If taken out of context, I’d argue that The Los Angeles Clippers’ last game against The Phoenix Suns was a perfect embodiment of the team. If you removed everything that came before, there was a sense of hope as the final quarter played out. By some miracle, the team persevered against Devin Booker’s record-setting night where he scored 47 points and marked The Suns’ win of the series a done deal. There was a push that got them within a possession of tying and even leading the game. This was the miracle The Clippers needed. They were down 3-1. This was make or break, and by some miracle, Russell Westbrook and crew delivered a tension that gave me hope that maybe this time would be different. Maybe it really would be L.A. our way.
To the team’s credit, they played a phenomenal fourth quarter after stumbling in the third. However, it wasn’t meant to be. Westbrook would botch a few crucial lay-ups and slam dunks. Booker was in his prime. There was no overcoming a crowd like Phoenix. If this was the only game you had seen The Clippers play, I’d argue you would accept it as a hard-fought loss, that they’re the likable underdogs who came up short by chance. However, if my deflated sense of esteem is any indicator, this was the whimper I had been expecting for a few games now. The previous two games were almost replicas of each other with LAC making the same mistakes over and over, not showing enough change to convince me that they were adapting to find PHX’s weak spots. Sure they had the push that a team losing 3-1 should have, but even in Game 4, I knew it was over. The fact that it wasn’t even the best Los Angeles-based game this week – The Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 4 against The Memphis Grizzlies was pure entertainment – makes my heart sink more.
It's difficult to be a Clippers fan. I think the only team who’s had a worse attitude as of late is probably The Dallas Mavericks thanks to a “will they/won’t they” approach to sabotaging their chances at the postseason. The Clippers at least got to The Playoffs, and there’s always that optimism that things would turn around. With exception to The Sacramento Kings, they were the most consistent California team and had secret weapons in tow. After sitting out the previous post-seasons from injury, Kawhi Leonard was going to return alongside good old reliable Paul George. With Westbrook to complete the trifecta, I was ready for the dominance I believed we had. Coach Ty Lue knew how to work with these players and even revived Westbrook’s potential. They had an amazing team ready to go. It was time to prove themselves.
Anyone who reads the NBA trades or fan pages will likely have heard a famous refrain at this point. Despite how critical and downright pissed a lot of people are, it’s hard not to laugh along with people complaining about how this season turned out. More importantly, complaints have been lobbed at the team to trade Kawhi Leonard. Stephen A. Smith has called him the worst superstar in the league. The jokes about “load management” are years old at this point, and yet it does feel like The Klaw has taken advantage of it, having missed over a third of his available games. Don’t get me wrong. When he plays, he’s a beast and gives me that hope I did when The Clippers made it to The Western Conference (ironically against The Suns) a few years back. Leonard played Game 1 earlier this month and did a fantastic job. And then… he dropped off significantly, failing to live up to the promise that he was saving up his energy for the most intense gameplay the team had seen all season.
There’s no denying that being a Clippers fan comes with some harsh truths. Do you keep Leonard because of his previous glory or modern cumulative adequacy? He’s been sold as the face of this franchise, and yet he’s let the team down so many times. I understand and sympathize with him being injury prone, but it’s not good to gamble your future on that flimsiness. Sometimes I’m confused why he’s the one in shoe commercials with Jack Harlow. There’s a marketability to him and he seems like a genuinely nice guy, but it’s not enough. I’ve always been someone who more admires players who treat every game like a job and put in the work for those numbers. Leonard has done some work, sure, but I have been far more impressed by players like Ivica Zubac, Nicolas Batum, or Terrence Mann who have continually stood up in times of need and at least tried. On the one hand, I am mad about Leonard bowing out so quickly in The Playoffs. On the other, I think it’s a good chance to show how strong their core and bench are beyond Leonard.
I should also note that along with complaints lobbed at Leonard, there’s been suggestions that Paul George should be booted. As my previous paragraph suggests, I like players who try. PG-13 more often than not tries. He’s a more respectable candidate for the face of the franchise. There are games where he has carried the team to minor victories and others where he continues to show his impressive skill to lead the team. I’ve always respected the management for how they assemble players and make them gel. It can be seen in such amazing moments as when The Clippers played a record making game against The Kings where they scored 176-175 (Kings won) which is the second highest points scored in a single game. There is potential there and I think you look at those teams and think that they’re the best of the best.
It's impossible to not think more optimistically about The Clippers in this light. Hiring Westbrook was a godsend, allowing for more diversity of gameplay among its three main attractions. Given that this was at a time where The Lakers and The Golden State Warriors suffered their own conflicts, it made LAC seem all the better off. They were escalating. This was going to be an amazing season. Except, it came at certain costs.
On the one hand, getting Westbrook ended up being a saving grace in the long run. After being mocked on The Lakers, I personally think he’s delivering some of The Clippers’ best work this season. He’s been a central reason that The Suns series hasn’t been downright devastating. I admire him for that. However, I’ve been less excited about certain other changes. Mason Plumlee as a player is fine, but it came at the expense of losing the amazing shooters Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard. As with every season, it does feel like The Clippers create something endearing only to tear it away and rebuild. The Jackson and Kennard trades especially have hurt because it did feel like they were ignoring the value of role players. With that said, there was that part of me that hoped by some concocted madness the team would get Patrick Beverley back, but he’s in the ricochet portion of his career, mocking Lebron James from his recliner.
