Piece By: Nicholas M. Hall
The 3-1 Curse strikes again! This time sending Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the rest of the “rough rider” Clippers back to their borrowed town in Los Angeles. This was a surprise to many that a young and upcoming team like the Denver Nuggets could dismantle such a promising newly-assembled team with two superstars. However, if you take a brief look at the NBA landscape in the last decade it will clearly illustrate that the Clippers were asking Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, and the rest of the feisty Nuggets to come back and take the series.
All eyes by the end of the series were off the reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and on the new-age passing virtuoso Nikola Jokic. The 7 foot 284lb center was throwing behind the back passes, no-look passes, and threading the needle on an acclaimed Clipper defense. Joker’s playmaking ability opens the floor wide open for Denver’s other weapons to fire, that is, if Jokic doesn’t decide to reach into his own offensive arsenal. On top of Jokic’s savant-like playmaking ability the Nuggets still have the playmaking of Jamal Murray, Monte Morris, Gary Harris and the young PJ Dozier to rely on. Jerami Grant and Torrey Craig can even make plays. Watching the Clipper’s talent fall just short of the Nuggets leaves with me with some questions.
Who is the Clipper’s true playmaker? Do they have one? Patrick Beverley? No, he makes plays but isn’t quite that type of point guard. Lou Williams? No. Lou is a shot creating sixth man that can get buckets off the bench. Reggie Jackson? Absolutely not. He averaged 14.2 minutes per game these playoffs and .9 assists per game.
As much of an improved passer Kawhi is it certainly isn’t him or should it be up to him to run the offense. Nothing says “load management” like expecting to be the leading scorer, defender, and playmaker.
You didn’t necessarily have to be a hoops expert to see that after game 4 the Clippers looked lackadaisical in the second half of games 5,6, and 7. They came out in the first and second quarter hot and the game caught up to them each time. Yes the Clippers have talent like Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Yes they have a lot of the same pieces that took the Golden State Warriors with a healthy Kevin Durant to 6 games.
But who is glueing all these pieces together?
Let's go back to the 2015-2016 NBA season. Kevin Durant’s last year in OKC. It’s the Western Conference Finals and OKC is up 3-1 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Games 5,6, and 7 the Warriors are able to fight back and take down OKC. Was OKC missing something to close the series, or was Golden State actually the better team all along? The answer is both, and this is the same in the case of the Clippers/Nuggets series this year.
Great players and teams alike know that the most difficult game in a series are closeout games. It separates good teams from great ones. The 2015-2016 OKC Thunder had the talent but lacked the playmaking to close out Golden State. It takes a special motor from a veteran leader to lead guys over the hump and through the full 48 minutes. Although talent got the best of both the 2015-2016 Warriors and the 2019-2020 Nuggets in the first four games, consistent teamwork from veteran leaders broke them back into the series possession by possession. The likes of Curry, Draymond, Livingston, Iguodala’s playmaking and veteran leadership overcame OKC’s young talent that lacked the playmaking and mental toughness to close out the series. This parallels Jokic, Murray, Morris, Harris, and Criag’s playmaking acumen and the ability to take the game possession by possession. Although the team is young their approach fosters a more mature brand of basketball that allows them to fight back into a series the way they do.
So what do the Clippers do? They need to hold onto their dynamic duo in Kawhi and Paul George above all else while trying to keep as many of the guys they can. They are naturally going to lose some, but they have to figure out a way to reconfigure what’s lost with playmaking. I actually really like their tough and gritty brand of basketball, but it needs to be harnessed to create consistent offensive opportunities and not a game of chicken between Kawhi, Lou Williams and Paul George. They could potentially pick up the 31-year-old Jeff Teague to come off the bench for some extra playmaking who is a free agent this offseason. If they could pull it off they could also make a run for Goran Dragic who has been quite the piece for Miami.
It will be interesting to see what the Clippers come up with this offseason. Aspirations and expectations were high this season, but of course, the stakes will have ascended to new heights for the Clippers in the 2020-2021 NBA season.
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