Written by Matt Zemek at Bloguin
We all saw how the Los Angeles Clippers bowed out of the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
It wasn’t just the act of losing what had been a lead of nearly 20 points. It wasn’t just the act of losing a 12-point lead in roughly eight minutes. It wasn’t just the fact that the Clippers had been relatively unbothered in the first five games and three quarters of this series. It wasn’t just that Los Angeles blew Game 6 on its home floor, roughly two weeks after beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on that same floor in a Game 7.
The worst and most embarrassing aspect of the Clippers’ loss — the loss which didn’t eliminate them, but essentially prevented them from making the first conference finals series in franchise history — was that the Houston Rockets’ comeback was achieved with James Harden sitting on the bench. Corey Brewer, Josh Smith, and other role players powered a rally which overwhelmed Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, and the rest of a team which was supposed to take the next step.
Were the Golden State Warriors lucky to not have to play the Clippers in the 2015 Western Conference Finals? Of course they were. Yet, let’s acknowledge this: In sports, the presence of luck might exist beyond dispute, but the way in which luck emerges should also be considered and absorbed.
Realize this about tournaments of any sort: It’s one thing to avoid playing a given opponent because that opponent lost in a previous round, but it means something different when that feared (or more difficult) opponent loses because it didn’t play well.
To continue reading this article, click here.
