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LA Clippers: Team Shouldn’t Abandon Strategy After Game 1 Loss

By Ryan Snellings

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 13: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers plays tight defense on Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during Game One of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. Both players were ejected later in the game. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 13: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers plays tight defense on Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during Game One of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. Both players were ejected later in the game. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Despite losing Game 1 to the Warriors 121-104, the LA Clippers should continue to utilize the same strategy in Game 2 of the series.

Losing by 17 points to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, the LA Clippers find themselves facing an interesting question as they head into Monday night’s second game of the series; Do they change their strategy?

Typically, losing by double-digits while only barely leading means that things you try should be reevaluated, and they might. However, Doc Rivers and the rest of the coaching staff should come to realize that although their plans didn’t result in a win, they had the right idea.

If you were unable to watch on Saturday, the Clippers seemingly had two main focuses:

  1. Muck up the game as much as possible.
  2. Focus on Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson while ignoring the other two players on the court.

The team executed both well, but things just did not work out in their favor.

As far as mucking the game up goes, Patrick Beverley did everything he could to get into the Warriors’ heads, ultimately leading to both him and Durant being ejected late in the fourth quarter. Head coach Steve Kerr had apparently asked his team to not take the bait, but Durant was unable to ignore Beverley.

The Warriors coaching staff as a whole recognizes that the Clippers, who have no current or previous All-Stars compared to Golden State’s multitude, cannot out-talent them, so they must make the game a fight.

"“They have no other way to beat us unless they junk it up, and they take advantage of us either getting kicked out or doing something silly to make it an advantage for them.” – Assistant Coach Mike Brown"

Even though the strategy is transparent, that doesn’t mean the Clippers must give up on it. Durant had definitely been warned, yet he still engaged with Beverley and was ejected. The plan worked, just too late into the game.

As for focusing hard on only three players defensively, LA just needs to play the numbers. Giving him space to shoot, Draymond Green managed to go 7 for 12 from the field (he was 5-5 to start the game), scoring 17 points. His 2 of 4 shooting from deep was likely an aberration, as he only shot 28.5% from deep on the season, the second worst mark of his career.

The strategy worked for DeMarcus Cousins, who only was able to score nine points on a poor 33.3% shooting night. If both big men, along with the likes of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Kevon Looney aren’t hitting, it’s very possible that the Clippers can manage to outscore the main three threats of the Warriors.

That being said, the combination of Curry, Thompson and Durant was responsible for 73 of the Warriors 121 points, so the Clippers will have to shore up their defense as much as possible on the three stars. But if other players on Golden State are hitting their shots, the defense may hesitate to ignore them completely. If the law of averages does indeed play out as it should, the Clippers will be in a lot better position and could position themselves to have a chance come late game.

Next. What did the Clippers learn from Game 1?. dark

Add in some better shooting from the likes of Beverley, Landry Shamet, JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple and the Clips could steal a game or two from the reigning champions.

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