Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Maybe Monday’s win was a turning point, the kind that championship teams look back on as the moment everything changed. Down 22 to Atlanta in the third quarter, Clippers coach Ty Lue emptied his bench, line changing out Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the rest of the starters for Luke Kennard, Terance Mann and a second unit that erased that deficit, clearing the way for Leonard to close out the Hawks in the final minutes.