The game is over, Paul George money in the pain, but the postgame reaction has just begot Kawhi Leonard is so smooth in the mid range. This is Clippers locker Room, a recap of today's game and a look ahead on your hope for LA Clippers basketball. And now your host, you, sir, are a bad man, Adam Auslin. Clippers lose one twenty two to ninety one in Denver and then it really wasn't even that close. Welcome into your postgame show. I am Adam Oslin. Coming up. You're gonna hear
from the head coach and the players. We're gonna be looking for that postgame audio. But first back out to Denver with your voice of the Clippers, Noah Eagle and off in your voice of reason here, No, I thought you had a world class answer on Coach Low and what he's gonna say to this team. He has to find a way to light a fire underneath each and every guy after a loss like this. Yeah, playing it simple.
There's no excuses anymore for the Clippers. They came into this game. I know they didn't have Nick with tuber John Wall, but you have the two one three connection. Can you expect at minimum to be competitive every single night. This is a team that is championship or bust this year. And if nothing's gonna change from within the roster, then something has to change from outside of the roster. And I think that's the message that's gonna come, like,
look, guys, time's a ticket. This is not a forever thing. We have to produce now. And if they don't understand that, they can't grasp that, then they've got bigger issues right now. And look, they've got a great opportunity tomorrow night to now use that fire that maybe gets lit under them. But look, Minnesota's playing well. Finally they've got a
couple of games. They've got some pretty emphatic wins. Anthony Edwards is starting to look like that superstar we expected him to blossom into, and Rudy Gobert is getting a little more comfortable with each game. I just think the Clippers need to come out and set the tone on both ends of the floor tomorrow night. I don't care if they're not shooting it well, I don't care if they're not getting calls. You have to play hard and right now,
that's just not what's happening in these last six or seven games. Yeah, and Minnesota just beat the Denver Nuggets, beat up on the Clippers, if
you want to go transitive property with it. But you know, I'm wondering if, and you mentioned this during the game, but all the starters who were pulled at the half, guys not playing big minutes, even Kawhi Leonard plays just eighteen And coach lu talked about, you know, if Kawhi and John Wall are never going to play back to backs this season pre game had an interesting answer on that, and this may be a situation where we might
see Kawhi Leonard in a back to back. Yeah, we'll see. I mean a lot of that is dependent on the medical staff and the analytics group. They generally determine for these back to backs and for these minutes restrictions exactly
what they look like. So we won't know until they determine if they crunch the numbers and do everything, and they always have the player's safety in mind first, and so they're being extra cautus of course with Kawhi Leonard just says the Denver Nuggets are with Jamal Murray and he hasn't played any back to backs this year. For the Nuggets, so that's a common thing. So we'll
see even with just the eighteen minutes. But I do think it's good for guys like Paul George, who was nursing a hamstring already coming in and did not look like himself in the first half. Reggie Jackson played eighteen minutes in this game. Zoobots fifteen, Morris fifteen. So you've got to feel like they've got at least something left in the tank to go up to Minnesota and
find a way to get a win. But I'm not saying it's a must win, because of course it's not a must win, but at the midway point of the season, to lose five in a row, I can't think of a better wake up call than that. Now, again, we talked about this in great detail, not just on Monday, but pretty much throughout this season. Now, the Boston Celtics last year started the season twenty one
and twenty one. They finished fifty one and twenty six. The Dallas Mavericks started the season I believe it was eighteen and twenty and they finished fifty two and thirty. So it's more than possible, but at some point you have to kick it into gear, and I think that's what all of Clipper Nation
right now is waiting for because we've seen that gear. We've seen the Clippers beat dominant at times this year, and it just hasn't been consistent enough to really feel like they're making that progress that they expected at this point of the season. Well, big game tomorrow night. We got less than twenty four hours to find out that answer from the Clippers and see what they have. Tip time is at six in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. We'll have your pregame
show starting right back here at five. Noah. Even in a game like this, great call my friends. Safe travels. You know, Adam, I always appreciate you, and even with a game like this, can't wait because I can't if there's ever a time that you can't wait. Thankful that the NBA plays back to backs, it's not a night like this. Want to see if the Clippers can get the bad days out of their mount Coming up next, we'll get to your post game box score. Looking for postgame
audio from the coach and the players. They're listening to the Los Angeles Clippers radio close up. It's all basic. I've been spending hundred and sift they had small faces, Rob your stashed out, doubled out down in vegan Oh, Paul George LA Clippers basketball continue in his faints as he ferries the three on the home of your LA Clippers. Really sup, make your crap? Don'tight me like having the boys from neighborhoods and study you'll trying to fight me.
