Albert Einstein is supposed to have once defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Noted quarters have disputed the origin of the phrase, to be sure, but there can be no doubting its veracity all the same. As arguably the most overused cliché in the history of the English language, it boasts of unfailing logic, even in sports. Yesterday, for instance, the Clippers prepped for isolation play after isolation play in the pivotal fourth quarter even though the misses kept coming. When the final buzzer sounded, they managed to make only three of their 20 field goal attempts in the payoff period — due in large measure to their utter lack of variety on offense.
It can be argued that the Clippers lost Game Four of the Western Conference Finals in the first half, when they could do no better than put up 36 points off woeful shooting. And, since yesterday’s proved to be a typical playoff set-to, with loose officiating and players allowed to bump and hold, spotting the opposition 14 points through 24 minutes was akin to Sisyphus rolling a boulder up the mountain with weights on his ankles. They did make a spirited run in the penultimate quarter, but it wound up being an outlier because, well, they wound up reverting to the same old, same old. There’s a reason they finished with only 13 assists all told, and it isn’t because of a willingness to keep moving the ball until an ideal shot is found.
Once again, the Clippers are showing they’re too snakebitten to escape their past. They lost Kawhi Leonard, their (and the National Basketball Association’s) best player by far; before a knee injury downed him in Game Four of the Conference Semifinals, he had been norming 30 points off a remarkable 57% shooting from the field. Then again, it’s fair to argue that they still have enough talent to hurdles the obstacles before them. It’s why they overcame the top-seeded Jazz, and why they should be giving the Suns fits. Instead, they’re facing extremely confident competition capable of winning any which way.
There remains time, of course, for the Clippers to claw back in, and ultimately claim, the series. They need only look to the Cavaliers in 2016 to keep their chins up. And for all their frailties, they have more than enough to upend the Suns. To do so, however, they first need to convince themselves they can — an iffy proposition at best with how things are going. The good news: they have head coach Tyronn Lue on their side. The bad news: Paul George is not LeBron James. Which is to say they have their work cut out for them.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
