NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 reasons the Los Angeles Clippers need to blow it up
By John Buhler
Once again, the Los Angeles Clippers failed to do much of anything in the Western Conference Playoffs. Here are five reasons that it is time to blow it up.
Like clockwork, the Los Angeles Clippers once again fail to get it done in the Western Conference Playoffs. Despite having home-court advantage in a must-win Game 7 against the Utah Jazz, the Clippers fell at home on Sunday 104-91 to be eliminated from the postseason.
On paper, Los Angeles has one of the better starting fives in basketball. For whatever reason, that has not translated into tangible playoff success. The Clippers have never played in a Western Conference Finals in franchise history. While we have technically witnessed the best incarnation of Clippers basketball, it’s honestly time to blow the whole thing up. Here are five reasons big changes must be coming with Clippers basketball this summer.
5. 50 regular season wins doesn’t equal eight playoff wins
Since the 2012-13 NBA season, the Clippers have won at least 50 regular season games every year. Despite winning going 56-26 in 2012-13, then head coach Vinny Del Negro was fired after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in six games in the 2013 Western Conference first round.
The winning ways in the regular season have continued into the Doc Rivers era of Clippers basketball, but he has not brought the playoff success with him from Boston. Rivers made the playoffs in seven of eight years with the Boston Celtics (2004-13). Boston won the 2008 NBA Championship, played in the 2010 NBA Finals and the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.
Winning in the Eastern Conference is a tad easier than in the Western Conference, assuming LeBron James isn’t on said team’s side of the bracket. However, it’s not like the Western Conference is particularly menacing No. 5 through No. 8 most years.
Los Angeles has shown that it can win over 50 games annually and garner home-court advantage in the first round. That being said, winning over 60 percent of their regular season games has never resulted in winning eight NBA playoff games in one spring.
Getting to the Western Conference Finals was where the bar was set for the 2016-17 Clippers. They didn’t even get out of the first round for the second straight season.