Five takeaways from the Clippers’ loss to the Detroit Pistons
The Clippers lost to the Detroit Pistons 95-87 on Saturday. Here are five things we learned:
1.) As the Clippers began to stall on offense in the second half of their loss to the Pistons, it finally dissolved in the fourth quarter. For the game, the Clippers shot just 33.3% from the field.
But in the second half, they made just 27.3% of their shots.
Worse, the Clippers shot 24% from the field in the fourth. They missed 19 of their 24 shots in the final 12 minutes. They had just two assists in the final stretch.
That shows how the ball didn’t move and how they didn’t trust the offense.
The Clippers scored just 15 points in the fourth, obviously not nearly enough to have a chance to win the game.
2.) The Clippers had been one of the top teams when it came to taking care of the basketball. But not against the Pistons.
The Clippers coughed up 19 turnovers, which limited their scoring opportunities and allowed the Pistons to get 22 points off their miscues.
Patrick Beverley had four of the turnovers and Blake Griffin and Willie Reed each had three.
3.) Getting out to Detroit’s three-point bombers in the fourth quarter was an issue for the Clippers.The Pistons went five-for-eight from three-point range in the fourth, and that was the weapon that helped them shoot down the Clippers.
Langston Galloway was three-for-five from three-point range in the fourth and Stanley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver both made their only three-point attempts.
4.) Rookie Sindarius Thornwell is starting to develop into a solid role player for the Clippers. He has seen his minutes increase every game, reaching a top of nine against the Pistons.
Thornwell scored just three points on one-for-three shooting, but it’s obvious his confidence is growing.
5.) Finding a way to reduce his starters’ minutes remains elusive for Clippers coach Doc Rivers. None of them played fewer than 33 minutes.
Griffin had the heaviest workload at 38:49.
Danilo Gallinari (38:13) was next, followed by Beverley (36:40), DeAndre Jordan (35:18) and Austin Rivers (33:30).
Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner
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