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The Dallas Mavericks traveled to southern California and shocked the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs series. Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double and four of his teammates scored 14 or more points to help clinch the victory.
Luckily this is a best of seven series so the Clippers have time to reevaluate and try again. The Mavericks likely caught them off guard with Luka's teammates hitting their open shots and elevating their games to push Dallas through the game.
Even so, Los Angeles has one of the best rosters in the league and will be making the proper adjustments needed to regain control of this series. Looking at how Game 1 played out, the Clippers struggled from beyond the arc, they allowed the Maverick's role players to get the best of them, and LA's supporting cast needs someone else to step up.
With that said here are three key adjustments the Clippers must make after losing game one of the series.
Improve the three-point shooting
The Clippers shot 11/40 (27.5%) from the three-point line on Saturday which didn't help their cause. It seemed like the Clippers were able to get some open looks, but they just couldn't knock them down. If the Clippers can maintain a similar offensive approach they should begin to hit their shots as the series goes on.
If that's the case, game two could be in LA's favor. It's a simple law of averages. The more shots you take the more shots you make. If the Clippers continue to take high percentage shots from three, theoretically they should start making them. LA shouldn't get discouraged from their poor shooting efforts as it should turn around as the series goes on.
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Takeaway Luka's supporting cast
The Mavericks role players were electric in Game 1. Guys like Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, and Jalen Brunson all stepped up to help Dallas steal Game 1 of this now exciting NBA Playoffs series. If these guys continue playing like this then the Clippers will have their handful for the remaining games of this matchup.
Los Angeles has a plethora of defenders good enough to prevent the Mavericks role players from succeeding. This will be a simple defensive adjustment the Clippers will make to try and take away Luka's teammates. If LA can do that, Luka will be forced to play five-on-one basketball.
A third scoring option
Outside of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, nobody else on the Clippers really scored that well. Patrick Beverley, Nicolas Batum, and Rajon Rondo combined for 32 points, which just won't cut it in this series. Leonard and George are superstars in the NBA, but they still need someone to step up to help.
The two players that need to improve the most are Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris. They each scored well below their season average. Typically Jackson and Morris average 23 points a night between the two, but they only scored a total of six points on Saturday. Look for Tyronn Lue to draw up a scheme to get these two more open looks as Los Angeles needs their scoring if they plan to move onto the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
