Game 2 Western Semis - 6 p.m. TNT

[Quake Griffin]

If this team can cut a corner on effort, it will. So, I’m not particularly thrilled with all the “I’m not worried” and “we out played them the rest of the way” talk. Im hoping they don’t see it that way.

If Doc wants to show this team is a champion....
Beat this team in 5 games. 3 straight games of full out effort. Turn the corner from the Load Management Mindset to a team that is ready to win an NBA Championship mindset.

3 straight games within a series.
Full effort.

[MartinToVaught]

The first quarter killed us. Weoutscored them in every single quarter. So that's a good sign. Just can't get out to a lazy start again. On to the next game.

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

[NippySudz]

The first quarter killed us. Weoutscored them in every single quarter. So that's a good sign. Just can't get out to a lazy start again. On to the next game.

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Agreed. I'm not worried about winning the series. Clippers beat themselves more so than the nuggets beat us. We'll come back next game.

Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using Tapatalk

[Quake Griffin]

The first quarter killed us. Weoutscored them in every single quarter. So that's a good sign. Just can't get out to a lazy start again. On to the next game.

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

It’s infuriating to watch and to think about.

If you’re committing to LM all season, you better be just as dedicated to pulling the team out of that mindset come playoff time.

If not for this season, then because the hope is we’ll be doing this with Kawhi for the next 10 years.

[NippySudz]

The first quarter killed us. Weoutscored them in every single quarter. So that's a good sign. Just can't get out to a lazy start again. On to the next game.

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

Last time I checked, Kawhi is a 2x champion. Kawhi played like sh--t. I wouldn't sweat this loss, this is the worst playoff game kawhi has had in like 5 years. Its an historical bad game from him. He was the "George Paul" in this matchup. And they still got it down to 5.

I think some of you guys have blindspots and can't see that we won every quarter except the 1st. The first quarter cost us the game, that's with everyone playing like sh--t. The effort was there in all the subsequent quarters, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the first quarter where we gave up 44 points. Winning the first quarter is crucial to winning the game in most cases in PO basketball. Guys just have to do a better job of coming out and setting the tone

As for kawhi goes, they doubled him on every catch and I think it just knocked him off his rhytym. He looked rush for the first time I've seen him play. He will be better next time. the dude was fumbling the ball on catches too. This game isn't an indication of bad coaching, team mindset or whatever BS narrative people got going on. This was just a bad game. If we come out and lose the next game then yeah I would say so. We're better prepared now. I don't see the nuggets winning the next game or it even being competitive. That's just me. We're not going to see a historically bad kawhi again.

[Max Headrom]

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

Last time I checked, Kawhi is a 2x champion. Kawhi played like sh--t. I wouldn't sweat this loss, this is the worst playoff game kawhi has had in like 5 years. Its an historical bad game from him. He was the "George Paul" in this matchup. And they still got it down to 5.

I think some of you guys have blindspots and can't see that we won every quarter except the 1st. The first quarter cost us the game, that's with everyone playing like sh--t. The effort was there in all the subsequent quarters, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the first quarter where we gave up 44 points. Winning the first quarter is crucial to winning the game in most cases in PO basketball. Guys just have to do a better job of coming out and setting the tone

As for kawhi goes, they doubled him on every catch and I think it just knocked him off his rhytym. He looked rush for the first time I've seen him play. He will be better next time. the dude was fumbling the ball on catches too. This game isn't an indication of bad coaching, team mindset or whatever BS narrative people got going on. This was just a bad game. If we come out and lose the next game then yeah I would say so. We're better prepared now. I don't see the nuggets winning the next game or it even being competitive. That's just me. We're not going to see a historically bad kawhi again.

Dude, it's clear as day yesterday wasn't some "Doc didn't have the fam ready" crap...lol These aren't high school players, these are grown men. You can't coach effort and they just didn't have it in the first quarter along with Denver basically making everything they shot, contested or not.

And if Kawhi plays even average, the Clippers probably win the game, simple. No mental gymnastics needed trying to find any other agenda based reason that isn't there.

[NippySudz]

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

Last time I checked, Kawhi is a 2x champion. Kawhi played like sh--t. I wouldn't sweat this loss, this is the worst playoff game kawhi has had in like 5 years. Its an historical bad game from him. He was the "George Paul" in this matchup. And they still got it down to 5.

