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Clippers Fall To Raptors, 93-73, In Vancouver

Rowan Kavner

VANCOUVER – It wasn’t the return to Vancouver the Clippers had envisioned, nor was it the offense the Clippers are used to playing.

But as head coach Doc Rivers has said, with so many new players and so little of the offense installed, the preseason is more about figuring out what works and what doesn’t than it is about wins and losses.

After Sunday, when the Clippers (1-1) fell in their second preseason game, 93-73, to the Raptors in front of a lively Vancouver crowd, he’ll have plenty to look at. But, admittedly, it was tough to find much to like.

Next Game: 10/10

Tipoff: 7:30pm PDT

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“I like that we had an exhibition game,” Rivers said, “and now we have four.”

In their first preseason game in Vancouver since 1999, nearly every Clippers player saw action, though few lineups experienced a tremendous amount of success. Rivers once again experimented with different looks, but couldn’t find much outside of J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan to get anything going offensively.

Redick and Jordan combined to go 9-of-11 for 21 of the Clippers’ 34 points in the first half. Redick finished the game with a team-high 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while Jordan went 4-of-4 from the floor with eight points and 10 rebounds.

The first half wasn’t particularly pretty from either unit, but the Clippers were playing defense, and for that reason the deficit was still in single digits at that point.

“We didn’t play very well,” Rivers said. “First half I actually liked, because I thought they got into us, we got into them, it was a six-point game. I thought the second unit got frustrated all game. One of the things I liked from them was the second quarter, they couldn’t get scores, but neither could the other team. Finally, you always say in those games it’s going to go one way or the other, and I thought we gave in toward the end of that quarter.”

And it got worse after halftime.

Rivers let the backups get most of the minutes once again in the second half in an effort to get them to figure one another out. But the Clippers watched the deficit grow in the third quarter, at one point falling behind by 23 points.

Asked whether it’s the fact there’s so many new pieces or the fact there’s so little offensive installed that’s the bigger problem for the backups, Jamal Crawford said it’s a combination of the two.
“Sometimes when they both rear their heads, I guess that’s when you get what you got tonight,” Crawford said.

The Clippers didn’t help themselves by committing 25 turnovers, either. Rivers said the worst part was many of them led to easy layups, particularly in the first half. The bench players in particular struggled in that regard, committing 18 of the 25 turnovers.

Lance Stephenson believes that after just two preseason games, that’s still a result of learning one another’s tendencies and where each player likes to be on the court.

“We’re struggling right now and we’re just getting to know each other and getting in a groove,” Stephenson said. “It’s the second preseason game. We’re just figuring each other out. I’m not going to put too much pressure on myself and try to just do everything. We’ve just got to take it slow, figure out it out.”

No reserve player hit more than two field goals, as the bench went a combined 10-for-31 as it looks to find its rhythm. Josh Smith said he likes the competitiveness of the backup group, but he said the reserves need to stay more positive, not get down on themselves as much and be better with their body language.

“You have to stay patient, but the competitive side kicks in, so, we just need to stay patient and just believe in the process and I think we’ll be OK,” Smith said.

Blake Griffin finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting while Chris Paul had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting and eight assists.

“We’ve just got to be better,” Paul said. “We’ve got to take better care of the ball. I’ve got to make a shot. But all in all, we’ve just got to keep building our principles – defensively, first and foremost.”

NOTES: Wesley Johnson started at small forward, after Paul Pierce made the start in the preseason opener … Cole Aldrich, Branden Dawson and Chuck Hayes each saw their first minutes with the Clippers … The Clippers fell to 7-6 in international exhibition games … The Raptors’ largest lead was 23, which happened in the third quarter … It was a sell-out crowd in Vancouver, with 19,000 fans in attendance cheering at any opportunity… After playing in Canada, the Clippers will return home to Los Angeles and then depart Wednesday to China for two games against the Hornets...