The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Kings in Sacramento on Sunday evening and made a change that altered the shape of the game. Ty Lue moved John Collins to the bench, then watched Collins deliver 25 points in 24 minutes as the Clippers improved to 40-38.
Collins took a season-high 20 shots, made nine field goals and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals. It was the kind of workload he had not been getting when he played most of his minutes next to Darius Garland and Kawhi Leonard, where his usage rate was minimized and he was pushed into a narrower role.
Lue started Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr. and Brook Lopez alongside Garland and Leonard, giving the Clippers a smaller but more versatile opening group. That change also fit Dunn’s best use as a defensive stopper while freeing Collins to attack second units, create more of his own offense and take more shots.
The Clippers had lost back-to-back games before the win, so the move arrived with some urgency. For one night, it worked exactly as intended: Collins looked more aggressive, the lineup had more flexibility and Los Angeles walked out of Sacramento with a result that kept its season moving in the right direction.
