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.
Darius Garland
LA Clippers · 6 notes
In the press conferences
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."
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."
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."
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."
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."