Gritty Clippers wondering 'what could have been' after play-in loss

By Melissa Rohlin
FOX Sports NBA Writer

Ty Lue was awakened from his dreams with a nightmare. 

Early Friday morning, he received multiple calls that jarred him out of his slumber to let him know that Paul George had tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss the Clippers' play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans that evening. 

The stakes? Winner takes all without the team's best player. 

The Clippers' entire season came down to this game. 

Even though they finished the regular season in eighth place, six games ahead of the ninth-seeded Pelicans, losing Friday meant missing the playoffs.

While Kawhi Leonard was on the bench nursing an ACL tear and George was at home recovering from the virus, the Clippers showed incredible grit but ultimately collapsed under their tired legs 105-101.

It's safe to say the man who created the play-in tournament, Evan Wasch, will haunt Lue forever like a suit-wearing ghost who robbed him of what could've been. If not for the play-in tournament, now in its third season, this team would've been preparing for a first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. Instead, they're headed into summer break.

But the Clippers aren't complaining. It's not their style. It hasn't been all season. 

It wasn't when Leonard didn't play a single game. It wasn't when George missed more than half the season. Instead, a rag-tag group without any All-Stars refused to make excuses. They consistently left their hearts on the court, finishing with a winning record and nearly making the playoffs. 

Friday was incredibly disappointing. What bad luck. But everyone on the team walked out of the arena with heads held high. 

"I know we didn't make the playoffs, but considering all the things that went on this year, very proud of our guys," Lue said. 

On Friday, the Clippers did what they had done all season: They refused to give up. After the team learned they'd be without George, Marcus Morris Sr. addressed his teammates at shootaround. 

"Just tell guys it's an opportunity to step up, make a name for they self," said Morris, who had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

The entire team went on to give it their all in front of 19,000 fans and a national television audience.

They battled back from a 16-point deficit. They outscored the Pelicans 38-18 in the third quarter. They went on to lead by as many as 13 points. But ultimately, they ran out of gas at the end of the game as the Pelicans hit some big shots down the stretch.

With 4:40 left and the score tied at 94, the Pelicans went on a 10-0 run. In the final 1:17, the Clippers twice cut the deficit to two points, but in the end, they couldn't make a heroic shot to keep their season alive.

No one could fault them for this loss. 

In fact, the only thing to do after Friday's game was celebrate the heart they showed all season.

"We still top eight in the West without our best player, without [our] two best players technically because PG [Paul George] played 30 games, something like that," said Nicolas Batum, who was 1-for-7 from the field Friday but had 10 rebounds and two steals. "We miss [George] for the biggest game of the year because of COVID, and we still almost find a way to win this game. I love this team."

Last season, after the Clippers fell to the Suns in six games in the franchise's first appearance in the Western Conference finals, Reggie Jackson burst into tears as he talked to reporters.

This time around, he walked into the locker room, smiled and asked reporters how they were doing. Yes, he wanted to win a championship. Yes, his team fell short of that goal. But there was no reason to be crushed. Not after such a gutsy performance in a season filled with 13 comebacks from double-digit deficits. On this night, things just didn't go their way. There was no shame in that. 

"There's solace every time you go and leave it [all] on the court," said Jackson, who had 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. "If you lose, you lose. That's how life works."

Even though the season ended in such a disappointing manner, there was a palpable sense of hope among the Clippers. Without their stars, the Clippers were still one of the top teams in the league.

Without their stars, everyone on the roster became better versions of themselves. 

Jackson and Morris consistently played brilliant basketball. Luke Kennard, who missed Friday's game because of a sore hamstring, led the league in 3-point percentage (44.9). Terrance Mann grew as a player. Batum evolved as a leader. And so on and so forth down through the 15th man. 

Imagine how good this team will be when Leonard and George are actually on the floor. 

"We get our main guys back, I mean, we can be dangerous," Lue said. 

That's not just a coach talking up his team. It's true. In a sense, this could've been the best thing to happen to the Clippers. They became a really good team without their best players. With them, it's hard to believe they couldn't be championship contenders. 

That said, in the NBA, there are no awards for potential. All that matters right now is that the Clippers didn't make the playoffs. There won't be an asterisk next to this season explaining why. 

The Pelicans, who opened the season 1-12, will move on. And the Clippers will go home with another blemish on their résumé, having missed the playoffs for the 35th time in their 51-year history.

In the hallway of the arena after the game, the Clippers' hype squad, The Hoop Troop, sat on the floor together. Some members had mascara stains on their cheeks from crying. Many members were looking down at the ground. There was nothing left to cheer for. 

For a team with title hopes, this season was a disappointment. At least, that's how it will read on paper.  

But anyone who watched Clippers games or spent any time around the team knows it's not that simple. This team showed unflinching toughness in the face of adversity. They were exciting. They were capable of winning on any night. They were short-handed, but they never stopped believing in themselves.

They made everyone who watched them admire their heart.

Especially the man closest to them. 

"We're not disappointed at all in these guys in the locker room," Lue said. "Every single night, they gave me everything they had."

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.