According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the LA Clippers have hired Ty Lue as their new head coach on a 5-year deal contract.

Former Clippers point guard and broadcaster Chauncey Billups will join his staff as a lead assistant, The Athletic’s Shams Charania added. The LA Times’ Brad Turner also reported that Larry Drew will join Lue’s staff.

Lue, a former NBA point guard, was a Clippers assistant coach during the 2013-14 season and again last year. In the interim, he spent 3 seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning over 60% of his regular season games, making the NBA Finals in all three of his playoff runs, and winning the 2016 NBA Championship as a rookie head coach.

Despite a national reputation as a “player’s coach”–a designation regularly used to downplay the tactical abilities of Black coaches–and some concern that Cleveland’s success had more to do with Lebron James than Lue’s coaching, observers close to the Cavaliers team have a very high opinion of Lue’s command of offensive X’s and O’s, defensive game planning, and willingness to experiment and adjust over the course of a playoff series. That’s all in addition to, yes, building foundations for strong relationships in the locker room that allow him to hold stars accountable, most famously calling out Lebron James at halftime of game 7 during the 2016 NBA Finals.

Yesterday, Cavaliers podcaster Justin Rowan joined myself and Robert Flom on 213Hoops’ The Lob, The Jam, The Podcast to discuss Lue’s candidacy–and Justin made a compelling argument in favor of Lue that Clippers fans will want to check out. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and most other podcasting platforms.

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As Lue steps up the Clippers coaching ladder, he will be replaced as lead assistant from outside the locker room but inside the organization, as former NBA point guard and current Clippers broadcaster Chauncey Billups will move to the bench. After a stellar 17-year career that included the 2004 NBA Championship and Finals MVP award with the Detroit Pistons, and a brief stint with the Clippers in 2012 and 2013, Billups retired several years ago and has worked in television while flirting with coaching and front office openings around the league.

Larry Drew, who is joining LAC’s staff as an assistant coach, was also an NBA point guard, playing during the 1980s. His career included a two-year stint with the Clippers in the very early years after the franchise’s move to Los Angeles. Drew has been a longtime NBA assistant, working with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1992-1999, Detroit Pistons from 1999-2000, Washington Wizards from 2000-2003, New Jersey Nets from 2003-2004, and Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010. In 2010, he became the Hawks’ head coach and saw the team to a 126-101 record in 3 seasons, making the playoffs each year and advancing out of the first round once. He then took the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coaching job and was fired after a 15-67 record in his first season.

Drew moved from Milwaukee to Cleveland, where he was an assistant coach under David Blatt and later associate head coach under Ty Lue, coaching the team to an 8-1 record during Lue’s two-week medical leave in 2018. He then became the Cavaliers’ interim head coach in 2019, after Lebron James’ departure and the team’s separation from Lue, coaching them to a 19-57 record.

The hiring of Lue and Billups follows an interview process that saw the Clippers bring in top assistant coaches from around the league, including Darvin Ham from Milwaukee, Mike Brown from Golden State, and Wes Unseld Jr from Denver.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Clippers Hire Ty Lue as Head Coach, Billups as Lead Assistant
Lucas Hann

Doc Rivers’ departure from the LA Clippers is the latest in a series of moves across the NBA that have contributed to one of the wildest coaching carousels in memory. With so many head coaches on the market and jobs open, here are 10 NBA head coaching candidates that the Clippers could consider to replace Rivers.

There are any number of qualified candidates across the NBA, WNBA, NCAA, international, and NBA G-League ranks who could potentially emerge as a serious candidate for a head coaching vacancy, and even narrowing the list down to bigger names and serious contenders leaves us with far more than 10 potential candidates for head coaching jobs in the near future. Here’s a run-down of NBA head coaching candidates, ranked according to a combination of my preference and likelihood that they’ll land the job:

“Oh Hell no”: Former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd.

Honorable Mention: Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Stephen Silas, New Orleans Pelicans associate head coach Chris Finch, Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard (who has said he isn’t pursuing NBA jobs), Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Jerry Stackhouse, former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni, former Orlando Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy.

