LA Clippers: Luke Kennard struggles on D late, but excels on offense

When Luke Kennard came into Game 1 last night, he provided a big-time spark for the LA Clippers.

Luke Kennard couldn’t miss, and the LA Clippers were up 60-47 at halftime.

He had 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting (3 of 5 from downtown) in Game 7 of the first playoff series, and reached that point total by the end of the first half last night.

Kennard ended up finishing with 18 points. His shot was automatic. He was 7 for 9 from the field and 4 for 6 from three. He showed why he had the 11th-best three-point shot in the NBA this season.

He was the best shooter on the floor for the Clips last night, and was the third-leading scorer. He showed what he’s capable of on offense.

Towards the end of the game, Kennard ended up being a little bit of a liability on defense. He was tasked with guarding Jazz star guard Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell was a man on a mission last night. He was the best player on the floor in the game, scoring 45 points while making 16 of 30 shots, and 6 of 15 three-pointers.

Kennard’s outing was still a positive one overall. Yes, Mitchell had his way many times when he was Kennard’s responsibility, but there’s a reason the Clippers kept him in the game.

When Paul George is 4 of 17 from the field, and Kawhi Leonard wasn’t at his best offensively either (23 points on 9 of 19 shooting and 1 of 4 from behind the arc), Ty Lue wanted to keep a hot hand in the game.

Can we second-guess the decision? Maybe, but Lue still had a very valid reason to keep Kennard in. He knows Kennard struggled on D, but he also knew that his offense gave the Clippers huge boosts throughout the game.

Kennard can be a very valuable player for the Clippers this series. He was incredibly impressive on offense in the first game of this series, and should absolutely continue to get more chances in Game 2 and beyond.