The Clippers signed Bradley Beal to replace the scoring punch they lost when they traded Norman Powell to Miami, but physical issues have prevented Beal from filling that role early in the season. He missed his second straight game with back soreness Tuesday night, and L.A. managed only 79 points in a loss to Golden State. The offense looked stagnant as the Clippers recorded just 10 assists for only the second time since Tyronn Lue became head coach, writes Law Murray of The Athletic.
“We are missing a key component, which is Bradley Beal, who gives us a shooter, a guy who can play-make, a guy who can handle the basketball as well,” Lue said. “You add to the mix, it does make us better.”
Beal began the season on a minutes restriction while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and was limited to 11 total points in the team’s first two games. Bogdan Bogdanovic is taking Beal’s place in the starting lineup, but he’s off to a terrible shooting start, connecting at 11.1% from the field and averaging just 1.0 PPG.
The malaise on offense is affecting several players, including offseason addition John Collins, who was limited to five points Tuesday night on 2-0f-6 shooting.
“Sometimes, it’s like that ball’s not moving as much. It’s a little bit sticky sometimes,” Collins said. “Another side of that is getting stops. Maybe we get stops and get in transition, get easy buckets. That just helps slow the game down a little bit. … A little bit of stagnation on our end. Gotta make it work.”
There’s more on the Clippers:
- While he’s off to a slow start, Collins has added a new dimension to the team as a mobile 6’9″ forward who can score, notes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Having the extra size on the front line creates mismatches for opponents. “We get a big player like John on the floor, alongside Kawhi (Leonard) and teams have a nightmare as far as matching up,” Lue said. “You want to put a smaller guy on John, or a smaller guy on Kawhi? … (Collins’) versatility on both sides of the basketball is a huge thing for us.”
- Second-round pick Kobe Sanders is week-to-week with a sprained right knee, a source tells Murray (Twitter link). There’s hope he can return in December, but Murray notes that he’s already the team’s second injured two-way player, joining Jordan Miller, who’s sidelined with a hamstring issue.
- In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Chris Paul says he feels fortunate to be back with the Clippers this late in his career and he hasn’t decided whether he’ll keep playing beyond this season.