The Clippers Willingly Chose To Go Up Against Luka Magic Like A Bunch Of Idiots

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Luka Magic man, there's really nothing like it. The Clippers, a team that made it very obvious they wanted nothing to do with the Lakers for as long as possible, willingly chose to play Luka Doncic in a playoff series. Remember, they had not lost to POR all year, but didn't want that matchup because it meant potentially playing the Lakers earlier. Think about that for a second. The same Luka that gave them all sorts of problems last year (despite losing the series), and look at how we've started things off this time around

Every time we get one of these performances from Luka, I can't stop but think about this tweet

For an app that is loaded with horrific takes, I have some you have some, we all do, this might be the worst of the lot. So bad I almost respect it. 

Considering both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard played in this game you would think the Clippers had the perimeter defense available to actually give Luka problems. Only problem there is the Mavs did a great job of getting Luka away from those matchups and into one he could dominate. That was getting Zubac on the switch. Luka lit him up for 16 points on just 5 possessions. That is insane. The Clippers are going to have to find a way to prevent that from happening, but good luck. Outside of just not playing Zubac at all, the Mavs are going to hunt that matchup every single time. 

The problem for the Clippers is more than just dealing with Luka Magic though, and why maybe their tank to end the season wasn't the best idea. The Mavs have as legit an offense as you'll find. They are pretty well rounded and that's even with Porzingis mostly sucking. It's not even like the Clippers played all that poorly. They turned it over just 5 times in this game and Kawhi/George combined for 49. The difference was outside shooting. Luka and Hardaway each had 5, and as a team they finished 17-36. The Clippers sadly shot 11-40. 

This was a little surprising considering the Clippers were the best outside shooting team all year (41%), but here's why this might be a matchup nightmare for them. This season against the Mavs (1-2) they shot just 27.8% from three. Last night? 27.5%. Meanwhile the Mavs shoot 39.7% against the Clippers this year. If you're telling me we get this version of Luka over the course of the series and the Mavs are going to continue to defend the three point line like this while also getting positive production from their role players, things are going to get dicey for the Clippers.

It is just Game 1, there is a ton of series left and anyone who suggests otherwise is lying. But there is now all the pressure in the world on the Clippers in Game 2. They gave up homecourt and the early momentum. Given what happened last year, if they fall down 0-2 things are only going to intensify. Considering the level that Luka is playing at right now, is that totally out of the question? This is shaping up to be a classic case of be careful what you wish for. The Clippers brought this on themselves and the Basketball Gods made them pay for it. 

Now Luka smells blood, and that could be very dangerous moving forward.