Boban Marjanovic played a minuscule 0.7 seconds in his debut as an L.A. Clipper last night against the Dallas Mavericks. The 7-foot-3 big man had perhaps one of the most important roles in the Clippers 104-101, guarding the inbounds play with less than a second left to secure the win.
Marjanovic had a 10-inch advantage over the 6-foot-5 Wes Matthews inbounding the ball, and over a foot of wingspan to boot, which made the out-of-bounds play that much more difficult to complete.
Matthews smartly lobbed a bass on a curl play to Yogi Ferrell at the wing, hoping to knot the game at 104 with a 3-pointer, but Ferrell had stepped out of bounds before attempting the trifecta, giving the ball back to the Clippers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpOy83ZRR_4
Marjanovic's role perhaps won't be memorable to fans in Staples Center, but his teammates know the massive impact he had in that last play, obstructing Matthews' field of vision.
The Serbian giant was part of the blockbuster trade with the Detroit Pistons that shipped Blake Griffin out of L.A. along with Brice Johnson and Willie Reed, bringing him in return along with teammates Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley.
As long as DeAndre Jordan is there, there is very limited time for Marjanovic, despite being the only center. Doc Rivers prioritizes mobility and the likes of Montrezl Harrell should see the majority of the minutes backing up Jordan.
But in occasions like this one, Marjanovic can prove rather useful and make plays with his outstanding size and length at the defensive end.
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