JJ Redick picks his early Clippers years, especially the 2010 squad that went 33-8, as his best shot at a title. Those teams had the talent and IQ but got derailed by injuries, suspensions, and brutal playoff moments like Kawhi's shot and LeBron's block. Redick and Draymond agree that winning requires elite players plus luck.
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But what was your favorite team to play with and that you felt like had the best chance to win a championship? Obviously y'all went to the finals with Orlando, but I feel like some of those Clipper teams, we all thought would have a legit chance at winning a championship.
I would say this, when I look back at my career, the years I'm most fond of were my Clipper days for a number of reasons. Number one, because we were good. Number 2, because it really was the type of basketball that I like, which is you had 5 guys pretty much at all times on the floor that complemented each other. It's what makes your team so great. It's what makes the Warriors team so great. The players, the pieces, they complement each other. They fit together. And our guys, especially those first 2 years when we had Matt, we really fit together. There was, there was a, an intelligence. Yeah. Required to play against us.
Yes.
We were very smart. We had wink, wink, nod, nods on every ATO, on every after free throw play. We had a counter to every play. Those were, that's fun basketball to me, is just, you know, using your brain a little bit too. Honestly though, the team I thought was gonna win was actually the year after we made the Finals in Orlando.
Yes.
The 2010 team. So we finished the regular season 33-8. We swept the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. So we're 41-8 going to the conference finals. Boston had had a little bit of a rough stretch during the regular season with some injuries. So we had home court in the conference finals and they win the first 2 games and we're playing catch-up the rest of the way. We lose in game 6. But that team, to me, that was a lost opportunity. You look back, you know, you won't have this 'cause you've won, but I'm sure you'll look back and say, oh, we, We maybe let that one get away. Maybe it was '16 for you or something like that.
Absolutely.
You know, that team. But I look back and especially those first 2 years before you guys had evolved into the 2016 team and then the 2017 team with Kevin that first year, those first 2 years with the Clippers, those were golden opportunities. We were as good as anybody in basketball.
100%. I mean, we're coming up against you guys and like I said, everybody's kind of tagging y'all as the next young guys up to go win championships with, with yourself and CP, DeAndre, Blake. I'm not sure which year Matt Barnes was on there, but I think that was early on.
Yeah, those are the, yeah. The first 2 years Matt was on those teams.
Yep. Absolutely. I mean, I think y'all definitely had just as good a chance as anyone. And I think for me, 2016, you're right. I'll always beat myself up about that one. And not because we lost or not because, like I got suspended or the way it went down. Like I don't have any regrets about any of that stuff. But the regret I do have is how we had a golden opportunity to not only be 73-9, but win the NBA Finals, put together the absolute best year in NBA history. And we let that one fall by the wayside. So that one fucking beats me down.
So Doc had this comment, and I wanna touch a little bit on that 2016, finals, because Doc had this comment after you guys won in '15 that winning a championship requires a little bit of luck. And of course you got— look, you guys are prideful. I think Klay was probably the most outspoken about that, um, which he always is. You know, I, I said something the other day on ESPN about you guys not, not having the hardest schedule, and Klay reacted to that. I'm like, Klay, I'm your biggest fan, dude. Chill the fuck out. But anyways, when you look back at that '16 series, I What Doc was saying was there's certain things that have to go in your favor. You know, I look at that, the Sixers series when we lost to the Raptors.
Yes.
And Kawhi's shot.
Yes.
That's an unlucky bounce of all unlucky bounces.
Absolutely.
And you look at that '16 series, you guys are up 3-1, LeBron steps over you, you react. You could call that unlucky. You get suspended. Bo gets banged up. You could call that unlucky. LeBron and Kyrie for 3 straight games play out of their fucking minds. LeBron makes one of the greatest blocks, defensive plays in NBA history.
Yep.
So those are all things that went in their favor against you guys and you lose by basically a buzzer beater, right? No, not a buzzer beater, but he made it with 40 seconds or whatever it was on the clock. Kyrie step back. So there's so much, there's so many things that are required to go in your favor. And when you start adding up a bunch of things in a 7-game series, shit happens and you may lose. And that, that to me was what kept happening with our Clippers teams.
Yeah.
You know, I, you know, '14, we're playing game 5 at OKC. I think we're up 9 or 11 with 4 minutes to go. We make some bone, like Chris made 3 plays I've never seen him make before.
Was that the one where he tried to take the foul and he threw the ball and they didn't call the foul? Yes.
And then, yes. So that, he makes that play. Then he fouls Westbrook on a 3. I don't know why we're fouling Westbrook on a 3. And then we have a chance, we're down 1, we have a chance to win and he turns the ball over.
I've never, have you ever seen CP turn the ball over? He doesn't make those mistakes.
No, he doesn't make those mistakes. You know, then '15, we're up 3-1. We're at home, we're up 19 in the second half. Josh Smith hits 3 threes in the fourth quarter. Cory Brewer hits 2 threes in the fourth quarter. We lose that game, okay? '16, I've talked about this before. I don't know that we would've beat you guys, but Steph hurts his knee.
Yeah.
He's a little banged up. There's this window right before we play— I think it's game 4, right before we play game 4, where we're like, oh, we got a shot. Let's win this game. Let's take care of business. Go home, play the Warriors. Within 10 minutes in the second half, Blake tears his quad tendon and CP breaks his wrist. The following year in the first round, Blake— we're up 2-1 against Utah. Blake tears his plate in his foot.
Mm-hmm.
Those are the type of shit. That you can't overcome if you wanna win a championship. So there is an element of whatever you wanna call it, but there is an element of luck. And certainly in our league, you have to have a Steph Curry, you have to have a LeBron James, a Kevin Durant, a Kawhi Leonard to win. But you also have to have some things go in your favor in a playoff series.
No, 100%. You know, Coach Izzo used to always say that to us actually. It's like, when March come around, You gotta be clicking on all cylinders and you always need a little bit of luck. Like you said, that's health. That's a bounce by Kawhi Leonard. That is definitely all of those things. So I actually agree. I think when, and looking back on it now, we can all look back on it and say, we can all look back on it and say, Doc was 100% right. I think at that time for us where it's coming like, Oh, it's Doc. It's coming from the Clippers. We hate each, like we all hate each other. Right? Like it's this NorCal versus SoCal thing that's coming together. It's the Steph, Chris Paul thing at the time, you know, where it's like, who's Steph coming up to surpass Chris Paul? Chris Paul kind of raised Steph with the whole North Carolina ties. And so I think once you look at all of that back then, it's like, oh, here's Doc. Slightness, right? Like, here's Doc taking a shot at us. But looking back on it, no, 100% accurate. You definitely need a little bit of luck and some things to go your way.
