The Los Angeles Clippers suffered their first defeat of the season on Friday night against their intracity rivals. Despite leading in the first half and keeping it competitive for most of the game, the Clippers couldn't keep up with the Lakers' barrage in the third quarter and lost 125-117.
It was largely an encouraging performance against a better team. Especially given the number of injuries to key players, the Clippers held their own, and that should be the main takeaway.
But their Achilles heel was also made obvious in the loss.
Darius Garland's Shot Creation Burden Is Unsustainable
The Clippers turned the ball over 25 times on Friday. In the third quarter alone, they had ten turnovers. The Lakers ended up winning the quarter, 39-26, which was the deciding factor in the game.
The main culprit was Darius Garland, who finished the game with nine turnovers. But the problem wasn't Garland. It's the Clippers' roster construction and the slew of injuries they are dealing with.
Garland simply has to do too much on this team because there aren't any other reliable shot creators. The talented point guard had a usage rate of 33%. The only other starter to have over 20% usage was Rui Hachimura.
In a game where he had to play over 36 minutes, that is too much to ask of Garland. He had to go up against bigger and more physical defenders like Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams for most of the game. And that is when Garland struggles the most.
As dynamic as Garland is with the ball, he is still a 6'1" point guard without elite athleticism. He relies on his ball-handling and craft to generate shots for himself and his teammates. When he is the only player on the floor with any on-ball juice, the defenses understandably put all of their focus on him. That means putting their best defender on him and sending help. This is how you end up with nine turnovers.
Until Brandon Ingram and Bradley Beal return, this will continue to be a major weakness for the Clippers. Even the return of Strus should help. He isn't the creator Ingram and Beal are, but he is a very good shooter. This will make it harder for teams to collapse on Garland and pack the paint.
There will be games like this for Garland. He is also going to put up numbers, to be sure, because he will be on the ball a lot. This season will be about volume rather than efficiency for the 26-year-old point guard. So, it will be important for Clippers fans to understand the situational context before being discouraged by Garland's play or the team's offensive output.
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