This feels like the big chance. The chance to finally break through in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Clippers have never been to the Western Conference Finals, in the entire history of their franchise. This is the year for them to do it. They have the best roster they may have ever had, the stars are there, and the West field is weaker. The Lakers have had a rough season and look vulnerable, Jamal Murray is out for the season for the Nuggets, and the Warriors missed the playoffs. But yet here we are, with LA down 2-0 to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks after losing both game 1 and game 2, at home. It was in front of them and yet are they going to blow their chance, again?
On July 5th, 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder and signed Kawhi Leonard in free agency. They traded a bunch of draft picks and Shai Gilgous-Alexander to get it done. The duo was intact and they seemed ready for last season, up 3-1 to the Denver Nuggets, a win away from the West Finals. They lost. So they made some changes heading into this year adding Rajon Rondo, Serge Ibaka, and Nic Batum. They are now down 2-0 losing both games at home. What has gone wrong and how can LA pull off the comeback?
‘Pandemic P’ was already trending on Twitter in the first half of game one. However, Paul George has played a very solid series post the first half of game one. In the game 2 loss, George scored 28 points, had 12 rebounds and 6 assists. He shot the ball well inside the arc but was not good from 3 point range only connecting on 1 of his 7 attempts. Kawhi Leonard was masterful, scoring 41 points on 14/21 shooting and 4/7 from 3 point range, and he also added 6 rebounds, 4 dimes, and 2 steals to go along with it. Leonard is one of the great postseason performers of all time and that was very evident during the 2019 Toronto Raptors run at the NBA Championship. So, why has LA struggled to get wins over the first 2 games?
First off, they have had no answer for Luka Doncic. In game 1, Doncic had 31 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds and in game 2 Doncic had 39 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. So priority number one for the Clippers, figure out how to slow down Luka. They do this by not switching Leonard and George off of Doncic when they are guarding him, try and fight through screens so you do not end up in a mismatch. Guys like Reggie Jackson, Nic Batum and even good defensive players in Patrick Beverly and Rajon Rondo should not be guarding Doncic as they are too small and/or too slow. Guarding Luka is nearly impossible, so LA will look to slow him down, they will also need better production from their bench players as they head to Dallas.
Another thing that has been brutal for the Clippers is the play of the role players behind the star duo of Leonard and George have struggled. In game 1, Marcus Morris played 32 minutes and Reggie Jackson played 21 minutes, they provided the Clippers a combined 6 points and took 14 shots. In game 2 Morris struggled again scoring 9 points on 3/9 shooting in 24 minutes. Reggie Jackson played better scoring 15 points on 12 shots in 30 minutes. So they will need those two guys to shoot the ball better. Guys like Rajon Rondo, Ivica Zubac, and Batum have shot well but have not put many points on the board due to a lack of shots. When Tim Hardaway Jr. is giving you 28 points and Kristaps Porzings adds 20, you need to find scoring from your role players. Those options to score more points exist on the bench, but we have not seen them yet.
Head Coach Ty Lue’s rotations have been funky. First, he has not gone to guys who can put the ball in the basket, like Luke Kennard and DeMarcus Cousins. Kennard can put the ball on the floor to drive to the basket and can hit 3 pointers, but Lue has left him on the bench. Boogie Cousins is a talented low post scorer who has dealt with injuries and has slowed down since his prime, but he can still score down low. 103 points, simply is not going to cut it. So if you're not guarding well, why not try and go to guys who can score. They did score 121 points in game 2 though but gave up 127, giving up 127 points when you're playing your better defensive guys seems problematic. Also, why is Serge Ibaka only playing 5 minutes? Is he hurt because I know Celtics fans are still having nightmares from the bubble last year and what he did to them. Ibaka was a plus 6 last night in those 5 minutes. He needs to be on the floor over Ivica Zubac (whom I like as a player) and Nic Batum. Ibaka spaces the floor as well as Batum and far better than Zubac offensively and is a better defensively at center than Marcus Morris is. It does not make any sense to me.
Game 3 is a must win. They have to be better. You cannot let Tim Hardaway Jr. hang 28 on you while Luka is giving you 39, and KP is giving you 20. Marcus Morris has been awful and I do not want to see Reggie Jackson for 30 minutes again, he is brutal on the defensive side of the floor. The Clippers are in a very bad spot, and they need to find ways to win basketball games, especially because of the depleted Western Conference. With all that being said, the Clippers might simply be cursed and we should just blame everything on that.
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