Los Angeles Clippers: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

3. The starters need time to jell

Given the injuries the Clippers suffered last season and some of the roster turnover, the lack of chemistry shouldn’t be a huge surprise.

While Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari both had relatively strong debuts, as a unit the starters left a lot to be desired. Outside of his third quarter flourish, Avery Bradley was largely ineffective and Patrick Beverley never seemed to find a rhythm offensively.

Without a star level player to draw attention, the Clippers will need to rely heavily on ball movement, guys knowing where they need to be and execution. They have a deep team with a solid floor, but their margin for error is smaller without a surefire star to shoulder the load.

Lou Williams will always be able to come off the bench and provide the team with some juice offensively. But with the Clippers eyeing the playoffs this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team shuffle up its starting lineup to inject some energy should they continue to struggle — especially if the bench contributors continue to bring so much to the table.