Roughly two weeks ago, the LA Clippers dismissed Chris Paul. The organization sent him home because of his voice in the locker room. Paul valued accountability, and this was later presented as one of the reasons that motivated Lawrence Frank's decision.
Well, it took just a few games for the Clippers to prove Chris Paul right.
The inbounds violation heard around the world
With 8.7 seconds remaining in last Thursday's 115-113 loss to the Houston Rockets, the LA Clippers trailed by three points and were out of timeouts after Tyronn Lue used a challenge on a questionable Kawhi Leonard offensive foul. This was the moment where all those years of NBA experience were supposed to matter.
Instead, Nicolas Batum, an 18-year NBA veteran with over 1,100 games under his belt, stepped over the baseline while attempting to inbound the ball. He also committed a five-second violation in trying to find the open man, giving the Rockets a crunch time win.
This is the exact type of careless, inexcusable mistake that Chris Paul would've lost his mind over. And you know what? He would've been absolutely right to do so. How does a team with so much experience fail to execute an inbounds play in a must-win situation?
Experience means nothing without accountability
The LA Clippers are the oldest team in the NBA, with an average roster age of 33.2 years. They're supposed to be the smartest team in the league that never beats itself with mental mistakes because they've seen everything. But here's the problem: experience without accountability is just expensive incompetence.
Nicolas Batum shared the floor with four other players drafted in 2016 or earlier during that final possession. James Harden (2009), Kawhi Leonard (2011), Bogdan Bogdanović (2014), and Ivica Zubac (2016) were all out there with him. Combined, those five players have 62 years of NBA experience, and not a single one of them clutched up when it mattered most.
None of Batum's teammates showed any urgency in presenting themselves as receiving options. Harden was closely guarded, Leonard was on the opposite side of the floor trying to escape Amen Thompson's coverage, and Ivica Zubac was deep in the frontcourt. Everyone just stood around assuming someone else would figure it out, and the result was Batum desperately heaving a pass while crossing the line.
This is what happens when you remove accountability from a veteran roster. Chris Paul would've been in everyone's ear during that timeout, making sure everyone is on the same page. Instead, the Clippers let him go for being too demanding, and now they're losing games because their veterans can't handle simple tasks.
The LA Clippers' record in the clutch speaks volumes
Since Chris Paul's departure, the LA Clippers have gone 1-4. They struggled against the Memphis Grizzlies twice, blew an 18-point lead in Minnesota, and have an added mishap by Nicolas Batum.
The Clippers have the lowest clutch-time win percentage in the NBA. When the game is on the line, this team turns the ball over, allows offensive rebounds, gives up open threes, and makes baffling execution mistakes.
The final verdict is already written on the wall
The LA Clippers wanted to know what life looked like without Chris Paul holding everyone accountable. Well, now results are crystal clear. Nicolas Batum made a game-deciding mistake, the veterans have been of minimal help, and the locker room is out of focus. Thus, the Clippers had the worst 25-game start in 15 years.
At the end of the day, Chris Paul was right. The players, coaches, and front office need to be held accountable. But, instead of listening to one of the smartest basketball minds of this generation, Lawrence Frank and Tyronn Lue chose chose otherwise and removed the one person willing to demand excellence from everyone around him.