Clippers lose one twenty two to ninety one from Denver to the Nuggets. Welcome back into your postgame show. I'm Adam Oslin coming up on a M five seventy l A Sports. We'll have Clippers talk for you. Eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight seven two five
seventy is the phone number. You can also tweet at me at follow Adam A. Clippers end up shooting thirty seven percent from the field, five of thirty seven from three, and I'm telling you it was much much worse than that throughout most of the ball game. The Clippers ended up winning the fourth quarter by twelve and inconsequential, uh garbage time fourth quarter. We're gonna call
it what it was tonight. They wanted thirty two to twenty meaningless fourth quarter, and you know, some of the young guys did get some run. We wondered when Jason Preston was called up, when Brandon Boston was called up, what was the reasoning for that. We thought it was an indication that maybe Paul George couldn't go. Well, he could, but he started off for seven, made just one shot in fourteen minutes, a three pointer,
finished with those three points. Kawhi Leonard started off cold as well. I think he was oh for four then finished two for seven, had six points. And when both those two start oh for eleven from the field, you're gonna have a rough time. And the Clippers were down big in the first quarter, they lost it by seventeen. Same in the second quarter, they lost it by seventeen. I tell you said that we were down by thirty four in the third, down by as many as forty three points to the
Denver Nuggets. The good news is there any well, they can fix this real quick. They got a game tomorrow night. You want to see them come out focused in Minnesota. More on that coming up next. Plus we're looking for postgame audio plus on a five seventy LA Sports we will have Clippers stalk eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy. If I three, you're on hold Hold eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy. You're
listening to the Los Angeles Clippers Radio Networks. The head call that a little red put the big big the bread, the bull buck cuts your head in a Monk's minute spread of that. I'm blood blood tuck linter running. You're listening to LA Clippers basketball out it up top. Clipper puts it down plus the foul every game all season long on their official hole. We close our fall show. It feels because they got me doing the brook and then we're
back in the colortroom. I'm waiting on the outcome. Clippers lose. He just saw this, Unfortunately the outcome they wanted. Once twenty two to ninety one final score in Denver, Nuggets come out on top, and less than twenty four hours away, Clippers are gonna be in Minnesota tomorrow night taking on a Timberwolve team that just beat the Denver Nuggets. Tip time for that one
is at six. Clippers countdown at five. Outside of Los Angeles, We're leaving you until then, but coming up on an five seventy l A Sports. We got Clippers Stalk eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy eight sixty six ninety eight seven two five seventy as the phone number or gets me on Twitter at follow Adam A outside of La taught to you tomorrow at five in Los Angeles. It's Clippers Talk next. It feels to you. I take your baby, Bubba. You see this is Bubba G's and the Keys.
Young cust welcome into Clipperstock. Here's a new sheriffrom Count. You won't be able to deny it. If you're going to go to the NBA Finals. I believe it in my heart. This is the best team in the history of the franchise. I am all about the Clipper Nation. This is Clippers Talk. They're trying to win the whole thing. A postgame look, it's your LA Clippers recapping the game, the stars and looking ahead to what's next. To hear episodes you've missed. Subscribe to Clippers Talk on iHeart Radio
or wherever you podcast. Now your host of Clippers Talk. Here's Adam As. It's like there's rock Bottom fifty feet a crap. Then me Laber Nation. I'm right there with you, right now, after they lose one twenty two to ninety one in Denver to the Nuggets. And it wasn't even that close. Clippers were down by as many as forty three, but who's counting. Welcome into Clippers Talk. I'm Adam Oslin. Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy is the
phone number if you'd like to get on. Coming up, we will have William Updyke from Clips and Dip. We'll do some Clips and Double Dip tonight here on Clippers Talk and Coach lois at the podium right now. We're pulling that sound. We'll have it all for you. I see some of the quotes that are already percolating on Twitter. This is the lowest point of the
season. We hope it certainly is so far. Now. I'm old enough to remember when the Clippers were two and four and had lost four straight and people were panicking, and I preached patience and said it's going to be okay. It's early and even though they just lost two straight to the ok See Thunder, they're going to turn this thing around, and they did. They would go on a winning streak near after that, another time they lost four
or five games. I want to say they turn things around when on a wing streak, the bad loss in Orlando in overtime, they turn things around. They beat the Boss and Celtics. It's this erratic play, though, in the inconsistency that I think is the place of where the frustration stems from for Clipper Nation, because you know how good this team could be, but they're not playing to their potential. And tonight this wasn't even SEE minus game.
This was can you get in F minus? Is there anything worse than fus? The cooting old had chosen money spin on a pob Steve Hartman take. Is there anything better than a Hay plus? I don't know. Luckily never had one, I don't think. But they came out as flat and is cold from the outside as I've ever seen. This was historically bad. Being down by seventeen after the first quarter and only scoring fifteen points is brutal to be doing it with this team with Kawhi and Paul George out there.
This wasn't the game against Phoenix where they had nobody available. We didn't know Paul George if he was going to play or not, but he did in a way. Played fourteen minutes, started over seven, had three points. Kawhi Leonard started over four, played eighteen minutes, had six points. Two for seven or overall, those two guys combined to start over eleven and nobody
can hit anything from the outside when they were being guarded and doubled. It had the makings of what I said early on, this game could be another Dallas situation. Remember the Dallas Mavericks two years ago. This was late in twenty twenty, coming out of the bubble season, in the Clippers third game of the year, late December. It was because they pushed the season back. It started a little bit later. They lost to Dallas by fifty one.
