In an opening-round rematch from the 2020 playoffs, the Mavericks have stunned many by stealing the first two games in Los Angeles. As the Clippers scramble for answers as to how to slow down Luka Doncic and company’s electric offense, The Athletic’s Law Murray breaks it all down. Is the series all but over? If not, how can the Clippers give themselves a fighting chance? If the Mavs do eliminate them, what’s the likelihood that franchise cornerstone Kawhi Leonard will leave in the offseason? Murray tackles these and many other timely LAC topics.  

14:35-15:08: “The Clippers chose a lot of this. They chose their opponent. They chose a lot of the narratives that went into how they got here. They chose health over whatever could have been gained by playing the last two regular-season games. They chose their path. Now they’re in a situation where things are as hard as they can be. Either the Clippers are gonna overcome it and it’s going to be like, ‘Wooh, well, you got through that.’ Or they’re not gonna be around after next weekend. That’s it! 

27:10-27:46: “The Clippers need to play with a lead, and then they won’t have to do the crazy stuff that comes with these unorthodox lineups and unorthodox defenses. They’re doing it because they have to create events to regain some level of control when they’re running out of time. … That’s where the Clippers are in trouble. They’re playing a catch-up game against a team that you don’t wanna be playing catch-up against.”

28:02-28:12: “They’re not getting enough out of Zu. Honestly, that’s been the biggest concern. [Mavericks head coach] Rick Carlisle should get a lot of credit for taking Ivica Zubac out of this series.”

34:19-34:25: “The Clippers have a surplus of options [to defend Doncic]. It’s just that not enough of them are good right now.”

39:06-40:25: “Marcus [Morris] is a vet. Marcus is supposed to be the guy that exudes toughness, that’s supposed to be the third scorer, that’s supposed to be the shooter, that’s supposed to be the versatile defender, that’s supposed to be able to respond when the team needs a response, and Marcus has been really, really bad. … The impact Marcus has had on this series compared to Tim Hardaway Jr. is the difference in this series. … For Marcus to be a no-show right now, the Clippers aren’t winning this series. They’re not getting close with Marcus playing as poorly as he’s played.”   

48:41-48:52: “This Dallas team game-planned to take away the things that hurt them last year, and it’s just tough beating a team two years in a row in the playoffs.”

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