For years, one thing has remained abundantly clear: if you’re a fan of The Los Angeles Clippers, odds are that you were deeming yourself to a life of underdog status. After all, they were second banana to The Lakers, who shared the same arena and had more to show for themselves. This isn’t just subjective opinions on talent, it’s shown through decades of Finals Trophies and stars who are continuing to be hailed as some of the best that the sport has offered. Even LeBron James, who lead LAL to the championship in 2020, has more clout than a single member of LAC down to headlining what is sure to be a sensory overload nightmare with Space Jam: The New Legacy (2021). What even do The Clippers have to show for themselves?
When I last wrote about them proper, they had one of those season finales that make you want to run and hide, knowing that The Lakers fans would laugh at you. In 2020, they were both hailed as the underdog who could’ve gone all the way and the biggest disappointment at the same time. During their time in The Bubble, the team had a reputation for giving fans false hope. Basically, the first half would be promising. You wouldn’t expect ANYONE to catch up with their 15 point leads. Then, over the course of a second half, it would happen. It wasn’t always a close game either. Sometimes it would feel like they sent Kawhi Leonard and Paul George out during naptime, coach Doc Rivers being brutally honest during post-game interviews but not really doing much to tighten the team.
I know that every fan of every team feels this way, but I was genuinely disappointed because I did believe that they had a better team than what the standings said. How could The Clippers blow it when they had TWO of that year’s Sixth Man of the Year candidates (including winner Montrezl Harrel)? Later reports suggested that Rivers had a track record of blowing 3-1 leads, which made his departure at the end of the season more plausible. Even when he transferred to The Philadelphia 76’ers, ranked number one in the east at the start of post-season, he failed to get them cohesive enough to beat The Atlanta Hawks in the second round.
To be completely honest, I was initially dismayed at the end of the season. Had I been buying into a mirage this whole time? Reports came out about how Leonard was sometimes late to events and that there were conflicts behind the scenes. As usual, people got traded and the team entered the 2020-2021 season looking much different. Initially, I was dismayed because going into the start in December, it looked like The Lakers stood a better chance. They had gotten Harrel. Others like Landry Shamet went to The Brooklyn Nets and by Mid-Season Lou Williams went to The Hawks in exchange for Rajon Rondo (which I remain very mad about). To be completely honest, scooping up Demarcus Cousins after he was traded to The Houston Rockets had a better impact on the team overall.
Cumulatively, I went into the season with the concern that The Clippers were falling back to second-tier. Even being in The Top 5 Seed wasn’t enough to really persuade me to think they stood a chance.
Things that I forgot to consider as the end of the season approached was that I always believed that The Clippers GREW as the season went on. The unfortunate side effect of a pandemic was the amount of time away from court, to create a tighter bond among players. As much as I believe that new coach Tyronn Lue tapped into something essential about the team, it was also the reality that the team was always what I imagined them to be. They may have never won championships, but they were often a farming team that benefited other teams long term. It’s where players went to strengthen their game.
At the end of last season, George admitted that 2019-2020 was a building season. As much as it felt like a poor excuse for their embarrassing losses, it was something that would have to be proven in the next season. PG-13 later claimed that he owed LAC a championship and would do everything to get them there. So without a pandemic shutting the sport down for months on end, allowing the team to keep that glue together, the ball was in his court. He needed to prove himself, especially as the team took on a different shape, at times hitting lulls. Early in the season, The Clippers even managed to achieve a record for lowest-scoring first half in any game ever. Underdogs, they seemed destined to remain.
So without either of their Sixth Man of the Years, how did The Clippers look going into the post-season? With many distracted by The Play-In Tournament, nobody really noticed their small improvements game by game, testing out line-ups and preparing for an ultimate battle. Sure, Serge Ibaka would be injured before things got too far along, but that was a small risk for what was to come. The Clippers have always thrived thanks to their impressive bench, able to rotate players in and out throughout the many series. But, the most important question was simple: could they do better than losing a 3-1 lead like they had the season before?
To the team’s credit, they not only did this twice but in the most memorable ways possible. In the first round against The Dallas Mavericks, many prognosticators looked ready to write them off again. They had lost the first two games, setting them up for an unfair disadvantage. They rarely lost by double-digits, but it was still enough to make The Playoffs feel like business as usual. Along with Mavericks star Luka Doncic calling Patrick Beverley “too fucking small,” the series was most memorable for being the rare series that had the away team win every game except for Game 7. Given that The Clippers did this AGAIN against first seed The Utah Jazz, it was enough to build enthusiasm that maybe, just maybe, this was their year.
