Los Angeles Clippers: How their first round exit became a sales pitch

To the surprise of many, the Los Angeles Clippers pushed the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors to six games earlier this postseason. What’s transpired since that series may have turned the Clippers’ exit into an intriguing sales pitch

The Los Angeles Clippers were the feel-good story of the 2019 playoffs.

Doc Rivers’ ball club were defeated 4-2 in the first round by the defending champion Golden State Warriors in a series that many thought would be run of the mill for Steve Kerr’s team.

Both LA’s victories came at Oracle Arena, one of which was a 31 point comeback – the largest comeback in NBA playoff history.

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The tandem of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell gave the Warriors fits all series long, with the duo combining to average 40 points per game off the bench.

And while Golden State eventually triumphed, the manner of their victories over the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers that have since followed leaves the Clippers in excellent stead.

During the Steve Kerr era, Golden State has rarely been threatened early in the postseason.

In fact, heading into their first round match-up with the Clippers, they had accumulated a 16-2 record in first round playoff games under Kerr.

The 8th seeded Rockets accounted for one of those losses, with the other coming last year via the 7th seeded San Antonio Spurs.

What sets apart the Clippers’ losing effort from those past – bar winning more games in the series – is the manner in which they won those games.

It’s easy for a team as talented as Golden State to take their eyes off the ball every once in a while, particularly when up big in a game – or even a series.

The luxury of boasting a sharpshooting backcourt for the ages along with former MVP Kevin Durant, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green and a multi-time All-Star in DeMarcus Cousins means the penalty for taking their foot off the gas is slim. More often than not, their talent will override lackluster effort or execution for large portions of games.

When the Clippers cut a once 31-point-lead down into the teens with time dwindling in the third quarter of Game 2, the Warriors’ sense of urgency didn’t match what was taking place on the floor.

On their home floor with a double-digit lead and four-fifths of their star-studded lineup still intact, they had no real need to panic. They’d seen this before all season. It was simply a matter of locking back in and seeing the job out.

What Golden State hadn’t factored was the hunger and determination of this Clipper outfit.

Emotionally spearheaded by Patrick Beverley and Harrell, the Clippers don’t know when they’re down and out.

The duo wears their heart on their sleeves. The manner in which they got to this stage means they never play indifferently.

Beverley was undrafted and had to graft overseas before making it to the NBA after four years abroad. Harrell was a second-round pick who’s playing time was scarce in Houston before he was traded to LA.

Circumstances within a particular game don’t define their level of effort, their level of execution. Everything they do on the basketball court is done at full pelt and it sets a precedent for the rest of the team. They go as Pat and Trezz go. They have been the catalysts behind LA’s culture reset which has seen them transform from whiny prima donna’s to lionhearted underdogs.

The Clippers completed the 31-point comeback and tied the series at 1-1.

Rivers described his team as “roaches” post-game – alluding to the fact his team simply never know when they’re dead.

What followed was thoroughly expected. Following two pedestrian showings thanks to the stifling Beverley, Durant scored 38 and 33 points respectively in Game’s 3 and 4, leaving LA in a 3-1 hole heading back to Oakland. Golden State played some of their best basketball of the season and ‘the switch’ had seemingly been flipped.

The writing was very much on the wall heading into Game 5 and the Clippers’ chances of taking another game off the defending champs – at Oracle Arena no less – were minute.

Apparently, no one gave the Clippers the memo.

The Warriors came out scorching, scoring 41 points in the first quarter in an attempt to crush the Clippers’ spirit.

The Clippers responded with 37 points of their own and were once again going toe-to-toe with the defending champions on their own floor.

Once the Clippers gained the lead in the second quarter they failed to relinquish it until late in the fourth, when a thunderous Durant dunk sent the fans into a frenzy and put the Warriors up one.

This is usually the part where teams sigh and drop their heads. Golden State is cut-throat in their ability to break a team’s will. The types and timings of their shots seem to be soul-destroying in these situations.

A team will play their heart out, do all they can, yet still somehow come up short. The Clippers faced that proposition at this very moment, having played an unbelievable game up to this point.

But the aforementioned culture meant that the Clippers weren’t rattled. What was the point in giving up, giving in?

Williams waltzed up the floor in his typical smooth, nonchalant manner before bursting to the left wing and rising up for one of his signature falling-left jumpers.

Williams hit the 3 and was fouled. He knocked down the free throw and the Clippers regained a two-point lead.

At the time the play was mesmerizing, but it’s atypical of this Clipper outfit. This is what they’ve done all season – their three 20+ point comebacks in the regular season proved that.

LA would go on to lose in Game 6, but the entire NBA world was aware of the statement made. The Clippers were dangerous, and their candidacy for free agents to be had just received a huge boost.

Little did the Clippers know is that the following Western Conference series’ would only make their free agency pitch sweeter.

