The Clippers have ripped the monkey off their back. After two years of unearned bravado, one epic playoff collapse and a never-ending slew of 3–1 jokes, the Clippers advanced to the second round on Sunday, avoiding an organizational crisis point in the process. We shouldn’t exactly throw Los Angeles a parade for advancing past a rag-tag Mavericks team aside from Luka Donu010diu0107, but considering the consequences of a first-round exit, Sunday’s win was among the most important in franchise history.
The stakes for Los Angeles entering 2020-21 were clear as soon as Kawhi Leonard and Co. left the NBA bubble last season.