Los Angeles Clippers are on a huge hole. One so big they might not be able to overcome this season.
The 84-98 loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round against the Portland Trail Blazers left a bigger wound than the fact that the series is now evened at two games per piece. The Clippers were forced to play without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin during the final minutes of the game, and further tests revealed that both won’t be able to return to the court in the near future.
Paul is out for an undisclosed period of time, but he’s expected to miss at least between four to six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a broken hand. Griffin, on the other hand, has already been ruled out for the reminder of the playoffs with a quad injury. It’s the same quad that forced the forward to miss time in December last year.
The recent rash of injuries certainly leaves the Clippers in a tough spot not for this series, but also for the future if they (somehow) manage to advance past the Blazers. Doc Rivers will have to deal without his two best players on offense, and the impact Paul makes on the defensive end can’t be underestimated either.
Who will step up on offense? Who will run the offense? Who will be the team’s primary inside scorer? They surely can’t rely on DeAndre Jordan to be the team’s top threat near the rim, given how inconsistent he can be on offense, and also considering he’s likely to receive lots of fouls just to watch him throw free throws at a comically bad rate.
All of these questions weren’t answered on Game 5, where the Clippers were badly outplayed and lost 108-98, leaving them with their back against the wall for the final two games of the series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOs0plawSIU&w=854&h=480
Los Angeles now needs to win both games against Portland, and their road will be pretty steep if they don’t do a better job than the one they did Wednesday. If they manage to defeat Damian Lillard and company, they will have to battle against the Golden State Warriors for a spot in the Western Conference Finals. Stephen Curry might not be ready for the start of that series, but the Clips are likely to be overmatched anyway by a more competent Warriors team that already swept them in the regular season series.
J.J. Redick, Austin Rivers, Jeff Green and Jordan all have to step things up if they want to keep their title chances alive. These were never too high to begin – they are clearly a few steps behind Golden State, the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder – but the absence of Paul and Griffin only puts them in a more difficult spot.
Let’s see how Rivers respond to this latest challenge. His players won’t back down, but they need to show a little something extra than what they’ve shown so far in these playoffs. And they definitively need to show a bit more compared to their two recent games.
It’s your time to move, LA.