The Clippers got a glimpse of what’s to come this season in their first preseason game Thursday in Oceanside. And what the coaching staff saw they liked for the most part.
“It’s always great to see what we’ve been working on in practice and see how we perform in front of fans with a lot of distractions,” Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said. “It was great.”
If the score was any indication, the Clippers did better than great in beating the Guangzhou Loong-Lions by 47 points at Frontwave Arena three nights ago. The Clippers, though, still have work to do before the regular-season opener Oct. 22.
The game, the first of four preseason games, was tight through the first half with the Clippers holding a slim 69-64 halftime lead. The Clippers, who have stressed transition defense in training camp, finally locked in on defense and outscored the Loong-Lions, 42-8, in the third quarter to break open the game.
Leonard scored a team-high 18 points in the team’s first game after six days of training camp over nine days. Ivica Zubac posted 15 points and five rebounds. New Clippers forward John Collins added 15 points and four rebounds off the bench.
“Early in the first half, I just thought we went through the motions,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “I didn’t think we really locked in and had that defensive mindset to start the game. They ran around free, got whatever shot they wanted. We didn’t really take them seriously.
“So, I just told the guys, we’re working on ourselves. We’re not working on playing against them. We have to get better, have that mindset every night. In the first half, I didn’t think we did that.”
The Clippers have another chance to focus on improving in all areas when they face three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at Intuit Dome. It will be a chance to revisit last season’s loss to the Nuggets in a seven-game series in the first round of the playoffs.
The game will also give Lue another chance to see how well the young players continue to improve. Reserves Jordan Miller (13 points) and Trentyn Flowers (11) each scored in double figures against the Loong-Lions.
Guard Bogdan Bogdanovic’s status for Sunday’s game is uncertain after he experienced back soreness in the first two minutes of Thursday’s game. He didn’t return.
Veteran guard Bradley Beal is not expected to play as the Clippers are bringing him along slowly after having his right knee scoped in the offseason.
“We just going to keep building from here, seeing the little things that we need to all do and hopefully we can get this going,” Lue said.