The Clippers capped off a stunning playoff comeback in Game 1 of their series by clawing back from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Grizzlies, 99-98. Obviously this is a great story, a moment of playoff history, and a gut-wrenching loss for the Grizzlies. But my favorite part of the Clippers’ comeback is how it began: with Chris Paul begging Vinny Del Negro to sub him into the game.
Granted, Los Angeles ended up tying an NBA record for the largest deficit overcome after three quarters, and the memory of Derrick Rose’s ACL tear was likely on Del Negro’s mind, but conceding an ENTIRE fourth quarter, even playing away, is a bit drastic. What did he try to tell CP3 before the fourth quarter began? “Hey Chris, we’re just going to throw in the towel on this one, we’ll get ‘em next game.” That doesn’t exactly scream “playoff basketball.” Well, maybe for the Los Angeles Clippers it does. Clippers 2012: Happy to be here.
In our Western Conference playoffs preview, I noted that the Grizzlies’ coaching advantage would be YUGE, but while I expected Del Negro to flash his incompetence late in games with shoddy playcalling, I didn’t expect him to give up. It’s a great win for the Clippers, and one that should worry their fans going forward.
On the other side, Lionel Hollins didn’t exactly do a bang-up job keeping his team motivated at the end of the game. Still, I’d rather have a motivated Hollins than an uncertain Del Negro going forward in this series, which has already shown indications that it will be the most entertaining of the first round matchups. Go get ‘em, Vinny! Your whole team believes in you, just like you believe in them.
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