It is always tough to swallow a defeat. Especially when it comes against your rivals. After the LA Clippers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on the NBA re-opening night, coach Doc Rivers was slightly annoyed with his team, especially for the turnovers.

During the post-game interview, the Clippers head coach said, “I don’t ever want 20 turnovers. But guys like Sham (Landry Shamet) hadn’t played a lot. Zu (Ivica Zubac) did his best tonight, Jamychal (as well). We had a lot of guys that came in late. It was the turnovers that bothered me more than the sloppy execution. Some of them were good defense and it happens but we can’t have self-inflicted wounds. And I thought we had too many of them all night.”

George and Leonard weren’t enough for the LA Clippers

The Clippers had 20 turnovers, four more than their opponents. This sloppiness was costly, and the Lakers scored almost 30 points off their turnovers. The Clippers also had a tough time on the glass. They had 36 compared to the Lakers’ 45, but what hurt them was giving away 11 offensive rebounds.

Paul George had a shooting clinic, scoring 30 points on 64% shooting. He went 6/11 from deep and looked back to his best. Kawhi Leonard also had a good game, putting up 28 points while going 3/4 from beyond the arc. In the first half, he was single-handedly keeping them in the game, scoring 19 points in the half. Later George took over but it wasn’t enough.

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The Clippers were hurt by poor shooting from the rest of the team. Excluding their star duo, the Clippers shot a shabby 34% from the field. Marcus Morris went 0/4, while Landry Shamet went 1/8. Reggie Jackson also fared badly going 3/10.

The Clippers badly missed Lou Williams who would have helped with scoring. Harrell would have also done better than Noah, who isn’t good enough to start for any team looking to win a championship. But since they were missing two important players, the Clippers shouldn’t be too hard on themselves. Williams and Harrell are certainly going to boost the team. But at the same time, they need others to step up as well.

They next play the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow at 3:00 PM PT. It will be an intense game, with both teams will be hoping to shake off losses from their first games.

Sources:

Los Angeles Clippers schedule

Los Angeles Lakers versus Los Angeles Clippers

Doc Rivers explains the significance of basketball returning | NBA on ESPN