10. Gregg Popovich: Like I said, we’re starting with the least likely. It’s hard to imagine Pop anywhere other than San Antonio, as he has been the Spurs’ head coach since 1996 and won 5 NBA titles, including the 2014 championship where Kawhi Leonard won his first NBA Finals MVP. Undoubtedly one of the greatest coaches in the history of the league, Popovich is 71 years old, still in place in San Antonio, and there’s no indication that a departure is forthcoming–but after rumors floated that the Brooklyn Nets could attempt to lure him for one final contending project before his retirement. Now that Brooklyn’s vacancy has been filled by Steve Nash, could the Clippers make a play? It’s very unlikely, but Steve Ballmer is the kind of owner who likes to make unlikely things happen when he gets his mind set on them–look no further than the team’s star pairing of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, or his purchase of the Inglewood Forum to clear the way for a new LAC arena.

9. Udonis Haslem: After winning titles with the Miami Heat and becoming a franchise legend with 16 seasons on the roster, Haslem has scarcely played in recent seasons and provided locker room leadership as a glorified assistant coach. He’s played just 7 minutes per game in 81 total games over the last 5 years, and saw over half of his 44 minutes this season in the Heat’s final bubble game as they rested players. The Heat are currently in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in Haslem’s tenure, having won the 2006, 2012, and 2013 titles. During this run, he’s been credited as being an anchor of “Heat culture,” and has frequently been seen on TV leading timeouts during the playoffs. It’s unlikely that a team–especially in the Clippers’ position–would hand the head coaching job to someone who was technically an active NBA player this year, but if LAC needs leadership and an improved locker room culture, surrounding Haslem with more experienced assistants (like Alvin Gentry and/or Nate McMillan) could make for a workable staff.

8. Becky Hammon: If you can’t get Popovich, why not poach from his staff? Hammon is one of the best WNBA players ever, and has been a pioneer for women coaching in the NBA since joining the Spurs’ staff in 2014. Her CV speaks for itself more loudly than any endorsement could, but it’s clear that she has earned the respect of players as well, as Pau Gasol wrote that “Becky Hammon can coach NBA basketball. Period.” Hammon seems likely to be a NBA head coach someday, and will probably be the first woman to ever fill the role, but she’s gained little momentum in hiring conversations in recent years. While there’s no doubt that sexism creates significant obstacles for women in sports, it can also be fairly argued that a number of other, higher-profile assistants have compiled longer tenures. The notion of a “line” existing is a bit silly–Steve Nash getting hired to coach a contender in Brooklyn is just the latest example–but it does seem based on league chatter that Hammon is still a few years from being a true finalist for an opening.

7. Jeff Van Gundy: Due to his TV appearances, Van Gundy is a perennial rumored head coaching candidate who never seriously gains traction for any openings. JVG had a successful enough tenure as a head coach–a 57.5% winning percentage in 11 years, 9 playoff appearances, 7 series wins, and an NBA Finals Appearance–to get another job in the NBA… just not a good enough job to lure him out of the broadcasting booth. And the jobs that might actually have brought him back to coaching went to stronger candidates. Remember, for all the criticism that Doc Rivers has gotten with the Clippers, that Rivers has a better regular season and playoff win percentage with over twice as many games coached as Van Gundy in each category, and where Van Gundy has one finals loss, Rivers has two finals appearances and a championship to his name. Most importantly with Van Gundy, though, is that he hasn’t coached an NBA game since 2007, before the three-point revolution. It’s possible that a relationship could land Van Gundy an actual interview for this opening, but the Clippers should find a more creative option.

6. Chauncey Billups: If the Clippers don’t look to their own bench for a replacement (spoilers), they might look to their own broadcast booth. After retiring from the NBA in 2014, Billups announced this summer that he was finally ready to start pursuing head coaching vacancies around the NBA, and he immediately became a candidate for a number of vacancies. Remember how I said the notion of a “line” was a bit silly? Yeah. But it’s understandable why teams would want Billups, a future Hall of Famer who won NBA Finals MVP in 2004 playing point guard for the Detroit Pistons. Chauncey would bring leadership, championship pedigree, and the perspective of someone who was close to the team last season but not directly involved in the debacle that was the team’s coaching staff. Still, I think Chauncey is going to have a stop as a prominent assistant before getting a head coaching job–and if the front office highly regarded him as a coaching prospect, it feels like they probably would have found a spot for him on the staff last season instead of putting him on broadcasts.

