Clippers Wrap Up a Fun Preseason 2-1

Rob and Shap get together to talk about a Clippers preseason squad that seemed to push a lot of the right buttons for a team down substantial firepower. The guys talk about their pleasant surprises, what they anticipate for this Clipper squad, and how the team has ended up feeling pretty exciting.

Speaker 1: I'm Brian Seaman, and you're listening to The Lob, The Jam,

The Podcast.

Speaker 2: What's up, everyone? It's The Lob, The Jam, The Podcast.

Chappan comes to you, as always, with Rob. How's it going, Rob?

Speaker 1: You know what, Chapp? Things are going well. NBA season

is almost here. It's fall, my favorite season. October, my

favorite month of fall. So, you know, I'm doing pretty well.

How are you doing?

Speaker 2: I'm doing well. Rob, are you like a– I might

have even asked you at this same time next year.

Are you a pumpkin person, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie?

Speaker 1: So I do love pumpkin pie. I literally probably only

have it on like around Thanksgiving. But I do really

like it. But I don't like eat it all the time.

Pumpkin lattes. you know actual pumpkin no like the ones

that are more spiced not I don't really go to

Starbucks but like most other coffee shops now have like

their version of like a pumpkin spice or fall latte

and I do generally like those because I like the

warming spice flavors but um usually when I go out

for you know get drinks I usually get pretty straightforward

stuff not those like fancy latte things but um yeah

I mean I like all that I like all that stuff.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I won't lie. I usually have been pretty anti-pumpkin anything,

aside from pie. But I haven't been into like the

coffees and stuff. However, I recently had like a, whatchamacallit,

an ice blended from my coffee bean that was pumpkin flavored.

And it was good. I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 1: It was good. A lot of those drinks are good.

Speaker 2: You know.

Speaker 1: They're popular for a reason, I guess I'll say.

Speaker 2: Yeah, pretty good, not going to lie. And the Clippers

are pretty good this preseason, 2-1.

Speaker 1: I thought you were going to say they're popular, and

I was like, that's not true. That's a bad segue.

Speaker 2: If you're listening to this podcast right now, man, you

don't realize how appreciative I am of people listening to

this Clippers podcast about this Clippers team. But you know what, Rob?

I'm somehow excited about these Los Angeles Clippers. I have

found a way to be excited about this team. The

Clippers went 2-1 in the preseason. They won a pretty

nice game yesterday against the Denver Nuggets. They lost against

the Toronto Raptors and they beat the Golden State Warriors

in the first preseason game. The Nuggets game was at

Intuit Dome yesterday at the time of this recording. The

Clippers looked pretty decent. The Clippers... This preseason have dealt

with some injuries or now coming even into media day.

There have been some updates for some guys. Kobe Sanders

didn't play any of these preseason games. However, it's pretty

optimistic that he's going to be back for this first

regular season game. Max Shrews almost immediately had a tear

in his plantar fascia.

Speaker 1: Within literally five minutes.

Speaker 2: Of his right foot.

Speaker 1: Absolutely crazy.

Speaker 2: Made us all very concerned how he got hurt, but,

you know, not the worst thing. He is on a

kind of indefinite sort of timetable. The reassessment.

Speaker 1: Was four weeks, right?

Speaker 2: Yeah, reassessment.

Speaker 1: So it was probably like two weeks from today because

it was the first preseason game.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: Theoretically he might not miss too much time but it's

probably going to last longer than.

Speaker 2: That not not a big fan of reassessment limbo for

a lot of these players um so we'll see with

max juice who i think ty was intending to start

um bradley beal is also day-to-day week-to-week wow you just

like laughed at the at the at the i keep.

Speaker 1: Forgetting he's on the deal I mean, I don't wish

him ill.

Speaker 2: That's good, Rob. I'm glad you're not wishing ill this

Halloween season on Bradley Beal.

Speaker 1: I'm not laughing at his injury. I just keep forgetting

he's on the team. Yeah, it is bad that he

just kind of doesn't seem like he can play. I

don't know how much we're going to see him this year.

All the worries about the Clippers signing him is like,

I don't, I just don't know. I don't know, his

body might just be kind of falling apart, but anyway.

Speaker 2: Yeah, Bradley Beal, we don't know what's going to happen

to him, when he's going to play. I am more

optimistic about Bradley Beal than you are, Rob, as far

as being helpful, but you are not optimistic at all,

so I don't think that's a very high bar to clear. Rob,

so now that we got some housekeeping out of the way,

how did you feel about this preseason, Rob?

Speaker 1: Overall, I mean, I think you have to be relatively

encouraged and You know, it depends what you're looking for,

of course. My goal, and we talk about this at

the start of almost every Clippers season on these podcasts,

especially for the seasons when they are not like actual contenders,

is are they at least enjoyable and fun to watch?

And through three preseason games, the answer has been yes. Now,

last preseason, they also looked like they were going to

be really fun to watch and really good. And boy,

did that turn out to not be the case. I

remember how excited we were about the Chris Paul-Brooke-Lopez bench duo.

Last year, how times change in a hurry. So it's really, like,

I want to emphasize so much that, like, it's preseason.

It doesn't matter. I will say everybody I've talked to

has noted that this preseason is more competitive than previous preseasons.

