With 5 triples in the contest, the former All-Star forward tied for second place on the squad in scoring with 15 points. Griffin’s response when asked what spurred him on from long range was uncomplicated: the 76ers left him open.
“You just have to attempt to make a team pay when they leave you exposed like that. It was good to see some of the open shots I was taking go through, he said.
Griffin denied taking it as disrespect when a reporter questioned him about it, but he then poked fun at his old mentor Doc Rivers, who is now the head coach of the 76ers.
“I don’t think it’s disrespectful, actually. They felt pain. Their game was that.
plan, of course. Doc creates that strategy. The fact that they failed to adapt has sort of been a problem,” the Celtics player informed the media. No offence intended, though.
Famously, Doc Rivers has a dismal track record of playoff meltdowns. When Doc led the Celtics more than ten years ago, the idea began to gain popularity. The club, led by Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo, lost 3-2 to LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the 2010 NBA Finals and the 2012 Eastern Conference Final.
Griffin
Rivers’ playoff struggles persisted after he switched teams in 2013 and joined the Los Angeles Clippers. In reality, the 2015 postseason season saw one of the worst collapses.
The Clippers, who include Blake Griffin among their key players, led the Houston Rockets 3-1 in the Western Conference Semifinal. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the game, the Clippers led 87-68.
However, Houston coach Kevin McHale made the audacious decision to bench James Harden in the third quarter of Game 6.
Everything changed for the better. The Rockets ultimately won Game 6 by a score of 12 to win the series in Game 7.
Griffin committed to a massive five-year, $173 million contract, which at the time set a club record. Griffin was traded away a year later. As the organization’s vice president of basketball operations, Rivers was in charge of the trade. After the announcement, Griffin allegedly did not answer Doc’s calls.