Lakers, Blazers Mock Clippers Over Loss To Nuggets
The Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers came together to mock the Los Angeles Clippers following Tuesday night’s big loss.
After a season where the Clippers were all but anointed as the inevitable NBA champs, it appears that some couldn’t help but take joy in their misery.
Jared Dudley and JR Smith kicked things off for the Lakers:
😂😂😂😂😂
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) September 16, 2020
soooo
— JR Smith (@TheRealJRSmith) September 16, 2020
Blazers star Damian Lillard didn’t even bother with the subtleties of not attaching names to his tweets. He went straight for the jugular, and his teammate CJ McCollum joined him.
“I guess I should extend this Cancun invite since I haven’t made my arrangements yet,” Lillard tweeted at Patrick Beverley with three laugh-crying emojis, referencing the time Beverley told him to get ready for Cancun because his team wasn’t good enough to win in the playoffs.
@patbev21 I guess I should extend this Cancun invite since I haven’t made my arrangements yet 😂😂😂
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) September 16, 2020
“If they fly private they can get into Mexico for sure,” McCollum added.
“Should probably get the big jet. I wonder if they packed before the game.”
If they fly private they can get into Mexico for sure. Should probably get the big jet.
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) September 16, 2020
But McCollum didn’t stop there.
“They did vote they ain’t wanna play no more. . . But I didn’t think they was gonna go out like that,” he wrote.
My last tweet before I finish this glass. They did vote they ain’t wanna play no more. . . But I didn’t think they was gonna go out like that 😂
— CJ McCollum (@CJMcCollum) September 16, 2020
Needless to say, nobody in the NBA was too sad about Kawhi Leonard and Paul George flaming out in dramatic fashion in the postseason.
George, for his part, thought the losses in the last three games came down to making and missing shots.
“We’ve been getting the same shots that we’ve been getting in the first half all those games,” he said.
“We just as a squad went cold, and on the other side of that, they kept just running their stuff. They kept running in with pace, with speed and getting the looks they want to get. For them, they missed those shots in the first half.
“We’re making ours in the first half, and it’s complete opposite in the second half of each of those games.”
The NBA is going all in. https://t.co/BQ335XNu0s
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 15, 2020
In the end, though – he admitted that the loss still hurt.
“That hurts,” he said.
“But we move on. You know, again, Year 1 together, first run together. Of course we wanted to win this. But we’ve been very optimistic about us being together and building something going down the road.”
Still, George tried to take a big picture outlook.
“I think internally we’ve always felt this is not a championship-or-bust year for us,” he said.
“You know, we can only get better the longer we stay together and the more we’re around each other. More chemistry for the group, the better. I think that’s really the tale of the tape of this season. We just didn’t have enough time together.”
Not how the Cleveland Browns were hoping to start the season. https://t.co/EUkLwRwn8n
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 15, 2020
Leonard had a more blunt answer for why the Clippers lost and how they need to improve going forward.
“Just got to build,” he said.
“Build some chemistry and we’ve got to get smarter. We were close, Denver is great. We shot ourselves in the foot the last three games, last two games were pretty much mirrored. Us coming in and not able to score the ball, very hard in the fourth quarter.
“Tonight was a mirror of it. Those are the things that you got to learn and grow from. Denver did an amazing job, their coach did a great job when this team is playing us a certain way, trying to get the ball out of my hands or packing the paint, we got to know what to do.
“We can’t panic if we are not making shots, or I am not making shots. We’ve got some things we’ve got to get smarter at. Even being up double digits in the second half. Just gotta be smart.”
The Clippers have a lot of work to do this offseason, but limited potential resources when it comes to improving. It will be interesting to see how the organization responds going forward.
Related: Kevin Durant Makes Surprising Draymond Green Admission
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
