After a spirited Game 4 performance, the LA Clippers gave home court advantage right back to the Mavericks, losing a pivotal Game 5 123-93 at home.

Summary

The game had the feel of a matinee game, as the Clippers stars started off very slowly. Thankfully, the Clippers supporting cast of Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac scored 15 of LA’s 24 points in the first quarter. Paul George and James Harden were ice cold, combined 2 of 10 in the quarter, though Harden was at least finding the role players to finish plays. Meanwhile Dallas was led by a hobbled Luka Doncic and the high-jumping Derrick Jones Jr., with contributions from Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively.

The second quarter was all Dallas. Dallas’ game plan was clearly to push the pace, and it was working. Poor defensive gambles by Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee often left the Clippers scrambling, leading to 4 (!) wide open three pointers made by Maxi Kleber for 12 points in the frame, and 8 easy points for Daniel Gafford. For the Clippers, Paul George looked invisible on offense (up to 7 for the half) and disengaged on defense. The dynamic duo of Terance and Zu were up to 24 points, with Norman Powell contributing 6 points as well. But it wasn’t enough as the Clippers found themselves trailing by 10 at halftime. 

The third quarter was more of the same. The Clippers scored 4 points for the large majority of the period, largely thanks to Paul George somehow further retreating into his shell. The lead swelled to 25 before Ty Lue inserted PJ Tucker into the game with 2:50 left in the period. Tucker immediately had an impact with his energy. The Clippers managed to cut the lead to 16, thanks to a series of stops and George finally finding his shooting stroke, before Plumlee committed a backbreakingly stupid foul, giving up a 4-point play to Josh Green and leaving the Clippers trailing by 20 again.

In the fourth quarter, the Clippers came out with desperate energy, but it wasn’t enough against the comfortable and disciplined Mavericks. There were multiple possessions with multiple attempts that ended up fruitless, and that pretty much ended the night for the Clippers. With 7 minutes left in the game Ty pulled the stars. More than any other game this series, the Clippers sorely missed Kawhi Leonard’s steadying presence and star power tonight.

Notes

Where’s Pauldo?: Aside from a brief stretch at the end of the third quarter, Paul George was the most frustrating version of himself: the one that seems to prefer being a role player standing in the corner and giving the ball to the team’s actual stars. He was constantly throwing grenades to his teammates, forcing Amir Coffey and Norman Powell to create something out of nothing with less than 5 seconds on the clock. Paul would often look like he was going to make something happen, and then the briefest hint of defense would send him backpedaling. It might seem harsh, but he’s supposed to be the best scorer for the Clippers right now. Credit to the defense of course, but there was just no effort and drive tonight. The Clippers absolutely cannot survive another performance like this from him. 15 points in a must-win game on 31% shooting with 0 steals and 0 blocks. Paul can—no, Paul must be better.

The Harden Roller Coaster: After a masterclass in Game 4, we knew the other side of the Harden coin was coming at some point. Harden’s shot wasn’t falling all game, but at least in the first half he was finding his teammates. But in the second half he completely lost the plot, with 0 assists and 3 turnovers. I’m in no way blaming this loss on Harden because the Clippers can survive nights like this from him, as they have many times this season, even when short-handed. But the Clippers can’t survive nights like this when they’re also getting the goofy version of Paul George.

Defending the Role Players: The Clippers got solid games from Zu, Terance, and Norman, but the Mavericks’ role players outplayed them. Kleber was a flamethrower from deep, hitting timely three after timely three, DJJ was blocking shots left and right, and Lively was a constant lob threat. The Clippers had been defending the Mavericks’ stars well enough all series, making them score the hard way. But their inability to stop the Mavericks’ role players tonight was what doomed them. And it’s not like Dallas’ supporting cast is particularly adept at scoring, but poor rotations and puzzling defensive decision-making led to a lot of wide open shots.

Luka Doncic Flu Game: After telling the media he was sick, Luka proceeded to put up 35 points on 54% shooting. Next time I’m going to need to see a doctor’s note because I call BS.