Did it end up being meaningful or deciding their season? No, They went to the Western Conference finals for the first time in franchise history. But this is worse. I know the score isn't worse. They didn't get down by that many, and Denver's at the top of the Western Conference. But they've lost four in a row and we're almost at the midway point, not at the start of the season, with eighty more games to go. They got forty two games left, I believe, and they just had two days
off and as I mentioned, they had the two on three connection. This is as bad as it could get for a loss at the midway point of the season. Will it define them? I don't know yet, but they better turn things around and have a sense of urgency quickly. You can't let a loss like this hang around like a dark cloud. The good news, I guess, is that they have a chance to somewhat redeem themselves because they're playing tomorrow in Minnesota. And by the way, the Timberwolves just beat up
on the Denver Nuggets, who just beat up on the Clippers. Not an easy one. The good news is the starters didn't play much and coach lew spoiler alert didn't say as much. Of his dission going into that second half and not playing the starters was about them being on a back to back. Wisely, what's the point of playing them? You're down thirty four. Biggest comeback in NBA history thirty six. Second biggest was by the Clippers down thirty
five last year against DC or against the Washington Wizards in DC. They're not playing the Wizards in this game. They're on the road against Denver, Yogas had three points in the first half and they were down thirty four. It's unbelievable. It was an unmitigated disaster. You gotta be honest about it. Just a complete failure because we had hyped this game up as a measuring stick opportunity for the Clippers. Two days off. Had just lost three in a
row winnable games. Now they have lost five of seven. Before that, it was four of their last six and they could have won all six of them. So when is that sense of urgency going to set in. It's got to start soon. One of the most frustrating things has to be this team is closer to being whole than it has been throughout most of the season, and they've lost five of seven. I know Kauai couldn't go Monday night non COVID related illness, but they've had him a lot the last two weeks.
Their offense on the road trip was very good during that five game Roady they were third offensively, But what happened They let their defense slip, And coach lew said it after they lost to the Miami Heat Monday night one ten to one hundred. Sometimes when your offense starts to come around, or one side of the basketball starts to come around after you've been struggling in there all
season. You don't take care and focus in on the way you were playing on the other end, where the Clippers have been a top five defense all year long. You can't have that mindset that now our offense is playing much better, we can let up defensively. No, not if you're going to be a championship team. Those teams almost always finish top ten in both categories
offensive rating and defensive reading. Clippers aren't close to that right now. Offensively, they had twenty five points with I think six minutes left in the first half. This was brutal. This was a gut punch, not a knockout
blow. Still over forty games left. But I'm just wondering what changes could be coming, if any, whether it's to a mentality of philosophy out there on the court or personnel wise, because when you have losses like this and in those areas, they already had struggled without a true backup big man that you can rely on. And I give Moses Brown read it. He's played
well this season, but he's still very young. He's not exactly a season vet behind the viatsa Zoobots, and the Clippers have gone small so often. It hasn't worked for the most part this year, because it's one thing to go small when you have reliable guys in Kawai and Paul George playing all the time. That's more of a big small with him, with them too, and Nicholas Batoum, who was out tonight, and whoever you want to put around them, Terrence Man, Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, Luke Kennard.
Okay, but they haven't had the two on three connection that often. This was just Kawai's seventeenth game. They're now eleven and six with him, and you're trying to go small with John Wall and Luke Kennard and Norman Powell and Reggie and four guard lineups and three guard lineups and experiment and try to figure things out. And I'm all for it, but at some point you're getting down to the nitty gritty and you got to say, who are we going
to be as a team, what's our identity gonna be? And at the midway point, that seems like a reasonable place to say, Okay, lock in laser focused, here we go and We're going to be a consistent basketball team like we know they can be, we think they can be. But they've played up to competition at times, and tonight absolutely didn't meet the challenge of the Denver Nuggets. This didn't resemble the team that beat Boston at home
handily by twenty. They got handled. And it's tough to say, but I'm not going to shy away from the truth about this team right now that they are an unconsistent or an inconsistent contender that hasn't been able to put it together for long stretches. I say contender still because the talents there on paper, the roster is there, and there have been those standout games where they certainly look like one. The domination that they had in Toronto I thought was
really impressive on the Roadie Toronto's better than their record. They have talent, tough place to play, and the Clippers ran through them, and you see their offense turn around and they could run with the Indiana Pacers. It almost beat them at their own game. If they just played a little bit of defense, they win that ball game. So the offense is more than capable
of rising up and meeting the challenge. But not tonight. I don't know if it was lack of focus, lack of effort, or maker miss league and they were on the wrong side of just a brutal shooting night, an unbelievably bad shooting night. How bad first half their two for twenty one from the outside, I want to say at least ten of those were open threes,
but nobody could hit them early. And sometimes I said this on Clips and Dip recently, when you're in Denver against that team, things can snowball quickly, and I'm sure there was more pressure with each and every shot from the outside after they started to miss a few and get down early, as they did something like fifteen to seven. The Clippers go five minutes multiple times in this game without scoring a field goal, from the end of the first
to the early in the second quarter. And defensively, I almost find it harder to judge your defense when your offense is this bad, because you can't get set on the other end. You look at the numbers. It certainly wasn't good given up thirty two and thirty four points on the second quarter to Denver, But if you're not hitting shot, it makes things so much more difficult on the other end too, the Clippers offense has to start to turn
things around. I was just waiting for Kawhi Leonard or Paul George to get on a heater and say, get behind me, guys, all right, we're gonna be all right. I'll shoulder the load for a few minutes here offensively, get us back into this game, get it to within reach until everybody else finds a rhythm. Well that didn't happen. Clippers down by as many as forty three and lose one twenty two to ninety one in Denver to
the Nuggets. Let's start with Michael in La Michael, what's up your on Clippers stock without I'm awesome, Hey Adam, you know, first of all, let me just say the Clips and GIP is an amazing podcast. It's awesome. I love it, Thanks Mike. But with regards to this, you know, this game, it's done. This game that bothers me so much as much it is the the winnable games that we've lost, especially recently.
