In six seasons with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers won 66 percent of their games. Only the Spurs and Warriors won more during that span (2011-12 – 2016-17).
But L.A. lost thrice in the first round and thrice during the second round in that span.
The Clippers are moving onto a new era with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Griffin doesn’t sound as if he’s waiting for a pat on the back for moving the franchise forward.
Griffin, via Alex Wong of Yahoo Sports:
I get why Griffin feels that way. He’s a competitor chasing a championship.
But I disagree and wish our discourse won’t so title-or-bust.
Those Clippers teams were very good. Particularly for the Donald Sterling-owned franchise. This was the best era in franchise history.
They were the last team to beat the Warriors in a playoff series before Golden State turned into a dynasty. They beat the Spurs in a series that was too good to belong in the first round. They won a lot of games.
Did they accomplish as much as they could have? No. Did they accomplish as much as they should have? Probably not. That blown 3-1 lead against the Rockets in 2015 will live in infamy.
But we should still appreciate what the Clippers did. It was far more than nothing.
