Tyronn Lue glided into the Clippers’ postgame interview room on Sunday afternoon and clapped and clapped and clapped and clapped and clapped again. He beamed as his head bobbed up and down.
His Clippers squad had just qualified for the Western Conference playoffs, doing so in the last regular-season game with a win over the Golden State Warriors, who were also seeking a playoff berth while playing at home in the Chase Center.
The Clippers had defied the preseason odds of being a playoff participant. Lue refused during the season to let his group think otherwise and now they will face the Denver Nuggets in the first round starting Saturday at Ball Arena.
“They counted me out. They counted us out,” Lue said. “I know they did. I know it. But we are here.”
In that moment, there was a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction from Lue and the Clippers because they had exceeded expectations and finished in the fifth spot in the NBA’s competitive Western Conference.
At best, the Clippers were viewed by the critics when the season started as a possible play-in team and even then likely fighting for a nine or 10 spot.
They were not going to have Kawhi Leonard to start the season because he was recovering from a right knee injury that eventually led the former All-Star forward to miss the first 34 games.
They were not going to have former All-Star forward Paul George anymore because he took the money from the 76ers and bolted to Philadelphia.
They were the Clippers’ best players, and with Leonard injured and George gone, many were skeptical about this team.
But the Clippers finished tied with the Lakers and Nuggets at 50-32, a record few could have predicted.
“I think our group has been playing with a chip on its shoulders all year because of that,” Lue said. “We just found ways to win. We just found ways to win. No matter whose night it was, we just kind of featured that guy, played hard defensively and competed and we played together. … Being counted out and staying the course and playing with that chip on your shoulder all year long.”
Inside the Clippers’ locker room after the win in San Francisco, Leonard and All-Star guard James Harden were two of the last players to leave the shower. The team’s two stars and leaders stood side-by-side talking, smiling and looking at their teammates knowingly.
On one side of the locker room, center Ivica Zubac and guard Bogdan Bogdanovic sat next to each other watching the Masters golf tournament on TV while drinking a beer.
On another side, guard Norman Powell and defensive ace Kris Dunn talked about the Clippers reaching this point and what it took.
But of them all, Leonard had come the farthest.
He played in just 37 games and just one set of back-to-back games. But as the season progressed, Leonard got stronger and stronger.
It all culminated over the weekend, when Leonard played 42 minutes against the Kings in Sacramento on Friday night and then a season-high 47 minutes against the Warriors on Sunday. He tied his season high in points with 33 against the Warriors.
His knee injury no longer is a subject.
“I’m happy that I have a great organization behind me to allow me to get healthy and know exactly what I need to do,” Leonard said. “Them letting me reach out to outside sources and combining them together and collaborating. Like I said, it’s not over yet. We still got a playoff series to try to win and just want to keep going from there. Like I said, have a good playoffs and a healthy offseason and just keep going.”
Even Lue missed games because of back pain, but the Clippers went 4-1 during his absence, the coaching staff led by assistant coach Brian Shaw keeping the train moving.
The Clippers saw Harden shine by averaging 22.8 points and 8.7 assists, the latter statistic fifth best in the NBA.
Powell averaged a career-best 21.8 points per game while Zubac averaged career highs in points (16.8), rebounds (12.6) and assists (2.7).
So the Clippers have found solace in proving their doubters wrong.
“We’re human. We know what’s being said about us, what’s being put out there,” Powell said. “TLue, he’s been through it, the ups and downs. People not wanting him here. People upset with what he was doing. Not being able to have a full healthy roster the previous seasons and not having big aspirations of winning a championship.
“Especially this year, nobody had us having 50 wins, being top five right now going to the playoffs. So, to knock that off and have people kind of backtrack and figure out what this team is all about now, it’s a lot of fun. We’re super-competitive. It’s happening. Fifty wins is big-time.”