Spurs-Grizzlies Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

My Prediction Was: Grizzlies in 6.

Best Overall Plus Minus: Tim Duncan (+46 in 137 minutes). I was more than a little concerned about how Duncan would fare in this series, given how it went last time. Look at these two lines:

Which one is the one where he was outmatched and too old against the 2011 Grizzlies, and which one is the one where he still had championship fuel in the tank? I know because I looked them up. I remain somewhat shocked by what transpired in this series, even days later. What I do know is, a few weeks ago, Duncan was benched during the closing minutes of Game 6 against the Warriors, and today, he's the linchpin of the Spurs' run for a fifth title.

Worst Overall Plus Minus: Zach Randolph (-54 in 154 minutes). Is Randolph's performance a reflection on the ability of the Spurs to exploit flaws in offensive schemes? Our collective overestimation of the Thunder's interior defenders relative to San Antonio's? An indictment of Memphis' spacing issues due to a lack of competent wing shooters? I'd lean toward option C, based on...

Most Valuable Player: Quincy Pondexter (Net +33 in 128 minutes). Consider: In the 119 minutes Tayshaun Prince was off the court, the Grizzlies were outscored by seven points. In the 74 minutes Pondexter was off the court, the Grizzlies were outscored by 33 points. This either means that outside shooting mattered in this series (Jerryd Bayless also posted an impressive net plus/minus), or the 2nd unit for Memphis played better than the starters in much more limited minutes. Looking at Pondexter's postseason shooting from deep relative to his prior seasons, it's hard to say if this was a sign of things to come for him, or a Trevor Ariza-like abberation. Given the Grizzlies' cap situation, I bet management rolls the dice that it's the latter. (For grumbling Memphis fans, know that O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay never brought that kind of shooting to the playoffs).

Least Valuable Player: Tiago Splitter (Net -30 In 105 minutes). The narrative is that the two-headed inside duo of Duncan and Splitter laid waste to the Memphis ground and pound duo. But Splitter played barely half the minutes in this series, and did most of his plus/minus damage in the only blowout of the series, Game 1. The good news is, he could the most pivotal or least useful big on the roster depending on the Spurs' next opponent.

Reverse Jerome James Award: Patient Organizations. Looking at the Spurs-Grizzlies series from two years ago, the core of Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker seemed to have faded into the sunset for at least the 2nd time to that point. Instead of punting on that trio like everyone outside of San Antonio thought they should, they tinkered around the edges. They remained patient with Splitter. They paid a good price to get a good asset that fit better, And, in the two years since, they've been to the conference finals, winning this time.

Memphis has some tough choices to make, but doesn't their style of play merit a year or two of tweaking, instead of whispering about letting Randolph go? I say yes. Do they need to find better ways to space the floor for Gasol and Z-Bo? Of course. But there's something to be said for giving players and teams time to develop as a group. Every time in the conference finals owes some of their success to that kind of player development this season (Mike Conley, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Lebron James). Take a lesson from the Western Conference champs, Memphis, and don't over-correct here.

Pacers-Knicks Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

My Prediction: Pacers in 6.

Best Plus Minus / Most Valuable Player: JR Smith (+32 in 191 minutes). Most o this number is built on the back of the Game 2 Knicks rout (+27 in that game, +5 in the rest of the series). When Smith is on, the Knicks have two scorers and three complementary players. When he's off, they have one. He was off. That doesn't change what he is: an X-factor. Every team still in the playoffs has some player with a stunning ratio of swagger to everyday production (Tony Allen, Manu Ginobli, Lance Stephenson, Mario Chalmers), but that guy can win you one game in a playoff series. That's J.R., for better or worse. I can't wait to see how GM's value that skill in free agency, because I don't have a clue.

Worst Plus Minus / Least Valuable Player: Raymond Felton (-28 in 208 minutes). Felton honestly didn't have a great series, and without his season-long pick-and-roll partner, he wasn't going to generate a ton of efficient against the long-armed Pacer defense. I wonder what happened to that partner of his...

Jerome James Award: Tyson Chandler. Major accolades can often have more to do with offense than defense in the NBA. That's no one's fault in particular, we have better metrics to look at offense. So, I was one of the people who applauded when Chandler got a third team All-NBA nod last year, since his variety of playing one side of the court well happened to be defense. Well, All-NBA players have to bear the brunt of criticism when your production declines. Take a look at the regular season and postseason numbers:

Regular Season Averages: 33 minutes, 10.4 pts (64% FG), 10.7 reb, 1.1 blocks

Postseason Averages: 29 minutes, 5.7 pts (54% FG), 7.3 reb, 1.2 blocks

Combine those numbers with Roy Hibbert's two-way field day during the series, and I'd say there should probably be a little more blame heading Chandler's way.

