The LA Clippers need to improve on several things after their game two loss.
The LA Clippers fell to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, 127-114, evening the first round series at a game apiece. The Clippers as a whole did not look good for the second game in a row but unlike the first, they were unable to scrape together a win.
There are a lot of issues to discuss but I’m going to try and narrow it all down to three things that need to change for a win in game three.
1. Defense without Bev
When the LA Clippers don’t have Patrick Beverley, the defense looks different. It doesn’t take a genius to see that. In game one, the Clippers 18-2 lead they started off with quickly fell apart once Beverley came out of the game. Similarly, Doncic was able to get off to an early hot start due to Beverley sitting out due to injury.
While having Beverley on the court as an actual physical presence obviously matters, the team needs to still play with his intensity when he’s not present. For most of the game, the team just looked lackluster. Sure, there were some good individual plays on defense and Marcus Morris and Paul George showed some heart and hustle but as a whole, it just was not there.
Beverley is obviously the emotional leader but someone needs to step up. Kawhi Leonard, while a great defender, isn’t going to be that emotional one. Morris or George need to fill that role.
There’s also a lack of communication.
https://twitter.com/brianscullen/status/1296282011867295745
There seems to be less talking on the court, which is a death sentence for the defense. Ivica Zubac usually is also vocal but with Harrell slowly getting more minutes, we can only expect Zu’s time on the court (18:10 last night) to decrease. (Should it? Probably not but that’s a whole other article.)
The team needs to communicate on the court, regardless of who’s playing. Rotations and switches need to be verbalized. If not, more sloppy defense is bound to occur.