And that was Game 5. Let’s never, ever speak of it again. Fortunately for the Clippers, they’re better on the road than at home this year. So by my estimation they’ve still got a puncher’s chance at tying up the series 3-3 and sending this thing back to LA for Game 7.

Clippers vs Mavericks Game 5 Recap: Clippers Stars Vanish in 123-93 Loss at Home
Erik Olsgaard

Time to wrap this up. 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. And finally in Part 3 we saw the Clippers finally return to the playoffs with the Lob City Era. 

When One Door Shuts, Another One Opens

2017-18

After leading the Clippers for their most successful stretch in franchise history, Game 7 of the 2017 playoffs would be the last game that Chris Paul ever played for the Clippers. That summer he agreed to sign with the Houston Rockets, and in order for Chris to get a maximum salary, he requested a sign-and-trade deal. The Clippers obliged and traded Chris for Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell, and Lou Williams (among other pieces).

Blake Griffin was convinced to re-sign to a max contract, after the team showed him a mock jersey retirement and assured him he’d be the new face of the franchise. The Clippers, now with a younger Sixth Man of the Year in Lou, sent out fan favorite Jamal Crawford in a 3-team trade that netted them Danilo Gallinari. The Clippers added a play-making point guard in Milos Teodosic, since starting point guard Patrick Beverley’s calling card was his defense, not offense (though, as we’ve seen, Pat’s offense is pretty underrated).

As if part of their initiation to join the Clippers, both Danilo Gallinari and Patrick Beverley were injured less than a dozen games into the season. Gallo (glute) only played 21 games that season (and nowhere near at a full level in any of them) and Pat (knee) only played 11. And many of the rest of the team, including Blake, all missed games to injury. 

Then, in a shocking move, the Clippers traded Blake Griffin to Detroit for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and league treasure Boban Marjanovic. Many fans saw this as a stab in the back to Blake, while others saw it as a smart decision to get out of a long-term commitment to Blake (who seemed to truly be injury prone); but everyone wondered what the long-term plan was. The Clippers finished the season with a 42-40 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

2018-19

Almost caught up now. 2018-19 was my favorite season. That might seem odd, since the Lob City years were so much more successful, but I loved that season because the expectations were so low, and what was accomplished was so incredible. 

With a pair of picks from the 2018 draft, the Clippers selected Jerome Robinson and obtained Shai Gilgeous-Alexander via a draft day trade. They also re-signed Harrell and Bradley, added free agent Mike Scott, and traded Austin Rivers for Marcin Gortat. Fully healthy and slightly reshuffled, the Clippers had a 30-25 record heading into the trade deadline. The Clippers were winning off of a balanced effort, led by Tobias, Gallo, their talented rookie Shai, and Lou Williams off the bench, who would go on to win his 3rd Sixth Man of the Year award. There were two clear weak points in the starting lineup, however: Avery Bradley, who was inexplicably starting every night despite providing no production, and Marcin Gortat, the Clippers’ only conventional center outside of Boban.

At the trade deadline, the Clippers made a number of moves. First, they made yet another shocking move in trading Tobias, Boban, and Scott for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, 2 first round picks, and 2 second round picks. Then they flipped Mike Muscala to the Lakers for Ivica Zubac, and somehow turned Avery Bradley into Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green. Despite trading their top scorer, the Clippers went 18-9 after that point, which is better than they were before the trade. 

Despite having no All Stars, no media exposure, no expectations, and 14 different starting lineups (12 featuring rookies), the Clippers managed to snag the 8th seed in the playoffs with a 48-34 record. Their reward? Being matched up against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. If there ever was one, this was truly a David versus Goliath match-up.

In game 1, the star-less Clippers were completely outgunned and lost by 17, as expected. And in game 2, the Clippers found themselves down 31 points to one of the greatest teams ever assembled, also as expected.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT 

Finally, one of these things goes our way.

