LA Clippers: How the Clippers can slow down Mavericks’ Luka Doncic
The wait is finally over as the Los Angeles Clippers (47-25) concluded their revenge tour regular season and focus their sights on the NBA Playoffs. In a Déjà vu from last year, the Clippers are taking on the Dallas Mavericks (42-30), led by point guard Luka Doncic. For the Clippers, this feels like a revenge series for the tough outing last year in the playoffs and the regular season this year.
For the LA Clippers to win the series against the Mavericks, they must be able to contain Luka Doncic and not try to stop him.
In the 124-73 loss to the Mavericks in the sixth game of the 2020-2021 NBA season, it wasn’t only Doncic that defeated the Clippers. It was also a series of efficient shooters and the Clippers themselves. Doncic scored 24 points shooting 8-of-18 from the field and 0-of-5 from the three-point arc. It was his leadership and flexibility, however, that took the Clippers by surprise. Doncic accounted for nine rebounds and eight assists. Shooting guards Josh Richardson scored 21 points (shooting 8-of-13 in field goals and 4-of-8 from the three-point arc) and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points (shooting 7-of-14 in field goals and 4-of-8 from the three-point arc). Dallas was 49% in their overall field goals while the Clippers, without Kawhi Leonard, shot 34.2% from field goals and 12.1% from the three-point arc.
The Clippers and the Mavericks split the remaining two games between the two teams in mid-March. One thing was obvious, Luka put the Mavericks on his back in terms of shooting and running the offense through him. In the 109-99 Clippers win, Doncic had a tough scoring night despite accounting for 25 points. He was suppressed, to an extent, as the Mavericks had to rely on Hardaway to keep them in the game.
The following game, Luka went off for 42 points shooting 16-of-28 in field goals and 6-of-11 from the three-point arc. He also relied on Hardaway’s ability to score consistently as he scored 15 points shooting a 50% field goal percentage. The Mavericks have the 17th best scoring offense in the NBA with an average of 112.4 points per game with Doncic being the core player.
The Clippers have had tough experiences to stop Doncic in the regular season and in the past playoff matchups. Either Patrick Beverley has been out or limited or the former head coach Doc Rivers was inefficient or unwilling to change rotations. Doncic thrives on finding weaknesses in his defenders and using them to drive the offense. The Mavericks were able to have big moments in the past against the Clippers by using mismatches of Doncic versus offensive-minded Clippers point guard Reggie Jackson.
What the Clippers can do to slow down Doncic is throw different rotations that first-year head coach Ty Lue has been installing throughout the season. One of the biggest headaches for Doncic was having power forward Marcus Morris Sr. play closer to the arc and play aggressive zone. Morris was a mental abuser to Doncic as he flustered Luka into making bad decisions. The tensions might have cooled down between the two players but the hunger from Morris is still there.
Another situation is to have Paul George on Luka at times when Reggie Jackson is in without Beverley or Rajon Rondo on the court for the Clippers. This rotation seems more unlikely as Jackson will likely have another high-caliber defensive point guard on the court. George will need to cover Hardaway at most times if Bev or Rondo is on the court. Otherwise, Leonard could be guarding Hardaway.
Leonard/George separate themselves this year. dark. Next
This series will call for Beverley and Rondo to be aggressive on Doncic at the top of the court against Dallas. They will need to cut off any potential running lanes for Doncic to run through but also to cover them aggressively to keep him from passing the ball. There really is no way to completely shut down Luka from finding scoring opportunities, or setting up the availability to get the ball to his teammates for highly efficient shots. If the Clippers can limit and make his life hard, as well as be equally aggressive to the other Maverick players, then they come out of the series with less stress than last year.