Finally, there was something absolutely devastating about the week leading up to The Play-In Tournament. In a time where most teams would be on the verge of taking a break to strategize, there was that final run of games where whatever rankings were determined. In that time, Paul George received an injury that wasn’t debilitating, but crucial to The Clippers’ fate. It’s one of those moments where you feel your heart sink and realize the frustrations of how the team has been built. Sure, having Leonard and Westbrook at your disposal should be enough, but given Leonard’s inconsistency, it really came down to the new guy’s ability to lead a team he had only been on for a few months. I don’t fault George for the unfortunate outcome. However, it’s way too easy to wonder how a team with as impressive of a roster as The Clippers could continually miss the mark and, of course, you blame the stars.
To The Suns’ credit, they just had a more impressive team going into Game 1. Along with Booker, you have Chris Paul and the unstoppable Kevin Durant. As simple as it sounds, there’s a reliability there where you could trade off in time of need so that no pressure is on one player to the point of exhaustion. Is that one of the reasons Leonard only lasted one game at 40+ minutes? I don’t even know. As frustrating as it is to watch, The Suns just wanted it more. They’ve been more consistent in the years since that Western Conference match-up. They may have reached some highs and lows, but Phoenix never gave up. By having players constantly injured and experiencing load management, it’s easy to argue that The Clippers symbolically did (or at most optimistic, wanted to take the path of least resistance). I’m less mad that they lost and more that it was such a done deal so early in the series.
Even if basketball goes on and soon The Suns will play The Denver Nuggets, there’s something painful about being a fan of a team that exits early. Some of them you’d expect, but The Clippers have the pieces to move further. You’re spending months anticipating these fantastic match-ups and then they produce nothing. I can imagine that those players who work hard just to see it fall apart are even more devastated by those losses. I could imagine George being exhausted that he once again couldn’t live up to the promise of delivering LAC a championship. Then again, this has been a freakish season, where The Milwaukee Bucks are stumbling due to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s back injury. It feels like everyone is already injured and the winners are going to be the ones wearing a neck brace. It’s a tragic way to be excited about The Playoffs, but it arguably also makes the outcome more random and exciting.
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| I went to see The Clippers play and all I got was this lousy t-shirt |
To close everything out, I want to talk about the one game I attended this season. Back in December, I saw The Clippers play The Suns at Crypto Arena. Along with my sister, we were excited about the potential of seeing a rematch of The Western Conference champions. On the drive up, word broke on who was and wasn’t playing. My heart sank as I realized that the entire starting line-up was taking the night off. Any chance of seeing The Klaw play was firmly destroyed. Even a chance to see favorites like Zubac, Jackson, Kennard, or George was dashed. It was so disappointing and made me understand as I sat in the arena why a game that should be so momentous had so many empty seats. It wasn’t even worthy of must-see TV, let alone background noise.
It reminded me of the Kobe Bryant quote that suggested he played every game he could because of that one fan who saved up money to see him play that one time. This was my third game since 2021 that I’ve seen The Clippers play, and I have yet to see Leonard as more than a benchwarmer. With that said, seeing George warm up by shooting a half-court shot is the stuff this game was made for. The players who try are even more fun to watch in person. And yet, this game felt so empty because everyone took the night off. As it stands, I saw Deandre Ayton on the court more and he wasn’t even playing. When I went to the gift store, I overheard someone looking at a Leonard jersey and saying “It should read ‘Does Not Play’.” Even on the team’s home base, it’s way too easy to not give a nod of agreement.
The most memorable part of the game was when they announced the starting line-up and The Suns had Javale McGee on it despite him not even being in the building. Similarly, I was more amused by the halftime show featuring Snow Tha Product and 1/5 of Fifth Harmony.
With that said, there is something to be said about watching The Playoffs with that game in my memory. It was hard not to make scathing jokes about Leonard not playing and everyone taking the night off. Even for a team that I so desperately want to see succeed, they didn’t inspire the enthusiasm that I wanted. Meanwhile, I saw The Suns play and can recall how much fun I had seeing Chris Paul and Booker on the court, cherishing those moments. There was a team that showed up and tried. They fulfilled the bare minimum of Bryant’s quote even when the game felt inconsequential. There was a mass exodus in the fourth quarter and I don’t blame them. Even walking out as DJ Dense played Modest Mouse’s “Float On” felt like a very pathetic back pat. Add insult to injury, the entire team was out there three nights later to play The Charlotte Hornets.
It’s a frustrating moment to be a Clippers fan. One could argue that it’s always true since we’re constantly in feuds with The Lakers. In most years, I’d argue Clippers are better assembled. However, it’s tough to be laughing at them now. They may have had problems, but they resolved them in time to figure things out. The Clippers arguably had more time in all the load managing to strategize and didn’t. Yes, they had a lot of great promise even without Leonard or George, but it’s abundantly clear now how little there is there. It’s going to be a frustrating next few weeks listening to the familiar talking points about how Leonard should be dropped or some management change needs to be made. It’s going to be the recognition that, yes, The Lakers ARE better right now. Unless something drastic happens in The Off Season, it’s likely that they’re back to B-Team status very soon here. Like I do every year, I hope the best for my Clippers. They do amazing work. I just wish they were more consistent on how they achieved it.
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