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| Not related, but still memorable |
As a Clippers fan, what I really wanted more than anything was just for them to outrank The Lakers. I personally do not like last year’s champions for their aggressive play and showmanship. It’s the type of rivalry that becomes more cathartic when you factor in that not only did The Lakers lose the first round to The Phoenix Suns, but the news since for James and the gang has been largely negative. Players want out, complaints of management run amok… it’s like the 2018-2019 season all over again. There is some catharsis, if just because it proved how The Lakers lucked into a victory last year.
Then again, another thing that makes this Playoff season much sweeter is the reality that the teams that made it to The Conference Finals all shared some distinctions. The season was already unprecedented as it was the first in 10 years to not feature James or The Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, but the remaining four teams all had either never been there before (The Clippers and The Suns) or had been a minimum of 50 years since they had been (The Milwaukee Bucks and The Atlanta Hawks). For anyone to play the odds this year would’ve been foolish, especially since The Eastern Conference came down to a whimpering finale where neither team’s star was healthy enough to play.
Then again, that’s what happens when a season is shortened, where an abnormal amount of games are played in an average month. While injuries will happen, it also meant that many players were worn out quicker, where it was just as fun to see who won as it was who would still be standing. Unfortunately for The Clippers, that included Ibaka and Leonard for the entire series. At times Leonard wouldn’t even be courtside, hanging out in skyboxes with family watching the team play on while announcers made fun of his inability to emote happiness for this team’s incredible success. This was a lot of firsts for LAC, including breaking a 50 year record of never making it to the western conference. While their record still holds for any team in any sport for the longest run, it felt like George heard the complaints and got to work fixing them.
It does honestly seem like The Clippers feel most comfortable when pushed into a corner, needing to prove themselves. Not every game that they played in The Playoffs would be called masterful, but certain things became clear. The games that mattered were often the best moments in basketball from the past month. Not only was George putting in the effort with impeccable shot records, but other players rose to the challenge. Reggie Jackson became a star shooter with Ivica Zubac being a dangerous rebounder. Even Beverley worked as this menace to keep the opponents on their toes. Along with Nicolas Batum, Terrence Mann, and Cousins, the team had become what I wanted them to be. They could mix up plays and surprise people with their outside shooting. It was everything that good basketball deserves to be.
I’ll confess that when the season started, I didn’t think they would get far. The Lakers seemed to hold dominance in more ways than one. However, The Clippers were ultimately about the long game, and it showed. Much like The Suns, they didn’t give up fights. They scrapped until the very end, even at times getting rough. Beverley would accidentally break Devon Booker’s nose, causing him to wear a mask for long stretches. Injuries abound and by the end, things got messy, especially as Beverley reminded audiences of his ongoing feud with Chris Paul by pushing him very rudely in the back following some unknown comment.
To the very end, The Clippers fought. Maybe by then, they were out of tricks to beat The Suns, but it was one of those match-ups you hoped for. Both teams played very well and even with Paul missing a few games due to COVID-19 restrictions, they kept their ambitions high the whole time. Even when The Suns clenched that Game 6 at Staples Center, Paul made sure to thank The Clippers, who a few seasons ago had given him a few great years as a player. It’s hard to stay mad at him (except for some of those State Farm commercials). After 16 years, he’s finally going for the title and the only one in his way is Giannis Antetoukoumnpo… if he even plays.
On the one hand, I could be disappointed that my team didn’t make it to The Finals. It’s one of those sad facts of life. However, I am very proud of the team for going further than they had the previous season. For the first time in a while, it actually looks like The Clippers have something more momentous to say in the future. George actually delivered and all signs point to Lue being a worthwhile addition to the team. Sure, I’m not wild about certain trades (Harrel, Williams), but what they replaced it with was largely used to great effect. The question that many could have going into this summer is if The Clippers could’ve done better with Leonard and Ibaka. Would they be still in the race? To be completely honest, I think that they would only be slightly better if just because the rotation would negate certain bench players’ impact on a game (also, they wouldn’t have gained enough experience in some cases to be as relied upon).
I know that this farewell to The Clippers wasn’t necessarily just about them, but this whole season has been an exciting mystery to me. After their disappointing previous season, I had set my sights so low that anything was deemed surprising. They were, after all, the underdogs. It didn’t matter if they won. Not knowing what to expect actually played in the team’s favor and it only leaves me to hope that this wasn’t a fluke. I hope that, unlike The Lakers, they have learned from their recent past success and continue to grow into a more cohesive team, maybe even going further next time. If not, their push to be “L.A. Our Way” is finally more than some ridiculous compensation. It is a sign of accomplishment.
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