Down 31, the Clippers drank some of Mike’s Secret Stuff and began the greatest comeback in Clipper history, slowly chipping away at the lead, bucket by bucket. With 1:21 remaining, with the Warriors leading 128-126, Kevin Durant set an obvious moving screen and fouled out of the game. Lou Williams got to his spot and drained the fade-away two to tie up the game for the first time since the opening quarter. But as expected of the best team in the NBA, Steph Curry immediately went down and drained a 3-pointer, causing Oracle Arena to erupt with 56 seconds remaining. Lou came right back and nailed another fade-away with 45 seconds left. The Clippers got a stop and with 22 seconds left, had a chance to take the lead. The Warriors doubled Lou, he passed it to Shai, Shai drove and kicked it to Shamet, and Shamet knocked down the biggest 3 pointer of his career, eliciting the greatest BINGO ever heard from Ralph. The Clippers got the stops needed and held on to win the game, stunning the crowd and the rest of the nation. 

In games 3 and 4, the Warriors once again out-muscled the Clippers as expected, but in game 5 the Clippers surprised the Warriors for a second time, absorbing Kevin Durant’s 45 points while sealing the victory with huge contributions from Lou, Gallo, and Trezz. But ultimately the Warriors won game 6 and won the series.

Still, the competitive nature of that series put the league on notice: the Clippers, a team with max cap space that summer, was already very good. Without a doubt, I think that if the Clippers had been swept against Golden State, they wouldn’t have landed Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that summer.

2019-20

And now we’re back to the present day. I won’t go into detail about the season we’ve just experienced, or the preceding off-season where we signed Kawhi and PG13—if you’re reading this I’m assuming you were there for that. But hopefully it’s been as enjoyable for you to read this long (long) stroll down memory lane, as it was for me to write. 

When I think about this current season, even if it’s already over, I am so grateful, humbled, and happy that we’ve finally got the team we always hoped for. Hope was all we ever really had, what with being the second team in LA and having the cheapest owner in sports. But finally that hope has become a reality, and it’s about time. So with that said, I’ll end this the way we started, with that perfect quote from Pat Bev:

“That’s who we do it for: The people in the back. The blue-collar people who don’t have a lot given to them. Who work for everything they deserve. And that’s what we’re doing right now. We do it for them.”

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 4
Erik Olsgaard

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

We’re back. To recap, in Part 1 we talked about the fun upstart Clippers of the early 2000’s, and the Clippers’ 2005-06 playoff run. 

Reshuffling the Deck

2007-08

In the summer heading into the 2007-08 season, the Clippers used their lottery pick to draft Al Thornton, a 6’8” athletic forward that was expected to contribute immediately after spending a full 4 years at Florida State and showing he could score in the paint, from the arc, and at the line. Fans hoped that adding Thornton to the core of Brand, Cassell, Maggette, Mobley, Kaman, and Ross would get the Clippers get back to where they were in 2005-06. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Another year, another freak occurrence. Unfortunately, all hope for a successful 2007-08 season was lost when Elton Brand, during a typical August workout session, ruptured his Achilles tendon. With Elton missing almost the entire season and Shaun still out recovering from his knee injury, the Clippers managed only a 23-59 record, relying heavily on the likes of Dan Dikau, Josh Powell, and Brevin Knight.

Still, Clipper fans clung to hope for the future, as Al Thornton turned out to be pretty damn good, averaging 12.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG and setting the Clippers’ rookie scoring record with 39 points in a late March game. Then, when Elton returned for the final 8 games and didn’t look too far removed from his former dominance, we just knew the 2008-09 season was going to be special.

2008-09

In the summer of 2008 the Clippers selected Eric Gordon with the 7th pick, and got a steal with DeAndre Jordan (you might’ve heard of him) in the second round. The Clippers also agreed to a deal with free agent Baron Davis, who was coming off of an amazing campaign leading the We Believe Warriors, and was a good friend of Elton Brand. The pieces were falling back into place!

Then, in a move that shocked Clipper fans and Clipper executives (and Baron Davis), Elton decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers (Note: I wouldn’t classify this as a freak occurrence; sometimes, shit happens). The Clips scrambled to fill the gap at power forward, trading initially for Marcus Camby and later for high-scoring Zach Randolph (who was a bit of a question mark during his years in New York).