5. David Vanterpool: One of the most prominent assistants in the NBA, Vanterpool played and coached under the legendary Ettore Messina in Europe, and then became an assistant coach for the Blazers in 2012 where he worked closely with Damian Lillard to help the young star blossom before moving to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ bench last year. Known for his defensive acumen and strong player development skills, Vanterpool is widely considered one of the NBA assistant coaches highest on head coaching lists–but is he a good fit with the Clippers? LA isn’t quite in a position where they’re in need of a coach who is willing to come in and work closely with young players and focus on development. This team needs a leader who can make adjustments over the course of a playoff series to get them to a title. If Vanterpool ends up on the Clippers’ shortlist, he’ll have to use his interview to prove that he has what it takes to win in big moments in addition to his stellar day-in, day-out reputation.

4. Sam Cassell: If the Clippers are open to hiring from within their own staff and consider Rivers’ assistants as potential replacements, Cassell figures to get an interview. A high-profile NBA point guard through the 90s and 2000s, including playing a crucial role on LAC’s 2006 playoff run, Cassell has been an assistant coach since retiring in 2009 and joined the Clippers’ staff in 2014. Cassell has only received fledgling head coach interest at this point, most notably for the current Houston Rockets vacancy. Sam was drafted by the Rockets and was on the team for their 1995 title run, siphoning minutes from starter Kenny Smith as the finals went on after a 31-point performance in game 2. While Sam should be a legitimate candidate for the Clippers, it feels hard to find an argument for hiring him over fellow assistant Ty Lue, who has significant playoff experience as a head coach.

3. Dan Craig: Ok, here’s my left-field suggestion. Dan Craig, who lots of folks have probably never heard of, could be the kind of sneakily effective hire for the Clippers that Nick Nurse was for the Toronto Raptors and Erik Spoelstra was for the Miami Heat. Spoelstra, of course, started in Miami as a video coordinator and worked in the organization for 13 years before being promoted to head coach, where he’s become regarded as one of the best coaches in the league (if not the best). It only makes sense to look at the best’s right-hand man, and Craig followed a similar path to get to this point, starting with the Heat as a video intern in the 2003-04 season before working his way up through the video room staff, player development staff, and finally coaching staff. In a one-year detour, the Heat assigned Craig to coach their G-League affiliate–he broke the league record with a 40-10 finish in 50 games, won Coach of the Year, and won a championship. Craig hasn’t been mentioned a lot in rumors, but he should be the first call for any team looking for a young, innovative coach who can bring a slice of Heat culture after this awesome Miami run. The Clippers do love to surprise us.

2. Ime Udoka: While he isn’t still Popovich’s understudy in San Antonio, Udoka is seen as the most prominent Pop protege on the NBA’s coaching market. He sat on the Spurs’ bench from 2012-2019 after briefly playing for the team, and was widely thought of as the assistant most likely to inherit the head coaching position when Popovich retired until he departed to play a role on Brett Brown’s bench in Philadelphia last summer (he’s still likely to get mentioned for the Spurs job when Popovich retires). Ime has been a candidate for almost every head coaching opening this summer, and still has a strong shot of finding a HC job with so many openings remaining. He probably is going to go to a younger, middle-tier team, maybe in New Orleans, Indiana, or Oklahoma City, but he’s one of the most prominent first-time head coaching candidates on the market right now and would likely get the opportunity to impress the Clippers in an interview if they conduct a full, thorough search.

1. Tyronn Lue: The rest of this list is a combination of preference, intuition, and gossip, but Lue at #1 is hard to argue with. If you’re looking for a coach with championship pedigree, well, there’s two available, active coaches who have won an NBA title: Doc Rivers and Ty Lue. The Clippers just fired the first guy, and the second guy is already in the organization as Rivers’ top assistant. Before Rivers’ firing, Lue was almost a lock to leave the team this off-season as the top coaching candidate on the market. Now, he’s the heavy favorite to take over the new best opening in the league with the Clippers. It can be a little hard to get too excited over Lue’s great success on paper–three years in Cleveland with higher than 60% of his games won and 11 playoff series wins (1 championship and 2 finals losses)–because he had LeBron James on his team. When James left the Cavaliers, the team started the next season 0-6 and Lue was quickly let go. But while the context of James’ long track record of dominating the league is important, Lue wasn’t just some guy. He made a good name for himself as a head coach working with superstars, and was even able to confront James during games and go away from high-profile star Kevin Love when matchups required.

And while James is likely the best NBA player ever, he isn’t an automatic championship. During LeBron’s first stint with the Cavaliers, the team made just one finals appearance (a loss) in 5 years under Mike Brown. Even during his nearly-constant appearances since, James has lost the large majority of his finals series, winning three times: twice with the star-studded Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra, and this title with Lue. We gotta give Ty at least some credit here.

