Clippers went to Ivica Zubac for strong start to Game 1 and the Dallas series
22/04/2024 21:58
He's 7-feet tall but often overlooked in the Clippers' success.
He's 240 pounds of shoulders, elbows and rebounds yet rarely mentioned as the key to victories, and while his size 19 shoes house some of the best footwork for a center, few outside the game focus on his moves under the basket.
For all of Ivica Zubac's hook shots and soft touches around the rim, the Clippers center is seldom mentioned as the hero in games. But after Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks, everyone from Coach Tyronn Lue to Mavs coach Jason Kidd and the players were talking about Zubac's contributions in the Clippers' 109-97 victory.
Lue instructed his players to involve Zubac early in the game, a tactic that resulted in him posting 15 rebounds, along with 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He scored 10 of the Clippers' first 29 points and ended up outscoring (20 to 6) and outrebounding (15 to 4) the Mavericks two centers, Daniel Gifford and Dereck Lively II.
"He threw the first punch and there was no adjustment that was made," Gafford said, who had three points and zero rebounds.
"Zu really dominated on the inside, going to him early really set the tone, getting (Daniel) Gafford in foul trouble," Lue said. "Defensively, I thought we were right on point. We did a good job executing our defensive game plan."
Kidd called Zubac's play "big" in disrupting the Mavericks' offense, especially in the first half when the Clippers dominated, and Dallas failed to respond. The Clippers led by as many as 29 in the first half, which "kind of threw us for a loop (by going to Zubac early and often)."
"They played to him in the post, and we didn't have an answer," Kidd said. "We have to be better. We talked about Zubac and the ability that he has when shots go up. Rebounding, we have to make sure that we send two to him. But in the post, we have to do a better job of guarding him in the post."
Zubac was simply Zubac afterward, humble as ever.
"Just doing my job. I know we are a great defensive team and I got to be one of the leaders on the defensive end," Zubac said. "That's something that I've been doing for this team for a little bit and no matter who it is I just have to lock into the game plan."
Sunday's game was something of redemption for Zubac. In the 2021 playoffs, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic covered him. eventually playing him off the court. After starting the first three games, Zubac came off the bench in the final four.
He played a total of 98 minutes in the seven-game series, totaling 27 points and 36 rebounds.
"I'm not worried about what anyone says about a series three years ago," Zubac said. "That was three years ago, and I know what our game plan is, what we are willing to give up and trying to take away and just stick with it."
And that means staying aggressive and using his height and weight to be physical under the basket, which will enable Zubac to get easy layups.
"It worked well tonight," he said. "I felt pretty confident in the post. I feel like I can post up pretty much anyone."
LEONARD UPDATE
Regarding Kawhi Leonard's availability for Game 2 on Tuesday, Lue said Kawhi Leonard would go through Monday's practice "and we'll see."
Lue added that practice would entail a walkthrough and work on things, such as transition defense. There wouldn't be any contract drills for the entire team.
