If someone had predicted at the beginning of the year that the LA Clippers would have a better record at the end of the season than the LA Lakers, they would be right. The Clippers have returned to NBA Playoff basketball for the first time in 9 years. Currently seeded #6 in the Western Conference, they would face the Denver Nuggets; a more favorable matchup than Dallas or San Antonio.
The Clippers are currently 2nd in the Pacific Division and nurse a 4 game lead on cross-town rival Lakers. I heard that the Clippers actually draw more fans than the Lakers to the Staples Center, although the Lakers have bigger celebrities attend their games. I personally wish the Clippers the best and am glad to see a different team in LA doing well.
Anyone have a guess at how the Clippers got here? It wasn't to long ago that the clippers were merely fodder for any team needing an easy win at the end of the season. The Clippers have often been over looked as a Cali team and usually are at the end of funny NBA jokes. I was thoroughly surprised to see them listed in the playoffs, and even more surprised to see their season record.
Here are a few reasons why they got to the playoffs:
Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Sam Cassell, Cutino Mobley.
I think the biggest boost was the addition of Sam Cassell. I mean look at what he was able to do with the Timberwolves when he was in Minnesota. Mike Dunleavy is also a good coach (remember all the years Portland was in the playoffs), and his leadership can make the Clippers the best team in LA for years to come.
NBA Investigating Alleged Recording Of L.A. Clippers Owner
A man identified as Donald Sterling tells his girlfriend not to bring blacks 'to my games.'
Source
NBA commissioner Adam Silver will reveal his decision about L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling today in a 2 p.m. Media briefing. The NBA has been investigating racist remarks attributed to Sterling.
Silver has promised the league would give Sterling due process but would act quickly. It's unclear whether Silver could order Sterling to sell the Clippers. The commissioner also might announce an indefinite suspension while the investigation continues, CNN's Rachel Nichols reports. Ref. CNN
What Have You Said in Private?
By Dennis Prager
A private recording of racist remarks by the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, in a telephone conversation was released last week. Among other comments, Sterling said to his former mistress, a black Mexican woman known as V. Stiviano:
"It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you"re associating with black people. Do you have to? "¦ You can sleep with [black people]. You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that "¦ and not to bring them to my games. I"m just saying, in your lousy f-ing Instagrams, you don't have to have yourself with, walking with black people. "¦ Don't put him [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don't bring him to my games."
That these comments are racist and therefore contemptible goes without saying. But the incident raises other issues that are not as clear as the racism in Sterling's comments, yet they are at least as important. Ref. Source 7
On the day their team's owner was banned for life, the LA Clippers beat Golden State 113-103 in their NBA playoff game.
The Clippers got a standing ovation before the game, and coach Doc Rivers shook hands with some of the fans sitting courtside, according to Bleacher Report, which said that there were protesters outside the arena before the game.
Donald Sterling, the Clippers' owner, was banned for life and fined the league-maximum $2.5 million over racist remarks attributed to him.
After their victory in Game 5 of their best-of-seven series, the Clippers lead 3-2. Ref. CNN