Clippers did their jobs
The Clippers showed up and did their jobs…nothing more and nothing less. A fully healthy Clippers team is too good to not blow by such a shorthanded Cavs team. For this reason, it was no surprise the game got blown open by 30 points, even with the Clippers playing as average as they did.
Fortunately, most of the attention was on the absence of three Cavs players rather than the absence of any substancial improvement in the Clippers’ play. Though the Clippers played better overall compared to the past few games, it may not have been enough to spark any kind of winning streak down the stretch of the regular season.
According to Blake Griffin, the Clippers played with a much better defensive spirit and better communication, and it did show on the court. But the offense remained fragmented and they failed to establish any sort of rhythm or flow that you would attribute to that team when they’re playing well.
After all, the game was played without two stars and the force that is LeBron. Perhaps a win against a fully healthy Cavs team may have been more of a motivator and confidence booster for this Clipper team that needs both desperately.
But at the end of the day, a win is a win. Blake stressed this in his post game interview, and refuses to look at this win like it was handed to them.
“At the end of the day, you still gotta go out and execute” Blake said, referring to his team in addition the shorthanded Cavs.