Well because you look at it now, we're has a game out of the play in and I mean, you know, in the right direction of the sixteed. But we're very close to being in the play and yeah, they're closer to be the ten seed, Michael than they are the first seed. Yeah. So, I mean, but you know you brought up earlier
the Indiana game. You know that was a winnable game that you know we lost because you know, even you look at the Boston game and Boston's a great team, but you know we could have had that we lost at the same thing with the Philadelphia game, Miami. You know, et cetera, et cetera. Uh, these games that you know, if you win, the games that you really should win, that you can win that are winnable, they cushion. So you have some cushion for a game like this.
Yeah, but you know what, Michael, Now, I mean, let me say this, A game like this was built to be two Western Conference powers going head to head, two teams that met in the playoffs a couple of years ago, and the Clippers should come out with the right intensity and focus because they had just lost three in a row. As much as those games also matter and can irk you because they were very winnable. Any game is winnable when you have Kawai and Paul George out there and for them to
be down by forty three is also unacceptable. That was roth not tonight was little no doubt, all right, Michael, I appreciate the phone call on the love for Clips and Dimp. We'll take a quick time out. I'll screen your phone call is coming up eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy eight six six ninety seven two five seventy. If you're on hold, we'll get to you. Don't worry. You gotta be a straight shooter tonight. I can't not be frank on a night when Clippers lose like this because
I know what we said pre game. We hyped it up too for good reason. I'm not gonna back down from that and say it's meaningless. Now we'll hear from the head coach coming up more of your phone calls. William Updyke from Clips and Dip will be here on ampire seventy al a sports around You baby day, searching for your next set of week. Oh George, La Clippers Basketball continue pisen his pains as he carries the three on the home of your La Clippers. It's like to be broke. I feel like I'm
walking the side rope without a circus day popping day. I'm a nervous thread at a serviles bag, But I work a sweat for it's worth it. A jay about the first to take it. Somebody to prefers to day minimum and drop bottom. For the Clippers tonight, they lose one twenty two to ninety one Denver to the Nuggets and weren't even competitive. They were losing the entire way. It was a wire to wire win for the Nuggets. Yeah, that type of night. We're down by as many as forty three.
Welcome back into Clipper stock. I'm atam moslin to eight sixty six ninety eight seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy looking for positives. Oh, just seven turnovers? How about that? Of course they only had. That's twenty four assists. I guess it's not a bad number, but a lot of that damage was done in the second half after they shot twenty six percent in the first half and we're two of twenty one from
three. Hey, it's a good thing they brought Jason Preston and Brandon Boston there because they needed some bodies late when it turned into inconsequential time. Clippers didn't look right spirit wasn't right, energy wasn't there, and they paid for it against a Denver team that was waiting for him and just ambushed him. Eight six, six ninety seven two five seventy. Come up, we'll here from coach Low and William Updyke from Clips and Dip will be here. Jose
and Downey Jose are on Clipper stock. Hey, Adam, how are you doing? You know what it was? It was a harsh game. It was really bad. But you know what I think it was in this stretch, the defense that tends to lack is what gets me the most. And with all these wings and all these good defenders, I think this is what hurts me the most, the potential on that end of the floor. Plus
they've actually played to their potential at times this season. The defense has absolutely saved them because throughout the majority of the year Clipper has been a bottom three offense. It's their defense that has kept them in games and has them with a winning record. And now it's falling apart, right and then you know, going from last year historic shooting from the three too, I don't know exactly what percentage is now, but it's well, no, they're they're about
top five. They have turned that around. Uh, they're much better than three point category, but it's gonna be. It's got to be three and d collectively with this team, you know. Yeah, yeah, and it just sometimes I mean, if the shot ain't falling, I mean, you know, take a step in, take an eighteen footer, you know, seventeen footer, see if you can get yourself going. Yeah, they just look lifeless offensively. I appreciate the phone call, Jose, I really do.
