If last night's game 7 was any indication to all the casual fans, last night's game epitomizes who the Clippers are and who they'll always be. They are a franchise cursed with 50+ years of failure and mediocrity. Zero conference finals appearances to add onto that.
There is no debate. There is absolutely debate. Los Angeles will always be Laker town. No matter how good the Clippers get, they are always gonna be referred to as the other team that LA never cares about. If anything, this franchise should be thankful to the NBA and the 28 other owners for saving them from another decade of pitiful basketball (yes, I am still bitter about the Chris Paul veto to this day).
The Lakers spotted seven losing seasons to give the Clippers the spotlight as LA's premiere basketball team. And they never got the job done. They couldn't get it done during the Lob City era. And they couldn't get it done with two of the best two-way players of the league. What an absolute choke job that those two put up yesterday and they're supposed to counter the likes of LeBron and AD? See the consequences of load management here? As much as I wanted to see the Battle of LA, this is a better end to their season. The media hyped them up so hard to win it all and usurp the Lakers as the top LA team.
However, the media forgot that they are to quote Stephen A. Smith, "an accident waiting to happen." You blow 16+ point leads for three straight games. You blow two 3-1 leads in the span of five years. Choke, choke, choke! This also shows how overrated of a coach Doc Rivers is. He's like the NBA's equivalent of Tampa Bay Jon Gruden. He had one championship to show for courtesy of a stacked team and following after that: multiple overachieving seasons with big-time choke jobs in the playoffs. Mike Malone outcoached him. He made adjustments whereas Doc didn't even bother to make some for his team.
To the die hard Clipper fans since the Danny Manning, Brent Barry, Michael Olowakandi, Elton Brand, Lamar Odom, Shaun Livingston, and Mike Dunleavy eras, I'm sorry for you guys. But, I respect the hell out of your unwavering loyalty to this team.
To the bandwagoners that jumped on this team when they got good and talked all that trash about the Lakers and their rich history, I have no ounce of sympathy. This franchise got lucky out of one fluke vetoed trade. Two division titles to show for and that's it. And all of you have the decency to talk like the Clippers had perennial success before? The Lakers may have been bad the last few years, but they still made it back to the Conference Finals before the Clippers can get their first. Jerry West can't save this team. Kawhi Leonard can't save this team. They mortgaged their future for Pandemic P. This franchise will be back to being the hapless punching bag of the Lakers once they leave.
LA doesn't care about the Clippers and they never will (sorry Billy Crystal). No matter how Steve Ballmer and the organization spins it, the Clippers will still be the laughable irrelevant franchise and the doormat of professional basketball in Los Angeles that will always play second fiddle to the Lakers. In terms of professional sports, LA has always resonated with the Lakers, Kings, Rams, Dodgers, and whatever remains of Raider Nation in that area, which will repopulate with the Raiders in Las Vegas. Even collegiate sports like USC football and UCLA basketball shadows over the Clippers! They will never ever reach that level of resonation with a city that could care less about them.
Championship banners over selfies. As it still stands: sixteen to ZERO!
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