The 2008-09 Clippers were poised to be at least halfway decent, but thanks to a myriad of injuries to Kaman, Randolph, Camby, and Baron Davis, they ended with a horrible record of 19-63. But as long-time Clipper fans know, if you look hard enough you can always find a silver lining. In this case, the awful record and countless injuries gave the next generation of Clippers plenty of opportunities: Al Thornton became more efficient and proved himself to be one of the best offensive rebounders in the league at his position (but oddly one of the worst defensive rebounders, a paradox which perplexes me to this day). DeAndre Jordan dispelled rumors of the “attitude problems” that caused him to fall to the second round and demonstrated his impressive speed and athleticism. And Eric Gordon was exactly who the Clippers hoped he’d be, averaging 16 PPG on 46-39-85 splits in his rookie season. The future was bright!

Despite a bottom 3 record, it appears winning isn’t everything, as some of my favorite memories are from that season: Mike Taylor’s explosive 35-point night in Madison Square Garden, Steve Novak with one of my favorite game winners in Clippers history, and also Ricky Davis being added to the team, joining fellow Davises Baron and Paul to give the Clippers a franchise record 3 Davises.

Enter Blake Griffin

2009-10

In the 2009 off-season, the most impactful, game-changing moment in Clipper history occurred when the Clippers landed the #1 pick in the NBA draft. 

There’s rarely a pick that’s as much of a “sure thing” as Blake Griffin was, but in that draft, he was the unanimous top choice. This guy could change a franchise. And so the Clippers wasted no time selecting the Oklahoma product who played like an actual Monstar.  

Naturally, Zach Randolph was immediately traded to Memphis (let’s be honest—his real home) to free the position for Blake. The Clippers were ready to take the league by storm with a mix of youth and veteran leadership, but more importantly, they were ready for the future, which seemed extremely bright. 

In the preseason, Blake showed off his tremendous athleticism with Kemp-like highlight dunks and ball-handling that we had never seen from an archetypal power forward before. He was everything fans had hoped for, and more. 

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Annnd on cue, in the final preseason game, just days before the start of the 2009-10 season, Blake performed one of his typical highlight dunks and landed awkwardly, breaking his kneecap. I specifically remember how quickly an incredibly hyped crowd became instantly deflated. Throughout the season, Blake made multiple attempts to get back onto the court, but there was always a setback, and Blake never suited up that season, thereby delaying his “rookie” season to the following year. 

The Clippers traded away Al Thornton (who never really took that next step everyone had expected) for Antawn Jamison and Drew Gooden, and also added guys like Craig Smith (who still reps Clipper gear to this day), Steve Blake, and Travis Outlaw. But this Clips team was just never more than mediocre, and ended the 2009-10 season with a 29-53 record. Mike Dunleavy Sr. was fired (yay) mid-season, and in the off-season the Clips hired Vinny Del Negro to take over as head coach. 

2010-11

In the 2010-11 season Blake finally got on the court, and he was a sight to behold. He averaged an absurd 22.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, and 3.8 APG, was selected as an All Star, won the slam dunk competition by jumping over (most of) a car, and easily won the rookie of the year award. He also coined the dunking term “Mozgov”.

Blake’s chemistry with Baron Davis—particularly on the lob—was palpable as well. And he was a great fit with Gordon, as Blake scored most of his points early in the game, and Gordon came on strong later in the game. DeAndre Jordan quickly became Blake’s closest friend on the team, as he officially took over the starting center spot when Kaman (once again) went down with injury. For better or for worse, Coach Vinny Del Negro was a true player’s coach (with a fantastic head of hair)—while he lacked the heavy X’s and O’s (and forehead shine) of Dunleavy, it was a refreshing change. And rookies Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe showed some real potential, both playing full rotation minutes. 

