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Keaton Wagler Explains How Teams Have Adjusted to Him
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- Keaton Wagler Explains How Teams Have Adjusted to Him
(Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)
It only took three games for opposing defenses to start changing how they guard rookie guard Keaton Wagler, who talked about those changes with reporters after Los Angeles Clippers practice on Tuesday.
Wagler Breaks Down What Defenses Are Doing
When reporters asked Wagler about the biggest adjustment he has seen teams make against him, he went right to the physical side of the game in a clip posted by reporter Justin Russo .
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"Pressure and picking me up full trying to use their physicality against me," Wagler said.
He called that the biggest change so far, and he said teams have also been playing him tight to keep him from getting his shots off and to push him into the paint.
Defenders have started jumping his pocket passes too, and Wagler said he had just watched film on that, since teams like to try it against young guards, and that his job is to read whether the defender stays with it.
Why Teams Are Pushing Him
Teams are leaning on Wagler like this after his strong start to the season.
The fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft averaged 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 26.0 minutes per game over his first three games, all off the bench, and he made six of his 15 tries from three for 40 percent.
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The rest of his numbers show the pressure too.
Wagler made just two of his eight shots inside the arc, but he got to the free throw line 19 times and made 17 of them, so I don't think he is backing down from contact.
The turnovers are where teams are trying to get him, since he went from one in the opener against the Sacramento Kings to four against the Los Angeles Lakers and four more against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
I like that Wagler is already in the film room on this, because a 19-year-old guard is going to see pressure like this all season.
Head coach Tyronn Lue liked how he read the different looks the Lakers threw at him, and I think that same feel for the game is what gets him through full-court pressure.
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What Comes Next for Wagler and the Clippers
The Clippers went 1-2 in their first three games, and with so many players out, they need Wagler to grow up fast.
Forward Rui Hachimura was ruled out of Wednesday's game against the Lakers with left quad soreness, which Lue called a day-to-day situation, and Lue said guard Kobe Sanders would start in his place.
Guard Bradley Beal, forward Brandon Ingram and guard Max Strus were also ruled out of that game.
With that many scorers missing, this team can't afford to give the ball away, and guard Darius Garland already talked about his own turnover problems after the Oct. 23 loss to the Lakers.
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Every time Wagler beats the pressure and brings the ball up himself, that is one less job for Garland.
The Clippers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Friday, and I expect the Timberwolves to test Wagler with the same physical style.
If he can cut down on those four-turnover nights, I think Lue will hand him a bigger piece of the offense this season.
