In a piece for the Players’ Tribune, veteran NBA big man Montrezl Harrell reflected on his time with the Clippers. Specifically, he looked back on the time he almost knocked out his former teammate Paul George as his team was on the verge of losing a 3-1 series lead.
“We’re in the middle of a game versus Denver. We set up a play, everybody says they’re switching one through five type of sh*t. Everybody know coverage than in the game, the situation comes. It’s in the pick-and-roll with PG, Jamal Murray, Jokic, and me. Screen comes, I yell ‘Switch!’ We switch it, he still fights over the screen. Jokic slips down the middle of the lane — boom — shoots and get the points. Doc calls a timeout just like that. On the way over to the huddle I say, ‘bro that’s a switch, P!’ He’s like, ‘No I thought…’ and I’m like, ‘Bro ain’t no I thought, it’s a switch. Everybody in this sh*t know the coverage but you.’ And he was like, ‘Hey, who are you talking to?’ I told P right then and there, in front of coaches and everybody, ‘I will knock you the f*ck out, bro. You’re tripping. You was wrong bro. You’re wrong.”
“I can’t accept that ending, man. That can’t be what people remember me by. No way that’s gonna be how Trezz went out.”
Grief, TMZ headlines, a devastating injury … for @monstatrezz it's been setback after setback.
Now comes the comeback.https://t.co/BJEX41eCnz
— The Players’ Tribune (@PlayersTribune) July 10, 2024
The Clippers infamously let go of the rope in the 2020 bubble playoffs (after winning 58% of their regular season games), which is the only explanation for such a talented group to blow a 3-1 series lead.
Harrell admitted that he went too far in the heat of the moment and after losing in the second round to the Nuggets (after taking a 3-1 lead in the series), the Clippers let Harrell go and never brought him back. They tried to salvage the team by making some small adjustments throughout the years but that 2019-2020 team was considered their best chance at the title.
To this day, that playoff collapse by the Clippers is considered one of the franchise’s greatest failures and it killed the last hopes of seeing a Lakers/Clippers battle in the Conference Finals. Harell did eventually move on with his career to pursue a role on other teams but the outburst against George that night may have prematurely ended an arrangement that could have worked out for everyone.
Beyond that season, the Clippers failed to meet expectations in every year that Kawhi and PG were together, and now they are split up for good with no signs of improvement. With Leonard, the Clippers can still be a formidable force in the West but the lack of a true veteran co-star will hurt their chances against the Western elites like the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks.
As for George himself, the 8x All-Star left the Clippers this summer with nothing to show for all his time there. As much authority and power as he had on the franchise, it wasn’t worth much in the playoffs, against teams like the Nuggets and Mavericks who had players that consistently showed up when needed the most. His reputation for falling short continues to loom and until he can make a run to the Finals, there will be doubts about his commitment to winning it all.
He signed a new deal to join Paul George on the 76ers but it remains to be seen if that venture will turn out any better than his previous ones. Only if Paul George puts aside his ego and embraces his new role can he hope to help the 76ers get anywhere of note next summer.
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