Keaton Wagler Shot Like Shit And Still Took The Last Shot

Keaton Wagler might've had the funniest clutch-game stat line of the preseason. Clippers beat Golden State 104-101, Wagler finishes with 15 points on 3-for-15 shooting and 1-for-11 from three, and he's the guy who hits the go-ahead stepback with 14 seconds left. 😂 That is some outrageous confidence. You miss pretty much everything from the perimeter and still look at the game like, 'Yeah, give me the fucking ball.' On one hand, I respect it. On the other hand, you ain't about to turn 1-for-11 into some proof he's the next great closer just because the final jumper dropped. He still gave them six boards, three assists, two steals and a block in 30 minutes. Darius Garland was perfect from the floor, 4-for-4 and 3-for-3 from deep for 15 points and six assists. Meanwhile Golden State had some interesting early experiments with Al Horford and a different-looking offense, and Yaxel Lendeborg got nine rebounds and three assists despite scoring only four. All that tells me is there were several stories inside a three-point preseason game, not just one game winner.

From the FanDuel side, this is probably the easiest reminder you'll get that highlights can make you a terrible handicapper. If somebody puts Wagler's game-winner on TikTok and you never see the 14 misses, all of a sudden you're convinced the kid's a guaranteed 20-point scorer. Nah. I wanna know whether the Clippers actually give him those 15 attempts when Kawhi and all the veterans are playing proper minutes. I want to see if his shot selection improves, if that defensive effort stays, and what kind of role he has after the preseason novelty wears off. Same with Golden State: they're clearly playing around with lineups and getting Horford involved in some unusual actions, but those are experiments, not locked-in November usage. For a rookie, having the balls to take the last shot is worth remembering. So is the fact he shot 20 percent from the floor. Both things can be true. This was a cool moment, not evidence that every shot he takes next week is going in.

Respect the confidence. Don't ignore the fourteen misses.6IX / THE TAKE