If the Clippers conduct a full, honest search, Lue will have the most impressive credentials but could lose out to an impressive interview from another candidate. Remember, Lue is one of three guys who won a championship as a rookie head coach in the last several years (along with Steve Kerr and Nick Nurse). If the Clippers believe in their front office (as they do), they could try to add another name to that list with a first-time head coach. They could also choose to go away from Ty due to his prominent role in the team’s disastrous 2020 performance. But don’t take a delay as a sign that the team is seriously rejecting Lue–the Clippers very clearly went to significant lengths to make Rivers’ departure look amicable and mutual, and promoting his assistant immediately would be poor decorum in NBA coaching circles. It’s even possible that in lieu of a formal search, Lue’s hiring is a foregone conclusion, and he’ll be promoted in a couple of weeks (perhaps with a short list and some other interviews as a formality–or to find candidates to take on Lue’s former position as associate head coach, where former Clippers assistant and recently-fired Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry would be a stellar addition). We’ll just have to wait and see.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

10 NBA Head Coaching Candidates for LAC to Consider
Lucas Hann

We’re back once again. To recap, in Part 1 we talked about the fun upstart Clippers of the early 2000’s, and the Clippers’ 2005-06 playoff run.  And in Part 2 we talked about the painful (but hopeful) rebuilding years, and the long journey back to the playoffs.

It’s Going to be Lob City

2011-12

In the summer of 2011, the league underwent negotiations with the players for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and by the time that was settled, we were left with a shortened 66-game season beginning in December 2011. But during that off-season, the Clippers made a blockbuster trade: The Clippers traded Gordon, Kaman, Aminu, and a 1st round pick to New Orleans for Chris Paul, arguably the league’s best two-way point guard. Blake and DeAndre were heard celebrating and coined the nickname “Lob City” for this team. (I still haven’t watched the video of Eric Gordon finding out he was traded while hosting a fan-event on a bus, because he is/was one of my favorite Clippers of all time, and I just… can’t.)

The Lakers had attempted to trade for Paul earlier, but with no team owner for New Orleans, the NBA played the role and turned down the trade. So nabbing CP3 was truly a monumental victory for the Clippers. The Clippers also added veterans Caron Butler, Chauncey Billups, Kenyon Martin and Nick Young (at the deadline) that season, giving them tremendous talent and experience. 

Chris Paul was as great as advertised—for me he was even better than advertised—and he took the Clippers to another level. The free-flowing but chaotic brand of basketball that Baron Davis orchestrated was replaced by Chris Paul’s incredibly cerebral and meticulous playing style—and it was far more effective. The Clippers lived up to their nickname and naturally led the league in dunks, including the one where Blake Mozgov’d Kendrick Perkins into oblivion, and for the first time since 1978 they put 2 players on the All Star team. The Clippers finished the 2011-12 season 40-26 (50-win pace) and finally returned to the playoffs! In the 2012 playoffs, the Clippers faced the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were a tough, physical competitor, and it took what was the second largest comeback in NBA playoff history (thanks Swaggy) to defeat them in 7 games. But then the Clippers ran into a red-hot San Antonio Spurs team that had won 14 straight coming into the series, and were quickly swept as the Clippers were both out-played and out-coached.

2012-13

The following summer, the Clippers traded for Lamar Odom and Willie Green, and signed Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Ronny Turiaf, and Ryan Hollins. This would be one of the greatest Clipper benches ever assembled, which would earn the nickname A Tribe Called Bench (it’s still so awkward and forced but whatever you know you love it). Everyone’s numbers dipped slightly because there was so much wealth to be shared.

Finally, the Clippers were top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. Aside from Chauncey Billups, who went down with a torn Achilles, the Clippers managed to stay mostly healthy and finished with a 56-26 record, a franchise record at the time. Teams just couldn’t handle the initial punch of the Clippers’ starting lineup of CP3, Griffin, Jordan, Butler, and Billups/Green and their deliberately surgical style of play, only for it to be followed up by a hay-maker bench unit of Bledsoe, Crawford, Barnes, Odom, and Turiaf/Hollins and their hyper-aggressive style on both ends of the court. 

For many Clipper fans, this was their favorite season of the Lob City era. The team seemed to be perfectly in tune with one another, the locker room was packed with players’ kids, and the game just looked easy. DeAndre put the league on notice that he was one of its best dunkers, at the unfortunate expense of Brandon Knight. The team even had a stretch where they won 17 straight, including all 16 games in the month of December (only the 3rd time a month has ever been won in NBA history), eliciting this gem from Ty Lawson, as some fans may remember. 

