Lob City beginnings: Remembering one of the greatest comebacks in Playoff history

When the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul in a trade in 2011, the expectations for (until that moment) the worst NBA franchise in history were sky-high.

Paul was paired up with young stars in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan which was the reason for the birth of the Lob City nickname. It's hard to find a more sky-walking duo than Griffin and Jordan, and the nickname lived to the hype. The Clippers were able to lead the league in lobs for the years to come.

However, an attractive style of play wasn't enough; the Playoffs were a must, and the Clippers were able to get a fifth seed in a stacked Western Conference with a 40-26 record. (the regular season was shortened because of an NBA lockout) Clips got to advance to the second round of the Playoffs after beating the Grizzlies in seven games. Game 1 of the series in Memphis was key when the Clippers were able to achieve one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Playoff history.

Lack of Playoff experience

L.A.'s less successful franchise was able to go into the Playoffs for the first time since 2006, with Chris Paul and Kenyon Martin as only players with extensive playoff experience. Clips lack of experience was evident from the jump as the Grizzlies were able to jump-out to an 18-point lead after the first quarter.

We also have to mention that Memphis had an amazing Playoff run just a year before, when they've knocked out the San Antonio Spurs in 6 games in the first round. It was even more impressive because the Grizzlies were an 8th seed and the Spurs had the number 1 seed, so the experience and the confidence they got from that success was huge.

Swaggy P at his best

Clippers had no answer defensively for Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley, and Marc Gasol, but had even more trouble on offense where Memphis was able to clamp them down with their famous "Grit N-Grind" style. That Grizzlies team was famous because of the tough defense. Also, unlike today's offensive styles, Memphis always used a lot of a shot clock, played methodically, and looked for the best possible scoring opportunity.

Grizzlies were cruising, blowout was in full effect in the third quarter when their lead was 27 points. 4th quarter came quickly, the Clips were down 71-95 with little more than 9 minutes to go after the Mayo jumper. However, LA never gave up.

Memphis was starting to play too relaxed, the defense got too soft, and offensively, they took ill-advised shots, and Clips took full advantage because of it.

Nick Young, later more known for his Swaggy P nickname, led the charge offensively. He was L.A.'s leading scorer in the game with 19 points and 9 of those came in the last 3 minutes when he was able to hit back-to-back-to-back threes on three straight possessions to cut the Memphis lead down to 3 with 1:47 remaining.

Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins called a time-out; the Grizzlies crowd was shocked, and the players even more so. Soon after, the Clips took their first lead of the game with 52 seconds left after the Reggie Evans layup. Rudy Gay answered with a fade-away jumper, and CP3 hit two free throws with 23,7 seconds remaining. Grizz went to Gay for a potential game-winner as well, but Kenyon Martin played an excellent 1 on 1 defense. Gay went for a pull-up jumper from the key, Martin had a great contest, and the shot was well short.

Clipper bench ran onto the court and celebrated the amazing comeback win like it was an NBA championship. In the 4th quarter, LA shot 76,5% from the field, went 5-6 from the three-point line, and ended the game on a 28-3 run. Until this day, this was the third biggest comeback in NBA playoff history. Clippers hold the record in this category, too, when the 2019 team led by Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly erased a 31-point lead in game 2 against the mighty Golden State Warriors with Steph, Klay, and KD.

An early sign of greatness

Even though the Clippers were swept that year in the second round against the Spurs, the series against Memphis was an early sign of the potential the Clippers had for winning a championship.

Paul-Griffin-Jordan trio was getting better and better, but the Playoff success was never reached in the end due to chemistry issues on the team and some bad luck with injuries (mainly Chris Paul).

During the Lob City era, Clips never even reached the Western Conference Finals which has to be considered as one of the biggest underachievements in NBA history.

Even so, that era is still the greatest era in franchise history. Lob City basketball was must-watch every single night, and the 27-point comeback in Memphis was just one of many highlights from the Paul-Griffin-Jordan led team.

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