No. 2 explanation for postseason disappointment from the LA Clippers: Long series after long series
The LA Clippers came into the Western Conference Finals having played 13 postseason games already.
They played a seven-game series vs. the Dallas Mavericks, and then a six-game series vs. the Utah Jazz in the second round. They couldn’t get a lot of time off.
Congratulations to the Clippers for earning consecutive days off for the first time since the month of May.
— Louis Keene (@thislouis) July 1, 2021
The Phoenix Suns, on the other hand, were much more fresh, as they did play a six-game series vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, but swept the Denver Nuggets in the second round.
They had a lot of time off before the Western Conference Finals, and the Clippers never had much time off at all.
If the Clips hadn’t needed to play so many games in such a short period of time, who knows that Zubac gets hurt? Who knows that Marcus Morris Sr. ends up having to hobble through the first four games of the Western Conference Finals?
If the Clippers didn’t need seven games to beat the Mavericks, maybe they would’ve had a bit more energy to finish off the Jazz in less than six games during the second round of the playoffs. The Jazz were a bit more rested for that series because they only took five games to take down their first round opponent.
Being rested was something the Clippers quite frankly never were in these playoffs.