It's back to the drawing board for the Los Angeles Clippers after dropping a close Game 1 to the Utah Jazz. The Clippers were just a Marcus Morris three-pointer away from sending the game into overtime before Jazz big man Rudy Gobert came into the picture and declared: EVERYBODY GO HOME!
With the Clippers almost stealing the victory on the road, the Clippers may not need to tinker a lot with their game plan. Coach Ty Lue, however, admitted he's planning to give more minutes to Patrick Beverley and DeMarcus Cousins. He said he was impressed with what they two contributed in limited time in Game 1.
Ty Lue says you'll see more Patrick Beverley and DeMarcus Cousins as the series goes on:
"Tough decisions to be made going into game 2 tomorrow, but I did like what I saw."
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) June 9, 2021
Beverley only played six minutes, piling up a rebound and an assist. Cousins suited up for four minutes and finished with six points and three rebounds. While their numbers don't leap out—it's hard to be productive in less than 10 minutes, after all—perhaps Lue feels Beverley and Cousins will be key factors on the defensive end.
Beverley, tenacious and in-your-face, can hound Jazz star Donovan Mitchell. Cousins, tough and physical, can rough up Gobert underneath. Beverley is a three-time All-NBA Defensive Team member, let's not forget (he won't let us forget either), but he saw his minutes get gobbled up by Reggie Jackson in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks. Cousins, meanwhile, has played sparingly since being acquired by the Clippers, but he's no stranger to high-stake affairs.
Ty Lue has leaned heavily on his stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—and rightfully so—but maybe he wants to get a little more creative with his lineups too.
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