The Lakers and Clippers arrived Thursday after having fought three heavyweight bouts, but Round 4 was the closest yet. The Lakers opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter, but the Clippers fought back to build a lead of their own. Anthony Davis owned the third quarter and finished with 34 points, but the night was LeBron James.
Despite struggling to get 6 of 19 shots, James hit the game-winning runner after rebounding his own foul. He then proceeded to defend Kawhi Leonard in final possession well enough to force a pass, and then fired Paul George to contest his attempt to win the game. When the final bell rang, it was 103-101 Lakers.
The top two teams in the Western Conference have played four times, dividing the matches 2-2. The Clippers have outscored the Lakers by just four points in those games. These teams are as close as it seems, and now that their regular-season battles are on the books, they have a few months to prepare for what should be an inevitable Western Conference final showdown. These are the most important conclusions from tonight’s game ahead of that likely playoff series.
LeBron’s defense was spectacular.
Kawhi Leonard attempted just two field goals in the fourth quarter, becoming one of them. That was thanks in large part to LeBron. After three tough engagements against Kawhi during the pre-bubble season, LeBron finally improved him on defense in this one. The final possession of the game began with James at Leonard and ended with James trading Paul George to contest his attempt to win the lost game.
LeBron’s defense has been better this season. Gone are the days when your effort slows down and low-light videos are made to tease you. But he spent most of the season off the ball, protecting minor threats and focusing primarily on defense defense. This version of LeBron, the apex predator capable of devouring enemy stars on his own, has been absent from Miami. If this defensive caliber is still inside LeBron, it changes the entire playoff picture.
LeBron’s offense was not
Lost in the ruckus at the end of the game was all it took to get there. LeBron shot 6 of 19 from the field. That leads him to 29 of 79 against the Clippers, down 36.7 percent from the field. Their game winner even came as a rebound from their own foul. We now have four sets of evidence to suggest that LeBron is fighting Clipper’s defense. You can hardly be blamed for that. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are one of the best defensive end duos of all time.
But the Lakers are not beating the Clippers four times in seven attempts without LeBron’s score. It’s unclear if that means getting small before, looking for specific matchups, or adjusting your own rotations in some other way, but the Lakers must solve this problem before the Western Conference finals.
Dion Waiters is for real
Forget about individual stats for a second. Dion Waiters, so undesirable by the trading deadline that she was quit despite having a year left on her contract, has the highest net rating in the bubble. The Lakers beat the Clippers by an astonishing 17 points with Waiters on the floor. Considering it was nominally replacing Rajon Rondo, the Laker with the worst on / off numbers, that’s incredibly encouraging. The Lakers appear to have stumbled upon a legitimate second-unit creator, and he became a player who, less than a year ago, forced a team plane to land early after taking too many jelly beans. What world do we live in?
Doc Rivers ruins his rotation again
If a single decision could be blamed for the Clippers losing their March showdown with the Lakers, it would be Rivers’ decision to leave Lou Williams on the ground at the decisive moment. LeBron searched for him on the switches of virtually every possession, and the result was an offense enough to push the Lakers over the top.
Fast forward to tonight. The Clippers outscored the Lakers by 16 points with Kawhi Leonard on the floor and were neutral with Paul George playing. With Williams and Montrezl Harrell out, the Clippers had no other offensive creator, so staggering their two stars was essential. However, for four minutes and 21 seconds in the third quarter … the Clippers played with their two stars on the bench. A four-point lead turned into a one-point deficit. With the final difference of just two points, that stretch likely cost the Clippers the game.
There’s nothing wrong with experimenting in regular-season games, especially against such a major playoff opponent and with no home court advantage to worry about. To his credit, Rivers took a good look at how a centerless closing lineup would work tonight and has now seen virtually every lineup on his roster against the Lakers in one form or another. But two losses in a row like this are troubling. Rivers won’t have as much freedom to experiment in the playoffs.
Ivica Zubac’s trade will not return to chase the Lakers
At least we can let him rest: No, the Lakers won’t regret trading Ivica Zubac with the Clippers. He’s a good rotation player, and giving a rival free value is never a good idea, but he’s lost in this matchup. Anthony Davis exploited him for three quick fouls, gave the Clippers zero points and just three rebounds in 15 minutes, and the Lakers outplayed the Clippers by five points with him on the floor. He was the only Clippers starter to be outplayed.
Zubac has functions, and will probably be essential if the Clippers bump into the Nuggets or the 76ers in the playoffs. But it’s not mobile enough to hang on the ground in a high-level showdown against more versatile big men. The Warriors made him useless in the first round a year ago. The Lakers seem to have done the same. Montrezl Harrell monopolized the minutes in the center in the first three confrontations. He’ll probably do the same thing in the playoffs.
