(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers headed into their first-round playoff matchup with the Dallas Mavericks with a major concern with superstar forward Kawhi Leonard dealing with an injury yet again, putting his status in doubt.
Despite Leonard’s shaky status on a daily basis during this series, the Clippers were able to compete with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to tie the series at two games apiece ahead of Game 5.
Unfortunately, the team fell apart in Game 5 resulting in an embarrassing loss on their home floor of Crypto.com Arena and the Mavericks taking a commanding 3-2 series lead with Game 6 set to be played in Dallas.
Even though the Clippers had played better than expected without Leonard, Game 5 changed everything in this series, with the team looking unprepared, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.
“The most damning part of the Clippers’ performance was that that they look so unprepared on an ideal night to keep an advantage in the series,” Murray wrote.
What a stinker.
The Clippers got 30-pieced. In their building. In a Game 5 with the series tied at two, writes @LawMurraytheNU.
And the worst part was they didn’t look ready to go.https://t.co/YURWXrYCTf pic.twitter.com/ifEuTUTnzf
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) May 2, 2024
Unless the Clippers can find a way to bounce back on the road against the Mavericks in Dallas, this first-round playoff series will come to an end on Friday night at American Airlines Center, with Jason Kidd’s squad advancing to the second round to take on the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
As of right now, the Clippers look like a team that has lost all motivation to fight back in this series, which means it could be inevitable that the Mavericks advance, leaving the Los Angeles franchise with a lot of questions heading into the NBA offseason.
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