Getty The Clippers had no answer for Jazz star Donovan Mitchell (left).
In its entire context, what Jazz star Donovan Mitchell had to say about the Clippers before the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s Game 1 of the conference semifinals in Utah — caught by TNT cameras — was not so bad. It was only Sunday, after all, that the Clippers had played a Game 7 against Dallas and it only stands to reason that L.A. might be a bit worn down.
But one line from Mitchell stood out, and for the Clippers as an organization, it has all too often summed up the way opposing players see the team: “They’ll call it quits,” Mitchell said, “if we make ’em.”
That is a pretty harsh take on the mentality of the Clippers, who have made the playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons but have won just four playoff series in that time—and never reached the conference finals in franchise history. They’ve cycled through stars like Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and now Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, with little change to their fortunes.
The current iteration of the Clippers is best known for blowing a 3-1 series lead to Denver in the conference semis last season in the NBA’s bubble restart, so it is entirely possible that Mitchell, who torched L.A. for 45 points, had that in mind when he indicated that the Clippers are a team that would “call it quits.”
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But the full quote is worth examining: “They played Game 7 two days ago. It’s all how we start this quarter. They’ll call it quits and get ready for Game 2 if we make ’em.”
Donovan Mitchell: “They played a Game 7 two days ago. It’s all how we start this quarter. They’ll call it quits and get ready for Game 2 if we make them.”
Jazz Were More Aggressive in Fourth Quarter
The Jazz did make the Clippers turn their focus to Game 2 in that fourth quarter, of course, building a 10-point lead by the 5:22 mark. To their credit, the Clippers did not quit, rallying to pull back within three points with 38 seconds to play.
The team had a chance to tie but Marcus Morris’ 3-point try in the corner was blocked by Jazz center Rudy Gobert after Utah’s defense gave no room to Clippers star Kawhi Leonard no the final possession.
If Mitchell thought there was a chance that the Clippers would be tired, he was not alone. L.A. coach Tyronn Lue limited his stars’ minutes—George played 37 minutes and Leonard 36—in Game 1.
“If we want to, we can play 10 guys in the first half just to see where we’re at and get our legs up under us,” Lue said. “We didn’t want it wear guys out early on in the game, and I thought our bench guys came in and did a great job in the second half, just let down, a lot left in the tank, but we made some mental mistakes as well. So we have to clean those things up and we’ll be ready to go for Game 2.”
Clippers Had No Answer for Donovan Mitchell
Whether Mitchell intentionally disrespected the Clippers does not matter much now—it is up to the Clippers to respond, especially in the way they’re defending Mitchell, who was 16-for-30 from the field. He did that by launching 15 3-pointers (he made six) and 13 shots around the rim (he made 10).
Mitchell attempted only two midrange shots on the game, making one and missing the other. That is not nearly enough—for the Clippers to hold the Utah offense down, they’ll need to force Mitchell into midrange shots. He’s a very good midrange shooter, but having him take long 2-pointers is preferable to allowing him jack up 3s and attempt shots at the rim.
The Clippers will need a defensive answer.
“We’ll watch the film and we’ll see,” Lue said after the game. “Donovan Mitchell had it going tonight so late in the game try to blitz and try to it do a little fire. But he had it going, to hats or to him for having a good game. But we’ll look at the film and we’ll make some adjustments.”