The Clippers imploded last night in Game 7 vs Nuggets and the locker room scenario wasn’t as rosy as it was earlier made out to be. Montrezl Harell had had enough of Paul George.
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Paul George has been under the pump all through the playoffs in the Bubble. The Clippers star did not manage to elevate his team to championship pedigree, as he was constantly off the mark with his shooting.
While he did rectify a lot of it, it still wasn’t good enough to secure a Western Conference final berth despite being 3-1 up against Nuggets.
Ever since the loss, there have been murmurs about a locker room rift between the players and the lack of chemistry while playing on the court.
Lou Williams addressed the ‘chemistry’ bit, but there seems to be more to it.
Montrezl Harrell slammed Paul George during Game 2 vs Nuggets
Paul George wasn’t having the best of times on court and off the court too, it now seems like his teammates weren’t quite in sync with him.
During Game 2, Montrezl Harrell and Paul George exchanged a lot of ‘pleasantries’ after a few turnovers from PG13 and a misplaced pass to Harrell himself.
Coming in for a time out, Harrell called out Paul George for his carelessness. But to his surprise, George pinged the blame on Harrell, as he felt that Harrell could have received it better.
That made Harrell furious who then went off on PG13.
According to @ChrisBHaynes, Paul George and Montrezl Harrell got into a “heated verbal exchange” during a timeout in Game 2 after two careless turnovers from PG.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 16, 2020
“You’re always right. Nobody can tell you nothing,” Harrel said according to Chris Haynes.
The duo continued to be involved in an heated exchange, before Doc Rivers broke it off to talk strategy. The Clippers were clearly suffering from a lack of cohesion on and off the court.
Was Paul George at the centre of it all?
Having been brought in as the final piece of the puzzle, a lot was expected of Paul George. Alongside Kawhi Leonard, the former OKC man provided the Clippers with the best 2 way players in the league.
However, George didn’t really get his A-game to the table, something that seemed to bother the Clippers stars. Harrell, himself did not play like the’6th man of the year’ in the Bubble.
A team that thought it could turn it up when needed, just wasn’t able to produce the goods on court. Lack of understanding and overall team bonding could have a lot of role to play in it, especially in the Bubble like surrounding when all you have is your teammates.