INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It is always good to come out with a win. However, the bigger message is what did you take from the win? The Los Angeles Clippers win over the Phoenix Suns was taken as good but not impressive. 

After a disappointing loss to the Utah Jazz in their season opener, the Clippers bounced back in dramatic fashion, beating the breaks off of the Suns 129-102. The win puts the Clippers at 1-1. 

Clippers Guard Derrick Jones Jr pointed the loss to the Jazz as just a bad night with the team stepping on the court for the first time together. 

“I mean that was the first game, we came out flat…. We never really put our feet down to stop their momentum, so that’s what’s going to happen. I mean, you don’t play your hardest and you come out flat. First and third, that’s what’s going to happen.” 

Not only Jones Jr, but Suns Guard Devin Booker shared similar sentiments to their blowout loss as well to the Clippers that sometimes its not going to be your night. 

“Yeah, I mean, we’re going to have some ups and downs this year. I think the most we can, you know, learn from, you know our mistakes the first time, not repeat the same thing over and over again, the better, so, just take a day at a time.” 

The NBA is a grueling 82 game season where players and teams’ have bad nights that can be game by game, week by week, or month by month that is understandable across the board. However, like Booker said, those mistakes have to be corrected so they are not repeated. Unfortunately, the Clippers haven’t learned that message yet and got a win utilizing the same bad habit. 

Tyronn Lue’s Love For Small Ball

The Clippers loss to the Jazz was a sentiment to the style of play that will get you destroyed. The Clippers lost that game 129-108. Fortunately, the Suns don’t have a team with three 6’10-7’0 players on the court at the same time like the Jazz. The win against the Suns was great for the Clippers in the short run, but not the long run.  

Having Kawhi Leonard be the teams’ primary power forward and not having him play his natural position at the small forward puts him at a disadvantage. Matching Leonard against a real power forward like the Jazz Lauri Markkanen is different from matching him up against Suns wings Dillion Brooks or Royce O’Neale who are Leonard’s height. 

Asked Kawhi Leonard about what makes Lauri Markkanen a tough matchup (tall, can shoot, good at ball) and if Clippers current starting 5 can deal with bigger teams better

“We’ll see. I think we just have to play with a little better pace. And obviously, don’t turn over the ball” pic.twitter.com/vMvhrA3Mxe

— Law Murray 🎃 (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 23, 2025

Same thing with Jones Jr. who stands at 6’6. While Jones Jr. does jump out of the gym he is a essentially a shooting guard playing as a small forward. There will be games where not only Jones defends his position effectively and even shoot the three point shots like he did versus the Suns. However versus the Jazz, where there was much more size and tougher to be effective offensively and defensively that they resort back to the same problem that small ball doesn’t work.

After the win, Lue spoke on how the game has changed. 

“I think the style of basketball has changed, and so the way teams play, with a lot of ghost screens, a lot of falls in the pass, slipping out, and you got to be physical, and be on bodies in order to keep up.” 

The verbiage of Lue is correct physicality must be matched, but it has to be matched with size and physical players not with finesse and speed. 

The Clippers have to utilize their size starting off the game placing player in like John Collins in the starting rotation to push Leonard to his natural position at the small forward. With that, the Clippers can go with offensive firepower at the shooting guard with Bradley Beal or simply push Jones to be a big player at the two spot. 

The Clippers have the tools where they are a complete team, but until Lue utilizes the tools correctly with the right lineups at the right times, there is going to be inconsistency. Making shots can change night to night, but effort, execution, and structural lineups should not.Â