Doc Rivers made history in loss in seven games against the Denver Nuggets.
Rivers became the first coach ever to blow a 3-1 series leads in three different playoffs.
Per Hoopshype, it first happened all the way back in 2003, when Doc Rivers was still the head coach of the Orlando Magic.
That year, with MVP-level Tracy McGrady leading the way, the Magic held a 3-1 series lead over the Detroit Pistons and looked poised to reach the second round of the postseason.
The Pistons went on to win Game 5 by 31 points and Games 6 and 7 by 15 points apiece to win the series in seven.
However, it happened again in 2015, in the second round of the playoffs this time.
Rivers, now charged with leading a Los Angeles Clippers team who had prime Chris Paul and Blake Griffin as their best players, held a 3-1 series lead in the Conference semifinals over the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers went go on to lose the final three games of the series by a combined 44 points, falling just short of reaching the Conference Finals for the first time in the franchise’s history.
Like the prior two Rivers-helmed meltdowns, his team wasn’t really that competitive in any of the final three losses, as the Clippers lost Games 5, 6 and 7 to Denver by a combined 34 points.
Post your comment
Visualizza commenti