"It's just sad to see, 'cause you put in all that work to get back." Clippers coach Tyronn Lue on Ben Simmons, who he said had done the work and looked healthy. Asked about inactive Bradley Beal and Johnni Broome, he gave no statuses: "I think the guys are looking good."
Isaiah Jackson is ready to start, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, though "we know we gotta protect him a little bit against bigger centers that post a lot." Jackson has worked on his 3-point shot and is shooting it well, Lue added, just not early in the shot clock.
Keaton Wagler will play on and off the ball for the Clippers. Tyronn Lue said he will handle it as a point guard and also see time at shooting guard: "I think with a shot, he can play some 2, and we know he's a point guard."
Brook Lopez and Baba Miller on the floor together is a size pairing meant to win the rebounding battle. From the Clippers' media availability: "Brook and Baba, if you may have noticed together, just having size to be able to help rebound the basketball is going to help us."
Kobe Sanders went through the Clippers' full practice on Oct. 17. Asked whether Sanders would be ready, Tyronn Lue gave no formal status but liked what he saw: "he looked pretty good. He's comfortable."
Baba Miller will play power forward and center for the Clippers, Tyronn Lue said, including beside Brook Lopez or Isaiah Jackson: "playing him and Isaiah together a little bit to get more size on the floor is going to be key for us."
Brandon Ingram is out of surgery. Tyronn Lue saw him when he woke: "He was in good spirits. And the doctor said it was a great surgery." No timeline; Lue says the Clippers can be special once he's back. With five rotation players out, young and two-way players get chances.
Isaiah Jackson will start at center for the Clippers on opening night, per a reporter citing Tyronn Lue. Derrick Jones Jr. backed it: "He can switch 1 through 5, he can run the floor. Honestly, I think he's one of the best big men in the league, so he's up there with me."
Rebounding was the first thing Clippers coaches raised with Rui Hachimura when he arrived, and Tyronn Lue wants 7 or 8 a game from him. After the preseason win over Denver, Hachimura admitted he doesn't always crash the rim when he could: "sometimes I just get lazy."
Keaton Wagler has been fearless from three, and Rui Hachimura wants the Clippers rookie to "keep being aggressive and to be who he is." Those threes, Hachimura said after the preseason win over Denver, open space for Darius Garland to get to the paint.
Alongside Darius Garland, Keaton Wagler says he's "more of a second action guy": catch and shoot, set screens, cut. He looks for his own shot when Garland sits. It's new to the Clippers rookie: "at Illinois I didn't really have to do it as much. It was kind of all for me."
Yuki Kawamura faces a Clippers roster call and maybe a stint with the San Diego affiliate, but Tyronn Lue said it's "not over" and he'd love to have him: "I don't think he gets a fair shake a lot because of his height and his size, but he's a damn good basketball player."
Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. playing together? "A lot," Tyronn Lue said at Clippers practice, even if one starts and one comes off the bench. Lue wants Dunn to run the team, get in the paint and take open shots: "He's really improved his 3-point shooting."
Max Strus, sidelined at Clippers practice, is "feeling a little better," Tyronn Lue said, "But we got to make sure we take our time." Brandon Ingram is doing more on the floor, but "it's going to be a while." Bradley Beal's knee rehab is "going pretty good," but no timetable.
Rookie Keaton Wagler is in line for a big Clippers role. "He's going to play a lot for us," Darius Garland said, and Tyronn Lue said the ball will be in Wagler's hands because he picks things up quickly. Of his misses last game, Lue said: "he got all great shots."
Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. will take the opponent's best players as the Clippers get more aggressive on defense, blitzing more to force turnovers, Tyronn Lue said: "they definitely got to take on the challenge every night of guarding the best players."
Rui Hachimura's passing out of double teams has convinced Tyronn Lue he can be more than a scorer: "he's shown me that he's also a great passer." That is why Lue counts him among the Clippers who will have the ball in their hands.
Tyronn Lue is holding off on installing more Clippers offense until he knows the status of "5 or 6 guys" he called "huge" to the team and its lineups. He didn't name them. Bradley Beal is out; Lue sees him as a lead ball-handler "when he gets back" but gave no timeline.
The Clippers will miss Max Strus' movement off screens and his readiness to shoot "tremendously," Tyronn Lue said: "We just got to figure out ways to do it collectively." Asked about the injuries, he gave no update, pointing to offensive rebounds and fewer turnovers.
Rui Hachimura's role is growing at both ends. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said "we're gonna play through him a lot," using him in different ways instead of standing in the corner. On defense, they're testing if he can guard point guards through power forwards.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser is playing center for the Clippers this year and plans to lean on quickness at both ends: "My advantage is speed, not strength." It fits Tyronn Lue's push for everybody to speed up, and another player at practice called it "a whole different offense."
Max Strus limped off on a non-contact play in the opening minutes against the Warriors and will undergo testing. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue gave no diagnosis but sounded worried: "he kind of hobbled off and limped off. So that's never good to see when it's a non-contact play."
Yuki Kawamura played little against the Warriors, but Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said yes when asked if the guard will get more opportunity down the line. Rui Hachimura said Kawamura looked a little nervous but did what he needed to in his short stint.
Rui Hachimura is being asked to carry the Clippers' scoring. Tyronn Lue said he asked him whether he could average 18 points a game: "We're going to need everything... because we're starting the season so shorthanded." Hachimura said the staff wants him aggressive.
The Clippers' playoff starters will play around 18 to 20 minutes on Oct. 4, Tyronn Lue said at practice. After that, for the last two games, "we gotta, you know, crank it up a little bit."
Isaiah Jackson says he feels "100% back" from his Achilles injury and thinks he'll start at center for the Clippers. Tyronn Lue says Jackson suits Darius Garland, who worked on his toe all summer, as a "speed roller," but Brook Lopez can still be involved. "We don't quite know."
Max Strus and Rui Hachimura have picked up Tyronn Lue's system quickest of the Clippers' new players, Lue said at practice, and he is excited to see what he can run for them. Hachimura says roles are settled: "Everybody have roles now... we did a meeting about it too."
From Clippers practice: Tyronn Lue said camp's first five has been Darius Garland, Max Strus, Rui Hachimura, Derrick Jones Jr. and Isaiah Jackson, citing shooting and Jackson's rolling to the rim. Brook Lopez is in the second group: "that's all going to change. So we'll see."
Lue said the early offense is mostly installed and set plays come next, some built to "call Rui's number" for Rui Hachimura. Keaton Wagler said he takes the best player in camp, often Darius Garland, full court: "I've been trying to guard Darius every time I can."
Tyronn Lue wants Rui Hachimura rebounding more: "with our team and how small we are, we have to take advantage of him being a good rebounder." Lue noted Hachimura got fewer chances beside LeBron James. Asked about starters, he named none: fit with the first unit decides.