LA Clippers: There’s nothing to take away from Dallas loss
The LA Clippers lost in historic fashion to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Normally, these postgame pieces are a few slides, detailing a few things we learned from the LA Clippers. Today, I can honestly say that I didn’t learn anything.
The Clippers were absolutely decimated by the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon, falling down by fifty points at halftime, the largest amount a team has been down at the half in NBA history. All in all, it just was not the Clips’ day.
The team came in without Kawhi Leonard who suffered a mouth laceration on Christmas, leading many to expect a toughly contested game. Everything went south quickly though. The Clips looked lost on defense, unable to get stops. Dallas shot 58% from the field in the first half, connecting on 29 shots from the field.
On the other end of the floor, the Clips were equally bad. While they originally generated some good looks, they would not fall. Eventually, the offense fell apart. All in all, the Clips shot just 9 of 37 from the field (24%). Paul George was the lone bright spot offensively but even he shot just 33% and had several turnovers.
They went into the break down 77-27.
If you didn’t watch the game, I’m sure you are confused as to why so much talk has been about the first half only. It’s simple. It was over at that point. In all honesty, I’m writing this before the final whistle has even blown. The Clippers did make a nice 10-0 run to start the third quarter but Ty Lue eventually pulled the starters in lieu of getting the younger players some time on the court.
It’s safe to say that this game is an anomaly. Bear in mind, the Clippers played in Denver on Christmas, having to travel and play within 36 hours while the Mavericks were already in Los Angeles and waiting. Sometimes things just don’t work in your favor. The Clippers are not this bad and the Mavericks are not this good. In a season as long as the NBA (even this year, with the shortened schedule), blowouts are bound to happen. No, we don’t like that this one was historic but there are games when your team just comes out flat while the other one is ready to go.
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Clipper Nation needs to collectively burn the tape on this one and put the game behind us. The LA Clippers look to bounce back Tuesday night versus the Minnesota Timberwolves.