Much like Conor McGregor, Tyronn Lue would like to take a chance to apologize to absolutely nobody.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, the LA Clippers coach responded to those criticizing the team for supposedly tanking at the end of the regular season to get a more favorable playoff draw.
“I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks on the outside,” said Lue, per Mirjam Swanson of the OC Register. “I don’t listen to that anyways, so at the end of the day, we [chose] for the team. We decided to go with health over all else. We finally got our team healthy, and that’s what we focused on.
“We took health, and that’s the most important thing to me,” Lue added. “So whatever people say on the outside I don’t care. I don’t read Twitter, or have Twitter, or InstaTwit, or all that. I don’t care about all that. I’m my own man, I do what I want to do. That’s how I live my life.”
It certainly seemed like the Clippers were intentionally losing to avoid one particular playoff opponent. They closed out the regular season with losses to Houston and Oklahoma City, two of the worst teams in the league. Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George did not play in either contest. Players like Marcus Morris Sr., Ivica Zubac, and Nicolas Batum also had their minutes heavily limited.
But as Lue said, health is probably the single most important consideration heading into the postseason. Expectations will be high for the Clippers after last year’s playoff dud, and they are gearing themselves up accordingly.
