LOS ANGELES — It should have been a hollow moment, and to a degree, I’m sure it was. The Clippers were one quarter away from an appointment in Phoenix on Sunday night. They’d put together another of the comebacks for which they’ve become known, and they had New Orleans on the ropes … and then, just as was the case in their first shot at the play-in Tuesday night in Minnesota, they let it get away.
Yet the mood among Coach Ty Lue and the players brought into the interview room late Friday night was one of optimism, albeit subdued.
The Clippers’ season-ending 105-101 loss occurred without seven-time All-Star Paul George, without sharpshooter Luke Kennard, and obviously without two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Instead of bemoaning what they didn’t have, they appreciated what they’d been able to accomplish with their scrappiness and stick-to-itiveness. And they contemplated what could be possible a year from now.
“We get our main guys back. I mean, we can be dangerous,” Lue said.
“I think when you get Kawhi and PG back healthy, Norm (Powell for) a full season … this team can be pretty special. But it’s all about health. Our young guys (Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Kennard, Ivica Zubac), all those guys have (had) a chance to develop and play meaningful games. They played big for us. Our veteran guys, we already talked about what Marcus (Morris), Nico (Batum), Reggie (Jackson) have brought to this team.
“We got to get back, get back to the drawing board. But I’m very excited for this group, the guys coming back.”
It sounds strange, a team that’s just fallen short of the playoffs being talked of as championship-caliber. But these are unusual circumstances.
The Clippers didn’t have Leonard the entire season, of course, but his surgically repaired knee should be fully healthy by training camp. George missed 43 games with an ulnar collateral ligament tear and was unavailable for the most important game of their season because of COVID-19.
Those two alone make this team a potential force. But their absences might have been a blessing in disguise, because the remainders had to step into larger roles and discovered that not only could they hang, they could do some amazing things.
Like coming back to win from a 35-point deficit, two 25-point deficits and a 24-point deficit during the course of this season. Or advancing a culture that has been built on moxie, and taking everything thrown at them and coming back for more.
There was a lot. Nicolas Batum noted he’s been in the league 14 seasons and hardly ever had a season like this one.
“COVID, injuries, comebacks, everything,” he said. “It was fun, though. That was fun. We’ve been through it all. Trades, missing players. I mean, we had everything. We were still top eight in the West without our best player, without our two best players technically because PG played 30 games, something like that. (Actually 31.) We miss him for the biggest game of the year because of COVID and we still almost find a way to win this game.
“I love it here. That coach, those guys. I mean, it’s tough today, but it’s going to be fun next year.”
Batum made a noise when asked if he would exercise his player option this summer, but you can probably guess which way he’s leaning.
Assuming the stars stay healthy – and there are never any guarantees – the others should be much better for the responsibility they assumed this season, which means this should be a deep, deep team. Veterans Jackson, Morris and Batum set examples – and before they were traded, so did players like Eric Bledsoe, Serge Ibaka and Justise Winslow – and youngsters like Mann and Coffey, and behind them, even younger players like Brandon Boston Jr. and Xavier Moon, benefited.
“Just (the veterans’) approach every single day I think was huge for this team, and for our young guys to see how they came to work every day, the message they were delivering,” Lue said. “Just teaching these young guys how to work, what it takes to be a pro. Every day they brought that. So that’s all you can ask from your veteran guys and your veteran group. They did that. The young guys came along. Like I said, they matured. They had to mature very fast considering the circumstances.
“We’re building the right culture, going in the right direction. Our next step is we just got to stay healthy at some point hopefully.”
So there wasn’t much angst about the unfairness of the play-in tournament even though they’d finished six games ahead of the Pelicans in the regular-season standings. Those were the rules, and these tight games in a playoff atmosphere – yeah, I know, the NBA doesn’t consider them part of the playoffs, but they’re just as pressure-packed – will eventually be a positive.
“I don’t look at it as a failed season, more so a season to learn from,” Jackson said. “I think as long as we approach it like that, hopefully, God-willing we can get everybody healthy, and it will be another fun season next year.
“I’d like to see how the guys mesh, how we all mesh. I’m hoping everybody takes time, gets their mind right, gets ready for the season, reflects on it, looks at things that we enjoyed about it, look at things we can all be better at as a team, (what) guys can be better at individually. That’s how I’m going to approach it.”
And here’s something else Clipper fans should consider: Before Friday night’s game, there were roars for the starters, particularly Batum, Zubac, Morris and Jackson. But maybe the biggest roars going forward should be for Lue.
He’s not a superstar coach or a celebrity coach. He’s just the right coach for this team and this situation, and it’s safe to say not many coaches, and maybe not any, could have gotten the Clippers to 42-40 and the brink of the playoffs under these circumstances.
jalexander@scng.com
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