After a season of uncertain lead point guard play, do you think it’s safe to say the Los Angeles Clippers miss Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
They tried to channel his spirit in their first game of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday when they included a cutout of the former Clipper and current Oklahoma City Thunder player in the crowd.
Sports Illustrated Now reporter Farbod Esnaashari tweeted out a picture of the Gilgeous-Alexander cutout in the crowd.
Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by the Clippers with the 11th overall pick in 2018 and played in Los Angeles as a rookie. He was part of the Paul George trade from the Thunder to the Clippers that also helped L.A. land Kawhi Leonard.
The Clippers have a cutout of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the crowd lol pic.twitter.com/fw4MEDlinL
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) May 23, 2021
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Gilgeous-Alexander’s presence wasn’t enough to get the win. That was the same way that it worked for the Thunder this season — when he was on the court, they had a decent chance of victory, but with him on the bench, they struggled to pick up a win.
The Mavericks won Game 1 113-110 behind a 31-point triple-double from Luka Doncic. Leonard had 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while George had 23 points, six rebounds and five assists.
The teams will play Game 2 on Tuesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 Central Time.
