Clippers head coach Doc Rivers talked before this year's playoffs started about how the . He argued that teams with better records than division winners shouldn't be punished if they don't win a division themselves.
Rivers may have a point, but with Spurs-Clippers being the only first-round series that is knotted 1-1 after San Antonio knocked off Los Angeles 111-107 in an overtime thriller Wednesday night, we should be thankful for what the current system has created.
What Rivers was trying to avoid is the exact situation his Clippers currently find themselves in against the defending champion Spurs, who at 55-21 would not have been the sixth seed in the West if records alone were the determining factor.
Regardless of how we got here, this matchup is one of the few things keeping the first round alive.
We're being spoiled by this as a first-round series. It's making up for the rest being 'meh.'
— David Vertsberger (@_Verts) The biggest reason this series is so great is that the Spurs and Clippers couldn't be much more different.
Tim Duncan scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 44 minutes on Wednesday night, showing yet again why he's one of the greatest technicians in basketball history. Duncan individually embodies what the Spurs do to teams, picking them apart without a wealth of overpowering athleticism or explosiveness.
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) The exception, of course, is the youngest star of the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard, who adds the right touch of youth and athleticism to the experienced bunch. Leonard added 23 points Wednesday.
But even more remarkable is Duncan's longevity, another hallmark of the Spurs' core as a whole, and his ability to perform at an All-Star level for 40-plus playoff minutes in his 18th NBA season.
Tim Duncan playing in game 1567, CP3 and Blake combined 1161 games. Duncan is immortal.
— Josh Eberley (@JoshEberley) The Clippers aren't without players capable of making smart passes and moving the ball — Chris Paul, who finished with 21 points and seven assists on Wednesday, comes to mind — but people tune in to watch Blake Griffin and company soar.
Despite the loss, Griffin still shined in Game 2, posting a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists complete with his usual high-flying act.
A little pinch post action for a lob to Blake.
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) For different reasons, Los Angeles is just as exciting to watch as San Antonio. When Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are connecting for alley-oops while Paul and Jamal Crawford sink jump shots of varying degrees of difficulty, the Clippers are both lethal and entertaining.
So while it may be unfair that one of these two teams has to leave the playoff party after just one round, we should sit back and be glad that at least one playoff series isn't on the fast track for a sweep.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FIRST ROUND RIGHT HERE?
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) I'd be more down for Clippers-Spurs to go 7 if the rest of the first round weren't going to be done in 5.
— Adi Joseph (@AdiJoseph) Even if the rest of the league is ready to get on with the show, the Clippers and the Spurs are here to stay a while.
After watching the first two games of this series, the basketball world shouldn't have many objections.
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