Clippers Eulogy

Ultimately, I thought they played a little soft. Rockets came out with more energy and heart. In the end, they were down 10 with about 2 minutes left, there was a play where Blake got the ball at the top of the key wide open and rather than knock down the shot like he did all playoffs, he pivoted around for an eternity trying to find JJ Redick to get a contested 3 that he missed. Now, I'm sure they designed this play and felt they needed 3 at the time, but it just summed up how Griffin played in the 4th quarter all playoffs - hesitant, confused, tight. I don't know why...I guess the defense picks up, etc, but it would've been nice to see Blake rise above -- take the ball to the hoop, or make a play on defense, or get a big time offensive rebound...something...just make an important basketball play when his team really needed it. Is that so much to ask a star player? That said, I think Blake has an underrated weakness: height. He isn't very tall. And I think taller players, like Josh Smith, can give him trouble on both ends of the floor. On defense, if they are athletic enough, and come crunch time to put in the effort, Blake has trouble getting easy buckets around the basket, which is his bread and butter. And then, on the other end, he can get scored on and muscled around on the block. Sure, he has huge hops and quickness and during the game, make incredible scoring plays -- but as a power forward, he's a little short, and it shows up when the game's intensity is upped a notch.

But, in the end, the 1&2 seeds from the East and West are moving on. I don't see anyone beating Golden State 4 out of 7. They're too deep.