And on top of all of that, how players perform in desperate moments typically ends up as the basis for how their careers are judged, however fair or unfair that may be.
With a knee injury sidelining two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, the expectations for the Clippers are perhaps the lowest they’ve been since Leonard and Paul George joined forces in the wee hours of a July night in 2019.
It’s been a topsy-turvy playoff run for the Clips—multiple 2–0 deficits, superstar explosions from Donovan Mitchell and Luka Doncic, a Game 7 win in Round 1, and now the Leonard injury.
George got what he asked for last year when the Clips had their backs against the wall in the postseason, a chance to prove his superstar resolve in a big moment.
PG maybe wouldn’t be given a pass if he had a subpar performance in Game 6, but if he were to struggle it would be a lot more understandable than it was a season ago.
Game 6 is a blank page and PG can write his own myth if he’s able to bring the Clippers to their first conference finals without the help of a legendary playoff performer by his side.
George, for all his up-and-downs the last three seasons, has been consistently very good to great on both ends of the floor for nearly a decade now, and 2020 was realistically the first time he was so largely responsible for his team’s exit.