I'll get that three point percentage for you here too. They're six. I lied, I was one off thirty seven point six. It better than I did. But you know what, going into tonight, I bet they were five that shade. We're still a top five in defense though after this four game stretch. Also, good question. I will look that up for you. There were five or six, depending on where you would go, Jose. Thanks for the phone call. I appreciate it. Yeah. I
have a good one too. Uh, let's go to Javier Lahabra heights. Javier, what's up here in Clippers talk with that? I'm astin it. Wi's up, Adam. Thank you for taking a real quick Remember I mentioned it last Sunday. I told you some of those games you're gonna come back to haunt them. But you know what you said, just give us some time. They're not even in a position to be like nitpicking games that haunt them at the end of the season. They're not even good enough for that
right now, Jose, excuse me, Javier for being honest. But but but you noticed this, Adam was it. It's been since he's been a coach. He doesn't have him ready. It seems like, you know, yeah, you call him the comeback clips. But they shouldn't come to that, Adam. They should have They should be ready to play every game. I understand some games you're off, but look at these games. There's no
excuse for this. I just don't know what else he can say. Some motive eate them to make shots, Like what else is she supposed to do in those situations. I think they are well prepared. I think sometimes they come out flat because they're an older team and they lack some of that boost and some of that energy, and tonight in the thin air in Denver, it caught them in a really bad way. We've seen games like this from them before, but this is obviously on the extreme end. There have only
been a few like this in the two one three era. Yeah, well, I mean, like you said, tomorrow's the big game, back to back game, and we'll see all the team response. If they respond, if they win the game, then maybe it's all start to pay. They come back flat again, then at this point you got you gotta say, what's going on? Taylu. I mean we're already, like you said in the mid that we're already went pay two games in. Tylu has a body
of work of pushing the right buttons in the playoffs. Do you want a great regular season coach that is getting wins that you end up forgetting about that get lost in eighty two game games, or do you want a guy who has been winning games in the playoffs? Well, I mean you know, of course you want to win the playoffs. But then again, not just me had him, there's other callers that called you said, you know what, we don't want the Clippers to start in the first round on the road.
It's hard to win the road. I agree, I mean you want the first round, you know what I'm saying, first round the road, checking around the road. Hey, I agree. I bring it up all the time. The last team that wasn't the top three seed to win at all would be the ninety five Houston Rockets. There's a track record here, there's history. Yeah, but they had a Kimo Lage one. So anyways, all right, Adam, thank you for thinking about car and we'll see,
like I said, tomorrows the big game. He gotta you gotta show up. Thank you, Adam, Thank you appreciate the phone call. As always, Hobbier, he is one of our regulars here on Clippers stop one more before we go to the head coach, Damien in La Damien, what's up, Tripleay, thanks for taking my call. Man oh man, this is like I usually say, tough bluss when it's a tough bluss, but
this is kind of embarrassing. It is a couple of things I wanted to I mean, there's couple of things I wanted to get to, and then before we go, I had a question. I want to leave you with ponder, but I feel really embarrassed because of the fact that this isn't the first time that we've put up a bad performance on national television, you know, like you know, normally, I'm I'm listening to the game, I'm with you and I'm with Noah, and I like the call. I prefer
the call. But because we were on national television, you know, I thought, well, hey, let me go down somewhere and watch TNT, and you know, this is what we give. And now I'm gonna have to hear about what Chuck has to say. And you know, and Shack is you know, he's a he's a Laker, so he's not gonna say, you know, And I'm just like, man, you know, this was our game, you know, And and Tyler and the boys out there. Man, they they didn't represent for us, man, And that really
needs to be said. And this isn't the first time, you know, I think we we found out that we really need a backup for Zoo. There needs to be a conversation about why we're not imposing our will and starting early, like you said, we need to be adapting our our identity and imposing that will and then sticking to the mission. Me and you we tweeted about it. Man. They need, you know, get to the paint or die trying. Why do we have why are we going two for twenty
one if it's not working in the first half. Get to the paint. We were ten for ten when I tweeted you right, we were ten for ten from the line. We were getting to the line, one of our best free throw knights. Why did we not do the little things, the smart things, the things that you and I can see in order to keep
a ball game close? And that's what I had a problem. A lot of that, though, is energy and hustle, and they came out lifeless, in flat They were doa You know, it takes more energy to get to the basket and draw contact and hopefully get a call than it does to sell us settle for a jumper. And I'll say this though, I am aware that you know, not just you know, the Clippers, but many
teams will go into Denver and put up a stinker. You know, if you don't have your mind right, if you don't have your win, it can be hard to put up shots and to stick with it. Now, what happens even against bad Denver teams because they've always had a great home court advantage. Yeah, they do have that home court advtage. There's something to be said for that, But there's nothing to be said for two for twenty one. Like let's get inside, let's get back to home. What we
do, which is getting in the paint. Let's let Big Zoo eat. You know, we definitely need a strong backup for him because he's really breaking us back for us, and you know, we need to do something to get him a spell. The guys did look a little tired. I wonder if pg's hammy was right. But the question that I had, you know, because I know you got to get to a lot who is you know, because I really don't know who's the heart and soul of this team now
that Pat Bev is gone. Who do we look to, who's talking to the team, Who is the one holding us amountable on the court and not letting us get away with anything. Well, unfortunately, I think I think one of those guys. The guy that comes to mind is Nicholas Batum and he couldn't go tonight, so that hurt him right off the back. When you when you said that, I was like, damn, we missed him,
We missed him. They do. Yeah, that could have made and I appreciate the phone call Damien. That could have made a difference to start the game. Even though he's not going to be out there with the starters, he would have been the guy that came in quick with them going small early on. Instead it was Roko who looked okay, he had a big block early on, but he was over four from three. He couldn't get
anything to fall. The Clippers have played at times this season like a team that assumes they're flipped the switch, team that can come back at any time. But they aren't proving it. They aren't even some of the comebacks. They come back shorter, they come up short. We've seen that against Miami
the other night, down twenty one. They have to come out feeling like they're the underdog and playing like that, like their backs are against the wall, like they're still down nineteen early on in that game, in Game three on the road in the Lion's Den to the Dallas Mavericks, Like if they need to have some type of mindset where they start games like that, because really that's when everything changed or they were about to drop Oh they were about
to be down oh three in that series. Nobody's come back down oh three, They're down nineteen in twenty twenty one, that first round of the playoffs, and Kawai takes over and Paul George follows them and everybody else kind of jumped on the back of the two one three connection. I don't know how they do it. I don't know how to get their attention in the regular season sometimes with these games. But if this doesn't, I don't know what
will. It's gonna be really interesting to see what type of team shows up tomorrow in Minnesota. While we have a moment less pause ten seconds for station identification here on A seventy LA Sports, this is LA Clippers Basketball A five seventy KLAC Los Angeles, seven KYSR HD to Los Angeles and iHeart radio station. It's just frustrating and discouraging because if you're gonna win a championship, you have to have championship like habits. You have to build them over a season.
