Throughout the course of this long season, the LA Clippers were beloveds of sharp gamblers and league intelligentsia, even as numerous fans and even a healthy portion of the Clippers peers sometimes questioned why.
The Clippers encouraged injured players to take a lot of time to recover, harped on the long view as a season-long mantra and load handled so aggressively that at one point, they were fined $50,000 by the NBA for breaking treatments in resting Kawhi Leonard.
All of these are considered respectable techniques in this day and age, particularly for a team with delicate stars. But it appears like all of it had a regrettable negative effects: the Clippers bad habit of procrastination. They like to leave their finest play for later on.
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The Clippers meandered frequently throughout the season, fueling the Los Angeles Lakers and their intense pursuit of the No. 1 seed.
In January, a fed up Montrezl Harrell accosted teammates to get up and stated, “Were not a terrific group.”
In February, it was Leonard, in an unusual plume of emotion, dismayed by another malaise, who commanded: “I mean, now. The time is now,” when asked when the Clippers would start acting like the sum of their parts.
All these months later, the problem is still happening. This time, it was Saturday in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals versus the Denver Nuggets.
This is not to remove from Denvers 110-101 win. The Nuggets earned it and got 53 combined points from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
But this game was everything about the first 12 minutes, in which Denver played with a lot more energy and effort than the Clippers, and it resulted in 44 points and a 19-point deficit.
Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard missed out on 10 of 13 shots in the paint in Game 2. Erik S. Lesser/EPAIt has long been said that the more desperate team often wins championship game. That is the origin of the go-to quote for every single losing playoff group considering that the creation of the podium:” [The winning team] came out more aggressive.”
It was the first quote out of coach Doc Rivers mouth after the game Saturday: “I thought they just played more aggressive.”
At the next Zoom, Leonard was saying the same.
That is a cop-out for groups that have genuine title hopes, as the Clippers do. Theyre a deep group with an incredible balance of depth, star power and veteran savvy, and that indicates they have a large margin for error, probably the widest of any of the remaining groups.
The Nuggets are not a group to sleep on. The Utah Jazz can use testament to that after their 15-point, third-quarter lead in Game 5 of their quarterfinal series blew up in a flurry of Murray jumpers. Allure got a little too comfy, and now they will spend the coming months and years bracing anytime the numbers “3” and “1” and the word “lead” are assembled in a sentence.
Utah provided Denver life with that disappointment, and now the Clippers have actually cracked the door for the Nuggets again. The Clips have actually been the much better group for seven of the 8 quarters up until now in this series, but its 1-1.
That right there is how the very first chapter of an upset story gets written.
” Weve got to come prepared. Thats it,” George said, adding another plea to this Clippers seasons annals. We will be better for Game 3.
Thats why the Clippers were briefly within five points in the 4th quarter, regardless of that first-quarter steamrollering and even with Leonard and Paul George shooting a collective 11-of-36 from the field. The Nuggets, shamed by their defensive effort in Game 1, tossed some double-teams the Clips manner in which were reliable.
” We just need to play hard ourselves,” Rivers stated. “They had fun with a lot more force than us. … Its incredible we had a possibility.”.
All of these are considered reliable techniques in this day and age, particularly for a team with fragile stars. It appears like it all had a regrettable side effect: the Clippers bad practice of procrastination. Erik S. Lesser/EPAIt has actually long been stated that the more desperate group often wins playoff video games. The Nuggets are not a team to sleep on. Thats it,” George stated, adding another plea to this Clippers seasons record.
Patrick Beverley gets tossed out of the Clippers Game 2 vs. the Nuggets for arguing a call late in the loss.
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