After the massive move during NBA free agency this summer that shook the league to its core, literally and figuratively as the Los Angeles Clippers acquired both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. On Wednesday night we got our first glimpse of the dynamic duo on the court, in their 107-104 overtime win over the Boston Celtics.
George missed the preseason and the first 11 games of the regular season while recovering from a pair of shoulder surgeries. We believed we would get our first viewing last Thursday in New Orleans, but Leonard was sidelined with suffered a contusion on his left knee in Houston. Finally, after 138 days when it seemed as if we would never get the two superstars on the court at the same time for a while, the Clippers took the floor with their full rosters.
“Load management definitely wasn’t in effect tonight,” George cracked, “We need everybody. This is not a two-headed monster.”
This game showed us what we already believed and that is this team will be great defensively, bosting three of the top defenders in the league. The Clippers (10-5) live up to the preseason hype of being a smothering unit, as Boston (11-3) managed to shoot just 39.4% from the field, including 12-of-45 (26.7%) from behind the arc.
“It was fun to see what this team can look like on the defensive end,” George said, “and offensively, it was fun to see how we can play off each other.”
On the offensive end was a different story turning the ball over 23 times, with Leonard and George combining for 10 of them as the Celtics sent traps at the duo. The Clippers also with the excitement of George and Leonard playing together the ball seemed to be forced to individuals to shine instead of moving the ball to score. But what the other Clippers players learned just how open they would be playing alongside the two stars.
“I remember I was telling [coach] Doc [Rivers], I came off one pick-and-roll, I was so open, I didn’t know what to do,” Beverley said. “They get so much attention. It’s crazy.”
Leonard using brute force to manufacture space for any shot and George the all-purpose wing who can score in just about any offensive capacity these two are definitely circled on the scouting report. The benefactors of this would be bench and role players, Lou Williams scored 27 points, while Beverley drilling four 3-pointers after being left alone finishing with 14 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists.
“I thought he, literally, single-handedly willed that game with his effort,” Rivers said of Beverley, who was a recipient of a rare game ball.