Even before Golden State won in twenty fifteen, they already were starting to handle teams and third quarters where they were pulling away from teams or getting back into games. They were always winning third quarters, something great teams typically do. Let's hear from coach lou postgame. Clippers lose and we're down as many
as forty three. Final score one twenty two to ninety one in favor of the Denver Nuggets, who was your head coach, Toronto lou after the game, Dad, I think you know, I think earlier on we got some good shots till we didn't make and then we kind of let our offense, you know, dictate our defense, and we didn't do a good job of everything we talked about, just the cuts, you know, Aaron Gordon on the offensive rebounds, and we didn't. We didn't have a defensive mindset to
start the game, and it kind of hurt us. You know, got some open shots, but you don't make as part of the game. But we had to be better defensively and we knew that coming to the game where they embarrass you. And so you know, tonight it was a tough game for us. See, you bet you that defensive mindset started games. Want to be keys for this team set that after the EA game. Fine, uh tonight tonight get that white Bundy. You think that's something that's occurred.
I'm not sure. You know, we don't try to do everything. We don't went to the drawing board three or four times, but you know, we just gotta be better to start games. And so you know, our group understands that this was a tough game for us tonight. You know, and we came in and you know, we don't make shots earlier. Your defense has to be really good. And so we didn't make shots early. You know, I think we started off one for nine or one for thirteen
from three, something like that. And so, you know, and all of us pretty good looks. But when you don't make shots that, your defense, guys has to be even better. And so tonight they took it to us. They played a good game and had number one team in the West for a reason. And so we get him again next week to see what we made of I see sat started the half time. How much of that was just the back to back with me? And half half was just
it's not effective. Yeah, the back to back was was uh pretty important, but I mean and they didn't have it tonight, you know, And so you know, I just thought, we give our young guys a chance to you know, play hard and compete, get'em a little bit of experience, not knowing who's gonna play tomorrow, and so my mindset was just you know, thinking about the back to back and you know, getting ready for tomorrow when you're down thirty four, thirty six and a half time yeah
something, Yeah, not uh, not with any eye too tomorrow just for the night in Jo. Why do you feel paul Ki came out of that? Oh he's fine. Is there playing on me at the first half? Is there any possible you can quite play tomorrow? It's just, you know, I don't know, just looking at its four s, three losses and everything. We try to keep the team together early game or everything late.
I mean, I know you got a better team prose every day. Is there anything different that you tell him right now this one season versus four games the street back in October just to keep No, we just gotta we just gotta play better, you know, I think on both sides of the basketball, we gotta play better, and so we haven't been doing that since we got a whole group back. And then we know it's gonna take some time, and so that's what happened. When you get everybody back so late in
the season, it's gonna take a little time. And so right now losing the four games, you know, we want to win every game, but my thing is more so us building the right habits on both sides of the basketball and right down. Since we had our whole group together, we haven't done that, so we gotta be better with that, you know, continue to work on lineups, continue to work on you know, how we want to play, but we haven't been very good, you know, since everybody's
been back. Do you feel like for what you've seen so far that that had its can be built for where we Oh? Yeah, for sure, I mean we have it in its. We do it in spurts, you know, and the Pailly game, the Boston game, like when we played you know, two and a half good quarters, but were having to string along, string out, you know, forty eight minutes and so you know, nothing to get discouraged about. We just know we gotta play better.