Spurs-Warriors Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

My Prediction Was: Spurs in 5.

Best Plus Minus: Manu Ginobli (+50 in 178 minutes). Given his injury issues, and the seemingly obvious mismatch Tony Parker presented, it's surprising that Ginobli would be the Spur that gets this spot. Then again, given Ginobli's penchant for playing big in the playoffs, it's surprising that this is surprising. Not only did he provide timely shot-making (to agree, you have to ignore his 34% from the field, 27% from three, and 65% from the line), but he may have been the Spurs' best playmaker in the series (6.3 assists per game, 2.5 assist-turnover ratio). Given Parker's injuries, and the looming Conley matchup, Ginobli vs. Tony Allen may be the most pivotal matchup of the Western Conference finals.

Worst Plus Minus: Jarrett Jack (-40 in 198 minutes). With the success of Harrison Barnes and Jack in this series, it's almost like people forgot that Gregg Popovich designs defenses to make someone else beat you. As in, a "point guard" who will generate as many turnovers as assists over the course of a series (14 to 14). As in, a guard who will not punish opposing defenders with hot shooting from deep (27% shooting from three on less than two attempts per game), and keep guys like Curry and Thompson from impacting a game. You can keep applauding Jack's contributions in this series, but I bet every time Jack initiated offense from the top of the key, while Curry and Thompson watched from the corners, the Spurs' coaching staff smiled.

Most Valuable Player: Klay Thompson (Net +28 in 250 minutes). Ah, the other member of the "Splash Brothers" backcourt. As a basketball fan who appreciates those who affect two ends of a basketball court, I tip my hat to the guy who took a slightly smaller offensive burden (five fewer attempts, two fewer free throw attempts per game than Curry during the series), but also took the challenge of guarding Tony Parker, as opposed to being hidden by his coach on defense. Curry is the more unique basketball talent, but almost every team in the NBA could slot Thompson into their lineup and probably not lose efficiency on offense or defense. It might not seem like a compliment, but it's meant to be a compliment of the highest order.

Least Valuable Player: Danny Green (Net -53 in 214 minutes). I can honestly say I don't understand this result. I've seen a lot of quick stats about how poor Curry was shooting when defended by Green. Plus, his numbers were up across the board versus his regular season numbers, on a higher minutes count. I'm truly confused. Given the lack of a non-point guard scoring threat on the Grizzlies, it will be interesting to see what both his and Leonard's roles will be in the next series.

Jerome James Award: Tim Duncan. He's the greatest power forward of all time. He's carried teams on his back multiple times during multiple seasons. He's still playing a good three years after most of the basketball world thought he was done. But, cracks are starting to show. In crunch time, Golden State was purposely involving a 14-time All-Defense selection in screen and rolls. Why? On offense, the Warriors often left Duncan single covered in the post by Carl Landry. Why? We can argue about the reasons, but the facts are that in this series, San Antonio was +34 with Duncan on the bench, and -11 with Duncan in the game. If that doesn't scare you, just ask yourself: who is Tim Duncan going to match up with against Memphis - Gasol or Randolph? Would you feel good about either one, on either side of the floor?

Thunder-Grizzlies Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

My prediction was: Thunder in 7.

Best Plus Minus: Marc Gasol (+35 in 209 minutes). I'd like to split this award with his teammate, Zach Randolph. If Curry and Thompson are the Splash Brothers, then someone needs to give these two a cool nickname (and Bash Brothers doesn't seem right, so don't even bother). It's not the style of basketball that grabs casual fans, but for some people (read: me), intelligent defense played hard is fun to watch. And the best part? They won't go small in crunch time; they make opponents play their way. It should be fun watching them match up with the Spurs or Warriors.

Worst Plus Minus: Reggie Jackson (-33 in 188 minutes). It feels like people don't remember that Eric Maynor used to give OKC great minutes at backup point guard before he tore his ACL. Given his unanticipated jump in responsibility, I suppose he gets a pass. But, in five games, he made six shots outside the paint, and yielded a 2:1 assist-turnover ratio, and generated less than three free throw attempts per game.  If the goal is to be a poor man's Westbrook, he's got a little work to do.

Most Valuable Player: Derek Fisher (Net +32 in 135 minutes). Derek Fisher has already received more attention on this blog than I'd like. So I'm moving on.

