The Los Angeles Clippers played the Memphis Grizzlies for their third and final matchup of the season. Having played the Grizzlies in Memphis two days ago as well, Russell Westbrook would have expected to replicate that night’s result. Playing without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Russ led the team to a 141-132 win.
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Tonight, the Clippers had Kawhi Leonard back with the team. Fans expected them to go even bigger, and potentially take the 4th seed tonight. However, the Clippers blew a 20-point first-quarter lead, and lost the contest 108-94.
Kawhi played the first half of the game, scoring 12 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, blocking 2 shots, and getting a steal. He did not play the 2nd half, which was something that apparently wasn’t shared with the rest of the team. This affected the way the Clippers were playing, resulting in the Grizzlies capitalizing on the same, and pushing a lead as large as 22 points.
Russell Westbrook talked about Kawhi Leonard’s load management
The Los Angeles Clippers looked out of sorts in the 2nd half, and for a good reason. Playing the first half, they were feeding Kawhi the ball, in order to get him going. They were hoping he takes over the game. However, Kawhi was benched for the 2nd half, something the team had no idea about.
Coach Tyronn Lue talked about the same after the game. Apparently, he was rather frustrated by the same as well.
Tyronn Lue’s reaction to Kawhi Leonard and the game swing from up 20 to down 22.
T Lue has been frustrated all year by the load management plan. That was apparent again tonight. pic.twitter.com/3UwQN4zlks
— Law Murray 🥁 (@LawMurrayTheNU) April 1, 2023
Russell Westbrook shared that he had no clue about the load management plan. He talked about how big an impact Kawhi’s absence has. Russ said, “Yeah… changes a little bit… You know, changes things a lot!”
Westbrook on not knowing Kawhi Leonard management plan before game: “Yeah… changes a little bit… You know, changes things a lot. Obviously that’s something that we want as a team. But it just changes the roles and different things for us defensively. And offensively…” https://t.co/sSkEdZc8PN
— Law Murray 🥁 (@LawMurrayTheNU) April 1, 2023
Russ, however, did not pin it all on Kawhi. He accepted responsibility, and further said,
“But no excuses from us. We have enough guys in the locker room to be able to step up and we just didn’t do that tonight.”
What did the loss tonight cost the Clippers?
If the Clippers had secured a win tonight, they would have taken the 4th seed over the Suns. Going into the game, they were just half a game behind the Suns. A win tonight meant they had the 4th seed, which in turn meant the home-court advantage.
While 4th or 5th seed won’t change which team they play in the first round, the home-court advantage plays a huge role as well. Playing in front of your home crowd adds extra pressure on the opponents, and they know it.
The Suns have six games on their schedule whereas the Clippers have four. There is still time for the Clippers and they won’t look to squander another chance.
