Can the LA Clippers recapture momentum after dropping Game 2 to the Dallas Mavericks?
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00:00 The LA Clippers dropped their first game of the 2020 NBA playoffs on Wednesday night,
00:04 falling 127-114 to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their first round series.
00:09 Unlike Game 1, which saw multiple lead changes and runs, the Mavericks led wire to wire in
00:15 Game 2 and dominated the Clippers. Moreover, it was Dallas' first win over LA since the 2018-2019
00:21 NBA season. Now the pressure is on LA to bounce back against Dallas in the team's first road
00:26 game of the series. LA was without all-important point guard Patrick Beverley for Game 2,
00:31 something that would be the case on Friday night as well. On Thursday, the Clippers listed Beverley
00:36 as doubtful for Game 3 due to a calf strain. Later that evening, Coach Doug Rivers told
00:40 reporters that he'd likely be a game-time decision, meaning we probably won't know
00:44 Beverley's status in a few hours. Additionally, the scrappy guard did not practice on Thursday.
00:49 For Dallas, both Christaps Porzingis and Trey Burke are considered probable to play.
00:53 Some key storylines in this game. One of the biggest ones for LA is seeing how Paul George
00:57 responds after his tough game in Game 2. After a dominant showing in Game 1, he seriously struggled
01:04 to find his rhythm on Wednesday night, scoring just 14 points on four of 17 field goals and
01:10 recording 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block in 31 minutes of action. Moreover, George was
01:15 held scoreless the first half of play, something that really can't happen for the team's second
01:20 leading scorer. George drew criticism of performance on social media, with some referring to him as
01:25 "Pandemic P," playing on his Playoff P nickname. George took to Instagram to respond to that on
01:30 Thursday, sharing an image with language that we can't repeat here, accompanied by the caption,
01:35 "Say it louder." While that's all well and good, what we'd like to see is how George responds on
01:39 the court. The encouraging thing about George's game performance is that most, if not all, of his
01:43 shot attempts were great looks. He got to the spots he wanted to, took the right shots at the
01:47 right time, but he just couldn't get them to fall. So as long as George doesn't force things on
01:51 offense, which is something that we really haven't seen him do this season, there's a good chance he
01:55 gets his shot going again on Friday night. Expect Clippers to create looks for George in the first
02:00 few minutes of the game. If he can find his rhythm and start hitting in the first quarter, it could
02:04 be a long night for Dallas on the offensive end of the floor. For Dallas, the key storyline is
02:08 Luca, and if the Mavs can keep that momentum going. Dallas has played a terrific series so
02:13 far. Luca Dantris has been phenomenal. Christoph Porzingis has kept up his strong play in the
02:17 bubble, and Mavs bench has looked more efficient than ever. The Clippers are the more talented team
02:22 in this series, and at some point you'd expect them to recapture their momentum and swing things
02:27 back in their direction. If LA is going to do it, now is a good time, and it's got to come on the
02:31 defensive end where the Mavs have been most dominant in this series. Clippers simply haven't
02:36 looked like one of the league's best defenses yet, which they are this season. Players are
02:40 overhelping and leaving shooters wide open, giving guys like Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian
02:45 Finney-Smith more power than they should have in this series. On top of that, LA's bench defense
02:50 has been downright awful. Playing more defensive-minded reserves, guys like Reini McGreuder
02:54 and Terrence Mann could make a difference on that end if Beverly is indeed out for this game. But
03:00 if the Mavers continue to make quick adjustments and find ways to beat LA's defense, the Clippers
03:04 will struggle to close this game out. Our prediction, while Beverly's health is an important
03:09 factor, the Clippers have shown throughout this season they can win games without him, so long as
03:14 their two stars have strong performances on both ends of the floor. There's hardly a reason to
03:18 worry about Kawhi Leonard. He's one of the NBA's best postseason performers and has torched the
03:23 Mavericks all year. But if George has been a tough outing tonight, the Clippers could find
03:27 themselves down 2-1 in the series. We're leaning more toward PG having a big night, so we'll say
03:33 Clippers 122, Mavericks 106 to give LA a 2-1 lead in the series. The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks
03:40 take the floor tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern Time and the game will air on TNT and Fox Sports Prime Ticket.