The Los Angeles Clippers entered Wednesday’s contest against the Golden State Warriors with a perfect 4-0 record and had plenty to be optimistic about how their season has gone so far.
Optimism has a way of going out the window when you lose, though, and that’s what happened to the Clippers after falling to Stephen Curry and the Warriors 112-108.
The contest went down to the wire for the Clippers despite taking a 10-point lead half way through a momentum-shifting fourth quarter. Blake Griffin was brilliant at times, controlling the offense, hitting mid-range shots at will (as he has done all season long) and generally ignoring the pesky Draymond Green with 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Chris Paul sat on the bench for a good chunk of the second half due to foul trouble. It wasn’t enough to overcome Curry’s greatness and the Warriors’ small-ball lineup down the stretch, which raised questions on how the Clippers can continue to improve moving forward.
Bill Simmons saw all the action and had plenty to say about what went down in the contest and what needs to be done in the future:
I love Austin Rivers getting crunch-time run in Oakland over Pierce, Crawford and Lance. Doc Rivers is an awesome dad.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 5, 2015
If they aren’t gonna play Paul Pierce in crunch-time in this game, they should just put him in a cryogenic chamber until April.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 5, 2015
Not saying this will hold, but from what I’ve seen after one week, Clips are 2nd-best team. Didn’t expect that. Thought it would be Houston.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 5, 2015
Clips need to (eventually) make deal using Jamal and-or Lance contracts for a safer d-and-3 wing. That 5th crunch-time guy spot worries me.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 5, 2015
Jim Park is a blogger and Tweet of the Night author of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.