One Hit Wonder

 

    As I write this, it's been perhaps a month since the Los Angeles Clippers had an epic meltdown reminiscent of the Thunder's 2016 blown 3-1 lead against the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Also being up 3-1 over the underdog but highly touted Denver Nuggets, the Clippers managed to deny national and global basketball fans the much anticipated joy of seeing the battle of L.A. for the 2020 Western Conference Finals. For all intents and purposes, that matchup would have been considered the championship for most since it was pretty much an accurate forgone conclusion that the winner would have easily defeated the Eastern Conference champion be it the Celtics or Heat. This conclusion came true as the Lakers went on to easily defeat the Heat in six games, providing LeBron his 4th title, Anthony Davis his first, and the Laker franchise their 17th, tying them with longtime rival, Boston. All of that's well and dandy, but let's reflect on what exactly caused the Clippers (a team predicted by numerous media pundits and alleged analytic experts to win the title EARLY in the season...like TWO GAMES IN EARLY) to fall apart like a cheap suit. 

        The first signs of trouble were their first round struggles against 7th-seeded Dallas. Granted, Dallas had a decent team this season with second-year man Luka Doncic leading the way and Kristaps Porzingis finding his game again. That still doesn't excuse the fact that the Clippers were at one point tied at two games a piece and needed six games to put them away. Given their play in that series, they were actually lucky to not be down 2-0. So, how did a team with such lofty expectations fall so far this quickly? A team that traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, THREE FIRST ROUND draft picks (2022, 2024, and 2026), and two first round picks via Miami for 2023 and 2025 in exchange for simply Paul George. That's not to say that Paul George ain't a bad man on the court (despite his Houdini act for much of the Clippers' playoff run). It is to say that if you give up that much for one player, then you're not allowed to come up short (i.e. the Lakers' trade for A.D. resulting in a title). Let's also not forget the acquisition of two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Combine that dual threat with two quality sixth men in veteran Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell and a future Hall of Fame coach in Doc Rivers, and the Clippers should not only be celebrating their first trip to the Conference Finals, but hanging their first Championship banner as well. 

       Instead, they gave us the Clippers of old. The Clippers of 2015 (a star studded cast led by the trifecta of CP3, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan coughing up a 3-1 lead to Houston). The Q Rich and D Miles era (great highlight reel but not getting it done come playoff time). Again, how did this happen? Revisit the above paragraph towards the end where it talks about the last piece of the Clippers' puzzle. No, not the sixth men duo. Read that part about the future "HALL OF FAME" coach. Read about that fella for whom this is his second time in five years with the same franchise coughing up a 3-1 lead in the semifinals. Read about how in 2003, he was coaching the Orlando Magic and coughed up another 3-1 lead, this time to the Detroit Pistons. So, it's at least somewhat safe to say this is a pattern of behavior for Doc. It's a pattern of behavior that was overlooked given his title run with Boston in 2008 against the Lakers. Adding to that resume is the fact the opposing coach was indeed the G.O.A.T. of coaching, Phil Jackson. He also faced one of the greatest to do it on the hardwood in the Black Mamba (Rest in peace). Anytime you can beat those two guys, the faith in your coaching ability will naturally rise. 

        So, there it is. There lies essentially the sole reason for why Doc was heralded so heavily. We evaluated the lightning he caught in a bottle and crowned him. We considered that 2008 title as compensation for the 2003 meltdown. We also allowed that title to cause us to overlook a few flaws that may have been worth a little more attention. Flaws that included but were not limited to Boston's failure to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone the Finals in 2009 with a semifinal loss to eventual ECF champion Orlando. We believed if he was good enough to go 1-1 against Phil Jackson (with the loss being in 7 games), he surely could be the one to finally get the Clippers past their second tier status in a basketball haven such as Los Angeles. Alas, it was not to be. Despite he and the team being crowned so early, they faltered. As a coach, he failed to check guys like Patrick Beverley and Paul George as they ridiculed Dame Lillard for missed free throws. He failed to adequately address the "Lemon Pepper Lou" situation. He failed to develop the necessary cohesion of a team to keep focused in spite of the pandemic. He failed to emphasize to his team the necessity of keeping their foot on the gas when they had numerous double digit leads on Denver in the middle of the third quarter. He failed to make adjustments for Jokic raining treys like they were layups. He failed to deliver on the expected promise of "The Battle of L.A."

        Within all of these failures, the biggest one was how he failed our expectations. He failed our strong-held belief that he could duplicate the championship magic he showed in Boston during his tenure in L.A. He failed to prove he wasn't a one hit wonder like Timex Social Club or Oran Juice Jones. It is because of these failures combined with the franchise sacrifices and expectations that Doc had to go. As much as it pains me to write those words, it was necessary. Fortunately, he has been given another chance at redemption with the Philadelphia 76ers. While I wouldn't bank on a championship run with that squad, let's at least hope he can do enough on the tail end of his coaching career to not allow those blown 3-1 leads to define him more than his successes.