We gotta play hard on the defensive end, you know, that's where it all starts. And we'll be fine, you know. So you know, I gotta be better, the players gotta be better. But nothing to panic worry about. We either well, we'll be able to get on track. And I have no doubt about that. Obviously you had it for some event shages. Just say it again, the evench had to be difference in it. John and obviously wasn't available and either wasn't available and just how we how
do he was not even in the second half. But in the first half way, how do you assess, Oh, what you saw from how those guys played the other we would keep Norman team, And yeah, I thought they did a good job, you know. I thought we'd generated some good shots, some shots that we normally make that we didn't. And it's just
one of those nights, you know, defensively or we struggled. But you know in those nights when you struggle offensive I just said, you know, we gotta be better defensively, and so you know, it is what it is. You know, we gotta be better. You know, we've seen came into a you know, ran into a good team at night and we wasn't ready, you know, and so you know it happens. You know, it's a bad game. We gotta you know, Erase, this's when you get ready for tomorrow. Well, we got the end of that a
race two. I like the mindset there I do. It's not a sign to panic. That's what you have to hear from your leaders. There are
forty two more games left in the season. It can't be a time to panic, but it is a time to have a sense of urgency, and they have a chance to show some of that tomorrow in Minnesota against a good team that just beat Denver, or against a team that is playing better at least more Clippers stock coming up next eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy we'll get back to your
phone calls. We'll hear from William Updyke, clips and tip. This is M five seventy Las boys on my head of my game, steal cupping my least with the beats, still not loving police. It was blocked by George. This is LA Clippers basketball. He is a one man crawl and defensive man on the home of your LA Clippers. Last time that I checks five chains on my neck, it was no smile on my BP. Last time that I check set trail by as many as forty three. They lose one
twenty two ninety one in Denver for the Nuggets. Things to do in Denver when you're dead, it's a great movie. Clippers a dad. In fact, they're more than alive and hopefully well and going to Minnesota tomorrow, and they got forty two more games to play in the regular season. That's the good news. They have a chance to turn around very quickly and show who they are. I'm just waiting for that to happen over a sustained period of time though. I think that's part of the issue for me with this team.
Yeah, that's the thing that we keep coming back to. Right I will up Dyke is joining us now. I didn't even didn't even introduce him of This guy's ready to go after a loss like this. It's William up Dyck from Clips and Dip a Little Clips and double Dip here on clippers stock will let a Rip. I apologize. I'm chomping at the bid after this. I mean, look, that's has been the most frustrating thing, right like I'll lead off with the bad. The most frustrating thing has been every
time we think this team finds an identity. Every time we think that they're turning a corner or something, they go on a skid or they turn out like such an uninspired performance that it honestly gives you an existential crisis about why or even a fan I get that. I understand that. I mean, I guess, like the non rain cloud or the sunlight is we can say, hey, you know, at least it wasn't fifty one now I think this is no. I think this is worse. Like the score wasn't worse,
but this is in the middle of the season. That happened in Game three, and they just had two days off to prepare for this, and they didn't have Kawhi in that game against Dallas. I don't believe either, Okay, but like this is technically what Game fourteen of Kawai and Paul George and I think after a break. I mean, like, I'm not saying that they deserve the benefit of the doubt where it's the same as it being the third game of the season, But like, this game could go.
In my mind, this game was gonna go one of two ways. It was gonna be a really tightly contected game or the sort of like ugly issues with the Clippers often and the Stars not really being able to gel due to not having the time was going to rear Dug we Head. I said yesterday that I thought that it would definitely be the former, It would be a closely contested game. Turns out I was very much wrong. Yeah, so was I. William Updyke is our guest here on Clippers Stock. This is
a great podcast with Charles Mockler and myself. I don't want to say it's great and then say that I'm on it too, So let's just say it to you guys and then and then it's me, you know, at third
wheel in it and having a good time. And I love doing it, but especially on nights like tonight, it's good to do some clips and double dip because let me ask you this, because I don't know what to make of this, because I leaned towards it's a maker misleague sometimes and the Clippers have to take those open threes that they had in the first half that they weren't hitting. There were two or twenty one, but they kind of have to take them to unlock their offense. It just seemed like it was one
of those nights where they weren't falling. I don't how do you see those offensive struggles, especially early on with the starters. Yeah, I mean, I understand why people can get a little upset about the three point shooting thing because it has been so cold, and ideally, I mean this offense is that it's best when they're really getting a lot more paint touchet uh and getting those shots. Uh. You know, it's so tough because they do take
the ones that are more frustrating. Is I feel like the heavily, the more contested choose and stuff when they're not falling, because it just looks so much uglier. But yeah, I mean fourteen percent as a team from three, I don't know what you do with that. I you know, like that's one of those things, that law of averages that's like so bad that it's it's it's not sustainable. Uh, and it has to bounce back and and it was everybody right PG with what one of five Luke Kennard couldn't like
Luke Kennard's struggle. That Luke Kennard's struggling like that with some open ones is completely bizarre. I do love the fact that coach lew says, Okay, we got a game to play tomorrow. Starters don't have it. I'm going with the backups who made a little bit of a push. I'm not sure if it was an ADO or a nine oh run early in that third quarter, but I still like that because they have had come comebacks before. Operating like that where he will take out the starters and say, you guys are
bringing it. I'm going to punish you for this and backups. Here's your chance. Well, and it just makes sense too. I mean this game was over on that five minute, five minute, half minute Clipper scoring drought when Nuggets going an eighteen oh run. I mean, yes, we've seen them crawl back from things like that before. This just from watching the game clearly wasn't that night. So you do get to preserve the stars a little
bit. I really hope, I really hope, just for like the sake of continuity, that we can get some minutes out of at least one of the two stars, even if it's just another first half or something like they just they need the rest, like they need the reps. I you know, rust was definitely apparent. And it's just a bummer because you know, we know that rotation changes are coming. Uh. You know, this was supposed to be the glorious return of Robert Covington. Uh and and this is
kind of what we get laid in our lap. And it's it's really unfortunate because I don't know, I just keep coming back to it that this is what this is Games four team right with Kawai and Paul George. I believe
that's correct. It's somewhere. It's a little bit over a dozen games so far with it, both of them this season, and that's just I mean, you know, at forty games in that's just that's not enough to do much with it with a lost like this, you know what I mean, Like I can't point to the clear thing that's the takeaway that's like, this is what's really crippling the Clippers team other than them just not having time together, you know, like you know, PG and Kawai starting all nine.