Not sure whether that has to do with preseason being

shorter than it used to be. Like, I remember preseason

used to be, like, six, seven, eight games now. The

Clippers played three. Most teams are playing four or five,

so it's shorter. I think just to get back into

shape with how tough the NBA season is now, guys

want to go a little bit harder. So it's felt

a little bit more competitive than usual, but it is

still just preseason. So that's all a big, you know,

glaring caveat. But that being said, I mean, I think

the guys you want on the Clippers to look good

have mostly looked good. We'll talk about the young guys

in depth. I think the key starters who are actually

healthy or the key veterans have also mostly looked pretty good. Um,

you know, I, I hate to dump on a guy

when he's down, quite frankly, the only rotation player who

is not look good is Brooke Lopez. And even he

had like a couple of nice buckets against Denver. Um,

they were really ugly looking and awkward, but like he

was effective. Um, and the Clippers won his minutes again,

take that for whatever it's worth. And on side of that,

like all the guys who you want to see playing

and be helpful have mostly looked good. That's, you know,

there have been some ups and downs. Derek Jones Jr.

has been fouling a lot. Baba Miller is a foul magnet.

Rui Hachimura has had some blinders on, but all some

things you'd kind of expect. And yeah, I mean, I

think it's, again, I don't think they're going to set

the world on fire this year. We can talk about

whether we think preseason has like actually changed our opinion

of this team. But I think most of the guys

on the team have looked reasonably good. So yeah, and

it looks like they could be a fun group to watch.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I think more than anything, Rob, I tend to

agree with most of that sentiment. I have enjoyed watching

the Clippers. Chris Paul simultaneously a hard-to-forget Clipper and an

easy-to-forget Clipper that season. Yeah, I do remember how excited

I was watching Chris Paul pass to, like, Brooke Lopez

with John Collins rolling. And I was like, oh, boy,

this could be the backup unit. Watch out, NBA. Yeah.

Speaker 1: Watch out Clippers fans. Watch out eyeballs.

Speaker 2: Yeah. If I could, I would tell Clippers fans to

watch out at that moment last year, because it's maybe

going to be the best vibes you feel for a while. Yeah. Um,

but I will say, uh, I left this preseason with

some excitement, with specifics, which we'll talk about. I think

my biggest piece of excitement, I'm excited about Isaiah Jackson starting.

I mean, I know you are. I think that it was.

Speaker 1: Are you excited for him starting or just that it's

not Brooke Lopez starting?

Speaker 2: Well, for a little of both, because I think that

their style of play is going to change a lot

based on this.

Speaker 1: I think.

Speaker 2: We're going to see more traps on on screens. We're

going to see a bit more. It might leave the

Clippers a bit vulnerable, a lot vulnerable on the back end.

If Isaiah Jackson is coming up, you know, even just

at the at the at the screen, essentially at the

level of the screen. And then everybody behind him has

to kind of catch up. However, it does feel like

Derek Jones Jr. and Chris Dunn are probably both going

to start. which should help this a little bit if

that's the case. Defensively, Ty Lue has had lots of

hints in his pressers about emphasizing defense, Derrick Jones Jr.

and Chris Dunn starting together and playing a lot together.

And if that is the case, if ever you would

have those guys starting together and making up for some

mistakes on the back line, it would be alongside Rui Hachimura.

Darius Garland and Isaiah Jackson. So I do look forward

to that starting lineup just because I think stylistically it'll

be kind of an interesting squad. Lots of running, lots

of good pick and roll with having an actual roller offensively,

having Darius Garland being able to play off of a roller.

I also think that. There's a decent chance that I

wouldn't be surprised if Dunn comes out early and then

comes back with Wagler and Brook Lopez starts or plays

alongside him, giving Wagler like a nice like defensive safety net.

So I think it makes a lot of sense in

a lot of ways. I don't think Ty Lue has

said definitively who's starting just yet. That's just the feel.

Speaker 1: There are not many options.

Speaker 2: I mean, yeah.

Speaker 1: I think the plan was neither of them was going

to start, and it was probably going to be Garland, Struis, Ingram, Rui.

I don't know about Rui. Rui and then either Jackson

or Lopez. But, I mean, I agree with you. I

think like, I think their defense is going to be

bad to be clear, but it might be entertaining to watch.

And it's just like, if that's the starting unit, if

it's Garland, Dunn, DJ, Rui, Isaiah Jackson, it's the most

athletic starting lineup the Clippers will have played in since

pre Kawhi Leonard era. And that will be fun. Like

after watching the old slow teams for so long, watching

a team that will, forced turnovers, get up and down

and transition and, you know, play at a faster pace

and just have, you know, more dunks and more explosiveness

will be fun, even if maybe they're not very good.

And maybe they'll be better than we think. But like,

I do think that that unit is kind of a

fun sounding lineup. And that doesn't even contain any of

the Clippers actual young players who are actually exciting.

Speaker 2: Yeah, let's take a quick break and maybe talk a

little bit more about that unit after this. All right,

we're back. Yeah, Rob, I mean, just from all the

tea leaves, I think if there's a person that might

like Chris Dunn more than me and you, Rob, it

might be Ty Lue. Ty Lue loves him some Chris Dunn.

And I, you know, I feel I agree with him

on all counts, not just because I like Chris Dunn. But,

you know, I just think Chris Dunn is a really

heady guy. baseline type of player he's a nice guy

there were there were lots of really great actions but

done coming up whether you see like Iverson cuts from

Darius Garland or just action to get Rui Hachimura kind

of in scoring position these guys are kind of scorers

there's Garland obviously is a very good pick and roll

player but I don't mind some plays with him just

trying to get you know in scoring position and having

Some time off the ball to kind of pick up

and go. And Dunn, if nothing else, has been a

pretty good organizer of the offense in his years as

a Clipper. Obviously, we all know about him defensively. I

did enjoy Dunn showing up. In that Toronto game, I

think it was the second quarter, there was a play

where he shot the gap and he got Baba Miller

a transition layup that was initially called a foul and

then was reversed and overturned. And immediately on the next play,

Dunn took a gamble. It did not pay off and

it ended up in an open corner triple from the Raptors.

Kind of the whole Chris Dunn experience happened. With him

kind of taking some gambles and being an incredible defensive

playmaker and sometimes taking a little too many gambles and

not realizing the roster behind him can't make it up.

