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Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers' season officially ended with a Game 6 loss to the Phoenix Suns, as Chris Paul and co. marched to the NBA finals at the Clippers' expense. However, Lue's team managed to take the series to six games, even with star forward Kawhi Leonard not playing a single minute in the entire series.
Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers had a brilliant 2021 NBA postseason run, and they should be considered prime contenders to lift the Larry O'Brien Championship in 2022.
Tyronn Lue deserves enormous credit for leading undermanned LA Clippers to Western Conference Finals
Following his sacking by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, doubts were raised about the authenticity of Tyronn Lue's credentials. The Cavs started that season 0-6, which led to the franchise parting ways with the former LA Lakers player.
Fans and analysts believed that Lue's success as a title-winning coach was largely down to the presence of LeBron James on the Cleveland roster. The former Cavaliers HC's critics suggested there was little chance of Lue achieving something of note without the 'King'.
After leaving the Cavaliers, Lue took his talents to the LA Clippers, where he began working informally with head coach Doc Rivers. He became his chief assistant the following year, ultimately taking over when the team fired Rivers in 2020 after a disastrous playoff run.
The LA Clippers finished 4th in the Western Conference with a 47-25 record in Tyronn Lue's first season as head coach. They finished in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive ratings, and second in net rating differential. Lue managed to construct a flexible roster, surrounding star players Paul George and Kawhi Leonard with versatile players.
The LA Clippers started their 2021 NBA Playoffs campaign poorly, going down 2-0 to the Dallas Mavericks. However, they ended up winning the series 4-3, as Tyronn Lue made a brilliant tactical decision to exploit the Dallas Mavericks' weak defenders after Rick Carlisle had deployed a zone defense.
In Round 2, Tyronn Lue and the LA Clippers met the No.1 seed in Utah Jazz. They once again went down 2-0 but Tyronn Lue's tactical savviness came to the team's rescue once more. What made the six-game series win even more impressive was the fact that the Clippers won Games 5 and 6 without Kawhi Leonard, who went down with a knee injury in Game 4.
With the series tied at 2-2 and no Kawhi Leonard, Tyronn Lue made the adjustment to play small-ball, effectively challenging his counterpart Quin Synder to take Rudy Gobert off the court. Snyder didn't oblige and Lue's ploy worked, as Gobert's inability to guard on the perimeter led to the LA Clippers getting open looks from downtown in both games.
Tyronn Lue was also able to take two games off second seed Phoenix Suns but the absence of his best player and the strain on a tiring Paul George eventually led to the LA Clippers bowing out of the playoffs. However, with these brilliant adjustments and tactics, Lue has proved that he is possibly a top-3 coach in the league right now.
Ty Lue took up the LA Clippers HC job with a point to prove. He has answered his doubters in style, taking a team missing its number one option to the conference finals. The Clippers will come back stronger next year, and they will arguably have the best coach in the NBA at the helm.
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Guess the Lakers players!