You know, we could see that happen in another game maybe, you know, when they're when they're minutes are at a at a regular pace, they can kind of get into the flow of the game as they you know, they both tend to tend to. So it's so tough for me to like take away a whole lot of like real tangible things other than you know, just the lack of continuity, the lack what feels like again a lack of identity, and just some very uninspired play like it was, you know,
on top of everything, it was very uninspired. Yeah, that is very well said. What's your best guess on if Kawhi Leonard plays tomorrow? Coach lew was asked about it, he says he doesn't know. He plays eighteen minutes, but pregame it sounded like coach lew is still open to that idea. And look, he's not the one making the call. The medical staff
is. It's a collective group effort, I guess. But considering how bad they lost this game and him playing fewer minutes, what do you think reading the tea leaves on Kawai tomorrow Minnesota, And honestly, like, I don't, I don't know what the staff and the like the coaching stafskin this tide to do. I'm gonna say that like as a fan and someone who watched the team, Man, I hope so. Like I hope so. And
I'm fine with Kawai and not playing all back to back and stuff. For a night where you get smacked like that you only play eighteen minutes, I would really like to see some some progress and even just getting rests on the floor, Like I'm not even expecting him to be in this next game back where he was and where we've seen him even in this season, but like, just get on the floor a little bit. I mean, you are
gonna you know, you are going to play tight games. When we get to the playoff and I don't know, I do I would personally like to see it at least some minutes, even if it's just another eighteen minutes thing. He is William Updyke from Clips and Dip. That's a great show with myself and Charles Mockler at now. It's not at him at all. You guys have been doing this for years. You built this thing. I'm just jumping on him, piggybacking along for the ride. I love it though.
It's a fun ride. And we'll do some more Clips and Double Dip tomorrow night with Charles Mockler after the Clippers played in Minnesota. Well not easy to come on tonight after the Clippers worst loss since the game against Dallas. I think you can say it could be worse. It could be worse. You made it better though, so I appreciate you man. Thanks for doing this
already. Thanks Adam coming up next. Final phone calls eight six six ninety seven two five seventy eight six six ninety eight seven two five seventy Is this Clippers stock on a five seventy LA sports d Were you ever feel like we need back? Didn't just take me back. We just take me back, and this is the smiles we had when we were young. Oh, Paul George La Clippers basketball continue, I s in his pains as he carries the
three on the home of your La Clippers say something driven. Clippers lose by thirty one in a game they were down by forty three in in Denver for the top season the West and the Nuggets. Final score one twenty two ninety one. I'll come back in the Clippers stock Morris close things out with some positivity. Well, I want to tell them, excuse me, I'm gonna take something tomorrow. It's not a gimme. There's no such a thing to gimme, and said it was. I'm telling you, I already said it.
It's definitely not a gimme. That team just beat Denver. Ye what they're waiting on it tomorrow. But I'm gonna tell you something's in the middle of the season. We got at a little bit of time to go. They're not doing what we thought they would do. But you know something, we should remember something. We're not in last place and the NBA is a funny year. You look at the Chicago Bulls. I don't think there are
five hundred, but they're beating any of the top teams twice. Okay, as the Oklahoma just scored one hundred and fifty points the other day and then turn around the loft to a lot though, so we're still in the mix. I'll give it you tomorrow, Adam, keep your head up. Okay, all right, that was pretty good Morris. I'll take that level of
positivity and a realistic approach to it. But look, Clippers are now five games back of the number one seed held by the Denver Nuggets, and they're only two and a half games or up, I should say, of being the eleventh seed and being out of the plan. The team that's in the eleventh spot, the Minnesota Timberwolves at eighteen and twenty one, is the Clippers dropped to twenty one and nineteen. Tomorrow tips off at six in Minnesota the
Target Center. I think it's still called that we'll have pre games starting at five before we get out of here. I do want to thank the Clippers organization, Noah Eagle, Brian Seman, Ralph Wahler, po brother, Jake Warner Or, head engineer, producer, Katie Newton, and Zacho o'qualady until tomorrow, Clippers playing two games in less than twenty four hours, starting at five with the pregame show from Minnesota. I'm at a Moslin. We will
talk to you than this has been. Clippers Talked a postgame conversation about your LA Clippers with Adam Oslap. If you like the show, subscribe to Clippers Talk on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you podcast. They have the best. This team has those championship ingredients. They have some of that DNA. You can see it. This is Clippers Basketball. Join us next time on the LA Clippers Audio Network