LOS ANGELES — The city of LA was hit with a major storm early Friday morning, one that continued well into the night. With rain pouring outside of Crypto dot com arena, the Los Angeles Clippers were hoping for a little thunder inside with Russell Westbrook and Paul George reuniting.
Friday night's game between the Clippers and Sacramento Kings was historic, but it finished as a 176-175 Clippers loss in double-overtime.
Kawhi Leonard finished with a team-high 44 points for the Clippers on 16-of-22 shooting from the field. Paul George added 34 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, but sat out the second overtime period due to a minutes restriction he already surpassed in the first overtime.
Malik Monk finished with a career-high 45 points for the Kings on 15-of-24 shooting, including 6-of-12 from three. De'Aaron Fox poured in 42 points, 12 assists, and five steals as well on 17-of-27 shooting.
Russell Westbrook was solid in his Clippers debut, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds, 14 assists on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
“It was great just to get back on the floor,” Westbrook said postgame. “Obviously, you wanna win, that's the most important part.
“Just trying to find ways to be effective while I'm on the floor, and whatever is asked of me, screening, whatever, rolling, handling, whatever that may be. Cutting. Just try to do different things to impact the game and using my IQ to be able to make plays for others.”
He did also add a team-high seven turnovers, and the Clippers finished with a whopping 25 giveaways leading to 42 points for the Kings. The Clippers set franchise records in points (175), assists (39), and made three-pointers (26), but still lost. In addition to the 42 points off turnovers, the Clippers allowed 88 points in the paint, 41 fast-break points, and 77 bench points.
“They made some shots early,” Russell Westbrook continued. “And it seemed like they never missed. Their pace, they play with a good pace but they made some tough shots and was a just scoring battle all night long. But we can be better defensively, starting with myself just being better, defending at a high level, which we know how to, and, I gotta be able to set the tone with that.”
Westbrook had spent the prior two weeks with his family and working out on his own. After being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz, the nine-time NBA All-Star needed some time to decide what move would be best for his future.
After meeting with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Westbrook ultimately chose to take a buyout from the Jazz and agree to a deal with the Clippers.
On Friday night, fans welcomed him with open arms, giving him a rousing ovation during his first pre-game introduction and continued to show their appreciation for him throughout the night.
“Just the ability to be able to go out and compete,” Westbrook said of what he'll remember most from his debut. “I think that's something I don't take for granted, being somewhere we're given opportunity to go play. Not just that, but the support of the organization, my teammates, the fans, overall, it's a great, debut but just didn't get the win. And that's the sad part about it, but taking that out of it, just to being able to go out and competing, the support system around this was at an all time high. So I'm very appreciative of that.”
A loud standing ovation for Russell Westbrook here pic.twitter.com/nKkRTM6t9v
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 25, 2023
Westbrook's 14 assists tied the franchise record with Andre Miller for assists in a debut. Eight of his 14 assists came on three-pointers, as the former. UCLA guard routinely showed his ability to find his teammates.
Despite the loss, there were certainly some positives to take away from Russell Westbrook's first game. While the turnovers were and will remain a concern, Westbrook's shot profile is exactly what the Clippers needed it to be.
He shot 6-of-9 around the rim, attempted zero two-pointers outside of that range, and took four three-pointers, all of which were catch-and-shoot attempts. One of Westbrook's attempts came with under four seconds left on the shot clock, and his only make from beyond the arc came in the first overtime period.
Of Russell Westbrook's seven turnovers, it's safe to say at least three or four were turnovers that Tyronn Lue and the Clippers could live with.
The first turnover was arguably a foul on De'Aaron Fox for holding a rolling Paul George. Still, the timing there was off, which is something that should improve over time. The second turnover was a pass right to an open Mason Plumlee under the basket that he wasn't ready for and fumbled away. Another pair of Westbrook's turnovers were on offensive fouls for moving screens he was trying to set. Not great, but it's the way the Clippers want to use him and it's not something he's done to a large degree, so an adjustment period is expected.
All in all, it was a solid debut for Westbrook. The team will need to continue playing through Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but Westbrook does offer some upside in this type of role. The most concerning takeaway from Friday's game is that Terance Mann played just 17 minutes off the bench after losing his starting spot.
“I could have played him more,” Tyronn Lue said when asked about Mann's decrease in a role. When asked if that means someone else doesn't play, Lue essentially said every night will be different.
“Well, it's part of it. We're all just trying to figure it out. Like I said, I know what T-Mann brings to the team. Just trying to learn some things about the newer guys and just trying to put some different pieces together and see how it looks. I had a talk with T-Mann so he understands, but probably should have him on the floor a little bit more, but that's a learning experience for me as well.”
In an ideal world, Terance Mann should probably be playing close to 30 minutes a game. He does too much for them on and off the ball to not see the court, but again, that means someone else probably won't be playing.
Russell Westbrook and the LA Clippers will travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Sunday night. It'll be the first time sees Reggie Jackson since trading him away at the trade deadline.
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