Tuesday night, we saw a Clippers team that we have been waiting to see since the Bubble Restart began. The Clippers were firing on all ends, both offensively and defensively. They’re looking like the team that is supposed to go to the Finals this year. Though this is all true, they still have one more game to win before advancing. In this article, I’m going to talk about what the Clippers did well in Game 5. Also, I’ll talk about what I think needs to be worked on in order to secure game 6.
“I guess y’all haven’t met Playoff P yet.”
Thank the heavens Paul George showed up to play on Tuesday night. That was a career statement game where he had to perform. 35 points, 3 boards and 2 dimes on great shooting splits are the kind of nights we need to see from him if the Clippers are going to come out of this series victorious. When George is shooting 3’s effectively, it allows Kawhi to dominate the mid range which he has been. To quote Stephen A., “If Paul George is playing like that, they (Dallas) simply cannot beat the Los Angeles Clippers.”
It’s Raining Three’s!
This is a side of the Clippers that I knew was there, you just did not see much of it in the bubble. In game 5, the Clips shot an absurd 62% from beyond the arc. Players like Marcus Morris, Landry Shamet, Reggie Jackson and even Montrez Harrell were lighting it up from 3-point land. Since the main 7 besides Harrell all were benched with a lot of time to play, even guys like Patrick Patterson were able to knock down a couple 3’s. Thanks to good ball movement, they had a lot more open looks. This ball movement will be imperative for them to come out with a win tonight.
Harrell Looks 100% and HYPED
Montrez Harrell played the picture perfect role on Tuesday night. He was super energized on and off the court, keeping the team up at all times. Like I mentioned earlier, Harrell was left in to play a lot of the 4th quarter. He racked up the most bench minutes for the Clips. Rightfully so, he had a monster game with 19 pts and 11 boards. If Harrell continues to be this other spark plug off the bench with Jackson and Williams, they will have a lineup that can match with any team in the playoffs.
Kawhi is Being Kawhi
In Game 5, Kawhi was looking unbelievable posting up off the wing as well as exploding to the rim. The amount of turn around fades he was taking and making is comparable to Kobe and MJ. When the ball is in his hands (much like Luka), the game goes at his pace like a master of puppets. I really do not think Kawhi will underperform in the rest of the series. He is so mechanical and methodical that you do not really expect him to have bad games, especially in the playoffs.
Shutting Down the ‘Microwave Mavs’
The Clippers held the Mavs to 45% from the field in their last matchup. Being able to do that to the on paper best offense in the league is a huge factor in why they won game 5. I really liked how off ball defenders slid into the passing lanes this last time around. When they do it at the last second, it makes somebody like Doncic think that they have the open man. When Luka leads the team in turnovers, that is huge because his usage rate is amongst the top in the league.
Even though the defense for the Clippers was so great in game 5, it does need to improve overall. Kawhi Leonard needs to stop switching off Luka Doncic on screens because he is the teams best defender. In no way should Reggie Jackson be guarding Luka on the last play of the game in game 4. Now that isn’t a knock on Jackson, ideally you would want Kawhi to fight over that screen, lock up for one possession and win the game. If Kawhi can manage to stay on Luka as much as possible, it could really prove to be the difference maker in game 6. On the other hand, the rest of the defense needs to step up because this Mavericks team is deep. With Porzingis possibly coming back, Hardaway and Burker balling, they will definitely put up a fight.
Prediction
For tonight, I am going to take the Cippers by around 10. They cannot let this get to a game 7 because anything can happen then. This is must win, will this game 5 version of the Clips show up? I hope so.