LA Clippers: Three things to improve after game one

LA Clippers Paul George, Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
LA Clippers Paul George, Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
LA Clippers, Ivica Zubac
LA Clippers Ivica Zubac (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /

2. Three point defense

If the Mavericks are going to steal a game or two this series, it will be because of their three point shooting. In last night’s game, Dallas attempted 43 shots from deep. Granted, they only made 15 of them (34.9%) but the looks were good.

What wasn’t good was the Clippers defense. The team looked lost at times, often overhelping. This was especially evident when Luka would run pick-and-roll action. The Clippers center (usually Ivica Zubac) would drop deep during the action, leaving Luka open. When this would happen, one of the Clips wing defenders would often overhelp, leaving someone open in the corner.

At other times, the team was just slow on rotations or were caught ball watching.

Doc calling out the team for being undisciplined is a step in the right direction. The Clippers have enough great defenders to not play like this and even their not-so-great defenders are smart enough to not get sucked in.

I don’t expect this to be an issue all series but the Clippers do need to nip the issue in the bud as soon as possible.