Least Valuable Player: Tayshaun Prince (Net -27 in 157 minutes). For most of the crunch time minutes I saw, Prince seemed to gum up the works on offense as often as he helped facilitate. Also, Tony Allen appeared to take a page out of the 2006 Dirk Nowitzki scouting report ("put a mean shorter defender on him, he won't take him down low) with great success against Durant. I'd personally like to see Pondexter get a little more run in this spot, and maybe the next opponent's lack of a 6-10 small forward with 30 foot shooting range will let that happen.

Jerome James Award: Whining About Injuries. I'm a little sick of listening to Thunder fans complain about their bad luck with injuries. The fact that injuries play a major role in the playoffs is not new, it's just new to Thunder fans. As a public service, allow me to catch OKC fans up on what's been happening in the NBA the last few years: 

• in 2013, the Knicks don't beat the Celtics if Rajon Rondo doesn't tear his ACL. The Warriors don't beat the Nuggets if Gallinari doesn't tear his ACL, unless David Lee doesn't tear his hip flexor.
• in 2012, the Heat don't need seven games to beat the Celtics if Chris Bosh doesn't miss the first few games of that series. The Celtics don't even get to the conference finals if a healthy Derrick Rose leads the Bulls past the Sixers in the 1st round.
• in 2011, the Thunder doesn't beat Memphis in seven games if Rudy Gay doesn't miss the entire playoffs that year. The Grizzlies don't beat the Spurs in Round 1 if Manu Ginobli isn't battling an elbow injury during that series.
• in 2010, the Lakers don't beat the Celtics if Kendrick Perkins doesn't tear his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
• in 2009, the Magic don't beat the Celtics if Kevin Garnett doesn't injure his knee at the end of the regular season.

Sometimes bad things happen in sports, and there isn't a clear reason why. Sometimes it means teams and players don't get to achieve what they could have. For crying out loud, the name of this blog is an homage to that very fact. So, feel sorry for yourselves if you want, it's your right. But please don't expect the rest of the sports world to feel your pain; it's been par for the course for everyone else for a while now.

Bulls-Nets Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus: Brook Lopez (+21 in 263 minutes). He definitely has a few flaws (not the best rebounder given his size, difficulty in pick-and-roll defense), but his pluses far outweigh his minuses. Whatever the Nets want to do next year, he's a great building block.

Worst Plus Minus: Jimmy Butler (-39 in 269 minutes). When it comes to the draft, the conventional wisdom seems to suggest that getting a rotation player after pick #20 is generally considered a good-to-great pick, depending on where the pick is. Does Jimmy have the potential to be a starter, who can take the defensive challenge of the other team's best player, and bring adequate offensive production in an iron man's minutes? Yes. So, job well done, Chicago front office, no matter what plus-minus says.

Most Valuable Player: Nate Robinson (Net +33 in 210 minutes). There's no good explanation for this. A coach as demanding as Thibodeau, an offense and defense that requires the discipline of Chicago's... this shouldn't be the role that Nate shines in. And yet, without Derrick Rose, bad shots will be taken no matter what they try to run at least 20 times a game. Why not let somebody with no fear take (and make) those shots?

Least Valuable Player: Jimmy Butler (Net -25 in 269 minutes). See above.

Jerome James Award: Joe Johnson / Deron Williams. There's just too much talent (and contract value) to look anywhere else in this series. These are two multiple time All-Stars, with All-NBA spots on their resumes and enough experience to get paid what most people think of as max contract dollars. They were playing an inferior team talent-wise, whose injuries only made the disparity worse as the series wore on. That means they get the credit and the blame, whichever is coming the way of the Brooklyn Nets. I'd give 80% of the grief to Williams given Johnson gutting out a pretty tough injury, but it's hard not to be frustrated with the Nets' season given the roster's composition.

Knicks-Celtics Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus: Raymond Felton (+51 in 247 minutes). In the 2010 playoffs, Felton was the starting point guard of the Bobcats, and got swept out of the playoffs. He shouldered a lot of blame for Jameer Nelson exploiting pick and roll defense for big stats in that series. Since then, he signed with the Knicks, got traded to the Nuggets, got traded to the Blazers, possibly led a player mutiny, and then got traded back to the Knicks. None of that matters now, because he made Bill Simmons quit on Avery Bradley. Thank you, Raymond.

Worst Plus Minus: Jeff Green (-47 in 259 minutes). It's awesome to see Jeff Green playing and playing well. About 18 months ago, he was having heart surgery. He just finished a series for Boston that, from a production standpoint, exceeded his pre-surgery OKC days. Can he guard the burly small forwards of the East, like Carmelo and Lebron? Probably not. Can anyone? Probably not. But he's definitely an above-average starting small forward, with potential as a floor-spacing crunch time 4. Which means he's a decent piece for the Celtics going forward.

