April 17--Flecks of confetti were still fluttering through the air inside the Toyota Center last May when Doc Rivers spoke of the other side of playoff celebrations.
The Clippers coach told his dejected players about pledging his heart to his team throughout his career as an NBA point guard, only for it to be repeatedly broken.
When Rivers became a coach, the same thing happened. He devoted himself fully, through stops in Orlando and Boston, only to feel the emptiness of defeat year after year.
Finally, after 13 years as a player and nine more as a coach, Rivers felt whole. His Boston Celtics won the NBA title in 2008.
Rivers vowed to do the same with the Clippers.
"We're going to break this," he said of the team's cycle of playoff disappointment, which repeated itself again last season when the Clippers couldn't hold a 3-1 lead against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals. "It's my goal. It's why I came here."
The Clippers' latest foray into the playoffs starts Sunday night at Staples Center against the Portland Trail Blazers with the opener of their first-round series.
Rivers recently suggested these Clippers are built to last longer than the versions that endured second-round flameouts the last two seasons.
"I just think we're a tougher team mentally," he said, "maybe from what we went through, or maybe that's just the makeup of this group."
The Clippers lost Blake Griffin for more than three months and somehow became more successful, going 30-15 without their star power forward. They did it by going smaller, playing better defense and shooting more three-pointers, concepts they sustained whenever needed upon his return two weeks ago.
Slotting Griffin back into the starting lineup also bolstered a bench that is capable of playing a starring role. Jamal Crawford is a prolific scorer, Austin Rivers a fierce defender and newcomer Jeff Green a skilled two-way player, giving the Clippers the option of trotting out a variety of lineups to accentuate their strengths.
There's also the gritty play of Cole Aldrich, the tenaciousness of Pablo Prigioni and the playoff pedigree of Paul Pierce, each of whom figures to be counted on at various moments in the playoffs.
"We have so much depth now," Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said, "it's going to be fun."
The Clippers hope to be whole in their playoff opener. Shooting guard J.J. Redick was considered probable with a bruised left heel suffered earlier this week, though he appeared to be moving without discomfort Saturday during the warmup portion of practice media was allowed to watch.
One factor that could give the Clippers some staying power in the playoffs is their ability to stop as well as go. They are one of only three NBA teams (joining San Antonio and Cleveland) to rank in the top 10 in points scored (104.5 per game) and allowed (100.2) this season.
This is the Clippers' franchise-record fifth consecutive playoff appearance, though there's still that nagging narrative about never having made it past the second round.
"We expect to go farther, we expect to do better," Griffin said.
They came within a handful of minutes of the conference finals last season before that epic collapse in Game 6 against Houston, when they lost a 19-point lead in the third quarter.
Was there a lesson to be learned?
"We've got to finish every game, finish every series and be locked in throughout the entire playoffs," Jordan said.
There is some concern that Griffin is still rounding into form after having missed so many games because of hand and quadriceps injuries, not to mention a four-game suspension for punching a team assistant equipment manager. He has played in five games since his return and showed spurts of productivity as well as moments of indecisiveness and a wonky jump shot.
The arrival of the playoffs shouldn't increase any anxiety about regaining top form.
"The reassurance that we've been here before and just the experience alone has helped us be in the right mind-set going into the playoffs," Griffin said. "Everybody kind of knows what to expect, everybody knows what to do. I think we're confident, but at the same time, we've been in situations in the playoffs where things can go crazy pretty quickly."
The madness has resulted in broken hearts but not a broken spirit. The fight to break through stretches on for the Clippers, preferably deep into June.
Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter: @latbbolch
