Doc Rivers left the NBA bubble with the form of limp that’s a receipt for practically 26,000 minutes of NBA basketball performed on his legs. A 3-1 playoff collection lead changed into a punchline for the second time in 5 years, and disbelief stuffed his lungs.
He marveled at Denver’s togetherness, and regretted his workforce didn’t have it.
“They saved taking part in. They by no means stopped. They only saved taking part in,” he advised The Occasions. “And when issues received dangerous for us, we stopped trusting. Man … I urged them — preserve trusting. And within the warmth of the second, everybody wished to make the play as an alternative of trusting one another.”
The Clippers’ 104-89 loss to Denver means the group must soak within the disappointment of squandering 47 factors price of leads in its final three video games. It’s a ache that gained’t go away till the Clippers can take the courtroom once more, and who is aware of when that’ll be?
“Perhaps March,” Kawhi Leonard advised The Occasions, although no date for subsequent season has been finalized.
The sting from these losses will power proprietor Steve Ballmer, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and the remainder of the Clippers’ entrance workplace to contemplate drastic adjustments, the type tougher to determine when the influence of the NBA bubble is added to the equation.
And, it’ll require the Clippers to take critical inventory of their state of affairs and perceive the urgency of all of it.
Because the Clippers left the constructing, staffers helped carry a bit of train tools, a form of half-cage used to assist stretching. As they shuffled it away from the locker room door, staffers hoisted it right into a fluorescent gentle fixture, practically tearing it from the ceiling.
And nonetheless, extra absurdity was to come back.
“It was apparent strain to stay as much as the title expectations,” Clippers guard Paul George mentioned. “However as a participant, I imply, you need that. Such as you need that. Once more, it is the primary time I have been in that state of affairs the place we’re anticipated to win. However you already know, it’s what it’s. It is no cop-out. Reality of the matter is, we did not stay as much as that expectation.
“However I feel internally, we have all the time felt, this isn’t a championship-or-bust yr for us.”
That may not sit nicely with the individuals who traded the Clippers’ future for George — and the assurance that Kawhi Leonard would sign — final offseason. It’s a deal that value the Clippers draft picks till 2026 and their greatest younger participant, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder made that commerce as a result of they knew they’d want time to rebuild. The Clippers made that commerce as a result of they knew they couldn’t afford to attend.
The Clippers once more must transfer ahead at double pace this offseason as a result of, as soon as once more, there’s no time to attend. Leonard, the participant who totally legitimized the Clippers as a bona fide vacation spot by signing there after winning a title with Toronto in 2019, may undercut all that good will by opting out and strolling after subsequent season.
Marcus Morris and Montrezl Harrell are free brokers, and JaMychal Inexperienced can turn out to be one if he declines his participant choice. And whereas George was totally within the “run-it-back” camp postgame Tuesday, Leonard mentioned the Clippers want to regulate.
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley, left, is pressured by Denver’s Jamal Murray. (Mark J. Terrill / Related Press)
“We’ve received to get smarter,” Leonard mentioned.
Leonard, as with George and Rivers, mentioned the Clippers’ chemistry issues have been crippling. A number of gamers fought COVID-19 earlier than arriving within the bubble. Three others left Orlando to deal with the deaths of family and friends.
And with gamers out and in of quarantine — time prolonged in a single case by a trip to a gentleman’s club for some hen wings — saved the Clippers from the follow time Rivers so excitedly craved as soon as it was introduced the season was again on.
Denver, additionally needed to combat adversity, its group hit exhausting by the virus. Coach Michael Malone and star Nikola Jokic have been amongst those that examined optimistic. When the workforce arrived in Orlando, they did so with simply greater than half their gamers.
The Nuggets, Rivers mentioned, had the groundwork to soak up these setbacks due to the time they spent collectively making ready for such moments. The Clippers didn’t have that luxurious, needing to regulate in moments, like a scholar cracking a guide for the primary time the night time earlier than an examination.
They by no means had that chemistry … and extra …
The Clippers didn’t have the psychological fortitude or capability to remain inside sport plans for 48 minutes and it value them, particularly in Video games 5 and 6. They didn’t have the toughness to deal with the strain that constructed with every missed shot. They usually positively didn’t have sufficient gamers staying unnerved as Leonard and George turned in horrible offensive performances in Recreation 7.
Does bringing Harrell, the reigning sixth man of the year, and Morris again resolve these issues? That’s for the Clippers to resolve over the upcoming months. Any pathways to vital enchancment in all probability must be made by a commerce, and nearly actually will embody the Clippers taking up hefty, long-term contracts as a result of they don’t have the capital to amass an amazing participant on the short.
And what concerning the two stars who disappeared within the fourth quarter of crucial sport in Clippers historical past, combining to overlook all 10 of their photographs within the fourth quarter? They certainly want to seek out methods to be higher and, if not, to carry the gamers round them.
Perhaps a extra skilled, true level guard who could possibly be a major playmaker would free the 2 in additional conditions — as an illustration, these final three second halves.
George must get comfy and discover his voice, as a result of that’s simply not Leonard’s persona. And counting on function gamers to hold that burden isn’t sometimes how championships are gained.
Then there’s Rivers. He’s been with the Clippers since 2013, the present fifth-longest run for a coach with one workforce. However three of the coaches forward of Rivers on the record have gained NBA titles with their present groups, because the Clippers stare at an uncrossable moat surrounding the convention finals.
As issues shortly unraveled within the fourth quarter Tuesday night time, Rivers referred to as timeout in an try to instill some kind of cohesion. And as they walked off the ground, they did in order 5 socially distanced people, fully disconnected.
“I’ll allow you to do all of the blaming,” Rivers mentioned after the sport. “I don’t play that sport. You possibly can determine that one out by yourself.”
However in shedding this fashion this many instances in a row, discovering an answer appears nearly inconceivable. And with time working towards the Clippers, the strain to make it proper is even higher.