I think some of you guys have blindspots and can't see that we won every quarter except the 1st. The first quarter cost us the game, that's with everyone playing like sh--t. The effort was there in all the subsequent quarters, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the first quarter where we gave up 44 points. Winning the first quarter is crucial to winning the game in most cases in PO basketball. Guys just have to do a better job of coming out and setting the tone

As for kawhi goes, they doubled him on every catch and I think it just knocked him off his rhytym. He looked rush for the first time I've seen him play. He will be better next time. the dude was fumbling the ball on catches too. This game isn't an indication of bad coaching, team mindset or whatever BS narrative people got going on. This was just a bad game. If we come out and lose the next game then yeah I would say so. We're better prepared now. I don't see the nuggets winning the next game or it even being competitive. That's just me. We're not going to see a historically bad kawhi again.

Dude, it's clear as day yesterday wasn't some "Doc didn't have the fam ready" crap...lol These aren't high school players, these are grown men. You can't coach effort and they just didn't have it in the first quarter along with Denver basically making everything they shot, contested or not.

And if Kawhi plays even average, the Clippers probably win the game, simple. No mental gymnastics needed trying to find any other agenda based reason that isn't there.

Exactly. Even Kenny smith's breakdown at half time was mirroring that, its just a bad day, that's all it is. They just didn't have it that day, it wasn't rotations, it wasn't players not playing hard. All it was the first quarter. They still can improve on that, bringing the intensity in the first quarter, but I thought they did pretty well after that blitz considering no player other than pg had it going scoring wise.

Kobe bryant would say "sh--t game. Just flush it." Games like that happens.

[NippySudz]

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

It’s infuriating to watch and to think about.

If you’re committing to LM all season, you better be just as dedicated to pulling the team out of that mindset come playoff time.

If not for this season, then because the hope is we’ll be doing this with Kawhi for the next 10 years.

Did you realistically think the clippers would go undefeated to the run to the title and blaming that on load management? Come on dude, what are we doing? This loss has nothing to do with lack of cohesion due to load management. This is just a loss they got their ass beat. When your best player who hasn't had a bad playoff game like that in 5-6 years has a game like that, it's just a bad night. He was fumbling catches, easy putbacks weren't going in. The first quarter they need to be better, but coming up with wild conclusions is too much.

This was not a doc problem. It wasn't a kawhi problem. It wasn't any player problem. They simply didn't have the juice. That's it. We're not golden state warriors. We're going to be tested in the playoffs. That's how you build championship meddle. It's not made overnight. It wasn't for toronto. Playing regular season games isn't going to teach you championship meddle.

[nickhx2]

pretty much what kawhi said when he joined the clippers.

the team's gonna have to fight together, lose some games together, and fight with each other, all in order to grow as a team that can win games when it matters. he should know better than anyone how to build a team that can compete for a championship.

[Max Headrom]

So, Denver shot 71 percent in the first quarter and 36 percent for the final 3 quarters. Again, there is nothing to take away from this game besides they lost the first quarter, that's literally it...lol

[Quake Griffin]

Nah, don't burn the tape. They need to watch that first quarter on a loop until it sinks in that they need to take every playoff game seriously.

I'm not even mad about the loss, I'm just mad that they took an entire quarter of playoff basketball off and didn't even pretend to put in any effort (except for Zu). That's not the mentality of a champion.

It’s infuriating to watch and to think about.

If you’re committing to LM all season, you better be just as dedicated to pulling the team out of that mindset come playoff time.

If not for this season, then because the hope is we’ll be doing this with Kawhi for the next 10 years.

Did you realistically think the clippers would go undefeated to the run to the title and blaming that on load management? Come on dude, what are we doing? This loss has nothing to do with lack of cohesion due to load management. This is just a loss they got their ass beat. When your best player who hasn't had a bad playoff game like that in 5-6 years has a game like that, it's just a bad night. He was fumbling catches, easy putbacks weren't going in. The first quarter they need to be better, but coming up with wild conclusions is too much.

This was not a doc problem. It wasn't a kawhi problem. It wasn't any player problem. They simply didn't have the juice. That's it. We're not golden state warriors. We're going to be tested in the playoffs. That's how you build championship meddle. It's not made overnight. It wasn't for toronto. Playing regular season games isn't going to teach you championship meddle.

They shot 70% from the field in the 1st and dropped 44 on us because the defense, out the gate, was lackluster.

Then, we basically kicked the ball around all first half....12 first half turnovers and finishing up with 17 for the game. Was there some special ball pressure the Nuggets were applying to get 12 first half turnovers?

It's not just a bad night imo. It's not just an off night.
We weren't prepared. We weren't focused. We took our foot off the gas because that's what we do. No current game we're playing is truly important because the most important game is some future game that really will mean the most for our championship chances.

We tried to get it back. So we played well and won the last 3 quarters but that wasn't enough because that's not the type of team we are....no matter how much we wish that was the case.

Time to check out of Load Management mindset.
Each game in the postseason is important. Each loss is an extra 48 minutes this team has to play and extra potential for injury or externalities we can't control.

