentioned. But credit to Terrence. But again, the mark of a Clipper, right He's a Clipper for life so far, being able to adapt, being able to do what's asked of him, and another set up we have to give a shout out to him here, who I believe is at forty five percent three point shooting on not insignificant amount of three points. So it's it feels really good to be a Clippers fan right now.

inside and they couldn't make anything happen. But he was good and KPJ had a good game. And maybe there's something with the bench unit with KPJ and Terrence Man together. I don't know that probably obviously depends if Done is starting or if Derek jum Junior is starting, But the bench is shaping up to be a real nightmare for opposing rosters, which I'm excited.

it looks so much better like it was. He looks comfort and him looking comfortable Terrence, I think is a pretty surprising thing as well, too, So credit to KPJ. Great game tonight. We need the consistency, but it was you know, you still got to put teams away. And for the person asking what I'm drinking, it's the water loose soda, That's what I'm drinking. You anyuary over.

twenty minutes Clippers in Minnesota on Monday. But he was asked postgame about if he had to make any adjustment Kawhi Leonard with Jef Van Gundy as the defensive coordinator, and he said, quote, it's really not an adjustment for me. He watches a lot of film. He lets you know he watches a lot of film. Jeff Fan Gundy. He tells you nobody watches this s more than me. Jeff Van gundhy letting Kawhi Leonard know that nobody watches more this film than me. That's fantastic. I love this pairing.

I love this squad. I love the way they constructed this team. I told you this summer Lawrence Frank was cooking. They rebounded perfectly after Paul George left. And then you get audition by subtraction. Guys who are looking for an expanded role are taking advantage of it. I mean, I haven't even talked about a visa Zubots in Is eighteen and eighteen tonight awesome again, Atlanta was not ready for

Big Zoo. He was feasting, as Carlo Amennez said, just really cool to see everything come together be nineteen fourteen. Then get Kawhi Leonard back tonight and win in decisive, if convincing fashion like this with the claw where it just looked like he had been playing next to these guys all season long by the way they were connected out there on the floor. Atlanta warned, no part of this Clippers team. I'm hoping there's some scary hours going

on right now for the rest of the league. Clippers in Minnesota for the start of another road trip on Monday, tip off at five pregame show at four. Before we get out of here, I do want to thank the Clippers organization, Ralph Lawler, Brian Seeman, Noah Eagle, Carlo Jimenez on the call, big brother Jake Warner, who saw one of his favorite dunks ever in person, as did I with that left handed throwdown the lob to DJ in

the second quarter. You're probably asking which dunk. There were a lot of them, but the one from like the half court line to them, So that's not hear it into it, Dome, patch yourself on the back, Clipper Nation, you did a fantastic job out here welcoming Kawhi Enter back into the fold. He asserted himself what he needed to, but also played within the team structure. To the callers, the chatters love you guys. We will talk to you

tomorrow at Clippers Talk on the YouTube side. For everybody else, We'll be back on Monday on A five seven LA Sports.