You don't have Kawhi Leonard or guys like with the

defensive instinct sometimes playing alongside you on the bench. But

you kind of had the whole Chris Dunn experience in

those two plays. against the Raptors. But I do, I

like the idea of him starting, particularly with Strews out.

And I figured that Ty would have an inclination to

do it anyways because he's been a big Chris Dunn fan.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: I mean, I just, like, I don't know what the

other healthy options even are. Like, I mean, you could

start Wagler with Garland like the Clippers did yesterday against

Denver with Dunn sitting out with rest. I think the

Clippers would really not like to rush Wagler to start

the season. I think, The hope might be at some

point he gets into the starting unit, maybe around the

trade deadline. But I don't think they want to push

him there. And after that, it's like, I guess if

Kobe Sanders is healthy, like he's really the only other

option unless it's like Grady Dick, who like I look

good against Denver, but like I just don't think you're

going to start him over Chris Dunn. So yeah. And yeah,

I mean, you mentioned Ty Lue liking Chris Dunn. I mean,

I think it's partially that. It's also just like every

time the Clippers have not started Chris Dunn for as

long as he's been here.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: Things have kind of gone sideways on defense and energy-wise.

And whether that says more about him or the rest

of the team, you know, who can say? But yeah,

I'm happy with him and Derek Jones Jr.

Speaker 2: Starting.

Speaker 1: Those units are going to be a little underpowered on offense,

but that's where the Garland, Isaiah Jackson pick and roll. Rui,

if he's making threes, like hopefully there's enough space to operate.

And again, they're able to force turnovers and play up

tempo and be fun.

Speaker 2: Rui Achimura, kudos to him. One thing he's been able

to show to be able to do since he was

a Laker. And this preseason, shot 61.5% from three. Small

sample size, but he is a shooter. Incredibly, he's become

such a good three-point shooter. And he can do that

for sure. I do think that Ty Lue, he does

value Dunn's defense. And I think I agree with you.

Speaker 1: I mean.

Speaker 2: Dunn defensively has just kind of raised the floor so

much on that end since he's been a Clipper. I

do think Ty also values a runner, which is why

I think Max Struess would have started over Dunn had

he been healthy. And I would not be surprised if

Bradley Beal, when he returns, also starts over Chris Dunn

and Derrick Jones Jr. just remains in the starting five

because Ty Lue, and historically it's not just been you know,

with this unit, you know, he's, he's mentioned Brad Beal,

Max Strews being runners, Grady Dick, if he could ever,

you know, shoot consistently, I would imagine could even play

a part in like, no, I wouldn't say starting, but

just playing more minutes because he's definitely a runner, um,

of sorts, but he just can't hit threes consistently for years. Um,

I wouldn't be surprised if Brad Beal or Strews, maybe

Brad Beal when he returns, um, plays a factor in

maybe starting just to get that secondary offense going. You know,

even going back to Kawhi Leonard, you know, Ty Lue

would love to run Paul George on some action on

the opposite side just as a guy that can kind of,

you know, distract the defense. And I could see Bradley

Beal running those same actions, that same stuff that Norm

Powell especially ran. I could see Bradley Beal being that guy,

just like we thought he would be last year. I'm

not so sure how quickly Brad Beal would start, but

I think that Ty Lue might have an inclination to

maybe start him if Brad Beal is ever healthy. Who

knows if that ever happens.

Speaker 1: I'm a little– not even skeptical on Beal specifically. ever

being healthy or playing for this team. I do not

think that he would start. I mean, if nobody else

gets healthy, maybe, but I don't think he's going to

start very many games for the Clippers this year, even

if he does end up playing and being healthy. And

I think, honestly, having him off the bench and providing

some scoring and ball handling and playmaking off the bench,

I think makes a little sense. Anyway, I will say

that right now with Ingram out, and to a lesser extent,

even Strews, It's just going to be a lot on

Darius Garland. It's going to be a real lot. And

whether he can hold up under that and maintain efficiency,

not turn the ball over, still be at least like

trying on defense. You know, maybe the Clippers will kind

of just tell him to punt on defense. And that's

partially why you have Dunn and DJ out there so

that he can just focus everything on the offense. But

I mean, outside of occasional, you know, Rui post-ups or mid-range,

it's just going to be a everything going through Garland basically. And, um,

we'll see how he holds up. I mean, I, I

hopefully he's up for it. Um, and, uh, so far

in preseason, he's looked good. I, I messaged you and

Lucas yesterday. I mean, some of the decision-making has been

a little hit or miss for me. It seems like

he misses some passes sometimes less because of vision that

I think, um, just due to his own internal kind

of decision-making, but like he's looked fast, he's looked healthy. Um,

and you know, the combination of speed and shooting and

playmaking is just, is, is pretty potent. So I think,

I think he is primed for a big season and

I keep, he, I hope he is because otherwise this

team is going to be really miserable. Um, they, if

there's anybody on this team, they need to stay healthy.

It is Darius Garland.

Speaker 2: Listen, man, I'm pretty comfortable with, uh, letting Darius Garland

just have at it. I really, I'm really rooting for him.

He just seems like a really nice kid every time

he talks. He just seems like he's excited to be there.

And I hope he's excited to be here. Because the

Clippers really are going to need him. He looks healthy,

you know. Hopefully all the toe problems are behind him

because we're really going to need that. Played well, helped

spur the run against the Nuggets to kind of get

the Clippers back in that game. And looks good. So

I'm hoping that his health, I mean, really more than anything,

You kind of anticipate Darius Garland missing some time. I

even anticipate Keane Wagler eventually missing some time, just being

young and the amount of contact I feel like he's

going to absorb as a rookie. So hopefully it's not much.

