Los Angeles Clippers Can’t Let Up Now

For three games, the Los Angeles Clippers have projected the image of a team that’s unquestionably superior to its opponent. Even during its Game 2 loss, Los Angeles thoroughly outplayed the Houston Rockets for 37 game minutes before falling victim to the absence of point guard Chris Paul.

It took no time at all for Paul to silence the critics.

Paul returned for a dominant 124-99 Game 3 victory, recording 12 points and seven assists in 23 minutes. Blake Griffin put up 22 points and 14 rebounds in yet another brilliant performance.

Strong as Griffin and Paul were, the show was stolen by J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers.

It was a dominant performance by the championship hopefuls. In many ways, it was a statement win for Los Angeles.

For as well as they played, the Clippers can’t afford to let up now.

We’ve Heard This Story Before, Part I

It may seem as though Los Angeles has gone Steve Young and ripped the proverbial monkey off of its back, but a 2-1 series lead means very little. The Clippers have never made a Western Conference Finals appearance, and an inability to close out series is a major reason why.

The best way to phrase it is as such: the Clippers find ways to lose that even the most vivid imagination could not foresee.

In 2014, the Clippers lost on some of the most bizarre plays imaginable. With 6.4 seconds on the clock, Chris Paul fouled Russell Westbrook on a 3-point shot with that was both improbable and ill-advised.

Westbrook sank all three free throws put OKC up 105-104. That ended up being the final score. It gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a 3-2 series lead.

During that same postseason, Paul turned the ball over along the sidelines with a potential victory in sight. Los Angeles would overcome the Golden State Warriors, but it do so in the first round.

2015 is far too similar to 2014’s, “L.A. is over the hump,” story to be ignored.

We’ve Heard This Story Before, Part II

In many ways, the Clipper’ first round experience in the 2015 NBA Playoffs mirrored that of the 2014 postseason. They won in seven games after a silly, win-costing mistake and suffered a blowout loss that extended a series that should’ve ended sooner.

Sound familiar?

In Game 2 of the Clippers’ first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs, Blake Griffin committed an indescribably ill-timed turnover that allowed Patty Mills to tie the game with mere seconds on the clock. Los Angeles went on to lose that game and was blown out in Game 3.

The Clippers showed incredible resilience by winning both Game 4 and Game 6 on the road. Behind all-time Game 7 performances from Griffin and Paul, Los Angeles achieved victory.

The question is, how can this team be trusted to win where it’s never won before?

On one hand, the Clippers enter this point of their series against the Rockets as a battle-tested and tragedy-hardened team. They’ve endured heartbreak and have come back as the team that sent the defending NBA champions packing.

On the other hand, the Clippers’ track record suggests it’ll all fall apart sooner or later. Playing the way they do, with one game a blowout and the next a nail-biter, simply leaves too much room for error.

As Los Angeles enters Game 3 with a 2-1 series lead, it must make the most of its current home court advantage. Just as it applied constant pressure to Houston in Game 3, it must do the same in Game 4 on May 10.

Anything but a 3-1 series lead would be a failed home stand. Anything but a Conference Finals appearance would be a failed season.

The Chris Paul Factor

The pressure rests squarely on the shoulders of the Clippers’ leader and floor general: Chris Paul. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Fame point guard who’s on pace to become one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

What’s holding Paul back from shooting up that list and entering the ranks of the true NBA legends? An absence of postseason success.

Paul has never once made it past the Conference Semifinals.

For a player with virtually everything you want on an all-time resume—a four-time assists leader and six-time steals champion with four First Team All-NBA nods and four First Team All-Defense selections before the age of 30—that’s a shocking reality.

Players that sensational are expected to pile up postseason accolades.

In a season of firsts, however, Paul is on the brink of shattering the lowered expectations. He played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career and is now on pace to reach new heights in the NBA Playoffs.

The process is far from complete, but mere days after his 30th birthday, Paul is on the brink of a breakthrough.

For Paul and Griffin to take the next step in their respective careers, closing out this series will be vital. Los Angeles responded to a Game 3 blowout with a Game 4 road win in Round 1. In other words, it knows how meaningless the final score can be.

Houston is capable of achieving that same level of success.

The question is, will the tables turn with Houston doing to Los Angeles what the Clippers did to the Spurs? Or will Doc Rivers have his players prepared for any and all obstacles on the road to the Western Conference Finals?

The Clippers appear to have evolved, but until the series is over, it isn’t over. With Game 4 in Los Angeles and a 3-1 series lead a possibility, Paul and company must do what they’ve never done before: advance to the Western Conference Finals.

To do so, they can’t let up after a dominant Game 3.

Next: The Houston Rockets need vintage Dwight Howard if they're to win this series

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