But while the on-court product was fun as hell, the team just wasn’t winning games. So the front office decided to shake things up, and obtained Mo Williams and Jamario Moon from Cleveland for Baron Davis and a 1st round pick—a pick that would ultimately end up becoming Kyrie Irving. Mo was a decent fit (and a far better shooter than Baron), but it just didn’t move the needle. And so the Clippers ended up with a 32-50 record, missing the playoffs yet again. However, in a few months, things were going to change for the better, and the Clippers would never be the same again.

To Be Continued

And with that we’ll take a break, as we’ve reached the midpoint of our journey. In Part 3, we’ll see the Clippers finally return to the playoffs with the Lob City Era.

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 2
Erik Olsgaard

Editor’s Note: Erik turned in an excellent 7,000 word article. While it might read a bit smoother as one long experience, that’s a lot of words for a sports article, so the story has been split into four. With that said, here’s part one. Enjoy!

For the People in the Back

In March 2019, after a 113-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, Patrick Beverley defined who the Clippers are fighting for when they play: 

That’s who we do it for: The people in the back. The blue-collar people who don’t have a lot given to them. Who work for everything they deserve. And that’s what we’re doing right now. We do it for them.

Before the season was suspended, I had made up my mind that the next article I would write would be for Clipper fans—especially those Clipper fans who had been through the ups and downs of Clipper fandom for decades. I wanted to explore how those fans, after years and years of getting their hopes up only to see some freak occurrence dash them away, were finally getting the team they’d always dreamed of; the team they deserved. Those Clipper fans embody the team identity that Pat Bev so perfectly described. 

And for newer fans of the Clippers, I wanted this to give some context as to why this means so much to the long-suffering fans, and to show why this is such a ridiculously awesome fanbase to be a part of. Despite the lazy internet joke that the Clippers have no fanbase, I can assure you that not only does it exist, but it’s made up of a wonderful group of underdog-loving, welcoming, knowledgeable, loyal fans that are truly some of the best in all of sports. 

I mean, what would you expect from a fanbase that chose a team that had been the most unsuccessful professional sports franchise in US history, when the Lakers, one of the most successful professional sports franchises, were an available option?

Well, with Lawrence Frank and Jerry West at the helm, by 2020 the Clippers have finally put together a team that was built to withstand all of the obstacles that had derailed contending Clippers teams of the past. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the greatest and deepest Clippers squad ever assembled, and if the season resumes, this team will still be a shoe-in for the Conference Finals—a feat no Clippers team has ever been able to achieve—and in this writer’s opinion, the favorite for the NBA title. And if the season is unfortunately cancelled, the team still has the ability to maintain the foundation and bring back the necessary pieces to make another run.

So now that we all have some time to reflect, let’s dive into the past because, as the great Willard Carroll Smith Jr. once said, “You can’t really know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.”

Writer’s note: Since I didn’t actually start watching the Clippers until 2004 (casual), my wife Ali (@AY_23) helped out and provided me with her input and insight for everything before then.

Knuckleheads

2000-01

In the 90’s, the LA Clippers hadn’t had any winning seasons, except for two seasons under Larry Brown, both of which saw them bounced in the first round of the playoffs. So it wasn’t until the 2000-01 season that the Clippers finally had something worth watching, with a young team featuring Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson, Corey Maggette, and Keyon Dooling.

With so many rookies in prominent roles, these Clippers (under Alvin Gentry) were so much fun to watch because there were no expectations and they played with so much joy and love for the game. As a side bonus, this helped Clipper fans get over the disappointment of former #1 pick Michael Olowokandi (sorry Kandi Man). Although they only had a record of 31-51, it was a massive improvement over their previous record of 15-67 (wow) in the 1999-00 season. 

2001-02

The next year in the 2001-02 season, the Clippers obtained Elton Brand on a draft night trade and added him to the young core, and just barely missed the playoffs with a 39-43 record, despite Odom missing a large portion of the year.

The vibe around the team was a lot like the 2018-19 Clippers. Even though the Lakers were in the midst of a 3-peat, a large portion of Clipper fans can trace their fandom back to this era, when a lot of young hoopers were banging their fists on their head after a fast break (myself included).

