National Basketball Association

Are the LA Clippers cooked after falling into an 0-2 hole against the Dallas Mavericks?

Updated May. 26, 2021 4:34 p.m. ET

Toasted, roasted or cooked to perfection – whatever you want to call it – the perception as of Wednesday is that the LA Clippers are done.

On Tuesday, in a must-win of sorts, the Clippers didn't win, falling for the second consecutive game to the Dallas Mavericks and descending into an 0-2 hole in their first-round playoff series against Mark Cuban's bunch.

Now, LA must travel to Dallas for Games 3 and 4, looking to get back into the series on the Mavs' home floor after failing to defend its home floor in any way.

Can the Clippers flip a switch and pull off a comeback?

The pundits have offered a resounding "no" as an answer, beginning with FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard on Wednesday's "First Things First."

His reason? One team is simply better than the other.

On top of positing that the Mavs are the better team, Broussard pointed out that in his estimation, the Mavs have the best player in the series in third-year guard Luka Dončić, somewhat of a surprising notion, considering that two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard stars for LA alongside perennial All-Star Paul George.

However, through two games, Dončić has outperformed both.

In Game 1, Luka registered 31 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, his third triple-double in his first seven playoff appearances, all of which have come against the Clippers.

On Tuesday, Dončić put up 39 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, dissecting the Clippers from start to finish in helping Dallas secure a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.

"First Things First" co-host Nick Wright went as far as to say Wednesday that if the Clippers lose this series – which he anticipates they will – they will essentially have no path back to prominence.

Wright blames that on Leonard's decision to go to the Clippers two years ago as opposed to remaining in Toronto – where he had just won a championship – or joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers.

"What we have here is a perfect storm of terrible – inexplicable at the time and certainly with hindsight – decisions. Kawhi Leonard had three options: Stay in Toronto, with that organization, try to win back-to-back titles and then evaluate the landscape. Option 2: Go home to Los Angeles to play with the greatest player ever and Anthony Davis and win titles.

"Option 3: Go to the sorriest franchise in NBA history, have them trade away every asset they have for Paul George and say, ‘That’s how we're gonna do it.' He chose that. That is a historically bad decision."

In terms of the Clippers' future, there is also this to consider: Kawhi has a player option for next season, which means this could be his final week or two in a Clippers uniform.

To be fair, Leonard wasn't the problem Tuesday against Dallas, and neither was George.

Kawhi scored 30 points in the first half, and even though he cooled off a bit in the second half, he ended the night with 41 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, shooting 14-for-21 from the field.

George shot 12-for-22 from the field and tallied 28 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

The Clippers as a whole weren't bad, shooting 53.6% from the field (45-for-84) and 39.4% from 3 (13-for-33). But the Mavericks were scorching, connecting on 58.5% of their field-goal attempts (48-for-82) and 52.9% of their 3s (18-for-34).

That hot shooting charge was led by none other than Dončić, as outlined by Shannon Sharpe on Wednesday's "Undisputed."

"Luka's played eight playoff games in his career, and they're all against the Clippers. He's averaging 32 [points], 10 [rebounds] and nine [assists]. … He's cooking everybody."

Further complicating matters for the Clippers is that despite Leonard's 30 first-half points, LA led by only two at the break.

On top of that, the Mavs were abysmal from the free-throw line Tuesday, connecting on just 13 of their 24 attempts and missing seven in the second half alone.

In short – and it must be said again – the Clippers weren't that bad. The Mavs were just better.

Game 3 is set for Friday in Dallas. Not only are LA's playoff hopes on the line, but the future direction of the franchise might be in dire straits as well.

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