After completing a historic comeback on Monday night, the LA Clippers must capitalize on their momentum if they want to win the entire series.
*Ahem* THE LA CLIPPERS COMPLETED THE BIGGEST PLAYOFF COMEBACK IN NBA HISTORY! Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, it’s time to turn the attention to the next game. Holding onto that feeling they had on Monday night will be a tall order, but is key if there is any hope of pulling off one of the greatest upsets in sports.
Momentum is very much a real thing and for the LA Clippers, it’s something they can use to actually make this series winnable. Golden State has to be a little down on themselves after blowing that lead and to make things worse, they likely will be without center DeMarcus Cousins for the rest of the series, possibly even the rest of the postseason. Cousins hadn’t done much in his two appearances, but losing an All-Star never helps.
The injury is heartbreaking and although we all hope it turns out to be nothing, the Clippers have been given an opportunity. If you told anyone a week ago that the series would be headed back to LA split at one game apiece, you would have been mocked and dragged on Twitter. Heading home tied up has to be a special feeling, especially knowing you can get in front of your home crowd and build on what you already have.
Patrick Beverley will be an amplified version of himself (if that’s possible) and Montrezl Harrell will play with the same contagious energy that he always does. It’s up to the rest of the team to harness and execute using that same energy.
An unsung hero, JaMychal Green‘s toughness helped spark the comeback and even though he fouled out, his imprint was much bigger than his 13 points and 7 rebounds show in the box score. The team will also need more outstanding play from their two rookies, both of which were impressive on defense and came up in the biggest moment in the game. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a -11 on the night, only putting up four points and five assists. He did manage to grab four steals, but the team will need him to be aggressive on offense and to really pressure the Warriors defense.
The blueprint is there for the Clippers.
My favorite quote is "Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard". Following that has helped me reach my goals #WinFromWithin
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) January 4, 2012
No, this isn’t to say that Golden State doesn’t work hard. They do. The Clippers just know they have to work harder.
Using the momentum built in the comeback can help them do that. If they utilize it correctly, another win on Thursday may just happen.