Houston lay in wait for Golden State in a second-round series that many saw as the true Conference Finals.

The Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 4-1 in the first round having finished the regular season with the number four seed.

Mike D’Antoni’s team yo-yo’d between the two and three seeds all year long before an untimely loss in their final regular-season game meant they’d have to face Golden State in the second round if they were to advance.

Houston failed to exorcise their demons from a year ago, losing the series 4-2.

There’s no doubt the Clippers series elevated the Warriors’ level of play heading into the second round but the Rockets have to view this series as a serious missed opportunity.

With the series tied at two apiece, Durant went down with what would later be confirmed as a calf strain with two minutes left in the third quarter.

With Durant out and the game swinging in the balance heading into the fourth, Houston had the opportunity of a lifetime.

Stephen Curry‘s 20-point second half steered Golden State to victory and a 3-2 series lead. James Harden attempted just three shots in the fourth quarter of a game that would’ve seen the Rockets head back to Toyota Center with a chance to clinch the series.

Houston’s situation remained far from dire. Durant was still out, as was Cousins.

But Golden State reaffirmed how good they were. Curry torched them for 33 points (all in the second half), Klay Thompson dropped 27 points with seven threes and Green crucified Mike D’Antoni’s team in the short roll, whipping the ball to open shooters, lobbing to the open man at the dunker spot and finding his own offense when opportunities presented themselves.

Daryl Morey and the Rockets spoke all year about avenging their loss in 2018 to the Warriors in the Conference Finals, going as far as sending the league a memo detailing missed calls in the decisive Game 7.

The Rockets retooled their roster and faced a weaker Warriors team this time around thanks to Durant’s absence, yet they still couldn’t get the job done.

Houston had planned for Golden State all year. Well, they’ve planned for Golden State for years. It borders on obsession. Morey admitted it himself.

Yet their award was the same as those pesky Clippers. Both suffered 4-2 defeats, despite one of those teams boasting much greater talent than the other.

Not only did the 8th seeded Clippers win the same amount of games as Houston, but they did it against a better Warriors outfit. Durant played for the entire series, and Cousins played in Game 1.

I don’t know what the opposite of a Conference Finals for the ages is, but that’s what this was.

The Portland Trail Blazers were the only thing left between the Warriors and fifth straight Finals appearance.

To say Golden State made light work of Portland would be kind.

The Blazers had a chance to make this a series in both Game 1 and 2. It was single digit game heading into the fourth quarter in Game 1 before Golden State outscored Portland 39-23 in the period.

Portland led by as many as 17 in Game 2 before relinquishing said lead en route to a 114-111 loss.

Terry Stotts’ team knew Game 2 was all-but a must win and Portland played like a team demoralized for the remainder of the series.

Curry torched the Blazers in Game’s 3 and 4 with lines of 37-8-8 and 37-13-11. Portland simply had no answer.

They put their centers in drop coverage in Game 1 and Steph crucified them to the tune of nine threes and 36 points. In Game 2 their center played the pick and roll a little higher but it was to no avail. Curry went 7-8 on 2s and 11-11 from the line as he waltzed by the Portland bigs time after time.

Enes Kanter bordered on unplayable in the series, with his lack of mobility in pick and roll actions costing the Blazers dearly. Jusuf Nurkic‘s absence was glaring, and while not the most fleet of foot, almost anyone is an upgrade from Kanter on that end of the floor.

Portland’s chances in the series weren’t helped when Kevon Looney landed awkwardly on Damian Lillard in the first half of Game 2, leaving the Oakland native with what would later be confirmed as a rib injury.

Durant and Cousins remained out for Golden State throughout the series but the Warriors never looked depleted. Curry, Thompson, and Green were unstoppable and Steve Kerr delved deep into his bench for most of the series.

Kerr even started Damian Jones in Game 3, a player who hadn’t even been in the rotation prior. Kerr knew Portland lacked the weapons to worry his team, going 11 and 12 deep on multiple occasions in the series.

Against the Clippers, it was almost the polar opposite. By Game 6, the Warriors were realistically 7.5-8 deep. They were even forced into a lineup change, as Kerr opted for wily veteran Shaun Livingston in place of Andrew Bogut to form a variant of the ever-so-lethal Hamptons Five.

Steve Ballmer’s ball club is in a great spot.

Their series against Golden State merely reaffirmed what the Clipper faithful have known for some time now – this is a special, special group.

They have balanced grit with talent. They aren’t just a team that scraps and hustles, they’re talented. They were the league’s fifth most prolific offense, averaging 115.1 points per game without a single all-star.

A top-tier player could take them to the next level with the groundwork thoroughly in place. A mixture of savvy veterans as well as some exciting youngsters makes LA an enticing proposition for free agents to be.

Oh, and the weather’s nice, too.