The Los Angeles Clippers have already experienced both sides of an early NBA season.

They opened with a 121-96 win over the Sacramento Kings, then dropped consecutive games to the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder. At 1-2, the Clippers have shown enough to believe they can compete, but their losses have also exposed a question about how consistently they can score.

Three games are a small sample, especially for a team still developing its identity. Even so, one strength and one weakness stand out.

Garland has quickly become the player who makes the Clippers’ offense go.

He scored 30 points in the opening win over Sacramento, followed by 26 against the Lakers. In Sunday’s 108-101 loss to Oklahoma City, he led the Clippers with 16 points and added 11 assists. 

Those performances show why Garland is so important to this group. He can create his own shot, but he also gives Los Angeles a playmaker who can involve teammates and organize the offense.

Against the Lakers, the Clippers scored 117 points and kept the game competitive. Against the Thunder, Garland’s 11 assists showed that he could still help generate opportunities even as the team struggled to score.

The Clippers don’t need Garland to produce 30 points every night. They do need his ability to create advantages, whether that leads to his own shot or an opening for someone else.

As his chemistry with the rest of the roster develops, that playmaking could become the foundation of a more consistent offense.

The Clippers’ point totals have dropped in each game: 121 against Sacramento, 117 against the Lakers and 101 against Oklahoma City.

Those numbers need context. The Thunder are a difficult opponent, and three games aren’t enough to establish a lasting trend. But the loss in Oklahoma City showed how hard scoring can become when Garland isn’t having a big night as a scorer.

Garland’s 16 points led Los Angeles, and the Clippers finished seven points short despite holding Oklahoma City to 108. Brook Lopez contributed 15 points, but Los Angeles couldn’t produce enough offense to finish the job. 

That puts pressure on the Clippers’ supporting cast to turn Garland’s creation into points. Rui Hachimura, Lopez and the rest of the rotation will need to provide dependable options when defenses load up on the point guard.

The Clippers have already shown they can put together a convincing win. The next step is proving they can find enough offense when the opponent makes every possession difficult.

Their upcoming rematch with the Lakers offers another early opportunity to measure that progress.