Clippers-Spurs: It's Still Early

After Wednesday’s overtime thriller at Staples Center, the Clippers-Spurs series switches to San Antonio Friday with the series knotted up at one.

The Clippers will come into AT&T Center confident, but also disappointed at how they let Game 2 slip away.

Despite overcoming a 10 point second half deficit, several costly mistakes while leading in the fourth quarter (headlined by a horrendous pass by Blake Griffin), the Clips allowed the Spurs to tie the game up by the end of regulation.

In overtime, the trio of Kahwi Leonard, Patty Mills and a throwback performance from Tim Duncan saw the Spurs escape Los Angeles by stealing home court advantage. And that was all with Tony Parker exiting early due to injury and Manu Ginobili fouling out.

So what can we take from the first two games in LA as we look to Game 3 in San Antonio?

First and foremost, Griffin is not the scapegoat for the Game 2 loss. Yes he looked tired toward the end and made some poor decisions to go along with a few defensive lapses, but Griffin posted a triple-double (29 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds). It’s an overreaction in every sense to say he can’t handle the big moment.

Griffin should bounce back in Game 3.

Griffin won’t be the only one looking to make amends in Game 3 for the Clippers. Doc Rivers’ bench, which has been subject to intense scrutiny in this series, was absent in Game 2, with 11 of their 17 points coming from Jamal Crawford. But 4-13 from the floor is not going to cut it from the former Sixth Man of the Year.

The Spurs already have such a huge advantage when it comes to depth, meaning Crawford must show up and be efficient every night for the Clippers to stay in the game when their starters rest.

That bench advantage for Gregg Popovich’s ball club should carry over to San Antonio, following a 48 point explosion from his second unit Wednesday night.

The Spurs’ bench becomes even more critical for these next two games (and the rest of the series) given Duncan and Kawhi Leonard played 44 and 39 minutes, respectively, in Game 2.

Yet it’s not just critical to be able to give Duncan and Leonard rest, but to expose the heavy minutes Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, and Griffin played -- all over 43 minutes.

Depth aside, the other main detail we learned two games in is that Leonard is back to his best. The NBA’s 2015 Defensive Player of the Year brushed aside a rusty Game 1 and put together 23 points, nine rebounds and utterly dominated overtime on both sides of the ball.

Leonard’s play, and a likely improved performance from his swing partner Danny Green, spells all sorts of trouble for the Redick-Matt Barnes duo on the perimeter. If the Clippers cannot limit Leonard’s impact and Green’s shooting, their chances in this series decrease incredibly.

And if that wasn’t enough, San Antonio’s 33-8 home record was second best in the West, trailing only Golden State.