Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue addressed roster changes and rotation decisions Wednesday as his team prepares to host the Denver Nuggets at the Intuit Dome.
“It’s going to take some time,” Lue said. “Just trying to get the new guys up to speed.”
The Clippers are integrating several additions, including Darius Garland, who remains sidelined with toe injury management.
“He wants to get out there,” Lue said. “But we got to make sure we’re doing it the right way.”
The coach confirmed the guard has participated in most on-court work. “Everything except for live,” Lue said. “He felt good.”
Lue emphasized patience as the medical staff monitors the All-Star point guard. “As much as he wants to play, as much as we want him out there on the floor, we got to make sure we’re doing right by him.”
On practice structure, Lue clarified the workload. “No live stuff was yesterday,” he said. “Today was just short just trying to get the new guys up to speed on the plays.”
Rotation decisions have also impacted veterans. Lue addressed the status of Nicolas Batum. “Nico wasn’t out of rotation. Just gave him a couple games off,” he said. “He’s 37 years old and he’s played every game except for one.”
He added, “It was a DNP hold,” explaining the decision was used to evaluate newer pieces.
The Clippers are also evaluating their frontcourt depth, including Isaiah Jackson. “Right now I’m just thinking about just playing three bigs,” Lue said. “We can’t continue to play Brook 34, 35 minutes a night.”
On Jackson’s skill set, Lue was direct. “Speed. Dynamic roller. He has a toughness about him,” he said. “His ability to catch lobs, get behind the defense.”
Lue also challenged Bennedict Mathurin to increase his offensive aggression. “We need him to be aggressive scoring the basketball,” he said. “He turned down a lot of catch and shoots early on, so we need him to take those.”
Defensively, Lue referenced Mathurin’s recent performance. “Being able to guard multiple positions,” he said. “That was pretty impressive.”
Managing minutes for Kawhi Leonard remains a priority. “He’s on his minutes, so we just can’t overdo it,” Lue said. “We just know that with that load, we just can’t continue to do it night in and night out.”
The Clippers enter Thursday’s matchup at 26-28, while Denver sits at 35-20 and has won both previous meetings this season.
With playoff positioning tightening in the Western Conference, Lue acknowledged the adjustment process is ongoing. “Not finished adjusting,” he said. “We haven’t got Darius on the floor yet. It’s going to take a little time.”
