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LA Clippers: 5 lessons to learn from last year’s playoff failure

By Seth Kimbrell

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Signage at Staples Center on February 05, 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)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Signage at Staples Center on February 05, 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) /
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(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

It’s hard to talk about the playoffs as an LA Clippers fan without flinching. The postseason hasn’t been kind to the Clippers; not many postseason failures sting more than last year’s collapse against the Denver Nuggets.

There’s a way to look on the bright side of what happened, though. There’s a (possibly apocryphal) quote by Benjamin Franklin that sums it up: “I didn’t fail the test. I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.”

The LA Clippers found several ways to not win in the playoffs last year, and they can learn lessons from it this year.

The list of lessons the Clips could take from last year into this year’s playoffs is long, but I think it can be summed up into five broad categories. Let’s get right into them, starting with:

LA Clippers playoff lesson #1: Play your game; don’t talk to the other team

Remember when the LA Clippers played the Denver Nuggets in last year’s playoffs, and Marcus Morris decided to trash talk Paul Millsap in Game Five? There were many factors that contributed to the collapse, but it definitely felt like the game shifted after that.

Going into this year’s playoffs, the Clips have to be better about playing their own game and not letting opponents get into their heads. We’ve already seen this in the regular season; the Clippers are talking much less this year compared to last.

There’s no reason to give the other team any ammunition. In the playoffs, any little advantage could be the difference between advancing and going home early. The Clips are full of players who like to chat, but that can’t happen this year.

I’m especially thinking of guys like Patrick Beverly and Morris here. They are always talking and always trying to get into the heads of the opponent, but we don’t have the luxury of doing that this year.

Besides, any trash talk a Clippers drops in the playoffs can be pretty easily countered with a simple “3-1” reference. It’s just not worth it to try to get the other team angry; instead, the Clips need to let their play do the talking.

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