The biggest disappointment of the playoffs so far were the LA Clippers. Termed as title favorites, they lost to the Nuggets in the Conference Semifinals. What makes it worse is that they choked despite being 3-1 up in the series.

Hall of Famer Reggie Miller was not kind to them following this debacle. He said that instead of focusing on themselves, they just wanted to show they’re better than their rivals Lakers, only for it to end miserably.

“The Clippers’ curse is real,” Miller said. “I was led astray. I was hoodwinked. I’ve been bamboozled. I was led to believe the Clippers. Their whole marketing scheme was to deface the Los Angeles Lakers and their history. That’s all they wanted. ‘New sheriff in town.’ ‘We’re taking over LA.’

“They damn near almost did it by fooling us all. They overlooked everyone else because their one focus was on LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Lakers. That’s all they ever wanted to do. They were one game away from doing it. A total collapse.”

Big failure for the LA Clippers?

After making the trades for Paul George and Marcus Morris, the Clippers don’t have a first-round pick till 2027. They put all their eggs into the basket in a bid to win this season, only for them to not even make the Conference Finals.

They had to win this year since they will not able to bring back one of their most important players, Montrezl Harrell. His contract is up this off-season and the Clippers cannot afford to resign him.

Although Zubac stepped up in his absence at times, Harrell’s impact off the bench was immense, and him winning Sixth Man of the Year proved it. They will also most likely lose Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris unless they decide to sign for cheap.

So George saying that this wasn’t a championship or bust season for them doesn’t make sense. They will not be able to return with a squad as strong as they had for this season, so this was arguably their best chance to win the NBA title.