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Tyronn Lue learned one of the most important lessons of his life in the NBA early in his 11-year career from then-Lakers teammate Brian Shaw.
A late Nebraska first-round pick, 6-footer Lue, wasn’t going to give the Lakers 20 points every night. He wasn’t even going to be on the rotation every night. But as a matter of responsibility, he could tell the truth as he saw it every night, even if it meant drawing temporary ire from the biggest names on the list.
“Being able to tell those guys the truth, when they probably never hear much of it,” Lue said. “And they respect you for that.”
So more than two decades later, during his first training camp as a Clippers coach this month, Lue told his team the truth. The 43-year-old coach has few hobbies other than basketball. His job, as he saw it, was to work every day to find the best system to design around the talents of the workforce. But the only way the Clippers could maximize their potential would be if the players’ focus were just as unwavering.
“I tell them every day that I don’t want it to be a thing where we do it for two weeks and then we come back next week and we have to talk about how we have to make things harder,” Lue said in a phone interview last week. . “We should be doing that every day.”
The intent behind the message became apparent amid a 116-109 season-opening victory Tuesday over the Lakers in which the Clippers exorcised some of their postseason demons.
A Clippers lead that had risen to 22 points in the first half turned into a tie at 75 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Rather than give in like they did during the playoffs, when double-digit leads were lost in their final three second-round losses, the Clippers turned down hard. His response was highlighted by the offensive explosion provided by Paul George, whose 33 points provided a modicum of personal redemption after an up and down postseason.
For a franchise just coming out of an offseason of put-downs, it was the ideal answer for opening night. But it will quickly lose its luster if the good habits displayed in victory are not maintained, from execution on the court to communication.
“We have a lot more work to do to keep building and improving,” Lue said. “It’s going to be a process.”
Tuesday was the first stress test of that process and it was significant. After shooting 70% overall and 50% on 3s in the first quarter, the Clippers made seven of their 25 shots in the second quarter. Twelve turnovers in the first half led to 15 points for the Lakers. As the Lakers took shots, the Clippers’ opportunities to run in transition decreased, forcing the Clippers to work harder for their points.
The Clippers led by two at halftime. Having already claimed their championship rings in a pregame ceremony, LeBron James and Anthony Davis were now coming for the lead.
Lakers forward LeBron James is defended by Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“We’re playing a great team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the other side of basketball, they’re going to make a run at some point,” Lue said. “You just have to bear it.”
In the second half, the Clippers committed four turnovers and George scored 10 straight points to end the third quarter. He scored 26 in the last half.
Kawhi Leonard, who scored 26 points on 26 shots, said that even if the Clippers had lost, he still would have felt like they had progressed because of what he saw during the team’s regression in the second quarter.
“I appreciate that everyone stays locked in and focused and just be positive and keep their heads up,” Leonard said. “Once we saw the advantage drop, we talked to each other, we tried to figure out what was going on and we went out in the second half and played good basketball. … That is what I pride myself on, not the missed or successful shots. “
In the postseason, fellow Clippers occasionally argued with each other during timeouts. When it ended in September, Leonard said he wanted the front office to improve the “basketball IQ” of the roster. Tuesday was a first opportunity to assess the new staff’s ability to solve problems on the fly, a process that relies on open communication, Lue said.
“We don’t want to be an avant-garde team; When things are going well, we encourage each other, ”Lue said. “When things go wrong, we will do the same.”
As the Clippers’ lead faltered and the similarities to last season’s coda grew strange, Lue told his team the truth at halftime. George needed to get more aggressive on offense. His unforced errors and the resulting turnovers had to be stopped. The chance to win was there, if they were willing to work for it.
“When things aren’t going well, you need that positive review,” Leonard said. “That will push the guys to play better or, if they are communicating poorly on the court or missing readings at both ends, I think it would help if everyone comes up and says something. It’s Game 1, we want to keep building it and have the same energy night after night. We have not arrived yet, we have a long season ahead of us ”.
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