How to replace superstars? Warriors find a way. Clippers struggle.
The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers each were faced with having to replace star power, with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin joining Stephen Curry on the sidelines.
The Warriors had no problem filling Curry’s shoes. The Clippers tried but couldn’t replace their big stars.
Warriors turn to Livingston, which worked fine
Klay Thompson had his usual big game (10-of-14 shooting, 27 points). The Elias Sports Bureau notes that he’s the first player to make at least seven 3-pointers in consecutive games.
Draymond Green was strong as well (15 points), but one reason the Warriors won Game 5 was because Shaun Livingston started in Curry’s place and was 7-of-8 from the field for 16 points. The Warriors outscored the Rockets by 29 points in his 28 minutes on the court.
Livingston had only one previous game in his career in which he shot that well (88 percent) and took that many shots. He went 8-for-9 last Christmas Day against the Cavaliers.
The Warriors outscored the Rockets 179-119 (plus-60) after Curry went down because of a sprained knee.
Clippers can’t get it done
It was expected that Jamal Crawford would become the focal point of the Clippers’ offense in Game 5. The results didn’t work out well. Crawford scored 17 points, but was 6-of-23 from the field (26 percent). That’s the worst that Crawford has shot from the field since April 2009 when he was with the Warriors and went 5-of-21 in a game against the Kings. Crawford was 4-of-18 on shots he created on his own, including 0-of-6 when he was open.
Austin Rivers replaced Paul and scored 13 points. But the Clippers were outscored by 23 points with him on the court, by far the worst plus-minus of any Clippers player in the game.
