Exactly the Paul George you want
In his first game that counts since the devastating ejection in the bubble, PG-13 gets aggressive and leads the Clippers to victory.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
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Paul George nor the Clippers ever looked comfortable in the bubble. Frankly, there were only limited stretches of the 2019-20 NBA season prior to the shutdown and the bubble where the L.A. Clippers looked comfortable as PG-13 recouped from offseason shoulder surgeries and Kawhi Leonard tried to find comfort on a team different in personality and culture than the Toronto Raptors with whom he’d just won a title. That the Clippers were the No. 2 seed in the West, rightly considered a legitimate title contender and mercilessly ridiculed for failing to make the conference finals despite all that is a testament to the talent level.
Paul George sure looked comfortable on opening night as he scored 33 points on 13-18 shooting to lead the Clippers to a wire-to-wire win over the Lakers. With PG-13 leading the way and Kawhi playing exactly how you expect Kawhi to play, the Clippers looked as comfortable as they ever have against the Lakers.
Paul George is one of those scorers who, when they’re cooking, there’s just not a whole lot you can do as a defense. He’s comfortable driving the lane, he’s really comfortable shooting the ball (one of the best shooters in the game), he can move off screens with ease if you have players who can deliver the rock in rhythm. You can’t put a smaller defender on him one-on-one because he can rise up and shoot from anywhere inside 25 feet. He’ll blow by most bigger defenders. He has the tools and know how to use them. Paul George was definitely cooking on Tuesday night, especially in the second half (26 on 10-12). The Lakers didn’t really have many options.
It was also clear that the Lakers were not as invested in winning this game as they were all their marquee games last season. LeBron James sat most of the fourth quarter despite the game getting to within 9, 11, 12 points at certain junctures. I mean, the Lakers lost by seven, and LeBron didn’t check back in after leaving the game with 7:51 left and L.A. down 7. That’s really, really weird. While the Clippers’ lead did balloon pretty quickly — they were up 13 two minutes later when there was a dead ball at 5:57, the point at which I was pretty sure LeBron would come back in to close out the game — it was an odd concession against a top rival. The deficit continued to grow slowly from there until Anthony Davis (pretty uneventful game, in a bad way) came out for good with 3:37 left. Garbage time cut it down to the respectable 7-point loss.
It was, frankly, an odd LeBron game as he played just 28 minutes. The Lakers were +2 in those 28 minutes and -9 in the 20 minutes he sat. He had 22 on middling shooting. Also, Dennis Schroder didn’t look great with the starters and Marc Gasol had a disaster night — 5 fouls in 12 minutes, 1 assist, 1 rebound. The Lakers just lacked the veuve we saw pretty much all of last season and especially in the bubble.
The Clippers did not. And this is why I was skeptical that the Lakers should be considered overwhelming favorites this season, even though I picked them to win the title. So much goes into a basketball season. So much goes into a championship. Hunger, having something to prove — you can’t bottle that energy, you can’t conjure it up out of thin air. It’s organic. The Clippers appear to have it right now after that embarrassing conclusion of their season in Orlando. The Lakers will probably get it back. Hell, they might have it and it might just have been dormant for a single game.
It’s great to see that Paul George isn’t angry or rattled about the criticism he received for his odd comments in the playoffs and his Game 7 performance. He’s focused and confident. That’s the Paul George the Clippers need, and it’s a Paul George it’s really, really fun to watch.
Scores
Warriors 99, Nets 125 — Brooklyn kicked Golden State in the proverbial teeth real early, and it became clear that the Warriors didn’t have the sharpness to close the gap, so I’m trying to ignore most of the GSW side of the ledger here — including tough nights for Steph Curry, Kelly Oubre and Andrew Wiggins. You can’t ignore James Wiseman, though: he looked legitimately good, as Henry Abbott writes for TrueHoop. ($) That’s a helluva silver lining for a team that’s won three of the past six titles — their mysterious No. 2 pick looks every bit worth it in GAME 1 of his NBA career!
But whew, the Nets. They are something. I picked them to win the East, so I’m not exactly surprised they ran over the shorthanded, reconfiguring Warriors. But the ease with which Brooklyn attacked the Golden State defense relentlessly without any one player having an unsustainable night, and the comfort evidenced on the defensive end — this team might be even better than we already thought they’d be. They are certainly a must-watch team: Kevin Durant looked totally comfortable, Kyrie Irving had his bag wide open (no post-ups, though?!) and Caris LeVert played aggressive off the bench. I’m buying what the Nets are selling.
Schedule
We have our first mega night of the NBA season, with 13 games featuring 26 teams. It’s also opening night of the 2020-21 League Pass Cup. All times Eastern. Games are on NBA League Pass unless otherwise noted. Games that qualify for the League Pass Cup are denoted with a 🏆.
Hornet at Cavaliers, 7 🏆
Knicks at Pacers, 7
Heat at Magic, 7
Wizards at Sixers, 7
Bucks at Celtics, 7:30, TNT
Pelicans at Raptors, 7:30
Hawks at Bulls, 8 🏆
Thunder at Rockets, 8
Spurs at Grizzlies, 8
Pistons at Timberwolves, 8 🏆
Kings at Nuggets, 9
Jazz at Blazers, 10
Mavericks at Suns, 10:30, ESPN
Links
Kelly Dwyer’s awesome Pacific Division preview is free to all. He also has an Atlantic preview for subscribers.
KD talking to Charles Barkley like I used to talk to my parents when I was a teenager.
Derek Fisher has consolidated power within the L.A. Sparks organization, adding general manager to his title of head coach. While you might think this means that Candace Parker is leaving in free agency, The Next’s Howard Megdal reports that Fisher has remained in close contact with Parker since the team’s unceremonious exit from the Wubble, with Parker sitting on the bench. That doesn’t really fit with the fact that I want a Candace Parker Atlanta Dream jersey, Howard!
James Harden is getting mad in practice per Shams in The Athletic, but can’t bring himself to Jimmy Butler levels of disruption. ($)
Dan Devine on the Nets being worth the wait.
Jack McCallum on Oscar Robertson’s activist legacy.
This Kelly Oubre putback is our first nominee for Dunk of the Year.
The Ringer staff made NBA award predictions.
Marc Spears on players who missed the bubble yet continue to fight for social justice.
Rob Mahoney on what Anthony Davis can still become.
Florida basketball player Keyontae Johnson is being released from the hospital, thankfully. It’s beginning to look as though the condition that caused him to collapse on court and be put into a medically induced coma is potentially tied to an earlier COVID-19 infection.
Blake Murphy in The Athletic on how the Raptors moved to Tampa in six weeks. ($)
And finally: the Lakers’ ring ceremony was exceptionally cool. I’m not sure if the adorable families on video were a surprise to the players, but it was fantastic. Shout out to Anthony Davis’ puppy! And the health care workers giving the assistant coaches their rings! And the I Promise School kids and staff! Also, a nice twist that the Lakers won’t unveil the 17th title banner until fans are back in the building.
Be excellent to each other.