Slow start is not surprising, but defense has to be better

The Clippers aren’t lacking fight — but it’s the finetuned execution that has eluded them during their first 0-2 start since 2010.

Coach Tyronn Lue expected this, to a degree, after his starting five could log time together in only a handful of preseason practices, yet even when the Clippers have made the right plays, they have struggled to take advantage, with missed, open shots a theme in their defeats to Golden State and Memphis.

Three takeaways from Saturday’s 120-114 loss to Memphis:

How many games are required before judgments can be made in the NBA? That depends on whom you ask, and their definition of an acceptable sample size. But here’s what we already know about the Clippers’ ability to defend tough-cover lead guards — and their shortcomings in that area.

Already they have seen Stephen Curry (45 points) and Ja Morant (28 points, eight assists), and their next 11 games will feature Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards three times, Portland’s Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum three times, and Cleveland’s Collin Sexton, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Chicago’s Lonzo Ball and Miami’s Kyle Lowry.

The Clippers won’t guard everyone on that list exclusively with Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe, but their starting backcourt will shoulder much of the task while hoping the so-far-lacking team defense will improve behind them.

“The biggest thing for us is always communication, so defensively, we have to communicate, we have to talk about coverages, we’re gonna have to be vocal and then from there ... it’s all our will to want to stop people,” Jackson said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, but once you have voices behind you, no matter who’s on the ball, I think it ... gives the guy on the ball more confidence, makes it a little more easy knowing that defense is a five-person thing and not just one on one.”

The Clippers made it clear that they expect to be taken seriously in the Western Conference playoff race despite Kawhi Leonard’s absence — that they are good enough to bridge the divide until his return with winning basketball. It’s why two games, and two missed opportunities, into this season, their satisfaction with mounting 19- and 13-point comebacks has its limits given the way each ended.

“I’m happy we fought, but that can’t be who we are, just be happy that we played hard,” said Paul George, who had 41 points and 10 rebounds. “We gotta come in, we gotta do our job, we gotta win games.

“... I know it was a moral victory in Golden State, but tonight, we gotta do a better job. We gotta come out first, establish who we are. Playing hard should be a given. We gotta win games.”

Injured center Serge Ibaka watched Saturday from the sideline. In his continued absence, Ibaka’s likely future understudy, Isaiah Hartenstein, meshed impressively with the second unit alongside Terance Mann, Luke Kennard and Nicolas Batum, scoring a personal 9-0 run in less than two minutes in the second quarter.

“He found ways to free himself, he screened, he’s an underrated passer,” George said. “I thought he just played hard. I thought he looked good.”

Hartenstein didn’t play the final 10 minutes, and Lue said he looked tired at times, perhaps by the excitement of his season debut. But that foursome outscored Memphis by 13 points in 13 minutes together, a number that could have been even larger had Batum not missed five of six three-point attempts. The way that unit has quickly jelled puts into starker contrast the starters’ inconsistent break-in period.

Without the chance to play together during preseason games, the starters’ chemistry is “probably not amazing from the first few games,” Jackson said. He was quick to add his belief that their potential eventually will be “scary.”

Starters have been outscored by 21 points in 20 minutes together. Their offense isn’t strictly to blame — they’re shooting 48% overall and making 41% of their three-point shots.

“Our first unit has to do a better job of setting the tone defensively, having a defensive mindset,” Lue said. “I don’t think we’re there right now; we’re not there yet. But it’s coming. And with guys being out for most of preseason and in and out, that’s to be expected. But we got to have the mindset and approach that we want to get stops coming out of the first and third quarter.”

TONIGHT VS. PORTLAND

When: 7:30.

On the air: TV: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV; Radio: 570, 1330. Update: The Trail Blazers (1-1) are coming off the first victory of the Chauncey Billups coaching era, a 29point win against Phoenix that followed a winless preseason and an openingnight loss to Sacramento. Earning his second will mean beating a Clippers team coached by his close friend Lue, who helped Billups, the former star point guard turned broadcaster, prepare for a coaching career during the pandemic. McCollum, the Portland guard whose name is perpetually floated in rumored trade talks, has shown why the Trail Blazers, and others, value him so much after following his 34point opening night with 28 against the Suns. Can the Clippers hit their open shots? With the exception of George (five for 12), the Clippers have made just three of 24 three-point tries when the closest defender is between four and six feet away.