Dating back to last season, the Los Angeles Clippers have lost five straight playoff games, and they're on the brink of another summer collapse, this time against the Dallas Mavericks.
But the fourth-seeded Clippers aren't worried about their 0-2 first-round series deficit, according to veteran leader Paul George.
"It's a competition. We got to rise to the occasion," George told reporters following Tuesday night's stunning 127-121 loss at Staples Center. "The fact of the matter is if we don't, we're done for. But it's no level of concern. We just got to play our game. We got to play through this. We got to incorporate our defense. Luka's going to get his touches. We just got to do a better job defensively of just quieting everybody else."
Whether or not the ghosts of playoffs past are haunting, the Clippers are undoubtedly flirting with disaster. So, who deserves most of the blame for their confounding struggles? JR believes it's George.
"It boils down to Paul George. You're the seven-time All-Star. You're the Olympian. You're the All-Defensive this, All-Defensive that," JR said during Wednesday's edition of the JR SportBrief show. "Knock down some shots, play some defense, be a lock-down defender. Stop. And when you've done so much talking throughout the course of your career, you know what, dammit, sometimes you've got to pack it up. Sometimes you just need to shut up. We heard it last year. Playing in the bubble stunk, and yes, I understand that. I think it stunk for everyone... But that wasn't it. You talk trash as well...
"Paul George... if I've got to say someone should really shoulder the load here as to why the Clippers are in an 0-2 hole, if I've got to point a finger at anybody. Hell yeah, it's a team effort. But you know what? Basketball can really be about individual talents... And Paul George right now, for the past several years when it comes down to playoff action, he always looks like a broken centerpiece. He looks like the crooked-ass star at the top of your Christmas tree...
"Paul George just looks like a broken-ass player. And he might have a few more games here to set the record straight. He might set things straight through this entire playoffs -- it's only two games. But when you look at last year, when you look at his history, when you look at what's going on right now, Paul George just needs to show up and prove it... Paul George, I think he deserves the most blame for what the hell's going on with the Clippers. This isn't what they're paying him for."
Los Angeles, which entered the playoffs with a league-high 43-percent chance to reach the NBA Finals, according to FiveThirtyEight's projections, currently have a 20-percent chance to win the West, and a 12-percent chance to win the title.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will take place on Friday night in Dallas, with tipoff scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
JR's complete thoughts on George and the Clippers can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the JR SportBrief show on Twitter @JRSportBrief and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.