But Darius Garland particularly, just being the offensive fulcrum, you're

really going to need him out there. I'm going to

give you the floor for a second, Robert, to talk

about Isaiah Jackson and your anticipation and excitement for him

as a starter.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I'll pump the brakes a little bit. Just,

I don't really think he's like a true starting caliber center.

Speaker 2: You wanted this, Rob, though. You wanted this. I do.

Speaker 1: I mean, I think he is just better than Brook

Lopez at this point in their careers. And not just that,

like as we've discussed, this team really lacks rim pressure.

And from the perimeter, but just in general. And I

just don't think like Brook Lopez out there being a

jump shooter helps at all with that. It was interesting.

I don't know if you actually listened to the broadcast yesterday.

I know a lot of times I watch the game

on mute, but, you know, a lot of the times

I listen to the Clippers broadcast because they're really good.

And Om Young Masuk, who's the new sideline reporter, mentioned

that they want Brooke to take fewer threes this year

and be around the basketball. And I think that's really

smart because, again, this team has such little interior presence.

And from that instance, Isaiah Jackson, who's like a much younger,

more athletic, high-flyer guy than Brooke Lopez, who's a much

more traditional pick and roll player, I just think makes

sense in the starting unit. I think he makes sense

with Garland, and I think just trying to get a

little bit more action around the rim and easy buckets

it checks out to me um and yeah i mean

i just think like brooke you know for as much

as i complained about how bad it was to watch

him like he was mostly competent for like the last

you know half to two thirds of last year, but

like he's another year older. And I just, I think

it's just the right call to start Jackson. There'll be

some fun lob dunks. Um, it won't quite be lob city,

but they're between Isaiah Jackson and, and, um, Derek Jones jr.

And Rui Hachimura. I imagine there'll be quite a few

dunks with this unit. Um, he plays really hard. He's

not like unable to make plays with the ball in

his hands. Like I, he's not somebody like he's no

Draymond Green, I guess in the short roll, but he

can like catch the ball 15 feet and take a

couple dribbles and make a floater or make a pass

or whatever. Like he has that in his game. And

I just think if the Clippers are playing faster and

more uptempo, he's just a better fit. So yeah, I mean,

I think it's a smart decision. I think he's a

better fit for what the Clippers are trying to do.

And again, I just think at this point, he's just

a better player than Brooke Lopez. So I like it.

I think he's looked good. He's also looked healthy. I mean,

I thought he was quite excellent for the Clippers last

year in the 17 games he did play. It was

almost entirely in a reserve role, but like I thought

he played well. And yeah, I mean, hopefully he's just good. And,

you know, we can talk about Yannick coming back. It

doesn't seem like it's going to be that soon. And

how the center rotation is adjusted when he does is

up in the air. But for right now, I think

Isaiah Jackson, the starter and Bill Lopez off the bench

makes a lot of sense.

Speaker 2: Yeah, let's take another quick break. I want to talk

about the defensive end after this. All right, we're back. Yeah,

you know, Isaiah Jackson made a couple of good reads.

I think there was that one pass he had to me.

I think it was Blake Wesley who just smoked a layup.

at the rim, if I recall correctly. But I don't

think he's a great passer. His assist-turnover ratio left a

lot to be desired. But it's just a small sample size.

I think he's able to make some reads, not to

the level that we saw someone like Evisa Zubats learn

how to do alongside a guy like James Arden. But

I think that this, at minimum, is a great playstyle

placeholder for Yannick because Yannick, of course, is going to

be diving towards the rim and he's going to really

have that vertical gravity going towards the rim. Rob, I

know you mentioned that, you know, you feel Isaiah Jackson

is better than Brooke Lopez. How much do you feel

like the Clippers might be lacking defensively with this switch?

Speaker 1: They're going to be lacking defensively no matter what. I mean,

I think if this is the unit they're starting with,

I think just playing more frenetic and switch heavy makes sense.

And like you switch two through five and protect Garland

is what I think. I don't know if the Clippers

will do that, but I imagine they do a lot

of that with this unit. Like Dunn can't really guard centers.

Isaiah Jackson can't really guard switchy perimeter guys, but like

he's relatively athletic. And I just, they won't lack, they

don't have a traditional room protector. Rui is big, but

is not good at all at that stuff on defense.

So I think it just makes sense to kind of

just try for turnovers and try to play fast, trap,

force teams into playing that speed and making mistakes. And again,

to that notion, like, yes, Brook Lopez is a much

better rim protector than Isaiah Jackson, but, like, if him

and Garland just feels like a really tough combo because

teams will hunt Garland, they'll put him in pick and roll,

and then you drag Brook into space and have him

defend against smaller guards in space, and I just... In

a vacuum, yeah, Lopez is probably a better defender. But again,

for like how I think the Clippers want to play

on defense, and we'll see what happens when the games

actually matter, like what kind of schemes they're running and

how they're trying to defend. But I do think in

like a, again, more up-tempo scheme on both ends and

a scheme that's trying to force turnovers and probably a

little bit more switch heavy than the drop we saw

so much of with Zu and Brooke Lopez and, you know,

even like Mason Plummer or whatever. Um, I say Jackson again,

I think makes more sense.

Speaker 2: Yeah. You know, I, I didn't dial it enough on

the play to play defensive scheme.

Speaker 1: I mean, I didn't either.

Speaker 2: Yeah. But there was plenty of switching. There was plenty

of like switching with like, uh, you know, Jackson and

like Derek Jones jr. A few times. Um, I probably

will watch the games again because like, you know, that's,

I have a disease that.

Speaker 1: Please don't do that. I'm asking you to not do that.

I rewatched the second game because I was out at

the child of a friend's birthday party and got back

just in time for the second half, watched the second half,

and I rewatched the first half the next morning. And

I was like, I shouldn't be doing this. This is gross.

Please don't rewatch these games.

