\nEditor’s Choice<\/h2>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n
Worse yet, the Clippers could have suffered a major blow to their second unit. Backup center Mason Plumlee had to be carried away by two Clippers personnel after Julius Randle flew to the side of his left leg. Plumlee was ruled out in the third quarter with a sprained left knee and will be further evaluated Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Harden may need to do more with the second unit. After Clippers coach Ty Lue started Harden, he also asked the point guard to lead the second team.<\/p>\n
While Lue said Harden was understandably tired in his first game of the season, the coach saw things he liked in Harden. On an early pick-and-roll with Zubac, Harden delivered a pinpoint bounce pass that wrapped around a defender and spun to Zubac, who fouled inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought overall it was just orchestration,\u201d Lue said of Harden\u2019s play. “Making the right play, making the right passes and the right pick-and-rolls, he was really good. It’s going to take him a little time to get in shape. We understand that, but his presence on the court definitely made itself felt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lue believes that after 10 games he will have a better idea of \u200b\u200bhow it will work and what he potentially needs to tweak.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did a good job in his first game in a long time,\u201d Leonard said of Harden. “And it takes time to get his legs under him as far as conditioning. But he did a great job with me, he got everyone involved really well in running the pick-and-roll.”<\/p>\n
Lue said entering the game he wrote down how he would shift his stars with the second unit and his rotations “a thousand times.”<\/p>\n
He certainly didn’t envision having to permanently remove his starters from the game with 4:25 left and the Clippers trailing 104-88.<\/p>\n
But Lue said he wouldn’t overreact and “I’m not going to panic right now.” He saw the sacrifice of his stars and the will to make it work.<\/p>\n
Westbrook finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while making 8 of 13 shots. But George calmed down after his hot start<\/a> to the season with 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.<\/p>\nHowever, he emerged from Monday evening very optimistic.<\/p>\n
“As far as the talent aspect goes, it’s one of the [most] \u201cThe talented teams I played for,\u201d George said. “We’ll figure it out. First play. Lots of moving pieces, but it was fun. Playing on the field with those guys was fun and it gave me a lot of optimism for the future.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n