Even at a distance, it's still difficult to understand how the Los Angeles Clippers got here. Within a week's span, the Clippers went from holding a commanding 3-1 lead in their conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets to being eliminated from the playoffs. Moreover, the Clippers lost the last three games despite holding a seemingly insurmountable 19-point lead at home late in the third quarter of Game 6.
Moving from the macro view of the Clippers' "collapse," looking at what changed in the series provides a different perspective. From that standpoint, it quickly becomes clear that the Clippers lost primarily because of two factors: their inability to make open shots, and Houston's ability to do the same.
Shooting Breakdown
Of the many stats from the Rockets' Game 6 comeback win, this might be the most stunning: During that game, the Clippers shot 1 of 13 on what SportVU camera tracking considers "wide-open" 3-pointers (shot without a defender closer than six feet to the shooter). The Clippers shot 40.3 percent on such shots during the regular season and had made an incredible 54 percent of them during the first five games of the series (one reason they built a 3-2 lead).
Alas, the Clippers' ability to make open 3-pointers deserted them at the worst possible time. Here's how L.A. shot on both "wide-open" and "open" 3s (closest defender between four and six feet) game by game over the course of the series.