3. Lineup experimentation was low
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this first game was Doc’s brevity in using his full team. For the majority of the game, literally until the last minute, Doc only went 10 deep. This is a nod to old school Doc and his hesitancy in utilizing his younger players during the “Lob City” era and something that I thought was a thing of the past.
While we are not even at game one of the regular season, only going two units deep in a preseason game is surprising.
I look for this to most likely change in games 2-4. Healthy scratches Milos Teodosic, Wesley Johnson and Sindarius Thornwell are all guys that played good minutes last season. It was interesting to see, in a meaningless game, that they got zero time and weren’t worked into a potential third unit.
I expect Doc to open up the lineup moving forward in the preseason. The rotation will more than likely not go deeper than 10-11 in the regular season but to instill confidence in third unit guys, you must let them see the floor.
Look for Jerome Robinson and Tyrone Wallace to receive more time moving forward. Even with the crazy amounts of guards that dot this roster, Robinson and Wallace have the skills to belong on the court and push others for playing time.
The Clippers still need to make cuts moving forward. They have 17 players on the roster and need to get down to 15 before October 17th. Jawun Evans had an unimpressive Summer League and can barely crack the lineup and rumblings of a Teodosic trade to Phoenix could be indications that these two could be gone come game one. Nothing is set-in-stone but Milos not playing last night isn’t the best sign.
Quick Hits:
Corey Maggette and Ralph Lawler have awesome chemistry and the Clippers should take a closer look at him becoming his full-time co-host.
Seven players in double figures is awesome to see. It was a real team effort.
