Three reasons we can trust the LA Clippers in these Playoffs

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 01: The LA Clippers huddle ahead of the game against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center on April 01, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

The LA Clippers are only nine games away from the postseason, which means it’s almost time for the importance of the games to get kicked up a notch.

We here at Clipperholics are pretty confident in the Clips’ chances in the playoffs; we’ve talked about some players LA can exploit on the other Western contenders. That confidence isn’t necessarily shared throughout Clipper Nation.

There are plenty of reasons to be confident about the LA Clippers in the playoffs this year.

There are those out there that point to some of the more confusing losses of the season and question whether the Clips are really contenders. Sure, the Clippers have had some head scratching losses, but those are overshadowing the fact that LA is doing very well in the games they’re supposed to win.

In the interest of building more hype going into the postseason, let’s talk about some of the reasons that fans of the Clippers should be confident once the team gets into the playoffs, starting with:

LA Clippers reasons to be confident: The players are sticking together:

One thing that stands out in my eye that makes me trust this edition of the LA Clippers is the trust the players clearly have in each other. There are more examples of this than I can list in one piece, but the one that sticks out is the January game against the Miami Heat.

With 28 seconds left in the game and the Clipper lead only 6, Reggie Jackson called a timeout that, unfortunately, the Clips didn’t have. This was a technical foul that led to a Miami free throw, and Jackson was distraught.

Rather than berate him or get down, the Clippers — Serge Ibaka especially — embraced Jackson and consoled him, and the Clips went on to win the game. That’s a scene that I’m not sure happens last year, when we saw episodes like Montrezl Harrell and Paul George exploding off the court.

I have much more confidence this year that, if the Clippers are down 2-1 in a series and the first quarter of Game 4 isn’t going well, the players won’t turn on each other. We’ve seen the guys band together and rally back several times in the regular season, and I see no reason that’ll change in the postseason.