Kevin Durant Explains Why Clippers Lost To Nuggets
Kevin Durant Explains Why Clippers Lost To Nuggets
The Los Angeles Clippers were considered by many to be the favorites to win the NBA Championship this year. When the Denver Nuggets eliminated them from the playoffs, it caused a lot of reflection and analysis into what precisely went wrong.
Recently, Kevin Durant did an interview on the Joe Budden podcast in which he did his best to explain how things went so awry for Los Angeles.
In a word: defense.
According to Durant, defensive shortcomings is why the Clippers’ season came to a premature conclusion.
“To see them lose like that, it was definitely shocking,” he said.
“They had the most talent. they [were] the deepest team in the NBA top-to-bottom.”
So what happened, then?
“The Clippers weren’t on the same page on defense all series,” Durant continued. “That’s why they lost.”
Budden followed up by asking if Durant felt like perhaps Kawhi Leonard and Paul George did not gel together well, but Durant rejected that notion.
“I don’t think so,” he replied.
It is hard to argue with Durant’s assessment.
Jrue Holiday is gonna be in high demand.https://t.co/m6E9DIgYb3
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 21, 2020
The Clippers took a comfortable 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series against the Nuggets, only to choke away Games 5 and 6. In both of those outings, LA held a double digit lead at one point. For whatever reason, they just couldn’t stop Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, who went supernova late in the series.
Following the defeat, various LA players did cite a lack of chemistry and cohesiveness as a cause for their struggles.
“I think a lot of the issues that we ran into, talent bailed us out,” Lou Williams said.
“Chemistry, didn’t. In this series, it failed us. We know this is our first year together. We are a highly talented group and we came up short.”
Even the players were confused. https://t.co/4D4hJsUwzI
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 21, 2020
Williams noted that this was true on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
“You know, we did have championship expectations,” Williams said.
“We had the talent to do it. I don’t think we had the chemistry to do it and it showed. We had lapses on defense and offense where I think guys that played in systems where they were expected guys to be in certain spots offensively, a lot of different guys made adjustments. You know, it showed.”
It will be interesting to see how the Clippers ultimately bounce back.
The league will only get more competitive next season with Durant officially joining the Nets, so they will undoubtedly look at this year’s failure as a huge missed opportunity.
That said, if they regroup and bounce back strong – all of this season’s disappointments will become a long lost memory.
Should history repeat itself in 2020-21, however – suddenly you have to start asking whether the Clippers are the most disappointing ‘Super Team’ ever assembled.
Related: Paul George Met With ‘Eyerolls’ By Clippers Teammates
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
