Terrence Mann is the X-Factor That Could Win the Clippers a Championship

The Los Angeles Clippers just had a huge 113-101 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night at the historic Crypto.com arena. A crucial W following a brutal 6-game losing streak where the NBA media gathered around to throw flowers on their grave.

But when the Mavericks take the court, the Clippers see a pie cooling on the window sill. Clippers show up with a fork and knife and a napkin tucked into their collars. Especially Kawhi Leonard who dropped a season-high 33 points on 12 field goal attempts. Efficiency numbers off the charts.

That’s just an honest day’s work for Kawhi. He clocked in. Scored 33 points. Clocked out. Nothing new here. But it was 26-year-old Terrence Mann who stood out on Tuesday.

TERANCE MANN MEETS CHRISTIAN WOOD AT THE RIM 🚫
pic.twitter.com/rOLudqwC0R

— Clippers Nation (@ClipperNationCP) January 11, 2023

GET THAT SHIT OUT OF HERE.

Terrence Mann was alllll over the court in the 4th quarter. He hit two big 3’s to extend LA’s lead and had that massive block on Christian Wood at the rim. Here’s what his game looked like:

41 minutes
12 points
5 rebounds
1 block
+24 +/-

What stands out the most is his 41 minutes of playing time. Ty Lue has been really cute about minutes this season. He’s running a full l2-man rotation where literally everyone on the roster is playing at least 15 minutes a game.

Well, it turns out your team plays their best when the best players get the most minutes. Shocking discovery for early January but Terrence Mann should always play more than Brandon Boston Jr. Like, every night.

With Paul George and Kawhi on the roster, Mann will never be a scoring leader but you need a guy like him on the floor when the games matter. He reminds me of what Andre Iguodala meant to the 2015-2019 Golden State Warriors. Or even what Andrew Wiggins did last year.

Never forget when Terrence Mann dropped 39 points in a Game 6 to send the Utah Jazz home in the playoffs and advance to the Western Conference Finals in 2021. With Kawhi nursing one of his many leg injuries, Mann went head-to-head with Donovan Mitchell in a big playoff game.

He is capable of defending the other team’s best player if/when Paul George or Kawhi Leonard don’t feel like it or need on the defensive end so they can focus on scoring. He is a good enough shooter to sit on the perimeter and wait for a wide-open swing pass. And he attacks the glass for defensive rebounds which leads to easy transition points.

And most importantly, he and Luka Doncic straight-up hate each other. You need a sicko on your team who thinks he’s as good as Luka Doncic and wants the smoke every time they see each other.

It all comes down to if Ty Lue will decide to play his best players the most minutes. Get ready for Terrence Mann to play 12 minutes in their next game.