The season had so many memorable moments, and the Clippers won their first division title. But toward the end of the season, the Clippers lost the groove they were in earlier in the season, and ended the season on an 8-8 stretch, as cold as any team in the playoffs. In the first round, the Clippers were once again matched against the Memphis Grizzlies, who they’d beat 3-1 during the season, but after winning the first 2 games of the series at home, the Clippers rattled off 4 straight losses, with Blake only playing 14 minutes in the final game on a bum ankle.

The team entered the off-season with tons of question marks. After peaking in December, what more could this team do to turn the corner and truly ascend to the next level?

2013-14

Well, the Clippers did make one big change: their coach. It was felt that championship caliber leadership was needed, and so the Clippers traded a 1st round pick to the Celtics for coach Doc Rivers. Known to be both a player’s coach and a wizard with out-of-timeout plays, Doc was seen as the key to getting the Clippers a championship. 

This was enough to convince Chris Paul to stay (also the Clippers could offer a lot more money than anyone else), so he was re-signed to a max contract. Additionally, the Clippers decided to take another look at their roster. Bledsoe had a great season and was due for a payday, so they included him and Butler in a trade to Milwaukee that netted the Clippers sharp-shooting J.J. Redick and 3-and-D small forward Jared Dudley. 

The change was immediately noticeable—the starting lineup became one of the strongest in the league. J.J.’s instincts as a shooter lined up perfectly with Chris’ expectations for where he was supposed to be, and the two were frequently in sync to free-up J.J. for wide open shots. Barnes and Dudley split the starting small forward role, and Jamal continued to be dynamite off the bench, winning his second 6th man of the year award. Despite Chris missing 20 games with minor injuries, the Clippers sported the #1 offense in the league, while remaining top 10 on the defensive end, and cruising to a 57-25 record, another new franchise record.  However: t-shirt jerseys.

The 2014 playoffs started with a first round matchup against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers barely lost game 1, before blowing out the Warriors by 40 in game 2 (a franchise record), and barely escaping with a win in game 3. 

The day after game 3, the earth cracked open and a major shift began. The Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling, arguably the worst owner in sports and one of the most disgusting and toxic humans in the entire world, was recorded making racist comments to his personal assistant. 

In game 4, the Clippers silently protested during pre-game warm-ups, but ultimately got blown out by Steph Curry’s absurdly hot shooting. Then, before game 5, Donald Sterling was formally banned from the NBA.  At game 5, a home game, black t-shirts had been given to all of the fans that read, “We are one” representing the unity between the team and the fans in removing Sterling from our collective lives. I was at the game, and when the sold-out Staples Center chanted in unison, it was something special.

It was a turbulent time for Clipper fans and for the team, and Doc Rivers was instrumental in leading us all through the storm. So when the Clippers finally won in game 7, you could see the weight being lifted off of Doc Rivers’ shoulders as he pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “YES!”

In the second round of the playoffs, the Clippers were able to move past the Sterling drama, and focus on their next opponent: the Oklahoma City Thunder. The series went back and forth, with each team stealing a game on the road, which led us to game 5.

Game 5 was a close contest that went down to the wire. With 49 seconds left, the Clippers led by 7. Durant quickly knocked down a 3, cutting the lead to 4 with 44 seconds left. Jamal Crawford barely missed a layup, the Thunder got the rebound, and Durant scored in transition, cutting the lead to 2 with 18 seconds left. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Chris Paul, known for having one of the best assist-turnover ratios of any point guard in the history of the NBA turned it over at half-court, and the ball got to Reggie Jackson on the break before Matt Barnes prevented the layup by knocking the ball out of bounds.

Or did he? See for yourself.

Video replays had only recently been added for such plays, and the replay clearly showed the ball went off of Reggie Jackson’s hand last. But in a double freak occurrence, the officiating staff decided to award the ball to Oklahoma City. In the end, the Clippers shouldn’t have blown such a large lead—but then again, they didn’t really blow the entire lead, since that was supposed to be our ball.

The Clippers, deflated by the game 5 loss, went on to lose the series in 6 games. Season over.

