Los Angeles Clippers Would Have Won With Kawhi – Paul George
The Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns was one comeback too many for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated on Wednesday as a result of the 130 – 103 defeat to the rejuvenated Suns.
After coming back from behind in the previous two rounds against Utah and Dallas, the Los Angeles Clippers are the only team to overcome a 2 – 0 deficit twice in the same postseason.
Forward Paul George says his team would have made it to the Finals if superstar Kawhi Leonard had been healthy.Â
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“We’d be going on,” George said.Â
“This series would be a lot different. Talk about one of the best players in the league being out, yet we were inches away from getting to the next round.
“So, definitely it’s a ‘what if’ on this. Fact of the matter is we didn’t do enough to win, and that’s the reason we’re going home.”
Kawhi Leonard was absent since spraining his right knee in Game 4 in the previous round against the Jazz. Fatigue eventually caught up with the Clippers, who were also without centers Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka against Phoenix.
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Coach Tyronn Lue says the team could have taken on anyone if they were firing on all cylinders.Â
“It is a shock,” Lue said. “I think it’s a shock to a lot of guys in that locker room. It just tells you a lot about the team. Like no matter who is playing, we still feel like every night we have a chance to win no matter who is on the floor. I thought we ran out of gas, and first thing goes when you get tired and fatigued is mentally. That first half, we made a lot of mistakes defensively, a lot of mistakes coming out of timeouts or just playcalls, in general; just not there mentally.”