Speaker 2: No, no, no. It's worth it, Rob. I'm probably going

to do it, at least this last game. I got

to do it up. But yeah, you know, I do

think two through five, you know, I even Chris Dunn

at times I think can get away with certain centers

and you can live with it. And then trapping a

little bit more aggressively when it's serious Garland involved in

screens and then letting Derrick Jones Jr. and Chris Dunn.

And I guess really kind of make up with their

length behind them. I think that's worthwhile. I think it's

a little bit chaotic. I think the Denver Nuggets are,

you know, offensively yesterday are an easy team. Even with

their starting lineup, they're a pretty easy team to kind

of find gaps. And then Marvin Bagley started in the

second half. And, oh, boy, every time I see Bagley

on there, pick and roll action happens. I get pretty excited.

So I will say, like, I think that this will

lend to some chaos and the Clippers can run. And

I don't hate it. You know, I think that with

the personnel, I kind of like what's going on here.

Jackson is moving really well. He's had a couple of

years behind this injury. He's moving well. He's jumping well.

And I think there's something here. So, you know, I

don't anticipate the Clippers are going to, like, shoot out

of the gates with a great record particularly but it

would be nice if they're surprising and they can get

to 500 within you know their first 10 20 games

if they can do that and kind of surprise teams. Rob,

come on. I'm just talking optimistically. This is five season.

I think it'll.

Speaker 1: Be 500 after the first two games because I think

they'll beat the Kings on opening night.

Speaker 2: That's true. That's true. They could do that. 1-0. They'll

be above 500. Yeah, who knows, Rob?

Speaker 1: I hope they beat the Kings. It would be bad

if they lost the Kings.

Speaker 2: I don't need that ACOF stuff right now, man. I hope, yeah.

Speaker 1: I do think it's funny we've gone this long and

have not talked about the Clippers young guys. Anybody who's

still listening is like, what are these guys talking about?

They're talking about defensive schemes and uh, Isaiah Jackson and

Bradley Beal. And I think this has been on Miller

have not yet been up.

Speaker 2: I think this is on brand for this, uh, Clippers podcast.

So those guys are coming up. In fact, they're coming

up right now. Uh, Baba Miller was maybe one of my,

and we're not even talking about a while ago right away. Uh,

Baba Miller, Rob, um, I think he.

Speaker 1: Was the story of preseason for the Clippers.

Speaker 2: I agree. I mean, he played well. He shot well.

He shot well from deep on small sample size, but

looked confident. It looks good.

Speaker 1: The shot looks good.

Speaker 2: Shot well from the field in general, 56% from the field.

Even shot pretty well from the line. Would you play him?

Opening day, Rob, I mean, how can the Clippers not

play a 6'10 guy that rebounds well? And, like, you know,

he feels like almost an opening night type of player.

You know, objectively speaking, maybe he doesn't play because Kobe

Sanders will be back and Brooke Lopez, you know, is

enough of a vet that he'll have some minutes he'll

want to play out there. But, man, I was impressed

with him. I, like, was pretty high on him. to

start even Summer League because he just has a lot

of those skills that you feel like would translate. I mean,

he just knows what to do with the balls in

his hands. He's aggressive, which I think is a nice

skill for this Clippers team. Comfortable dribbling, good stroke from deep.

I mean, just a 6'10 player that has a little

bit of everything out there and really impressed Rob. Yeah,

I mean, I think.

Speaker 1: First, kind of like a mea culpa is, I mean,

I thought he would come in as more of like

a defense first energy guy. And that has really not

been the case. He's kind of been a disaster on defense.

Like you can see the tools and like the potential

for him on defense. But like his actual defense has

been pretty rough. Like he stands upright too much. He

fouls on everything. He's out of position all the time, etc. Yeah.

It's on offense that, like, as you said, he's really clipped. Like,

the three-point shot looks good. He's been confident taking them.

His ability to attack closeouts, like, he gets to the

basket from the three-point line to the basket in, like,

three steps. It's one dribble, step, step, he's there. He's

done that, like, twice in each preseason game. And that's—it's

just a unique thing that, like, even in the NBA,

not many guys can really do that. And he has— the

touch— I just don't know. It's kind of a question

mark because the three-pointer looks good. A couple of his

free throws have looked good, but on the other hand,

he's botched a lot of little floaters and kind of

touch shots around the rim. So it could just be

he's in a rush and just needs to calm down

a little bit. That's something to monitor. But yeah, I mean,

he's just been impressive. I think Clippers fans got a

little over their skis with Yannick last year, like the

couple times he handled in the open court and like

you know had the ball in his hands baba looks

much smoother and more fluid to me like he's somebody

who when he brings the ball up like when he

got that steal yesterday and came back and i was

like that is like an actual like nba handle like

is it a create in the half court handle against

a said defense no but it's like a, he can

bring the ball up in transition. He can, you know,

attack closeouts pretty readily. Like that is like a kind

of handle that might be good to go. You combine

that with maybe the shot, the above the rim athleticism,

and you have a guy who like, in terms of

playing right away, because that was your initial question. So like,

let's say the starting unit is Garland, Dunn, Jackson, Hachimura, Jones, right?

That's five. You have Wagler off the bench, that's six.

Brooke Lopez, seven. After that, I mean, Kobe Sanders, eight,

if he's healthy. Who else do you have to play

with all the guys who are out? I mean, I

would guess Grady Dick gets one of those spots. I

think Jalen Pickett has played well, and the Clippers probably

want a little additional ball handling. So that could be

nine and ten there, and the bench is Wagler, Dick, Sanders, No,

I'm forgetting somebody. Lopez? Yeah. Oh, and Pickett. And Pickett.

So that would be 10. But that would be really small.

Speaker 2: I would imagine your four off the bench are Wagler, Sanders, Dick,

and Lopez.

Speaker 1: But I mean, to start the season, I think you'd

want a 10-man unit.

