About Last Night: Doc's feisty Clippers giving Warriors a challenge

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WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

Blakely: Doc Rivers, Clippers have Warriors feeling sick right now

Wow!  

You knew Doc Rivers and his scrappy Clippers teams would play hard and give themselves a chance to win but no one could have saw them taking two games in this series, let alone two games in a row at the Warriors’ home base, Oracle Arena.

The Clippers still trail the Warriors 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

Regardless of how things turn out, the Clippers will come out winners in this postseason. 

They came into the playoffs with a young team expected to get steamrolled by the two-time NBA champs. 

Instead they have hung with the Warriors with defense, multiple-effort plays and timely shot-making which has given them the kind of hope - not just for this series but for their overall growth going forward - that things will only get better as they continue to remake their team into a title contender. 

Forsberg: What’s up, Doc? 

Who in the world would have thought that six of the eight teams in the NBA playoffs would have clinched their spot in conference semifinals — and one of them WOULDN’T be the Golden State Warriors (not yet anyway).

Listen, there is little doubt that, as Lou Williams bluntly stated, the Warriors got caught looking ahead. But let’s give some credit to the Clippers as well. This is one scrappy, resilient team. Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers deserves a ton of credit for getting this team to play the way it has throughout the season. As the Celtics found out in February, this group just keeps coming.

The Clippers are helping their cause this summer when they should be able to chase the marquee names that will morph them from spunky underdog to legitimate contender. Feels a lot like the Celtics teams of a few years ago, when they got a taste of playoff success, then added the talent that made them a true contender.

For all the grief Doc got about not wanting to endure a rebuilding project here, he’s done a heck of a job coaching up a young team this season.

That said, Warriors will soon punch their playoff ticket.
 

SO... THAT HAPPENED

Chris Paul apparently thinks he's Adrian Beltre

NUMBER OF NOTE

57 points (23-33 FG) -- The combined performance for Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams off the Clippers' bench against the Warriors

THEY SAID IT

“Subtle mix of arrogance, and hard work.”
-- Clippers Lou Williams on how his team has been able to remain confident they can knock off the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors

WEDNESDAY'S SCOREBOARD

  • Rockets 100, Jazz 93 (HOU wins series 4-1)
  • Clippers 129, Warriors 121 (GSW leads series 3-2)

WHAT WE'LL BE WATCHING

BlakelyAre the Nuggets ready? 

There were many “I told ya so” types who were quick to anoint this Denver-San Antonio series belonging to the Spurs after they took an early lead in the series, only for the Nuggets to bounce back to the point where they can close it out tonight. 

The playoffs have a way of aging all teams, but that maturation becomes essential for a team like the Nuggets, who are among the youngest squads in the NBA. 

Jamal Murray is a much better player five games into this series, than he was at the start. The same holds true for Nikola Jokic, Gary Harris and Malik Beasley off the bench. 

We have seen how the Celtics, with a roster similar age-wise to the current Nuggets, have parlayed the success they enjoyed a year ago into helping them get off to their best playoff start under sixth-year head coach Brad Stevens this month. 

Denver, which can close out its series with San Antonio with a win tonight, has similar aspirations going forward. 

Speaking of the Celtics, Marcus Smart continues to offer up tangible hope that the 4-6 week timetable for his return to "basketball activities," just might be sped up a bit. 

He is riding the treadmill and doing some light shooting while showing little pain or discomfort due to the torn oblique injury he suffered against Orlando earlier this month. 

The most optimistic outlook wouldn’t have Smart returning to action until the latter stages of this series against Milwaukee.

But all indications are that Smart’s return will be closer to the six-week outlook.

Regardless, as long as Smart’s stepping on to the practice court hoisting up shots - even if he’s barely jumping on the release - there’s reason to keep hope alive that Smart’s return will come sooner rather than later.

Because if there’s a series in which the Celtics would greatly benefit from his presence on the floor in this year’s playoffs, this would be that series. 

Forsberg: Going the distance? 

It’d be nice if Round 1 could get one seven-game series. In order to do that, the Spurs will have to force a winner-take-all game with a victory tonight. Tough playoffs for the West’s top seeds but it at least makes a little more sense with these young Nuggets.

 

Nikola Jokic has been fantastic in this series but everything tends to hinge on Jamal Murray and his game-by-game shooting. Can Gregg Popovich drum up something to help his team force Game 7?

 

Given how many of these first-round series have bee snoozeworthy, the NBA better hope so.

THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE

  • Nuggets at Spurs, Game 6 (DEN leads series 3-2) -- 8:00pm, TNT

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