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When it comes to the Los Angeles Clippers, there's no other way to say it: Their current starting lineup has been an absolute disaster and is in desperate need of some changes. Head coach Tyronn Lue plans to do exactly that Friday when his Clippers take on the Dallas Mavericks.
The Clippers arrived in Dallas, Texas late afternoon Thursday, immediately heading to their practice facility for another walkthrough prior to Game 3 24 hours later. There, Lue met with members of the media, where he once again expressed his confidence in his team despite trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series without home-court advantage.
“The biggest thing for me is just everybody getting on the same page defensively and understanding what we are trying to do,” Lue said. “Us as coaches or the players, we have to simplify and make it easier so we all understand what we have to do.”
The Clippers' defense has certainly looked out of sorts over the first two games, with no lineup worse than the starters. Through two games, the lineup featuring Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, and Ivica Zubac has an astronomical a 142.2 defensive rating and a minus-51.3 net rating,
"You can't hit back if you don't swing. That's what I believe in. They've definitely been the more physical team & I don't know why that is. We talked about it. We gotta be more physical, we gotta swing, we gotta come out punching."
Ty Lue on Clippers punching back vs. the Mavs. pic.twitter.com/I0HwH4yoSC
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 27, 2021
“I think our defensive mindset that we've been talking about all year,” Lue added. “I think coming out with a focus and understanding what we are doing and what we are trying to take away and having a defense and physicality to do that. Our guys like I said we talked about it, we've seen it and now we've got to go out and execute.”
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So, what can the Clippers do? They can start by inserting Terance Mann in place of Beverley to get a longer player who can switch and guard Doncic. Ivica Zubac is another candidate to be replaced in the starting unit after putting forth some questionable defensive efforts as well.
Despite not telling members of the media of his lineup plans, a difference from how he has gone about the rest of the year, Lue vows to make changes for Game 3.
“It's funny what you said about the starting lineup,” Lue joked. “We're like, yeah, something needs to be done. You'll see tomorrow.”
A few years ago, when Lue helped the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA Championship by overcoming a 3-1 deficit, one of his most famous quotes came to fruition. It applied the same way for Game 3.
https://t.co/2t7ZeN9cX7 pic.twitter.com/vkRvdeD115
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 27, 2021
Friday essentially marks the Clippers' last stand in this series and this postseason. No team in NBA history has ever come back to win a series after trailing 3-0. A win would make the series 2-1 with significant momentum in the Clippers' favor for Game 4 in Dallas.
