Los Angeles Clippers: 5 Takeaways As Clippers Force Game 7

2. Wing Defense From The Unheralded Starting Forwards

It seems asinine to say that Austin Rivers and Luc Mbah a Moute may have controlled the course of this game. However, the Clippers managed to receive solid production from the least heralded members of their Game 6 starting unit.

Both Rivers and Mbah a Moute finished with 13 points and played great defense the entire game. Rivers kept Gordon Hayward mostly in check before a late game spurt, and Mbah a Moute hounded Joe Johnson into a terrible night on the offensive end just days after getting burned by  Johnson for another game-winning basket.

After opting for Marreese Speights to start in place of Blake Griffin in Games 4 and 5, Doc wisely opted to put his son in the starting lineup for Game 6. The smaller starting crew not only managed to avoid getting torched on defense but also managed to string together a great game on that end of the floor. Utah did not manage to even crack 80 points until there were less than three minutes remaining in the game.

Given their success in this game, Doc will likely use this same starting five in Game 7. However, the Clippers’ success in that game will rest on the shoulders of another one of their starters–a man who is quite accustomed to carrying this team.