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Garnett (Net +30 in 212 minutes). I'm not the biggest Kevin Garnett fan in the world. I can't separate his play on the court with all the other stuff (if you don't believe me, type "Kevin Garnett Cheap Shot" into Youtube sometime). But, he played well in this series, so he gets his due. Nice work against the Knicks. Due completed, moving on.

Least Valuable Player: Jason Kidd (Net -63 in 158 minutes). Jason Kidd can bring shooting, smart ball movement, and generally good play-making regardless of time and score to an offense. On defense, though, his lateral quickness has understandably declined with age, and aside from smart positioning and good strength, he can be overmatched against younger, athletic guards. I'm not sure that the next round will bring him much relief in that department.

Jerome James Award: Team Reputation. When the Knicks went up 3-0 on the Celtics, this series was over, based on the history of the league. When the Celtics won two in a row, the series was still over based on that history. But based on the media's reaction to Game 5, the Knicks were exhibiting tell-tale signs of a lack of championship mettle. If only they could be like the time-tested Celtics, the pinnacle of playoff toughness, who don't give teams a chance to get back up once they're down.

If only they could be like the Celtics, who went up 3-2 on Miami in 2012 and lost. Or the Celtics who went up 3-2 on the Lakers in 2010 and lost. Or the Celtics who went up 3-0 on the Magic in 2010, and lost two in a row before winning game 6 to close it out (sound familiar?). Or the 2009 Celtics who went up 3-2 on the Magic and lost (including Game 7 at home). 

The truth is, we won't know what the 2013 Knicks are until the playoffs end. Sometimes, even when a team is going to eventually win it all, each round can be so excruciating, supposedly devoted fans can write something like this about their own team. So let's just wait until the Knicks are eliminated before we say they can't do anything like win it all. Because we said the same things about the 2009 Lakers, and the 2012 Heat, and we were completely wrong.

Thunder-Rockets Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus / MVP: Omer Asik (+17 / Net +52 in 209 minutes). Even high tempo offenses that value spacing and shooting need competent defensive centers to compete. That's what makes Andrew Bogut so valuable in Golden State, and it's why the numbers say Omer Asik was the best player in this series. His value as a defensive player is without question. But despite shooting a jump shot about once every three games, he's a critical part of the spacing of the Houston offense. By setting great ball screens and rolling hard to the hoop, he forces defenses to account for him or give up an attempt at the rim (he finishes 59% of those). Of the two "poison pill" offer sheets Houston used last summer, this one was the far better move in hindsight.

Worst Plus Minus: Jeremy Lin (-64 in 83 minutes). Oh yeah, the other poison pill offer sheet. I'm not going to opine on Jeremy Lin's future based on a series where he got hurt in Game 2. I will say this: Patrick Beverley produced more than he did in this series, and that creates just enough uncertainty to make next season uncomfortable if Linsanity starts slow next year.

Least Valuable Player: Thabo Sefalosha (Net -53 in 192 minutes). Thabo has a very specific job in series like this: stop guys like James Harden. Unfortunately, he's also been practicing against that guy every day for most of the last four years. If the Harden - Ibaka isolations told us anything, I think Harden's prior experience playing against Thunder players made good defenders look worse than they normally look.

Jerome James Award: Derek Fisher. Once Russell Westbrook went down in this series, Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher were thrust into much larger roles. Thankfully, Derek Fisher was in position to help because he signed with the Mavericks, quit to spend time with his family, then changed his mind and signed with the #1 seed in the Western conference. There's no denying that from Derek's side, this makes a lot of sense. And there's no denying that from the side of a jilted team, it's quitting. So, as the Thunder continue their playoff struggle, please spare me the platitudes about Fish's leadership qualities. He's basically Ray Allen, for better or worse.

Pacers-Hawks Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus / Most Valuable Player: Lance Stephenson (+58 / Net +27 in 200 minutes).

Worst Plus Minus: Jeff Teague (-49 in 212 minutes).

Least Valuable Player: D.J. Augustin (Net -48 in 101 minutes). 

This series was largely banished to NBA TV for a reason. I didn't watch a lot of this series, you didn't watch a lot of this series, but the numbers are here if you have some reason to look at them. My advice? Just read something else.

Warriors-Nuggets Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus / Most Valuable Player: Steph Curry (+52 and Net +22.5 in 240 minutes). For every person who said Steph Curry would be a good pro, who defended him against those (read: me) who said he'd be a tweener offensive player who couldn't guard any position... take a bow. This series is one you can hold up anytime someone tries to question your brilliance. The Nuggets certainly play into Curry's ideal style, and the lack of Gallinari probably prevented Denver from playing several of its most-used and most productive lineups. But the Warriors were missing Lee for the whole series, so it's all a wash. Curry is a cyborg Reggie Miller with a handle, plus the shot-making creativity of Pistol Pete. There's no such thing as hyperbole until Game 1 against the Spurs.

