LOS ANGELES_If this isn't the end, you can certainly see it from here.
The end of another cursed playoff series. The end of another frazzled season. The end of a maddening six-year run that surely must end.
The Clippers, who face some serious remodeling this summer, began moving out of the house Tuesday night in losing Game 5 of their first-round series with the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.
They packed up with all of 15 points in the third quarter. They loaded up by being outworked on two Jazz offensive rebounds that led to two daggers down the stretch. They taped up by once again being the team with less focus, less discipline, and less trust in each other.
The final score was 96-92, and those aren't even the most ominous numbers.
The Clippers now trail the series, three games to two, with Game 6 scheduled for Utah's Vivent Smart Home Arena on Friday. In NBA history, the Game 5 winner of a deadlocked series wins that series 82 percent of the time, so the Clippers also have that working against them. Plus, there's the absence of Blake Griffin, who will miss the rest of the playoffs with a toe injury.
It's all stacked against them, a fact that became vibrantly clear when Chris Paul trudged off the court with his head down while fans who once jumped and screamed just stood and stared.
Paul and the renewed JJ Redick combined for 54 points, but there were not enough bodies, or intensity, to replace Griffin. The Clippers bench was outscored 36-16. The Clippers were outrebounded 43-34.
The downfall started in the latter stages of the third quarter, when the Clippers missed six straight shots and scored just six points in the final 7:52 of the period. Appropriately, at the end of the quarter the Jazz grabbed a rebound and converted a fast break that ended in a Gordon Hayward dunk at the buzzer to give the Jazz at 64-58 lead.
The Jazz started the fourth quarter with an offensive rebound and dunk. The Clippers started with an airball, then a turnover, and there were boos.
But even then, the Clippers had a shot. With 3:03 left in the game, the Clippers trailing 80-78, the Jazz's George Hill missed a three-point shot to set up a Clippers glorious last gasp. Except Hayward somehow tipped the rebound away from the entire Clippers team, the ball landed in the hands of Joe Johnson, and he sank a three-pointer to silence the house.
Then, in the final two minutes, unbelievably, it happened again _ with the Jazz leading by three, Hill missed another three, and this time Hayward outmaneuvered Jamal Crawford for the rebound and converted two free throws after being fouled by Chris Paul in the ensuing scrum.
The Clippers kept it close at the end, and the seemingly unstoppable Paul made a three-pointer with five seconds left to pull them within two, but Hill made two free throws to finish it.
Finish the game, probably finish the series, and most certainly finish a head-scratching Clippers era.
Believe it, the Clippers aren't going to be the same team when they show up again here next October. With Paul and Griffin having the option of tearing up their contracts and becoming free agents _ and with Redick's contract expiring _ they could be headed for a summer implosion.
There are several ways this could go.
Scenario One: The Clippers could shell out millions to bring everybody back, keeping the same team intact despite its history of postseason failure.
This would be stunning. The Clippers have the money, but it's doubtful they have the patience. After watching their core players endure six years of playoff misery together, it's hard to believe anyone in the front office could stomach watching this same team next season. It's even harder to believe that Griffin and Paul would want to be part of that.
Scenario Two: All three players leave town, and, unwilling to tolerate a rebuilding job, coach Doc Rivers leaves with them.
This is also a longshot. Under new NBA rules, the Clippers can pay Paul $53 million more than any other team That's too much money to leave on the table. The odds are that he's not going anywhere. If Paul doesn't leave, this means the Clippers could still surround him with new talent and still have a championship opportunity. There's no way Rivers would walk away from that chance.
Scenario Three: Griffin and Redick leave, and the Clippers reshape the team around Paul, DeAndre Jordan and veteran acquisitions who would fit into their style the way Griffin did not. Perhaps you've heard of Carmelo Anthony?
This is the most likely outcome. Redick can make too much money elsewhere, so he's probably gone. And even though Griffin has developed strong Southern California roots, he might not feel the love from a team that has been repeatedly burned by his chronic injuries. There's also a feeling that Griffin and Paul will never fit together well enough to seriously compete for a championship, while Anthony would be the pure scorer the Clippers need.
All this change could be pretty crazy, right? But not any crazier that what Clippers fans have had to endure during continued postseason failure. They will not only be used it, but probably thankful for it.
