He may not have produced huge numbers in Game 1 of their first round series last Saturday, but Doc Rivers and the L.A. Clippers saw first hand how Utah Jazz shooting guard Joe Ingles has developed to become the player that he is now.

Despite his pedestrian stat line of eight points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block, he played a huge role for his team and helped them come out with the victory. It also made Rivers regret their decision before to let him go because of contract situations. He admitted. via Jody Genessey of Deseret News Sports, that the team made a very difficult choice back in 2014, and also gave him a lot of credit for the improvements he's shown over the past few seasons.

“We reluctantly had to let him go because of our contract situations. We actually told him that we didn’t want to let him go. He’s tough. That’s one of the things that I think we deeply miss with Joe. Joe has a great basketball IQ. He’s worked his tail off to become a really good shooter, but I think what we most miss in him, he’s tough. He’s a tough kid.”

It can be recalled that the Australian international had a very strong showing in the FIBA World Championships three years ago and was signed by the Clippers. However, he was waived after only playing five preseason games, as they decided to give his roster spot to Jared Cunningham instead.

The Clips are now left to wonder what could have been if they still had Ingles in their fold. For now, they will need to also plan on how to defend him, as well as his teammates, as they try to eliminate the Jazz and move on to the Western Conference Semifinals.