Worst Plus Minus / Least Valuable Player: Ty Lawson (-53 and Net -28 in 237 minutes). This looks like a classic plus/minus head-fake, right? Of all the players I watched for Denver in this series, the two that seemed the most indispensable to my eye were Lawson and Iguodala/Faried, depending on the game. How, then, did this happen? Look at the per-game comparison of Lawson and Curry over the series:

Curry: 40 minutes, 24.3 points, 47% fg, 44% 3fg, 4.3 rebounds, 9.3 assists, 3.3 turnovers, 2.2 steals
Lawson: 39.5 minutes 21.3 points, 44% fg, 19% 3fg, 3.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 1.7 steals

This is a legitimate question that I can't answer. They were clearly on the floor at the same time, their individual stats are slightly in favor of Steph, and yet plus/minus sees them completely differently. Honestly, how is this possible?

Reverse Jerome James Award: Unconventional teams. At almost every turn, I've pointed out how the only teams that win NBA championships feature at least one All-NBA player (1st or 2nd team), and that competing without one just doesn't seem smart. I have also been rooting for the Nuggets to break that rule. Why? First of all, the style of play they always create (high-pace, aggressive/reckless plays, with a focus on getting to the rim) is easily the most enjoyable form of the game to any casual fan.

Second, and more important, it was far easier strategy to duplicate than the accepted model (acquiring one of the ten best players on the planet). It was a strategy that any GM could follow. Look at the Denver roster: not a single player drafted in the top 5 of any draft (as in, every team could likely build a roster like this if they wanted to). Their devotion to their style of play and roster construction didn't jive with the rest of the basketball world, and the skepticism of their postseason prospects feels similar to what the Steve Nash Suns faced (the anti- "defense wins championships" team). But, in the NBA, there's one ingredient you can't avoid if you want to win it all, and despite Denver's best efforts, that adage is true for yet another season. And the NBA is just a little less interesting than it could be as a result.

Grizzlies-Clippers Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus: Zach Randolph (+65 in 202 minutes). Put up a pretty similar net plus/minus to Steph Curry in his 1st round playoff series, and I'd argue Randolph did similar work. Now, Marc Gasol is as perfect a running mate as Z-Bo could hope for, and probably provides the cool counterweight to Randolph's fiery personality. But when you look at Randolph's output in the losses and wins in this series, it's pretty clear: he is the heart and soul of the Grizzlies. For better or worse, their postseason success will swing on what he has to give the rest of the way.

Worst Plus Minus: Chris Paul (-43 in 223 minutes). I'm going to need a few minutes to warm up on this one (read: will be covered later in the post).

Most Valuable Player: Matt Barnes (Net +28 in 162 minutes). There's nothing I could say that Zach Lowe couldn't say better, plus he saw this coming almost two months ago. Better to read it from him.

Least Valuable Player: Jerryd Bayless (Net -33 in 96 minutes). I'm not sure how much of this has to do with Bayless playing opposite noted tough-shot maker / 2nd unit breaker Jamal Crawford. Regardless, he and Quincy Pondexter will have to keep supplying competent defense, opportunistic play-making, and badly needed 3 point shooting while on the floor. Because, at this point, I'm not ready to trust Tony Allen's 50% shooting from deep on 0.7 attempts per playoff game.

Jerome James Award Winner: Chris Paul. There's a pretty interesting phenomenon regarding the perception of Chris Paul, and the results. Look at these two players:

Player A: In 10 non-injury seasons (every season of his career), has been to the playoffs 10 times, has gotten out of the 1st round twice, has been to the conference finals once. No championships. Demanded and was granted a trade after 8 seasons.

Player B: In 7 non-injury seasons (excludes one season), has been to the playoffs 5 times, has gotten out of the 1st round twice, has never been to the conference finals. No championships. Demanded and was granted a trade after 6 seasons.

One of these players is considered the consummate team leader in the NBA, someone who elevates teammates and maximizes team performance. One is considered a malcontent, who purposely chooses individual stats over team success, with predictable results in the playoffs. But, the records of overall playoff success are not that different; in fact, I'd argue Player A has the better playoff resume. So, why does Carmelo Anthony (player A) get so much more grief than Chris Paul (player B) when his team underperforms? Incidentally, only nine teams in NBA history have blown 2-0 leads, Chris Paul's Clippers just joined that club.