2014-15

That summer, the Clippers were bought by Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, worth upwards of $51 billion, making him the wealthiest owner in the NBA. But more importantly, this was a man who was incredibly passionate about basketball, having wanted to purchase a team for years. Ballmer owning the team would complete the Clippers’ transformation from a franchise that was the butt of every joke to an upstart franchise destined for greatness.

The Clippers also signed Spencer Hawes, a stretch center, as they felt they needed more flexibility at the center position (spoiler: Manbun Hawes would not provide that flexibility, or really anything). After only one season, the disappointing Jared Dudley experiment was over, costing the Clippers a 1st round pick to dump him—Dudley would later explain he’d been battling nagging injuries all year, while shit-talking the Clippers whenever possible, which the Elmer Fudd-looking forward continues to do to this day. Cool!

The 2014-15 Clippers were still very good, although the formula was becoming a bit stale. Always on that second tier of contending teams, they could never quite find that extra gear. They obtained Austin Rivers via trade halfway through the season; a move which was much maligned at the time, but ultimately turned out to be a solid get. After coasting through the season, and briefly losing Blake to a staph infection, the still-talented Clippers managed a 56-26 record, good enough for the 3-seed, and headed into the playoffs.

In the first round of the 2015 playoffs, the Clippers faced the veteran Spurs once again. This time, the Clippers weren’t out-coached as Doc Rivers held his own against Gregg Popovich. Blake was playing at an MVP-level, averaging an absurd 24 PPG, 13 RPG, and 7 APG, while Chris chipped in averages of 23 PPG, 5 RPG, and 8 APG to carry the Clippers. The series went back and forth, with each team trading wins until a pivotal game 7 at Staples Center. Chris had suffered a hamstring injury during the series, and had been noticeably limping throughout game 7. 

But tied 109-109 with 9 seconds left, the Clippers trusted their final possession to the Point God who had gotten them this far. On essentially one leg, Chris drove past Danny Green, was met by Tim Duncan at the rim, and tossed up a prayer floater, which bounced off-the-glass and fell perfectly through the net with 1 second remaining. I remember video taping this moment, dropping my phone in the stands when the bucket went in, and not really caring what happened after that. It is, to this day, the most incredible shot I’ve ever seen.

In the second round the Clippers faced what was thought to be a much less daunting opponent, the Houston Rockets. Their defense wasn’t nearly as stingy as the Spurs’, and the Clippers seemed to be able to get to their spots much easier. The Clippers quickly stole homecourt advantage in game 1, and then won both home games, taking a 3-1 lead. In game 5, the Clippers took their foot off the gas and were defeated. Still, they appeared poised to close out the series at home in game 6.

Up 87-68 in the third quarter, the Clippers managed to blow a 19-point lead. Now, teams lose 19 point leads all the time, so we shouldn’t write this off as a freak occurrence, right?

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Wrong. Yeah, this wasn’t just any 19-point comeback (in-fact it was a full 31 point turnaround as the Rockets won game 6 119-107); this was a 19-point comeback led by the unlikeliest of Houston heroes. And given that Houston had built their team based on statistical probabilities, these were heroes that the Rockets would almost never, ever allow to do what they did.

With their primary and most efficient scorer James Harden on the bench, Corey Brewer (27% from deep that season, 28% career 3P%) and Josh Smith (32% from deep that season, 29% career 3P%) shot a combined 5-7 from downtown in the fourth quarter. These were guys that the Clippers game-planned to leave open from the arc, and who would never shoot like that again in such an important game.

And so the Clippers lost game 6, to Corey Freaking Brewer and Josh Freaking Smith, and fell on the road to Houston in game 7. All of that work to get past San Antonio was for nothing. Isn’t being a Clipper fan fun?

2015-16

That summer, the Clippers mixed things up, trading fan favorite Matt Barnes and the underwhelming Spencer Hawes to the Hornets for Lance Stephenson, added Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson, Cole Aldrich, Pablo Prigioni, Paul Pierce (oh), and sharpshooting Josh Smith.

Writer’s note: As Citizen DieterDeux pointed out, I completely whiffed and forgot to mention the DeAndre Jordan kidnapping and re-signing saga. So, I would like to formally submit an I-O-U for an article specifically recapping that incredible event.

