After trailing by 22 points early in the third-quarter, the LA Clippers got the better of the Golden State Warriors in the teams' second meeting on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
The Clippers made the big plays on both ends down the stretch, signified by Paul George's go-ahead three-pointer that gave them the lead for the first time in the game with just 8.9 seconds remaining.
Following his game-winner on Saturday, LA Clippers' star Paul George made no secret of identifying one of the Golden State Warriors' biggest issues
Although George's three might have been the highlight for LA, their ability to get back into the game was built from stifling defense and their work in the paint offensively. They outscored Golden State 56-38 in that department, while the visitors made four more three-pointers in the 113-112 defeat.
Speaking in the postgame, George revealed the Clippers' plans while making no secret of the Warriors' lack of interior defense.
""They don't have a rim protector. Our advantage is we have size. We have wings that can get to the basket. That's been our game plan, to get to the rim and find shooters on kick-outs," George said."
While some have viewed it as George throwing shade at the Warriors, it's more so genuine facts over anything else. This isn't a new notion either, with the franchise lacking a rim protecting presence for years even during their 2021-22 championship-winning season.
Although they may not possess that one player who can hold down the paint, Golden State have done a reasonable job of not getting completely monstered so far this season. Their league average in points in the paint conceded -- if anything their lack of size hurts more on the offensive end where they're last in percentage of points in the paint.
Do the Warriors need a genuine big man to be a shot-blocking threat? Perhaps. But they've already got Trayce Jackson-Davis who projects to be that player, and whom many fans are already clamouring for Steve Kerr to play more.
Golden State could instead do with more size at the wing/forward positions, ironically someone like George who would give them versatility and prevent the myriad of three-guard lineups that Kerr often utilizes.