[MartinToVaught]

I don't think load management is the issue. Lob City had the same issue of being way too casual and complacent in playoff games sometimes. The go-to example for me is still Game 5 against Houston. I knew deep down after that game that we were losing the series. I just chalk it up to the bad habits of Doc's teams.

[NippySudz]

It’s infuriating to watch and to think about.

If you’re committing to LM all season, you better be just as dedicated to pulling the team out of that mindset come playoff time.

If not for this season, then because the hope is we’ll be doing this with Kawhi for the next 10 years.

Did you realistically think the clippers would go undefeated to the run to the title and blaming that on load management? Come on dude, what are we doing? This loss has nothing to do with lack of cohesion due to load management. This is just a loss they got their ass beat. When your best player who hasn't had a bad playoff game like that in 5-6 years has a game like that, it's just a bad night. He was fumbling catches, easy putbacks weren't going in. The first quarter they need to be better, but coming up with wild conclusions is too much.

This was not a doc problem. It wasn't a kawhi problem. It wasn't any player problem. They simply didn't have the juice. That's it. We're not golden state warriors. We're going to be tested in the playoffs. That's how you build championship meddle. It's not made overnight. It wasn't for toronto. Playing regular season games isn't going to teach you championship meddle.

They shot 70% from the field in the 1st and dropped 44 on us because the defense, out the gate, was lackluster.

Then, we basically kicked the ball around all first half....12 first half turnovers and finishing up with 17 for the game. Was there some special ball pressure the Nuggets were applying to get 12 first half turnovers?

It's not just a bad night imo. It's not just an off night.
We weren't prepared. We weren't focused. We took our foot off the gas because that's what we do. No current game we're playing is truly important because the most important game is some future game that really will mean the most for our championship chances.

We tried to get it back. So we played well and won the last 3 quarters but that wasn't enough because that's not the type of team we are....no matter how much we wish that was the case.

Time to check out of Load Management mindset.
Each game in the postseason is important. Each loss is an extra 48 minutes this team has to play and extra potential for injury or externalities we can't control.

We'll agree to disagree. I think we can all agree the first quarter was a big reason we lost the game.

Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using Tapatalk

[clipperlover]

Also, as terrible as Kawhi played, Denver should've blown the Clippers out. You burn the game tape from the first quarter and get ready for game 3. And I'm sure Kawhi is gonna try and come back with a vengeance the next game.

I think some of you guys have blindspots and can't see that we won every quarter except the 1st. The first quarter cost us the game, that's with everyone playing like sh--t. The effort was there in all the subsequent quarters, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the first quarter where we gave up 44 points. Winning the first quarter is crucial to winning the game in most cases in PO basketball. Guys just have to do a better job of coming out and setting the tone.

Wrong. The first quarter was bad, but the game was lost in the 3rd quarter. Go back and look at what the score was at different time points in the 3rd. As bad as Denver was playing, we did very little to cut into that lead. It was 89-73 with less than a minute to go in the qtr. So, in 11 3rd qtr minutes, Denver (as bad as they were playing) outscored us. We should have been down no more than 5 heading into the 4th.

We were in the bonus with 7:19 remaining in the 3rd (4 shooting fouls on Denver). We had 9 more FT attempts in the 3rd and went 4 of 9. With 2 trips where the shooter missed both attempts. Those are momentum killers.

[nickhx2]

i mean 48 minutes were played so the game was lost in its entirety lol. can't just blame one specific section.

[Quake Griffin]

I don't think load management is the issue. Lob City had the same issue of being way too casual and complacent in playoff games sometimes. The go-to example for me is still Game 5 against Houston. I knew deep down after that game that we were losing the series. I just chalk it up to the bad habits of Doc's teams.

This is true and a great example.

There were many of us here, THAT NIGHT (not second guessing it or Monday Morning QB'ing), who saw that as a big game and saw the lackluster effort in that game as a bad omen.

And we paid for it....dearly.

[esqtvd]

Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr have also blown 3-1 leads. It happens. Now we lost a playoff game. A Game 2 at that. It happens. Mercy.

[esqtvd]

i mean 48 minutes were played so the game was lost in its entirety lol. can't just blame one specific section.

We gave up only 38 points in the 2nd half. If it had been 58 I'd be a lot more down. No, there are no "moral victories." But some losses are better than others.

[MartinToVaught]

Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr have also blown 3-1 leads. It happens.

Speaking of that: the only coach in NBA history who's blown multiple 3-1 leads in their career is Doc Rivers. It's a testament not only to his refusal to make adjustments, but also to his teams' inability to stay focused and motivated throughout a playoff series.

[NippySudz]

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