Getty Reggie Jackson (left) and Paul George of the Clippers
There was little indication, through the first half of Monday’s game against the lowly Thunder, that the Clippers were about to have a breakout. They scored 40 points in the first 24 minutes, going just 3-for-21 from the 3-point line and only slightly better—15-for-50, or 30.0% percent—from the field in general.
Ah, but the second half brought considerable change, as the Clippers suddenly found their stroke and made 12 of their 21 3-point attempts (57.1%), along with 47.6% of their shots overall. That felt more like the team that led the NBA in perimeter accuracy last year.
The lid came off the basket, for a short while at least, but a blessed sight for a team that entered the game against OKC shooting just 42.0% from the field and 31.7% from the 3-point line. For Reggie Jackson, who has been among the worst bricklaying offenders for the Clippers this season (31.0% from the field and 29.1% from the 3-point line) despite being second on the team in scoring, there was some release of frustration.
“I didn’t even notice we made that many in the second half to be honest,” Jackson said after the game. “I did look at the end of the first half like, man, we can’t seem to find the basket, especially for myself particularly. We’ve been getting good shots all season but, I don’t know. I feel like Halloween has stuck with us, I don’t know. I feel like it’s been like that all season so far.”
Clippers Were the NBA’s Top 3-Point Team Last Year
The strange thing, as Jackson pointed out, is that the Clippers did not exactly shake up the roster from last year’s team, which led the NBA in 3-point shooting at 41.1%, one of the best numbers in league history. They’re missing Kawhi Leonard, of course, but Leonard’s 3-point shooting last year, which was great at 39.8%, actually dragged down the Clippers’ overall number.
Jackson finds that inexplicable:
We’ve got pretty much the same team returning. We’re going to continue to put in the work, we’re going to continue shooting with confidence and eventually, we feel like this lid has to come off the basket. But yeah, it hasn’t been pretty. It has not been pretty yet.
We’ve been putting in a lot of work. We’ve been getting great shots, paint touches, the ball is moving. It’s just ugly. I can’t explain it. We were just in the locker room joking I mean, last year, man, we felt like we damn-near couldn’t miss. We would call timeouts for teams knowing how hot we were going to get to a degree. Now, we’re just sitting there with our fingers crossed hoping one of them drops and then get it going.
Clippers Face Tough 3-Point Defenses Coming Up
The important thing for the Clippers is that they take what happened in the second half against Oklahoma City and carry it over into the next stretch of games, which features teams that have had good luck defending the 3 thus far.
The Clippers get two games against the Timberwolves, who are third in 3-pointer defense, at 29.9% allowed. They then face Charlotte, which is ninth in defending the 3, at 32.5% allowed.
At least L.A. will have some momentum.
“It feels good,” Jackson said. “Making shots is usually contagious. Felt good to see Paul (George) get going, good to see Luke (Kennard) get going. Hopefully we can ride that way, a few more of us can get going.”