The Andre Miller Effect

2002-03

So close to relevance, the Clippers decided to make a trade to get over the hump. Fan favorite Knucklehead Darius Miles was traded to Cleveland for Andre Miller, a 26-year-old point guard and LA native who had just led the league in assists (above the likes of Jason Kidd and Gary Payton). The trade made a ton of sense at the time—a point guard upgrade over Jeff McGinnis was the one thing this team needed. We were finally going to join the big leagues!

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Ah, our first Freak Occurrence Alert. Get used to them, Clipper Nation. So during the 2002-03, Miller’s assists per game mysteriously dropped from 10.9 to only 6.7 per game with the Clippers. This is one of, if not the biggest drop in assists for a former league leader in the history of the league. Miller was just a terrible fit, and it seemed like he didn’t even like being on the team, never once speaking to Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith (seriously). The Clippers won only 27 games, and all the promise the Clippers had built under Alvin Gentry began to fade away as he was replaced by Dennis Johnson mid-season. Miller and Odom were lost to free agency, and Mike Dunleavy Sr. was brought in to coach.

2003-04

2003-04 was no better, with a 28-54 record for the Clips. Corey Maggette turned himself into a bonafide 20 PPG star alongside Elton, but it felt like the upward trajectory that the Clippers had in 2001 was gone, and that they were just a floundering lottery team now.  With Quentin Richardson and Keyon Dooling leaving via free agency that summer, and the playoff drought (and sub-.500 record streak) at 7 years, it was a tough time for Clipper fans. A lot of us blamed Andre Miller for destroying a good thing, and whether that’s fair or not, he hasn’t given us much reason to like him since.

The Next Era Begins

2004-05

Fortunately for the Clippers, a new era was about to begin. In 2004, the Clippers drafted a fresh new prospect in 6’7” point guard Shaun Livingston, thought perhaps to be the next Magic Johnson. 2004-05 was a step in the right direction, with Brand and Maggette carrying the team to a record of 37-45.  

2005-06

In 2005-06, the Clippers added veteran guards Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley, joining an extremely solid starting lineup of Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, and defensive specialist Quinton Ross, bringing high-scoring Maggette, highlight playmaking Livingston, and sharpshooting Vladimir Radmonovic off the bench.

These Clippers were a lot of fun to watch. The balance of players was a recipe for success, and the team as a whole worked. Sam Cassell was a cool and collected floor general, and used his “torture chamber” post game, where he’d back down other guards on the baseline and do a simple bump-fade-away shot, to great effect. Elton Brand had an unconventional looking mid-range jumpshot, but it was absolutely deadly, and despite being only 6’8”, he used his bulky frame, ridiculously long arms, and soft touch to be an absolute menace when he got the ball at the elbow or on the block. Corey Maggette was all but guaranteed to slash his way into the paint and get to the line, where he led the team with 8 attempts per game and shot well over 80%. Cuttino Mobley was well-rounded and skilled from anywhere on the court, able to put the ball on the floor or pull-up from anywhere. Kaman had a solid bag of tricks in the post, all conventional but extremely well-practiced post moves, shooting almost 60% from within 3 feet. Shaun was a dazzling playmaker and highlight reel. Q-Ross was able to lock down just about anyone—I distinctly remember a play when Ross was on the Clippers where he shut down Tracy McGrady so badly, T-Mac just laughed and took the shot clock violation. Vlad did the one thing he was brought to do and shot over 40% from deep. And deep into the bench, Jumping James Singleton and Chris Wilcox provided the kind of hustle and readiness you expect from the end of your bench.

They ended up with a record of 47-35, the most for the franchise since 1976 (and 2 more than the Lakers), and earned the 6th seed heading into the 2006 playoffs. 

