Anthony Edwards Reacts to Clippers' Failed Strategy vs. Timberwolves
When the LA Clippers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this season, they were able to find success with a small ball group of Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Norman Powell, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard. While the Clippers were unable to complete their comeback, this lineup was a +8 in the fourth quarter, and made the game the game close down the stretch (data via NBA.com).
The Clippers were without Ivica Zubac in this game, but countering Minnesota's size with a small ball lineup was not a surprising move from Ty Lue, who often likes to force opposing bigs to play in space and transition when his team is struggling.
While Zubac was back for Monday night's rematch between LA and Minnesota, he is still on a minutes restriction, which led to Lue going small ball again once his backup bigs struggled. The strategy was not as successful in this game, with the Clippers losing their 12 non-center minutes by nine points (although just five points when removing garbage time). That said, the Clippers did not play any better with their centers on the court, as Lue tried all three of Zubac, Plumlee, and Theis, losing those minutes by 12.
When asked after the game about the Clippers' small ball strategy, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards said, "They went small and we punished them down low. KAT did a great job of punishing them tonight. That led to us getting that lead, and Rudy just pounding them on the offensive glass."
The only non-center lineup that wasn't a negative for the Clippers in this game was Westbrook, Harden, George, Leonard, and Terance Mann, which was a +2 in seven minutes (data via NBA.com).
While single game sample sizes should always be taken with a grain of salt, the Clippers looked overmatched by Minnesota in this game, with very little success regardless of what lineup combination they went to.
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