The Clippers now feel almost invincible, and their game is at ease and relaxed. Under the leadership of the Big Four, the Clippers have to be a little tighter, they can pull away the score, and then Tyronn Lue can experiment with the lineup, and if he falls behind, he will give the ball to Harden, and with Leonard George, no matter what opponent he faces, Tyronn Lue seems to be sure enough to strategize. This is inseparable from Harden's tandem, as well as Leonard and George's top-level offensive and defensive capabilities. However, the Clippers are in such excellent form that superstars play as part of it, and the performance of role players is also crucial. The Clippers feel invincible, and the key is their lineup, which seems to run out of holes.
And the player who fills the Clippers' last hole is Terence Mann. Recalling the stage of the Clippers' six-game losing streak after the trade, in addition to the incompatibility of Harden and Harden as a starter, the Clippers also have serious problems at the No. 4 position. On Tucker, there is no space for offense, defense is useless, and on others, the effect is similar, in short, the Clippers lack a player who can defend, shoot, and grab. As a result, Mann stepped up. After Wei Shao was taken to the bench, it became Mann who sat in the starting position, as the Clippers' "not for sale", during this time, Mann proved his worth by the side of several superstars, and he also proved to the outside world why the Clippers didn't want to trade him away, and why the 76ers wanted him so much.
In fact, there is nothing to say on the defensive end, Mann is online whether he is a single defense or a co-defense, and he is good at confrontation, fast movement, steady footwork, he is a good hand at sweeping defense, and in terms of defensive efficiency, Mann never worries. At the same time, in terms of scrambling, Mann's rebounding nose and judgment of where rebounds land, coupled with his ability to rush, is one of his main selling points, positive and intelligent, which is Mann's characteristic and why he is loved by all playoff teams. However, projection has always been a drawback that Mann has been criticized for, and it is precisely because of this that Mann was questioned at one point, and Tyronn Lue put him in the starting lineup, which put some pressure on Coach Lue.
This season, Mann is shooting just 28.6 percent from three-point range, and he is often a point of selective shorting for opponents, a situation that, to a certain extent, affects the Clippers' offensive efficiency. But as it turned out, Lu's patience was right and paid off. Mann has scored in double figures in four of his last six games, shooting 13-of-21 from three-point range and shooting a staggering 61.9 percent from three-point range. And he can make at least 2 three-pointers per game, and the quality and output are all over the mark. Against the Raptors, Mann shot 5-of-5, including 3-of-3 from three-point range, and he gave people the feeling that he was more confident in his shots and more efficient. It even gave me the illusion that Mann had a shot, which is the treatment of a top shooter.
Truth be told, if Mann can maintain this three-point streak, the Clippers will be invincible because they don't have any holes. In terms of the starting lineup, even if Wei Shao makes sacrifices, as long as Zubac is there, whether it is Mann or the original starting forward PJ Tucker, the Clippers always have two space holes, and the opponent can unscrupulously defend one person on the outside and use more troops to defend the core giants of the Clippers, which leads to the Clippers' offense not being able to develop well and the court efficiency is average. Although the Clippers have Powell on the bench, it is clear that his defense is not up to the starting role, and once Powell starts, the Clippers' bench scoring ability is even worse.
Fortunately, Mann suddenly rose, which became the biggest surprise of the Clippers during this time. In fact, Mann is different from other role players who have played well next to Harden. For example, Zubac, because of Harden's very comfortable passing, Zubac's butter hand problem was solved, and he was more confident, Zubac was completely activated next to Harden, and some other role players like Theis were similar. Mann is different, Mann is the player that Harden needs him to shoot threes and play defense to relieve the pressure on his offense and defense. The defense is in place, the offense Mann can shoot those open threes, and the pressure on Harden is a lot less, and these are all virtuous cycles.
Remember when the Clippers and Mann reached a two-year, $22 million contract extension, at that time Mann was just a rotation fringe figure who averaged 7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, and the average playing time per game was limited. The young players who have been cultivated are valuable players, and Mann has also filled the last piece of the puzzle on the Clippers' championship journey.