Speaker 2: Yeah, that's fair.

Speaker 1: And again, they're really undersized. It's a lot of guards.

I think Bob O'Millan will play on opening night. I

think he'll be in the rotation on opening night. Maybe

I'm wrong. Maybe it's Pickett just because he's a little

bit more solid of a presence. And, like, they might

want the additional ball handling next to Wagler and the

shooting and playmaking. And I get that. And Pickett has

played well in preseason and, like, has real NBA reps.

I think you got to just give Baba Miller a shot. Like,

he is unique upside. And, like, even forgetting, like, the

long-term stuff, like, he can offer things to this team

right now. And, like, if he can, as he gets

more reps and gets more comfortable in coaching in the NBA,

if he can... get some of the defensive stuff at

least a little bit into shape. I mean, it could

look pretty good pretty quickly. And again, we don't get

too ahead of our skis here in preseason, but the

flashes were pretty fun. And I think he was just

clearly the story of the Clippers preseason. I think he

went from like guy who may have been on the

fringes to like, partially it's due to injuries, but like, yeah,

I think he should be in the rotation on opening night.

Speaker 2: Yeah, let's take another quick break, come right back and

talk about the rest of the roster after this. All right,

we're back ahead of my skis twice in one second.

Speaker 1: I'm ahead of my skis with Bob Miller. I need

to calm down a little bit.

Speaker 2: Sadly, you're wrong again about Yannick. It won't be the

last time you're wrong about Yannick. The handle is real.

I'll remind you when you're wrong again, Rob, in a

few months here. but Yannick's titles are real his processing

on the role are real he's a starter over the

next 10 years for the Clippers he will be starting

on the next championship Clippers team anyways yeah yeah anyway

so I agree with you Rob I wish we would

disagree a little bit more in this pod but I

think Baba really should play, not start, but should play.

Speaker 1: Go for it. We can disagree there if you want

to start him over Rui Hachimura. What do I care?

Speaker 2: I don't think he will. I think that they're going

to play. I don't think he will either. Yeah, I

think it's going to be a nine man. I actually

don't think, maybe Pickett will play. I love the Pickett pickup.

It's either him or Dick, I think. I don't think

it'll be both of them. I do think Baba will play. Yeah.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: I think that Dunn will stagger enough with Wagler that

Pickett might not play at all. Maybe he'll play like

a quick Cinderia shift or something like that. Some, some

quick minutes there. Cinderia Thornball, by the way, Clipper legend. But,

and I think Pickett is a ready-made NBA guard. The

Clippers do trade one of these guards. Pickett is, is

a steal. I think he's, really nice player and he's

could he flash he played well against the Nuggets of

course he's a surprisingly good shooter a really confident shooter

and I really think the Clippers should find minutes for

him somewhere here because he's just a competent NBA player

and Maybe they will. Maybe it'll give them more reason

to trade a guard. Blake Wesley, I also think, is...

I don't know what they're going to do with Wesley

because he can't be... He might just get cut. I mean...

Am I the only one?

Speaker 1: I feel like I've seen lots of Clippers people like him.

I feel like he's kind of been a disaster. I've

not been a fan.

Speaker 2: Well, he's got a really good motor. He's an athlete, obviously.

He can defend.

Speaker 1: I think.

Speaker 2: Those type of players, Clipper fans particularly, especially after this

Derek Jones Jr., Chris Dunn renaissance. I get it. But

the only thing with him is you can't give him

a two-way. He's been in the league too many years.

Speaker 1: He can't do anything on offense. He can't do– He

makes Chris Dunn look like Steph Curry. I mean I

just– I don't know.

Speaker 2: Honestly, I tend to agree with you. I think Wesley

is all athleticism on offense and– And heart. Like, I

think he wants to do things.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm rooting for him.

Speaker 2: But as long as, if he's not dunking the basketball,

I have no faith in almost anything he does offensively.

Speaker 1: I hope you're not listening, Blake Wesley.

Speaker 2: I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: Yeah, we've played really hard.

Speaker 2: Please, like, keep us followed, Blake Wesley. But yeah, I mean,

I think that.

Speaker 1: I don't think he's going to be on the roster.

Speaker 2: I don't know if I still... There's no way to

keep him.

Speaker 1: I don't think they have room for him.

Speaker 2: Yeah, unless he is okay with being a G-League Clipper

and then finding his way up. I do think Blake

Wesley would be an option if the Clippers traded Chris

Dunn as far as being a call-up.

Speaker 1: Yes, that would make sense.

Speaker 2: That would make a lot of sense because he essentially

plays a very similar role. But, yeah, it's kind of

tough because while I appreciate the motor, I appreciate his–

umph on defense because he definitely has it um i

i do think that he's kind of a a chicken

with his head cut off on offense on that end

um other guys you know grady dick you can see

the idea of a player there he just he's had

shots i mean i just i don't know what else like.

Speaker 1: Guy who can't shoot is is truly special that's really

tough rooting for him just because of that That's.

Speaker 2: Really tough for him out there. If he could hit

his shots, you could see the whole, you know, Kyle

Corvery thing about him. He even like has a size

to be a bit Kyle Corvery, but Kyle Corvery was

a dead eye and Grady Dick is not that guy.

We haven't even talked about Keaton Wagler, Rob. Probably the

guy we should.

Speaker 1: Talk about first. I was going to say saving the

best for last, but in terms of the young guys,

I mean, Baba Miller was the best, but you know,

he's also like five years older than Keaton Wagler.

Speaker 2: Tell me about Keaton, Rob, and what you took out

of Keaton Wagler's preseason.

Speaker 1: I mean, the shot just looks super legit. And that's

incredibly encouraging. Like, his ability to create room off the

step back with the ball in his hands is just

really promising. Like, there's just no two ways about it.

