It’s as simple as this: if the Clippers hadn’t pulled off a miracle comeback in Game 1, they would be on the wrong side of a 2-0 deficit coming into Game 3. The Clippers have been dominated for 87 of the 96 minutes played in this series so far, and they desperately need to make some changes if they want to win Game 3 on their home floor and take a 2-1 series lead.
The Grizzlies came into the playoffs as the best defensive team in the Western Conference, and they’ve been able to almost completely neutralize what the Clippers do on offense, which is pretty much all pick-and-rolls. The Grizzlies have also used their superior size up front to muscle the Clippers in the paint, and absolutely dominated the glass in Game 2, when they also won the turnover battle handily.
The Clippers need to get their offense going in Game 3, and that means people not named Chris Paul are going to have to step up. The Clippers will need to space the floor with shooting and give the Grizzlies’ defense multiple things to worry about. Past that, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Kenyon Martin, and Reggie Evans need to do a better job of making Marc Gasol, Mareese Speights, Zach Randolph and Co. uncomfortable in the paint and on the glass, and the Clippers need to do a better job of defending Rudy Gay.
There you have it -- the Clippers were pretty soundly outplayed in the first two games of the series, but did manage to pull of that aforementioned miracle, and consequently the team is just two home wins away from a commanding 3-1 series lead. We’ll see if they can pull it off.