Surprisingly, Luc Mbah a Moute ended up taking the starting small forward spot away from Lance Stephenson, with Luc’s stellar defense fitting in nicely with the powerhouse foursome of CP3, Blake, DeAndre, and J.J. Redick. Jamal Crawford was still electric off the bench, winning his (at the time) record 3rd Sixth Man of the Year award. Despite cries of nepotism, Austin Rivers was extremely solid and rightfully earned his spot in the rotation. Wes Johnson was pretty mediocre, but if it weren’t for him the Clippers’ official Twitter account would never have tweeted “W3T JOHNSON ” so there’s that. And the Prigioni-Aldrich chemistry was awfully fun, even if we only saw it a few minutes each game.

The Clippers were still very good, top 10 on both ends of the court, but were really playing beneath their potential, only 16-13 heading into a Christmas day matchup against the Lakers. They defeated the Lakers, but unfortunately Blake Griffin suffered a quad injury injured, which would keep him out for an entire month. But the win and Blake’s injury sparked something in the Clippers, as they rallied and strung together a fantastic stretch, winning 11 of their next 13, with Blake due to return in a few days. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

During a team dinner in Toronto, the team’s equipment manager (and Blake’s personal friend) teased Griffin that the team seemed better without him. The usually reserved Griffin lost his cool and punched the equipment manager, breaking his hand and drastically delaying his return. 

The Clippers inserted Paul Pierce into the starting lineup as a stretch 4, and while Pierce wasn’t spectacular, having an extra shooter on the floor provided more spacing for Chris Paul to work. And a few weeks later, the Clippers traded Lance Stephenson and a 1st round pick for Jeff Green. The team ended up going 30-15 over the period that Blake was out. Blake returned on April 3rd, and the team closed the season winning 6 of their final 7 games, ending with a 53-29 record, good for the 4th seed.

The 2016 playoffs had the Clippers matched up against the 44-win Portland Trailblazers, with the Clippers expected by most everyone to win. The series started off as expected, with Los Angeles winning both home games. The Blazers managed to take game 3, riding 59 combined points from Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Which brings us to game 4. 

The Clippers trailed the entire game and outside of Chris Paul couldn’t buy a bucket. But the score was close all evening thanks to their stingy defense. Despite shooting only 33% for the half, the Clippers were only trailing by 4 heading into halftime! Then in the 3rd quarter, the unthinkable, but seemingly inevitable, happened—bring on that alert.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT 

Late in the third quarter, after finally being healthy for basically the entire season, Chris Paul got his hand caught in Gerald Henderson’s shorts and fractured his hand. His freaking shorts. What the hell, man? Has this kind of injury ever happened before?? And then to add insult to injury (or rather injury to injury), early in the fourth quarter Blake Griffin re-aggravated his previously injured quad and had to go back to the locker room. He briefly re-entered the game, but after grimacing on a routine jump-shot, he was done for the night. I will never forget this game because I had the unfortunate job of writing the game recap. The next day the Clippers announced that Chris and Blake would be shut down for the rest of the season.

With their stars all wearing suits, the Clippers lost game 5 by double digits. But in game 6, on the road, the remaining Clippers fought tooth and nail to give the Clippers a fighting chance at a game 7. Austin Rivers, in particular, made a lot of fans that night, as he showed tremendous toughness in leading the team with a 21-8-6 performance after suffering a bloody facial fracture early in the first quarter. But despite all of that effort, the Clippers lost game 6 by 3 points, and the season was over.

2016-17

By this time, the Lob City Clippers were running it back for the 6th straight time. The season started off extremely well, with the Clippers 14 of their first 16 games. It was their best start in franchise history, and it had writers talking about how they’d finally put it all together. But the momentum couldn’t be maintained, as in December Blake sprained his left knee (requiring surgery, which kept him out until mid-January) and Chris strained his hamstring (which kept him out for stretches in December, January, and February). Despite the injuries, the Clippers finished with a 51-31 record for the 4th seed. 

In the 2017 playoffs, the Clippers faced the Jazz in the first round. After dropping game 1 to a buzzer beater by Iso Joe Johnson, the Clippers won games 2 and 3 to regain homecourt advantage. But the win in game 3 came with an unfortunate price tag, as Blake Griffin suffered a season-ending injury to his… big toe. (At this point, an injury doesn’t even warrant a Freak Occurrence Alert.)

So without their second star, the Clippers lost the series in 7 games. Yet another playoff run, ultimately this group’s last, derailed by an injury to Paul and/or Griffin.

To Be Continued

Time for our final break as we wrap up Part 3. In Part 4, the Clippers will press the reset button and set themselves up to create the greatest Clipper team ever assembled.

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 3
Erik Olsgaard