The defensive attitude is quite average, and the performance of the Clippers interior pillars seems to have declined compared to last season?

In the previous NBA regular season, the Los Angeles Clippers, playing at home, defeated the Phoenix Suns 129-102. After this game, the Clippers achieved their first victory of the new season, with a current record of 1 win and 1 loss; while the Suns suffered their first loss of the new season, with a current record of 1 win and 1 loss.

In this game, although the Clippers easily defeated their opponents, the performance of the team's starting center Ivica Zubac was slightly mediocre. Zubac played 24 minutes and 40 seconds, making 3 of 5 shots and 2 of 3 free throws. He scored 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He also had 3 turnovers and 2 fouls, with a plus-minus of +15. Zubac did not have any outstanding performance on the offensive end, did not score many points, and had no desire to attack. He showed certain passing ability and support ability, but his performance in error control was not ideal. In addition, Zubac's performance on the defensive end is somewhat worrying. His performance in rebound protection is very average, and his performance in interior defense is also not very outstanding. Zubac's performance is certainly not particularly bad, but based on his performance last season, we will of course have higher expectations for him, and his performance in this game obviously fell short of everyone's expectations for him.

In the NBA regular season last season, Zubac played a total of 80 times in 82 games, averaging 32.8 minutes per game. He averaged 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 1.6 turnovers and 2.1 fouls. He shot 62.8% from the field and 68.1% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Zubac played a total of 7 times, averaging 36.6 minutes per game. He averaged 17.4 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 1 block per game. He also had 1.6 turnovers and 2.7 fouls. He shot 65.9% from the field and 53.8% from the free throw line. In the team's previous defeat to the Utah Jazz, Zubac made 9 of 13 shots and 1 of 1 free throw in 27 minutes and 11 seconds of playing time. He scored 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block, including 3 offensive rebounds and 2 turnovers, with a plus-minus of -21.

Zubac's performance in the previous game was pretty good. At least he showed his ability to score under the basket on the offensive end. However, his performance in rebound protection and interior defense was actually not ideal. It could even be said that he was outplayed by the opponent's starting center Walker Kessler. As of this game, Zubac's performance on the defensive end still has not improved significantly, which also makes everyone worried about his situation. Zubac was one of the Clippers' most stable players last season, and his importance to the team is also visible to the naked eye. In the next games, can he adjust his condition and improve his contribution on the defensive end?