What We Learned from the Spurs loss to the Clippers

Some nights you have it. That spark. That fight. That feeling. Everything’s working and you feel like anything is possible. The limits of your body are inconsequential compared to the infinite potential of your cosmic presence. On those nights, you might as well be invincible. For our young Spurs, Thursday night against the Clippers was not one of those nights.

It’s hard to get worked up about it. At their best, this team is overmatched nightly from a talent perspective — and the boys were decidedly not at their best. They were missing important pieces and seemed like they had to drag themselves down to the Staples Center for the back end of their SEGABABA in the city of Angels. They looked tired. They looked like that needed a break.

To their credit, the effort wasn’t in question. It never is with this teem. They try hard and they work at their game each and every time they take the floor and for that I have immense respect. It’s the main thing that keeps me coming back night after night to sit shiva while the rest of the league gets their shots in. The Spurs are doing their best. Even when the gas tank is on E, they are giving it all.

This was a night for the bigger picture. It was a night for squinting at Keldon Johnson’s shooting form to see if it’s rounding back into shape. A night for daydreaming about Tre Jones having some different pieces around him that could take advantage of his vision. It was a night for continuing to admire Jakob Poeltl’s noble anchoring of the sinking ship that is our defense. It was a night for thinking about the better days; the ones that have been and the ones that are still to come.

It’s a tough stretch for these young Spurs, but they’re going to shake it off. It’s unfortunate how much practice they’ve gotten at it recently, but it’s definitely not the end of the world. The best thing they can show us right now is how strong they really are. If you can survive something like this without getting broken then, shoot, you just might be invincible after all.

Takeaways:

• Desperately missed Jeremy Sochan out there tonight just from a vibes perspective. Nights like this are probably good for me as a fan because it’s a reminder of how much a player like him has made his presence felt on this team. It’s weird not to see that bundle of cool hair and long limbs tumbling around on the court and feeling his way around the game. There’s something compelling about a guy who’s just starting to realize he could be a problem for the opposition and coming to understand how to harness his powers. Here’s hoping he gets on the mend sooner rather than later.
• So, uh, about that whole “squinting at Keldon Johnson’s shooting form to see if it’s rounding back into shape” thing. Not a ton to report on that front. He logged 19 points on the night but, uh, if you take a look at where he made his shots it’s...well. It certainly paints a picture. He’s working on it though. If there’s one thing we know it’s that he’s going to keep working through it. The ship has probably sailed on this being the breakout year for KJ that we hoped it would be, but there’s still plenty of time for him to figure it out.

• The utter lack of any type of identity in the Clippers gestalt is monumentally baffling to me. I’m not talking about the guys on the court or anything like that, I’m talking about their whole...deal. Like...Who decided that their brand should just be boring? Blue, red, black and white as a color scheme? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. It’s the worst. The font on their logo is a disaster. Their uniforms look like they were auto generated by the world’s worst AI Graphic designer. I don’t know, man, it just seems like such a missed opportunity to be weird. They represent one of the biggest media markets in the world and, with the Lakers sucking up all the oxygen, they have a clear lane to just let it all hang out and be fun. Get some crazy colors! Develop charming, insane traditions. Do literally anything ... well, anything except for what they’re currently doing.

WWL Post Game Press Conference

- What would you do if you were put in charge of the Clippers rebrand?

- I’m glad you asked. Day one I would walk in their and throw everything in the trash. We need a full blank slate to work with and there is absolutely nothing here worth saving. I would get all of the best consultants I could find in a room and have them pitch me on new names for the team. I’d listen very intently to their suggestions and then I’d throw them all in the trash and call them something insane but endearing like the Chihuahuas. The LA Chihuahua’s would be the neutral’s favorite team and everyone else’s second favorite. We’d have a bold, bright color scheme. We’d be the Mountain Dew Baja Blast of the NBA. Look at me with a straight face and tell me you wouldn’t buy a Chihuahua’s shirt?

- I can’t do that.

- Of course you can’t, It’s genius.

- Are we worried at all that the LA Chihuahuas is a little too close to the storied film franchise, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”?

- If anything, that just speaks to the cultural footprint that the noble Chihuahua has in that fine city. I say it’s still a go. The more that any high priced consultants tell me not to, the better idea I think it is. The high priced consultants are probably the ones who got us in this mess in the first place.