Several Clippers’ players were too tired to play stints of over 3 minutes and wanted to sit out for a fair bit of the 4th quarter of Game 7 vs Nuggets.
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The Clippers, post their defeat revealed that a lot of their players were suffering from fatigue and could not play properly in Game 7. This makes us wonder is the age of the Clippers players a factor?
The Clippers beat the Mavs in 6 games and then had a bit of a gap, while the Nuggets tussled with the Jazz in a 7 game series. If anything, the Nuggets should be the ones fatigued, but their young core made sure they have fresh feet in the matches.
Clippers’ Head Coach Doc Rivers had mentioned earlier as well that he wasn’t content about his players’ conditioning in the Bubble.
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Clippers too fatigued to compete for the title?
The Clippers did not look their same in the last 3 games. They started the games with full steam but were usually out of it in the second half. This led them to blow a 16 and 19 point lead in Game 5 and Game 6 respectively. Game 7 wasn’t any easier for the players, sources reveal.
With both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George too sitting out a few minutes during the 4th quarter, questions have been raised against the star duo in LA.
Is Load Management the cause of the problem?
The Clippers were using ‘Load Management’ as a reason to not play all their players in a lot of games, giving plenty of rest to their players all season. This may have hurt them more than it helped.
The Clippers barely played a few matches with their entire lineup on the floor, either due to injuries or ‘Load Management’.
Considering how many new players the Clippers had this season, this made them miss out on a chance to develop an on-court and in-game chemistry. It would also have affected the players’ stamina. Hopefully, the coaches look into it next season and they manage to come strong next season.
