National Basketball Association

Can the LA Clippers corral Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks?

Updated May. 24, 2021 5:56 p.m. ET

The "Luka Legend" nickname is distancing itself from its alliterative catchiness and becoming reality.

Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks’ All-Star point-wing-forward, doesn’t appear to be fazed by anything, and he certainly doesn’t appear to be intimidated by the LA Clippers , considering that on Saturday in Game 1 of the Mavs’ first-round Western Conference series, Doncic did what he always does against the Clippers: He dominated.

Luka scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 11 assists. He even had a steal and a couple of blocks, and despite being at the center of the action for the bulk of his 41 minutes on the court, he committed only three turnovers.

For the Clippers, on the other hand, Saturday was also all-too-familiar – in a bad way.

In nine meetings across his three-year career, Doncic is averaging 28.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.3 assists against LA. He was even more impressive in three regular-season matchups this season, burning the Clippers for 30.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 11.0 assists.

His showing Saturday was more the norm than the exception.

The challenge now for the Clippers is to figure out if they can do anything about it. They have yet to show any ability to stop Doncic, but can they at least find a way to slow him down enough to win the series?

Shannon Sharpe doesn’t think they can, and he said as much on Monday’s edition of "Undisputed."

"A team that has the two best wing defenders since Jordan and Pippen, in Kawhi (Leonard) and Paul George, and Pat (Beverley) and Serge Ibaka … and they can’t stop that guy," Sharpe said.

Sharpe made a point to call out Leonard, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

"Kawhi was like, ‘I don’t need to get none of that. Paul George, you take him,’" Sharpe said.

The problem, as Sharpe pointed out, is that Doncic is as versatile as they come.

If Leonard or George can’t handle him one-on-one, then the Clippers have to double-team him. Because Doncic is a willing and talented passer, that strategy holds its own dangers. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith were two beneficiaries of his passes Saturday, and they combined to go 9-for-14 from 3-point range.

Another problem might be that the Clippers don’t have anyone who is as good as Doncic. Chris Broussard pointed that out on "First Things First," saying he is "very concerned" about the Clippers.

"This was bad," he said. "And when the Clippers signed Kawhi a couple years ago, they thought they had signed a guy that would be the best player in every series they were going to play (except for LeBron James and Kevin Durant). … Luka Doncic outplayed Kawhi and Paul George. Luka Doncic is better."

Not everyone thinks it all spells doom for the Clippers, however.

Skip Bayless made an attempt to poke holes in the discussion, pointing out that Doncic was 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter with only one point.

"He nearly shot his team right out of the game in the fourth quarter," he said.

But Doncic – who was double-teamed for most of the second half – had three assists in the final frame, a stretch in which the Mavs outscored the Clippers 27-23.

As always, when it comes to seven-game series, the key will be the adjustments Clippers coach Tyronn Lue makes the rest of the way. Will Lue be able to come up with a new strategic wrinkle that makes a difference?

Or is this, as Nick Wright posited on "First Things First," a situation the Clippers deserved as punishment for attempting – as some believe – to avoid the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the postseason?

"It's not just ghosts of seasons past haunting the Clippers," Wright said. "It is the basketball gods saying, 'This is what you get [for] Game 72 facing the Oklahoma City Thunder, you intentionally lose that game to avoid the Lakers as long as possible.’

"You inexplicably signed up to be tortured by Luka."

Can the Clippers figure out a way to stop Doncic and the Mavericks? We’ll get our first chance to find out in Game 2 on Tuesday.

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