Two days after the Clippers played what their coach, Tyronn Lue, described as their finest basketball of an up-and-down season, players sat in folding chairs Monday morning inside their practice facility to rewatch what Lue had also deemed their “blueprint” for offensive success.
To drill home the point, a whiteboard in front of the assembled chairs listed the season-high marks from Saturday’s blowout victory against the Spurs: passes, ball reversals, assist opportunity rate, effective field-goal percentage.
The numbers — particularly their 329 passes, as tracked by Second Spectrum, a stark contrast to their fourth-from-the-bottom season average of 262 — backed up with data the litmus test Lue has often referenced as simply playing the “right way.” Monday offered a reminder of why there is a premium on continuing to do so.