In the first round, facing the 3rd seed Denver Nuggets (which featured our old friend Andre Miller), the Clippers and their steady diet of halfcourt offense obliterated the Nuggets 4-1 (ha ha Andre). Down the hall, the Lakers had just lost in 7 games to the Phoenix Suns, so the Clippers for the first time ever had achieved the impossible: they were the only team left in Los Angeles playing basketball in May. This was an insane time to be a Clipper fan, and the Clipper faithful were the loudest they’d ever been during games at Staples.

Due to the way playoff seeding was weirdly set up at the time, the Clippers weren’t actually an underdog going into the first round, but were certainly the underdog heading into the second round against the 2-seed Phoenix Suns. After each team stole a game on the road, the series was tied 2-2 heading back to Phoenix for game 5. 

Game 5 was tightly contested all night. Steve Nash was dealing with nagging injuries, giving the Clippers a window. Elton Brand and Sam Cassell were having particularly big nights too, so the Clippers were in prime position to go up 3-2 heading back to LA. 

With 39.8 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Sam hit an absolutely huge three to tie up the game. On the subsequent possession, Shawn Marion was fouled, but missed two free throws, giving the Clippers an opportunity to finally take the lead in regulation.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

In the waning moments of a tied playoff game, Sam Cassell, 36-year-old former NBA champion and 13th year veteran, somehow, in probably one of only a handful of instances in his entire career, accidentally committed an 8-second back-court violation. What the hell, man. So the Clippers turned it over with 31 seconds left on the clock, and after a couple of misses by Nash and Sam, we went to overtime.

During the overtime, Elton and Sam were tremendous, and Sam drew a foul and sank two free throws to give the Clippers a 3 point lead with 3.6 seconds left. The Clippers just had to defend one more possession, and they’d get the victory.

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

Again? Yup. So with 3.6 seconds left, Coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. has the bright idea to insert Daniel Ewing into the game for Elton Brand, to get another perimeter defender on the court. Of course, Ewing hadn’t played a single minute and his legs were ice cold, and he’s only 6’3” and isn’t really much of a defender. But what do I know? I’m just a Clipper fan, and as Coach Dunleavy would say, Clippers fans, we’re not technically savvy a lot of the time.

Anyway, Ewing did nothing to prevent Raja Bell from getting the ball in the corner, and Raja Bell nailed a corner three in his face. It was awful, the Phoenix crowd went nuts, the game went to a second overtime, and the Suns won game 5. But at least we’d be able to bring the band back and try again next year, right?

Pain and Heartache

2006-07

In the 2006-07 season, the Clippers didn’t really take a step forward. Sam was finally starting to show his age, going in and out of the lineup with injuries, and Kaman had inexplicably transformed into what became known as Mr. Flippy: a weird bizarro version of Kaman that couldn’t make his previously unstoppable post hook shots anymore. Fortunately the Clippers still had Shaun Livingston, who was really starting to come into his own, perfecting a pretty mid-range jump shot and showing that he could consistently defend with the best of them. (What Clipper fan doesn’t remember the time he blocked Prime Kobe?)

FREAK OCCURRENCE ALERT

A night after tying his career high (to this day) in assists with 14 against the Warriors, Shaun suffered one of the wildest knee injuries we’d ever seen. On a completely standard, wide-open fast break layup, Shaun landed awkwardly and tore 3 major ligaments in his knee. There were questions as to whether he’d ever be able to walk again, much less have a career. Somehow, Shaun ultimately recovered and won multiple championships, but after that injury we’d never see him in a Clipper uniform again. That was the nail in the coffin for the season, and with a record of 40-42, the Clippers missed the playoffs by 2 games. 

Clipper fans were more than disappointed; we were hurt. But loyal as we were, we accepted the season’s end and looked toward the next draft. Plus, we got to watch the Mavericks, who rested everyone in a late April game to the Warriors that ultimately destroyed the Clippers’ playoff chances, lose to those very Warriors in the first round.

To Be Continued

That brings us to the end of Part 1 of our journey through Clipper history. In Part 2, we’ll go through the painful (but hopeful) rebuilding years, and the long journey back to the playoffs.

The 2020 LA Clippers: For the People in the Back, Part 1
Erik Olsgaard