In the season opener, everything went left, but the one right was Ivica Zubac. He played exceptionally well, scoring a team-high 19 points while shooting 9-13 from the floor. Although he was one of the LA Clippers' only great performers that night, the next three games have clearly shown the detrimental impact of his offseason weight loss.
With two wins and two losses, a small sample size, the locker room is steadily moving with some winning momentum, yet Zubac's frame has gained considerable worry.
This could become another problem for the Clippers, even with Brook Lopez as the backup. Big Zu is still the primary center and one of Tyronn Lue's leading scorers, so if he is weaker physically and cannot muscle his way into the paint as consistently, LA, as a team, has a nightmare guaranteed to unfold.
Ivica Zubac's slimmer frame has made playing 'bully ball' more challenging
The fear, up until this season, that opponents faced when trying to guard Ivica Zubac was his ability to lower his shoulder, then bait the defender into going one way when he intended to go the other, or simply attempt a straight-away floater at the iron. Overall, he had a deep offensive bag with elite footwork, but his strength was the key to every door.
This season, Zubac's mastery of footwork remains, but he is clearly much smaller than he was in previous years. He put in the effort over the summer to drop down in body-fat percentage, and it is backfiring on him and the LA Clippers.
Moreover, teams with size will have an easier path to winning possessions in the paint. They will now have the advantage Zubac once did, making this aspect one of LA's largest pieces of kryptonite.
While Brook Lopez may be there to help Zubac and ease the structure of Tyronn Lue's interior game plan, the Croatian star is the one everyone had higher hopes for. This was a reason why fans of the Clippers were expecting a 55-plus-win season, but with an unexpected, underwhelming drop in production, LA could lose more games than last season, if anything.
Nonetheless, at the end of the day, Zubac will have to find more strategies to balance his offense. Making plays in the passing lanes could help, or even attempting three-pointers, but either way, he will have to maximize his extra mobility as soon as the Clippers' next game.