The Clippers are the flavor of the month. They have one of best starting line-ups in basketball, arguably the best point guard and power forward in the NBA, and appear to be serious contenders out West. There’s a unique buzz about the team, with famous rappers even making songs about the “Lob City Clips.”
The Clippers are mired in one of their most angering, exciting and bewildering season maybe ever. Before the season it appeared that the Clippers were going to continue with the improvement in the win loss column, just like they had a season before. Unfortunately, the Clips gut punched their fan base with one of the worst starts to a season by any team, ever. The only teams to start out worse are the 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets, the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers, the 1970-1971 Cleveland Cavaliers, the 1988-1989 Miami Heat (in their first year as an expansion franchise), and, of course the 1999 Clippers in the lockout shortened season.
Care for a dose of optimism? Charlie Widdoes explains why even after another loss, the future is looking bright in Clipperland.
Some people like to say there is no such thing as a moral victory in professional sports, and while those people are welcome to their opinions, I respectfully disagree with them. There are plenty of positives that can come from losses, even blowout ones like the Clippers’ in New Orleans. In fact, even in losing by 19, along with the news that Chris Kaman will likely miss three weeks, it appears that the Clippers’ development is going almost exactly as planned. You see, at this stage, there is a distinct advantage to seeing certain players play a certain way, regardless of outcome. And that is to say nothing of the actual benefit of losing, but more on that in a bit.
In Denver tonight, the Clippers will focus on creating their first winning streak of the season. It will be tough playing against a talented, if injury-riddled, Nuggets team. Much of what lead to the Clippers first regular season victory can be found in tonight’s game. Against Oklahoma City, they took advantage of the spark that Eric Bledsoe provided (17 points and 8 assists on 7-10 shooting) and the lack of interior defensive presence that they saw with Dallas (Chandler, Haywood and to a lesser extent Nowitzki) or San Antonio (Duncan).