He's played a lot off-ball. Like, he's mostly played with

Pickett off the bench, some with Dunn, some with Garland, but, like,

He's not brought the ball up a ton. He has

handled the ball a little bit in the half court.

I know some fans have been a little antsy for

him to handle and shoot more. I was a little

like that first stint against Denver yesterday, the first six

minutes when the Clippers looked horrible. And like, I think

he literally touched the ball once in the half court

in the first six minutes. I was like, that just

can't happen. Like, it's fine if Garland is running the offense,

but like you need to give him the ball at

least a little bit. I mean, after that, they got

him more involved. And yeah, like, I mean, I think

the the strength is what it is at this point, right?

Like the quickness is what it is, but the shot

is buttery. I thought the play yesterday where he got

some defender, it may have been Cam Whitmore, I can't remember,

like on his hip and was able to kind of

snake the dribble and get to a mid-range was like

a really pro-level move. He has the height to really

make that like a pet play of his. And yeah,

I mean, the combo, again, the reason why the Clippers

drafted him is he's not just an on-ball guy. They

foresee him as like kind of a Maybe eventually he's

a fully on-ball guy, but, like, for right now, kind

of a combo guard almost where he can play on

and off. And, yeah, like, I mean, he moves off screens.

He relocates well. He does the ghost screen action. With Garland,

I think, will be a real weapon. And, like, he

just looks like he's going to be a good shooter

right out of the gate. We haven't seen a ton of, like,

the playmaking passing stuff, but he's had some nice reads. Yeah,

I mean, he is not dominated. It's not like he's

had some plays like some of the other star guard,

you know, prospects in this draft like darren peterson and

aj devonsa or caleb bolson who've had some like freakish

plays and just look awesome but like we all knew

he was not on their calibers prospects it's fine um

i think he's played well and i thought the denver

game yesterday was his best performance saved the best for

last and yeah i mostly encourage like the weaknesses are

kind of what we thought but like the shot being

legit um and the ability to create space already i

think is just quite promising.

Speaker 2: I uh, I am excited about Keaton Wagler.

Speaker 1: Um, I think he's gonna be good.

Speaker 2: He looks good. I mean, every, every person who told

me that he has a really good feel for the game.

I think that was something I've noticed, especially these preseason games,

these summer league games. He's just a really smart player.

I feel like he has an idea of how he's

going to score, how he's going to get a defense, uh,

kind of off-kiltered. The shots, he almost always takes a

good shot. I've never like have been upset. I mean,

I know he had that one jump step left-handed scoop shot,

which honestly I thought was a little bit audacious and

I kind of didn't mind. I kind of don't mind

when maybe it's the Shay in me when a guard

takes a left-handed shot. with some confidence because Shea did

that so confidently and it made me excited even when

he missed shots that he was willing to take those shots.

I think his relocation stuff is really good. I think

he knows when to make a pass. I think he

hasn't had too many pick and roll opportunities, but I

think he's really good at feeling when there's somebody tagging

and he can find someone in the corner. I've seen

that a few times. really good point guard instincts. I

think in that second unit, especially if Brooke Lopez is

going to be with him, he's going to be a

real designated scorer. You're going to find, you're going to

see a lot of Chris Dunn bringing the ball up,

you know, Walker getting a screen off ball and just

going to work and being an opportunistic scorer and less

of him working with Brooke Lopez of all people on

pick and rolls is like a guy that rolls effectively

to the rim and Hopefully when Yannick comes back, that'll

change and we'll just have Jackson and Yannick as a

center rotation. That'll be a whole other conversation when it comes.

But all things considered, he takes, you know, really good

taking contact. I feel like he's not afraid of contact.

He's willing to get to the line. It worries me

a little bit because of his frame as far as

injuries go. But offensively, everything that I've been kind of

excited for with Wagler. Defensively, it's a whole other conversation.

That's going to be a learning curve. I think he

gets lost off ball a bit. I think when the

ball's ahead of him, in front of him, he does

well to take on a challenge. And we noticed that

in summer league too, when he was given hard assignments

right from the jump. Um, and you know, he's kind

of has a longer frame so he can take some guys.

I think he'll get bullied a lot by, I think

we saw it a little bit in, I believe, um,

The Raptors. The Raptors game.

Speaker 1: When Shed took him to the Shed.

Speaker 2: Shed took him to the Shed a few times. And

that guy is a physical guard with playoff reps who's

known for being a bully. So I'm not going to

hold it against him that Shed saw that opportunity. And Shed,

I love that kid. I wish we could have got

him in the Kawhi deal. He's a real, real not

surprising guard that I love.

Speaker 1: Yeah, you have a type.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely have a type. And he was great.

Blake Wesley.

Speaker 1: It all checks out.

Speaker 2: It all makes sense. But, uh, but yeah, the shop.

Speaker 1: Theory of drafting, you know, honestly, you would still be

drafting better than the, than the Clippers drafted. Cause you'd

be just be drafting like these end of rotation, like

annoying bench guards. And that still would be better.

Speaker 2: It'd be fun. I would have a good time. Now

the Clippers have too many of them. Yeah.

Speaker 1: Pour one out for Cam Christie's, uh, Clippers career. Wow.

Speaker 2: Shout out Cam Christie. I think that guy will eventually

be an NBA player.

Speaker 1: Um, maybe, uh, I hope, I mean, again, I'm, I,

It's pretty rare that I root against a player. It

happens very rarely. I'm rooting for all these guys. I

know I sound harsh and down on them. I want

them to do well. I just... I don't know. Kobe

Brown might stick with the Pacers, though. I haven't gotten

an update on that.

Speaker 2: Kobe Brown shot like 50% the minute he got away

from the Clippers. It was so funny how quickly he

shot well.

