The Los Angeles Clippers once again did what they have historically done — choked in the final game of a playoff series last night. After fighting back in Game 6 to create a win-or-go-home scenario against the Denver Nuggets, they fell flat and failed to perform well as a unit. The Clippers lost by 19, but even that undersells how bad the team played. For most of the game, the Nuggets led by upwards of 20 points, and it was only after a late run that the game looked even remotely acceptable.
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Only Kawhi Leonard and unheralded second-year player Kobe Brown played well, as LA combined to shoot just 29% from three and 68% from the line. While it must be noted that Kawhi was a team worst -33 in plus minus, his 22 points were about as good as it got.
This Clippers’ roster is old, with an average roster age of 27.3, which would place them as the third oldest team in the NBA. That lack of youth became apparent as the series wore on.
It was also what caught Charles Barkley’s attention on Inside the NBA on TNT after the game. While Barkley gave credit to Leonard, co-star Kenny Smith focused on how the age of the team changed their approach.
“Well, the only person who actually put up any resistance was Kawhi Leonard. He actually had a good first half. Nobody else joined the party…” said Barkley. “Once Denver got rolling, I think they kinda packed it in.”
Kenny fired off an additional point, “Hustle plays first, 50/50 balls, it’s a loose ball, who’s gonna get it? Denver won all of those…”
After seemingly burying the Paul George-Kawhi Leonard era of Clippers basketball, this was the year when everything went right. Kawhi was largely healthy, James Harden was an All-Star, and Ivica Zubac had a fantastic year en route to finishing in the top three as the most improved player.
And still, all that got them was a first-round exit to a team that fired the key figures who had managed the team to a title three years ago.
After an underwhelming series from Harden, Zubac, and Norman Powell, who were all wildly inconsistent, the Clippers are left with more questions than answers. Maybe that comes in the form of some trades, but with a new arena finally open, the question is whether they can rebuild fast enough to stay competitive.
