The Los Angeles Clippers were on the verge of advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever but blew a double-digit lead to the Denver Nuggets for the second straight game. Now, they’ll have to silence their critics in Game 7.
However, Paul George is far from worried. He knows that his team’s still got a good chance of facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the WCF and says they’re not panicking:
“It’s positive. This group is staying together. We are still in the driver’s seat, it’s not a panic mode. We’ve got a Game 7, I like our odds with our group. We put ourselves in this position and it’s on us to get ourselves out of it. We know what we’re up against. We have the utmost respect for them as opponents, but I like our chances. I like our odds. I like what we have. It’s on us to finish this out,” Paul George said.
Paul George on locker room mood – "It's positive. This group is staying together. We are still in the driver's seat, it’s not a panic mode. We’ve got a Game 7, I like our odds with our group. We put ourselves in this position and it's on us to get ourselves out of it."#Clippers pic.twitter.com/IgyRhrEcwk
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 13, 2020
The Nuggets are a resilient team that already knows what it takes to come from a 3-1 deficit and advance to the next round after beating the Utah Jazz in the first round. However, no other team has managed to come back from that hole twice in the same postseason.
Then again, coach Mike Malone stood up for his team and tried his best to kill that “feel-good” story narrative, reminding everybody that the Nuggets have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference for two years now.
“We find it funny that the narrative is, ‘Oh, the Nuggets are a cute team, what a good story. We were second in the West last year…. Most of this year we were the No. 2 seed in the West until after the All-Star break we lost hold of that. I think it comes down to a tremendous belief and confidence in who we are, what we’re about and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Malone said.
Obviously, the Nuggets have a lot of talent on their team and it’s not a coincidence to see them in the position they are right now. In the paper, the Clippers may be the best team in the league but they’ll have to prove it in the hardwood like everyone else.
