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The Phoenix Suns demolished the LA Clippers with a 130-103 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals at Staples Center on Wednesday. The Suns finished off the Clippers with a 4-2 series victory that put an end to LA’s inspiring postseason run.
The 2020-21 season began with a lot of promise for the LA Clippers but there were a lot of things that conspired against them that kept them from reaching the NBA Finals. Some of these unfortunate incidents were self-inflicted but others were just unavoidable circumstances that could have befallen any team in the league.
Regardless, the 2020-21 LA Clippers have gone deeper into the postseason than any roster in franchise history. It’s a season to be celebrated for sure, but one can’t help but wonder about what could have been.
#5 Not having a “true” point guard
Before the season started, Kawhi Leonard was reportedly pushing the LA Clippers to get him a point guard. Let's face it, Reggie Jackson and Patrick Beverley are point guards in name only. Without the playmaker that Leonard requested, they were 17th in the league with 24.4 assists per game during the regular season.
They got Rajon Rondo (more on him later) at the trade deadline, but he hardly played in the regular season or the postseason. And when he played in the playoffs, the results weren’t too encouraging either.
In the first two rounds of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, the LA Clippers averaged just 21.8 assists a night and went further down in the Western Conference Finals to just 18.7 per contest. With defenses tightening as they went deeper into the playoffs, it’s expected for assists to go down further. But the fact that they didn’t have a true point guard on the floor most of the time caused their offense to stagnate at the most inopportune times.
In contrast, the Phoenix Suns are third in the postseason in assists per game (24.4), and are headed to the Finals.
#4 The LA Clippers fell in love with the 3-point shot
The LA Clippers had the highest 3-point shooting percentage in the regular season at 41.1 percent, so we can forgive them for believing in their 3-point shooting even in the playoffs. But they fell to seventh overall in the postseason with a very respectable 38.1 percent.
However, they fell in love with the 3-pointer even when it wasn’t falling regularly. By the Western Finals, the LA Clippers made just 33.5 percent of their threes. In Games 4 and 6, both losses, coach Tyronn Lue’s squad made just 16.1 percent (5-of-31) and 30.8 percent (12-of-39) from beyond the arc.
#3 Playoff Rondo was a dud
The LA Clippers traded Lou Williams for Rajon Rondo in a mid-season move to prepare for a title run. After all, Playoff Rondo was spectacular last season during the LA Lakers’ own championship quest.
But what a difference one season makes!
Except for a couple of game-changing plays in the 2021 postseason, Playoff Rondo was virtually non-existent and at times was even, dare I say it, toxic to the LA Clippers’ offense and defense. In this postseason, the two-time NBA champion averaged just 4.2 points and 3.8 assists in 13 games.
If the LA Clippers could have a do-over trade, they would take back Williams in a heartbeat. Consequently, the three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner is playing significant minutes for the title-contending Atlanta Hawks.
#2 The LA Clippers going down 0-2 three times
The LA Clippers became the first team in league history to go down 0-2 twice in the same postseason and win both playoff rounds. Not content with that, they lost the first two games of the Western Conference Finals as well.
It can be argued that adversity worked in the LA Clippers’ favor as it strengthened their resolve and prepared them for a championship run so that they could exorcise last year’s playoff demons. But going down 0-2 for the third time in the postseason was just too much for them to overcome.
Furthermore, going the full seven games in the first round and six games in the second round took its toll on the LA Clippers’ health. By the time Game 6 of the WCF arrived, they didn’t have three key players and the ones remaining looked gassed, with Paul George going by willpower alone.
Even if they won against the Suns, they would have had to reach the NBA Finals by going the distance again.
#1 Kawhi Leonard’s knee injury
There’s nothing worse for a championship contender than losing its best player. Averaging 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 11 games in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Kawhi Leonard was having one of the finest postseasons of his career until midway through the second round of the postseason.
But in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Utah Jazz, the injury bug bit the LA Clippers and it bit them hard. A freak injury occurred in the fourth quarter of their 118-104 win when Leonard tweaked his knee on a fastbreak.
Though they won the series in six games against the Jazz, the Phoenix Suns were a different matter. The LA Clippers would find a team in the WCF that had solid leadership, a disciplined system and talented players that were just too much for them to overcome.
Had Leonard been around, many believe that this series would’ve flipped in their favor. And they’re not wrong.
In other words, the LA Clippers would’ve won the Western Conference Finals 4-2 and they would be on their way to the NBA Finals by now. We will never know now what could have been if Leonard had been healthy enough to play even half of the series.
Instead, LA Clippers fans will have to wait until next season for another shot at the championship.
