PORTLAND, Ore. — At a certain point, games can cross an invisible threshold after which so much has gone wrong that coaches deem it no longer valuable to watch the film.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups experienced that for the first time Monday, when his Trail Blazers were routed by the Clippers in Los Angeles.
“There’s too much to watch,” he said, “and because of that, you don’t watch that much of it, you know?”
His friend Tyronn Lue knew. He got his own two nights later in a loss to Cleveland in which the Clippers mustered just 79 points.
But as Lue stalked across Moda Center’s court here, eight hours before tipoff Friday, it appeared he hadn’t so simply brushed off Wednesday’s loss, which had reinforced early trends. Clippers such as Terance Mann and Luke Kennard had kept passing up open shots at a time when shot creation is at a premium with Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris and Serge Ibaka all unavailable. Eric Bledsoe’s offensive efficiency outside of the paint had continued to wane. Who is this team’s second-best offensive option? Check back in November.
Lue came prepared Friday with changes. He moved Amir Coffey into the backup forward role in place of Justise Winslow, whose defensive versatility and passing had yet to outweigh the lack of offensive spacing his 37% shooting had created. Lead ballhandler duties were shifted to Reggie Jackson, moving Bledsoe into an off-ball role for the first time this season.
Through nearly three quarters, all it did was create another game that appeared headed toward the virtual trash bin. A 20-9 Clippers lead, built by making their first six three-pointers, disappeared during a six-minute scoreless drought. When Kennard passed on a transition opportunity in the second quarter, then missed a three-pointer later in the possession, Lue shook his head and raised his palms. Bledsoe wasn’t used in the lineup that closed the first half’s final minute. By the third quarter, the Clippers eventually trailed by as many as 20 points.
Little in this 111-92 loss outside of Paul George’s one-man offense was pretty.
For a time, it was gritty.
Kennard got the message during a 17-2 third-quarter run to trim the deficit to five. He took 11 three-pointers, making four, and finished with 16 points. One game after saying his legs felt “heavy,” George appeared spent at times, such as when he threw four dicey passes during the third quarter, but was otherwise brilliant despite his fatigue, scoring 42 points, including six three-pointers, with eight rebounds.
But the rewatch won’t be easy of a loss that dropped the Clippers to 1-4.
Down only six points with 6:34 to play, and eight with five minutes left, the Clippers scored just 12 points after that, as their dependence on George, though no secret entering the season, continues to be striking offensively. Kennard was the only Clipper not named George to score in double digits.
Norman Powell, who had missed Monday’s Clippers game because of a hurt knee, returned for the Blazers to score 12 points. Damian Lillard, who had missed his first nine three-pointers against the Clippers this season, finished with 25 points, connecting on five of his seven shots from deep. Billups had called Lillard a “ticking time bomb” before tipoff, and he blew up the Clippers’ chances with back-to-back three-pointers with four, and then three, minutes to play.
Bledsoe scored a season-low three points and didn’t attempt a shot after halftime. He, Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum combined to make three of their 17 shots. For a second consecutive game, the Clippers were crushed on the glass, grabbing 20 fewer rebounds than Portland’s 63.
Easy answers for the Clippers’ offense don’t appear to be arriving anytime soon. Morris, after sitting all four preseason games to rest his knee, “tried to do it for the team in the first couple games, just tried to play and try to play through it,” Lue said, “but he wasn’t really ready.” There is no timeline for his leg to be strong enough to return yet, though he is on the court participating in a limited amount of drills.
Ibaka also has a fuzzy timeline to be back because of his back.
