The Los Angeles Clippers have recently been upset in Game 1 of their series against the Dallas Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks won convincingly behind the effort of their marvelous superstar Luka Doncic.
There was a lot of tanking for matchups at the end of the season, and the Los Angeles Clippers were one of the teams that managed to get a more favorable matchup by sliding in the standings.
The NBA world reacted to the loss, and there was plenty of roasting that was directed at the Los Angeles Clippers. While this is only one game of a long series, it was definitely surprising to see the Clippers start off poorly.
The Clippers are undefeated against the Blazers since signing Kawhi.
They’d be playing the Blazers in Round 1 if they hadn’t so obviously & embarrassingly ducked the Lakers.
Now, they have to deal with Luka.
1-0 Mavs.
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 22, 2021
CLIPPERS JUST LOST GAME 1. JUST PATHETIC. NOT NEARLY ENOUGH URGENCY OR DEFENSIVE ENERGY. BEST THREE/FT TEAM IN THE NBA GAGGED IN BOTH DEPTS. NOW THE ENTIRE SEASON COMES DOWN TO TUESDAY NIGHT AT HOME. WE FIND OUT WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF. DO OR DIE.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 22, 2021
This is the other, more traditional way, for the Clippers to avoid playing the Lakers.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) May 22, 2021
Clippers tanked to avoid the Lakers and now they gettin upset by the Mavs ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ pic.twitter.com/VRxTWPF2iK
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) May 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/VaudeVillianV_/status/1396240326025752581
The Clippers: *tanked so they could play Dallas in the first round*
The Mavericks: pic.twitter.com/M2nKhDn3KE
— RingerNBA (@ringernba) May 22, 2021
NBA Twitter getting ready for Clippers Slander: https://t.co/3cwQ6Ey9DU
— The Pettiest Laker Fan 🤫 (@ThePettiestLA) May 22, 2021
No but seriously if the Clippers lose game 2 the franchise has to leave LA for good
— Dom2K 🎅🎇 (@Dom_2k) May 22, 2021
Clippers did all this just to lose🤣🤣 #DALvsLAC pic.twitter.com/AOhYVYQM89
— Ray Jackson (@RayJack97010720) May 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/KingJosiah54/status/1396240650035630080
The fact of the matter is, is that the Los Angeles Clippers lost a winnable matchup. If you tank to face a certain team, you have to execute and end up with a win. We’ve seen what happens when teams get beat in trap matchups. The Dallas Mavericks came out swinging at the Los Angeles Clippers, and they have stolen a game. If they win the next game, then it will put the Los Angeles Clippers in an unenviable position.
There is no doubt that a team with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will bounce back, as the talent in the team is there. They have a competitive series, and a lot of people still expect them to come out on top. While Luka Doncic will be a tough matchup, this is still an open series. However, if the Los Angeles Clippers do end up losing, then tanking to face the Dallas Mavericks will be viewed as one of the worst moves they could have done.
