Editor’s note: This first appeared on the Open Floor newsletter, a free, twice weekly newsletter from Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. Subscribe now.
Greetings from Los Angeles, where I took advantage of a Dallas Mavericks two-game trip to dive into the state of Mavs in the post–Nico Harrison era. Dallas has looked pretty good since Anthony Davis returned to the lineup last week. Cooper Flagg continues to look like the star most expected him to be, while the Mavericks could be a point guard away from turning things around. And it just so happens they have a pretty good one working his way back.
Pod alert: Rachel Nichols returns for a deep dive on the Clippers, who are struggling mightily right now. Last weekend was a disastrous one for L.A., with back-to-back losses to injury-ravaged Memphis and Dallas. On Monday the Clips were run off the floor in Miami, dropping them to 5–16 on the season. Yikes.
We also discussed how seriously we should take the Lakers as title contenders, what’s behind this Hawks surge without Trae Young and why Cleveland has looked so average to start the season. Subscribe here, here and here.
All right, a few free throws …
- Midway through the second quarter on Monday, Kawhi Leonard sank a pair of free throws to give the Clippers a two-point lead over Miami. Seven minutes later, L.A. was down by 26, buried under an avalanche of Heat threes that powered Miami to a 140–123 win.
The numbers were ugly. The Heat shot 53% from the floor. They connected on 52.2% of their threes. James Harden played 20 minutes for the Clippers and finished a ghastly -39. The loss was the Clippers’ fifth straight and eighth in the last nine games. Since Halloween, L.A. has won twice. “Everybody wants to try to get a win,” Leonard said. “We’re not finding one at the moment.”
I covered the Clippers’ issues after the loss to Dallas on Saturday. Against Miami, it was more of the same. Defensively, this team has collapsed. Miami’s three-point shooting was ridiculous, but many of them were open looks. L.A.’s 13 turnovers aren’t terrible, but they continue to be unable to stop teams from turning them into points. After a 9–0 Heat run to start the third quarter, Ty Lue yanked his entire starting lineup.
It’s unclear how the Clippers get out of this. Getting Bogdan Bogdanović and Derrick Jones Jr. back from injury will help, but the Clippers weren’t winning when they were healthy. A coaching change won’t help, and there is no indication that owner Steve Ballmer is considering it. L.A. can’t dump its stars and tank because its first-round pick is earmarked for Oklahoma City. The Clips were a trendy pick to make a deep playoff run before the season. Right now it’s hard to see how they avoid the lottery.
- Dillon Brooks is a walking, (trash) talking culture changer. Phoenix improved to 13–9 after a blowout win over the Lakers on Monday, with Brooks (33 points) leading the way. Brooks is averaging a career-best 21.5 points per game while helping to transform the Suns into a respectable defense.
It’s more than on-court stuff, though. Brooks’s swagger is infectious. He had it in Memphis, he brought it to Houston and now he has a rebuilding Suns team believing it can win. His act isn’t for everyone—asked about going up against LeBron James on Monday, Brooks said, “He likes people who bow down. I don’t bow down”—but you simply can’t argue with the results.
- Speaking of the Lakers, there is no denying L.A.’s offensive firepower. Luka Dončić is an MVP candidate, Austin Reaves is having an All-NBA-caliber season and LeBron James could be the most high-profile third option the league has ever seen. The Lakers are ruthlessly efficient in the half court, averaging 105.7 points per 100 half-court possessions, per Cleaning the Glass, a shade behind Denver for the best mark.
Can L.A. play enough defense to compete in the West? The Lakers aren’t bad defensively. They are middle of the pack in defensive categories like rating, opponent points in the paint, points scored. But they are bottom third in opponent field goal percentage and three-point percentage, per NBA.com. Against Phoenix, they were gashed for 56 points in the paint.
Will the Lakers make a move before the trade deadline? There could be some frontcourt players available. Daniel Gafford, whom Dončić pushed for the Mavs to trade for in 2024, could hit the market. In Portland, Robert Williams III is expendable. Some back line reinforcements could make all the difference.
- A silver lining in what is looking like a lost season in New Orleans? How about Jeremiah Fears, the recently turned 19-year-old rookie point guard. Fears has been terrific, averaging 15.4 points while shooting a respectable 36% from three. A lot of teams liked Fears going into the draft: He has good size (6' 3") and defensive instincts and showed scoring prowess in his lone season at Oklahoma. I don’t think many teams thought he would be this good this quickly though. The Pelicans have themselves a keeper.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Two L.A. Stories: Clippers and Lakers Going in Completely Opposite Direction.
