The Los Angeles Clippers were in prime position to snag the No. 3 seed in the Western conference heading into their final two games of the season, matchups against the Houston Rockets (the worst team in the league) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (another squad that was tanking this year).
Two losses later and they emerged with the No. 4 seed, an outcome that might seem awful given the fact that they might have to play on the road against the Utah Jazz in the next round if they win their first-round series.
But this year’s playoffs has the play-in wrinkle. And by avoiding the No. 3 seed, they wouldn’t have to face the Los Angeles Lakers if the Lake Show gets the No. 7 seed and beats the Phoenix Suns.
THE CLIPPERS HAVE DONE IT!
They lose back-to-back games to end the season to the 17-53 Rockets and 21-50 Thunder, who have won 1 total game in the months of April/May, and will now avoid the Lakers until the west finals unless the Warriors beat them in LA in the play-in tourney.
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 17, 2021
The Clippers rested Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in both of those games. Other supporting players like Rajon Rondo and Marcus Morris rested or played limited minutes.
Clippers ducking the Lakers like pic.twitter.com/tUjoZLESzq
— Daman Rangoola (@damanr) May 15, 2021
So here’s the question: was this the right move?
Hindsight will give us an answer down the road. But as of right now, a quote from Lakers forward Jared Dudley has me pondering:
Jared Dudley, without naming names, said teams were “managing” their schedules down the stretch to avoid the Lakers. He thinks it’s a bad strategy: says the Lakers will be most susceptible to an upset in the first round and will only get stronger from there.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 17, 2021
Jared Dudley on LeBron: "LeBron is out there playing extremely well … each day he’s out there, he gets stronger."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) May 17, 2021
I think he’s got a point there.
James played his first game in over a month on March 30 and has played three times since then. And while facing LeBron James anytime is tough, maybe the timing would be better earlier in the playoffs when he’s still rounding back into form.
On the other hand, a healthy Lakers team would probably have ended up with a top-two seed. So perhaps getting into true playoff form before having the chance to play the Lakers is a good move. Plus, the Lakers would have to get through a tough play-in against the Warriors and/or an additional play-in game should they lose, a first-round matchup with a top-two seed, and a second-round series against another contender.
Again: we’ll see. The Clips have to worry about the Dallas Mavericks first, of course. But if there was a tank job involved and it paid off? Genius!
