"Took our foot off the gas" - Lou Williams reveals LA Clippers purposely tanked 2020 Playoffs after 'Bubble Championship' lost credibility
The 2020 NBA Bubble is a memorable time in the league's history as teams, including the LA Clippers, were still trying to contend for the championship that year. The Clippers had a great group of guys that almost reached the conference finals that season.
Lou Williams was part of the 2020 Clippers team. Together with the duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the team made it all the way to the second round of the playoffs. After gaining a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets, the California-based team didn't push through and was eliminated in seven games.
Word started to spread that the winners of the Bubble weren't going to be considered legit champions. Williams shared that they held back that season, as they wanted the title to matter.
"It was a struggle to get us to the Bubble to begin with. We didn't even wanna go," Williams said. "Mentally, we came to it without the right mindset to finish the job, we didn't even want to be there."
"Once we got there, once we're in it. I think I was in the Bubble 97 days, how long I was there. And I think about day 67, I was like, 'Let's get the f*** outta here.' Mentally, we wasn't in it for the long game."
"We didn't really see a pot of gold at the end of it. We started to hear the rumblings that nobody is going to respect this chip, so we kind of just took our foot off the gas."
It's unfortunate that the LA Clippers had a real shot at winning the title but were discouraged due to the narrative of the season. In the end, the Larry O'Brien trophy still ended up in Los Angeles after the LA Lakers won against the Miami Heat.
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Isaiah Thomas believes James Harden should come off the bench for the LA Clippers
The LA Clippers are in a tough situation this season. After trading for James Harden, they have not won a single game. The team has lost four straight games since acquiring Harden, which has proven to be a problem.
Former Boston Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas believes that The Beard should be leading the second unit. I.T. noticed that everyone is trying to be on Harden's pace and it's been a struggle for the other players in the starting lineup to make certain adjustments to accommodate the 10-time All-Star's style of basketball.
See Thomas' Tweet below:
It's an option that the Clippers can use, which could fix their problems. However, no one is sure if Harden will be open to that idea.
Also read: “Too many cooks spoil the broth”: James Harden-era Clippers dropping to 0-4 has NBA Twitter going nuts