The Warriors 109-105 win over the L.A. Clippers wasn’t the biggest game 1, first round NBA Playoff upset in history, but it was a bad loss for a Clippers team that has championship aspirations.
Blake Griffin finished the game with 16 points, fouling out with 48 seconds left and the game tied at 105. Despite Chris Paul’s struggle down the stretch, the loss of Griffin at the end of the game and for huge stretches during was costly.
Paul, who struggled himself with late game free throw issues, told Bleacher Report that the Clippers go as Griffin goes, calling the All Star power forward the teams “go-to guy.”
“It was tough; it was huge,” Paul soon said about Griffin’s limited presence, which included fouling out with 48 seconds left in a tie game. “Blake is our go-to guy, contrary to what people might think. We play through BG. As you can see, he’s tough to guard. When he only plays 19 minutes, that’s tough.”
We’ll never confuse go-to guy with alpha male, or leader.
Griffin unlike Paul should and has to dominate his matchups for the Clippers to be successful in these playoffs.
