The Los Angeles Clippers are getting a lot of criticism lately after blowing a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals vs. the Denver Nuggets. Shockingly, they’re now 0-8 on Western Conference-clinching games in franchise history.
Some people argue that this is the biggest choke in NBA history, even ahead of the 2016 Golden State Warriors. Things is, not only the Clippers were the most overpowered team in the league but they were also up by double digits in the final three games of the series.
Unsurprisingly, people are pointing out that this is the third time in Doc Rivers’ coaching career that he’s been in the losing end of a 3-1 choke. It happened in Orlando in 2003, then with the Clippers in 2016, and now again. Also, he holds the record with 8 losses in a Game 7.
Obviously, that didn’t go unnoticed by one of Doc’s former players, as Josh Smith took it to his Instagram account to take a massive shot at Rivers:
“We’ve seen this movie before. In fact I wrote the script. #ByeDoc #The3-1Bum,” Smith wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFMnLscDnu7
Smith had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2016. He played 32 games (1 start) with 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds on 14.3 minutes per game. Obviously, he didn’t enjoy his time there as he was traded to the Houston Rockets – the very same team that beat them 3-1 in the playoffs.
This isn’t going to go away any time soon. Patrick Beverley, Marcus Morris, and Paul George spent a lot of time talking trash and couldn’t back it up on the court when it mattered the most. Now, they’ll have to deal with these kinds of comments until further notice.
