Written by Zach Lowe at ESPN.com
Let’s start production right now on the 30 for 30 about the 2015 conference semifinals between the Houston Rockets and the LA Clippers — the series in which the Clips blew a 3-1 lead before blowing 3-1 leads was cool, and barfed away a 19-point cushion in the last 15 minutes of Game 6 at home.
That was the Clippers’ chance, and they were never the same again. The players are still grappling with it. Two years later, they cannot explain what happened to them — how they collapsed in Game 6 under a hail of Josh Smith 3-pointers, and then melted down in Game 7. It damaged their psyche.
They would have been underdogs against the 67-win Warriors in the next round, but Golden State hadn’t achieved complete humiliating ownership of the Clippers yet. The Clips at least should have broken through to the NBA’s final four — uncharted territory for both a pathetic sad-sack franchise, and its superstar point guard. Instead, they sputtered, injuries submarined the next two seasons, and now that point guard — the Point God, Chris Paul, a top-10 overall player — is headed to Houston in a blockbuster deal, busting up an elite core four that had run its course.
The Clippers were right to keep their group together, despite the déjà vu postseason flameouts. Building 55-win teams is hard. Any group that good is a break or two from the NBA Finals. Blow it up early, and there is no guarantee you sniff that lofty territory ever again.
But that crumbling against Houston crystallized some of the issues that always dogged them: A thin, top-heavy team relying on creaky veteran role players (Matt Barnes), the coach’s son, and classic Doc Rivers Boston-era retreads (including an embarrassingly out-of-shape Glen Davis) ran out of gas.
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