When you think about The Los Angeles Clippers, more than likely the word
futility is in your thoughts. The Clippers have not enjoyed consecutive
winning seasons since 1976 when they were The Buffalo Braves. Since The
National Basketball Association implemented The NBA Draft Lottery in
1985, no team has held the first overall pick in the draft more than The
Clippers. The Clippers futility has followed them to three cities,
although the franchise made three consecutive playoff appearances in
Buffalo before packing up and moving to San Diego in 1978. The Clippers
called San Diego home for six seasons, but they only had one winning
campaign. In 1984 under current team owner Donald Sterling, The Clippers
hopped on Interstate-5 for a three-hour trip to Los Angeles and The
City of Angels has been their home ever since. The Clippers have been
the little brother to The Los Angeles Lakers whom they share The Staples
Center with, but things are changing for who is currently the dominant
team in L.A.
Through 26 games this season, The Clips own the second best record
in The NBA which is only one game behind The Oklahoma City Thunder. The
Clippers are currently on a 12-game winning streak which is the longest
in franchise history. The Clippers also currently own an 8-game lead
over The Lakers in The Pacific Division.
trick pony that relies on point guard Chris Paul to throw the alley-oop
to forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan to form “Lob City”.
This Clipper team is a well rounded bunch and it starts on the defensive
end. The Clippers are currently fourth in The NBA in points per game
allowed at 92.2. During this current winning streak, The Clippers have
only allowed The Utah Jazz to score more than 100 points against them.
The Clippers are not a selfish team either as their 23.2 assists per
game are third in the league. The teams that are not selfish generally
are the ones that win and The Clippers are on the right track. This is a
far cry from last season.
Paul from The New Orleans Hornets. Most people immediately expected The
Clippers to become contenders. After a slow start, some people in L.A.
were looking for Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro to be fired, but
Sterling and former Clippers general manager Neil Olshey stood the
course and stuck with Del Negro. In the shortened 66-game
regular-season, The Clippers won 40 games and they won a playoff series
for only the second time since moving to Los Angeles. Not only are The
Clippers now winning, but they are making it fashionable for free-agents
to come play basketball for ‘the other basketball team in Los Angeles”.
Prior to the season new Clippers general manager Gary Sacks signed
several NBA veterans in forward Matt Barnes, former NBA Sixth Man of The
Year Jamal Crawford, and forward Lamar Odom who was originally drafted
by The Clippers in 1999. Along with forward Caron Butler and former NBA
Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, The Clippers now enjoy one of the deepest
teams in The NBA which is allowing them to take the spotlight away from
The Lakers in Tinseltown.
Sterling. Sterling has consistently let players such as Odom and Elton
Brand leave in free-agency as he felt that he could make a profit
without putting a winning product on the court. This has changed under
the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. After the league lockout of
players last year, there was a trade on the table that would’ve sent
Paul to The Lakers as he very badly wanted to leave New Orleans. NBA
commissioner David Stern put a stop to the trade as he was looking for
something that was “fair” to the league after some owners such as Dan
Gilbert of The Cleveland Cavaliers balked at The Lakers reloading. All
parties agreed to the trade that would send Paul to The Clippers and all
of a sudden The Clippers became relevant.
It is good that The
Clippers have become a deep and talented team because it deflects the
pressure from one guy. Paul, Crawford, and Billups have all been the guy
at some point of their respective careers while Griffin gets most of
the pub for his high-flying dunks. Paul is still effective as the floor
general to find his teammates, but he doesn’t have to be the scoring
threat that he was with The Hornets. As the season grows, this team will
only get better. The reasons are simple. As previously stated unlike
past Clipper teams, this unit has a deep veteran presence and more
importantly guys in Butler, Billups, and Odom have experience in winning
NBA Championships. As The Lakers continue to struggle, more attention
will be thrown at The Clippers in Los Angeles, but they appear ready to
handle it.
It isn’t 2013 yet, but The Clippers are not just
thinking about the playoffs. They are also expecting to go deep into the
postseason. The Clippers lost a grueling overtime battle to The Thunder
by a score of 117-111 on November 21 in Oklahoma City. The Clippers
were able to defeat The San Antonio Spurs twice this season. The
Clippers started the season by defeating The Memphis Grizzlies 101-92.
This was the same Memphis team that The Clippers battled last season in a
grueling seven-game playoff series that saw The Clippers come out
victorious. These are the elite teams in The Western Conference that The
Clippers will have to hang with in May and so far they are showing that
they are up for the challenge. At some point you know that The Lakers
will dust themselves off of the canvas and continue this 12-round fight
which will throw another contender in the ring against The Clippers. At
this point of the season The Clippers have answered every challenge this
season as they appear built for the long haul.
Source: Basketball-Reference.com
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