Speaker 1: Anyway, divergent tangent.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: I mean, Wagler, the defense is just— it' s going to be

bad his rookie year. It is what it is. It's fine.

It's fine. That stuff I don't care about. Like, him—

looking like unable to create space or the shot not

translating or other things that are like oh boy this

is like why they drafted him um would worry me

but it's like the clippers one did not draft him

to be a defensive stud and two like it was

coming in known that he's like he's young he's you

know a little underweight and thin and he needs to

put on muscle and gain nba strength it's it's fine

like he's gonna he's gonna be bad on defense his

rookie year it's okay um But, I mean, there will

be some mistakes. It'll happen. And, again, I think you

mentioned earlier that, like, having him out there with Dunn

and Brooke Lopez, like two veterans who are, you know,

good on defense, to communicate, tell them where to go,

coach them up in the moment, I think will be

really helpful for them.

Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree. Any closing thoughts, Rob? You excited? Yeah.

Speaker 1: You know what? He's not going to play. I think

he's buried too far down. I remain just kind of

interested in Nick Martinelli. I just don't know if he

has quite enough athleticism to cut it in the NBA.

But his little bag of floaters and push shots is

just really interesting to me. The three-point shot needs to fall,

and he missed all three of his against the Nuggets.

But he made a couple, I think, earlier in preseason. Yeah,

he made one of two against the Raptors. If that

three is falling, he could be an interesting bench scorer.

I don't think there's a ton else there, but he's

kind of fun to watch at the very least. He'll

be a fun garbage time player. I don't know if

he'll really get many cracks at the Apple this year,

bites at the Apple, whatever it is. Yeah, we don't

need to talk about Fletcher Lawyer or Jamil Talford or whatever.

There can be G League guys. I think we really

didn't talk much about Rue or Derrick Jones Jr., but

that's fine.

Speaker 2: Shout out Yuki. That was a nice run he had

in the Raptors game.

Speaker 1: I think the other veterans have been more or less

as expected. No, I'm like you. I'm actually pretty excited

to watch this team. We'll see. If they're just really bad,

I think even if they're kind of fun, the excitement

will fade. If they're like 2-10 or whatever to start

the season. I guess just the last thing. Have your

thoughts on them changed at all from before preseason?

Speaker 2: No, not really.

Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean If anything, my wins projection for them

has gone down because of the Strews injury and because,

you know, Beal injury and Ingram. Like, I thought he

might be ready for the start of the season. Now

he clearly won't. And, like, all three of those guys

being out is tough for this team's offense. I mean,

their defense will probably be a little bit better because

Dunn and Derek Jones Jr. will be taking on a

lot more minutes, but, like, They're just really not going

to have firepower. Whenever Garland is sitting, they're probably going

to be really bad on offense. Even sometimes when he's playing,

he's going to be really under pressure. Teams are going

to force the ball out of his hands and make

the other guys beat him. And maybe they can. There

will be games when they don't. But I am more

optimistic about this team being fun to watch. And I

do think there's at least a chance that maybe Baba

Miller is just kind of like he's an older rookie.

Maybe he's kind of just impactful right away. I think

there's a chance Wagler is maybe a little bit better,

especially on offense, than I thought he might be this season.

So yeah, I'm excited. I still think this team is

probably going to be anywhere from like 28 to like

33 wins and be like 11th to like 13th in

the West. But as long as the young guys play

well and like the team is fun and kind of

the vibes just are better than they have been over

the past year, I really won't be able to complain much.

Speaker 2: I think considering the cards he's been dealt, Tai Lu

is pushing the right buttons.

Speaker 1: I would agree. I would very much agree.

Speaker 2: I'm so happy he's going to start Jackson over Lopez.

I think stylistically it's going to make the team more exciting.

I think wins-wise, it's maybe a push. Who knows? But

I think it's a move in the right direction, particularly

because Yannick is such a big cornerstone of this franchise, incredibly.

So I think having Garland playing alongside a roller is important.

I think keeping Wagler off the bench is wise. I

don't want to force him as a starter, I think.

Him being a designated scorer off the bench is a

good idea for him for now. Get his confidence up.

You know, real standard rookie on a team of vets move.

I don't think there's any reason to be upset about that.

I like the starting unit considering the guys available. It's

so funny. It's kind of like the questionable– Kind of

stagnant players who are vets are hurt between Beal and Ingram,

guys that maybe you're not so excited to watch, but

are floor raisers. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Those guys are hurt.

So you sort of have no choice but to go

with this exciting, exciting younger unit. who want to push

the ball and kind of push chaos. And you can

hope and kind of just surprise teams. I wouldn't be

surprised if the Clippers got like a surprising winner too,

because they just got out in transition and forced a

bunch of turnovers and were hitting from three, a couple

of games, you know? So that's, that's enough for me.

I think I'm tailoring my Clipper brain back into like

pre-Lob City days where I was excited to see like

a young player hopefully reach his potential and And I

think Clipper fans who are long term fans. Al Thornton.

Al Thornton. Shout out Al Thornton. Shout out that game.

Speaker 1: Please don't try to remember one Al Thornton game. It

would be impressive if you did.

Speaker 2: Yeah, there was a game against Jamal Tinsley's Memphis Grizzlies

where the Clippers came back and Al Thornton played a

big role in the comeback at home. I can tell

you about that game in more detail. Shout out Jamal Tinsley.

He had a good first half in that game. It

is a very memorable game for Al Thornton's Clippers. For you.

For me. For Al Thornton. and maybe five others. Maybe

one person on this podcast got very excited listening to

that reference. But anyways, that'll do it for this episode

of the Lobby General Podcast. We're incredibly excited about this

Clipper team. You should be too. We'll be back. Leave

us a nice comment. review on whatever platform this is on.

Five stars, five stars really helps. Some nice words, too.

We'll read them on the air. And as always, go Clippers!