INGLEWOOD — Clippers practice was over and most players had already retreated to the locker room. Rookie forward Baba Miller, however, stayed on the court, where he lined up to take – and make – a 3-pointer.
The 6-foot-11 Spaniard with a 7-2 wingspan then moved slightly to the left and took another that was all net. A third and a fourth and several more landed perfectly in the hoop before the ball hit the rim on another attempt. Only then did Miller end the extra session Monday but not before he finished with a monster dunk that caught the attention of guard Darius Garland, who was sitting courtside.
Miller, whom the Clippers drafted out of the University of Cincinnati with the No. 36 overall pick, is hoping the coaching staff takes notice of his ability and size and finds a place for him on the roster.
“I feel like every day I’m taking steps in the right direction, working hard, trying to get better,” Miller said. “And I’m going to keep doing that.”
While he presents a towering figure on the court, Miller said he needs to get stronger and more agile if he wants to stay at the NBA level. He scored nine points and posted six rebounds over 20 minutes in the Clippers’ 104-101 preseason victory Sunday against the Golden State Warriors in Honolulu.
Miller said he can do more.
“I feel like my body’s going to be very important,” Miller said. “Just being able to hit and play physically against guys my size, that’s going to be very important.
“Then condition it to running a lot up and down at a very fast pace. I feel like just knowing how to play the game the right way, know what we want to do, execute whatever Coach (Tyronn) Lue wants us to do and try to make the game easy for my teammates.”
Miller turned heads at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, posting 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including one 3-pointer from 8 feet behind the arc, five rebounds and two assists against the Utah Jazz. In his debut three days prior, he had 12 points, five rebounds and one assist against the Sacramento Kings.
Miller said he also wants to be more disruptive on defense against guys who are bigger and stronger than the 208-pound rookie. He said he looks forward most to facing idol Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Miami Heat.
LOOKING BACK
Given a day to watch film and scrutinize his team’s play in its first preseason game, Lue said the Clippers need to play faster, even when opponents are pressing, and take care of the basketball. The Clippers turned the ball over 21 times against the Warriors in Hawaii.
“(We also need to) just be sharp and quick with our cuts off the ball,” Lue said. “We kind of walked through certain things, but we gotta do it with pace and with speed. So, we got to keep getting better at that as well.
“We just got to do what we do, be who we are, play how we need to play to be effective. We got to win the numbers game as far as getting more possessions, whether offensive rebounds, taking care of the basketball, things like that.”
CHANGE OF PLANS
Shooting guard Max Strus, who was in line to start for the Clippers, will miss the first two weeks of the regular season and four weeks total after partially tearing his right plantar fascia in Sunday’s game, a loss that Lue said will be difficult to overcome.
Lue cited Strus’ ability to create movement coming off screens and pinning down his man.
“He’s also a guy who’s shot-ready at all times,” Lue said. “When he’s on the floor, guys have to stand closer to him. There’s more spacing. His movement, he knows how to play the game off the ball, on the ball. So, we’re going to miss that tremendously. We just got to figure out ways to do it correctly.”