In my last post I told you guys that I was prepared to grow my own version of the famous beard sported by Los Angeles Clippers point guard Baron Davis if they could just string together some big wins against their playoff bound opponents.
The idea sounded fun and somewhat reasonable, the Clips had just beaten the Utah Jazz (4th in the West) after all, and although the Suns had easily dismantled them in the previous game I didn’t think it would be impossible. A matchup against the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder wasn’t too threatening because of their youth and the rematch with the Jazz seemed like another chance to at least compete for a win.
It turned out that I couldn’t have been more wrong. The team went out and lost back to back games to the Thunder and Jazz by a combined score of 211 to 172. That’s a difference of 39 points. Just like that it became clear no one would be fearing my beard, much to the delight of my female admirer by the way. While I was unsure of how to feel about not growing the beard (imagine the money Baron saves on razors and shaving cream?), I was severely disappointed in both losses.
Looking at these guys makes the Clippers loss to the Jazz even worse.
(Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Look, we Clippers fans are used to losing, injuries and all that, it’s part of our DNA. But even with that said, we at least took some pride in knowing that our team would compete and stay close this year. Sure this season was a foregone conclusion after it became clear Blake Griffin wouldn’t suit up, the Memphis collapse, and later the Marcus Camby/Al Thornton trades, but the sum of our parts still made us expect something other than blowouts.
The folks over at ClipperBlog.com put up a great piece after the loss to the Jazz that likened it to Japanese Kabuki theater. A great excerpt sums up our pain below.
“To the comical delight of the [Utah] crowd, with the game decided in the fourth, the Clippers had a four on one fast break and turned the ball over on a traveling violation. These priceless moments are why people attend Kabuki plays. The ending, the victory was never in doubt, but little variations on how you get that victory is entertaining.”
And it’s stuff like the info above that personify the organization and its struggles. That’s gotta be tough for interim coach Kim Hughes, even with his previous time as an assistant.
We feel your pain Kim, we feel your pain.
(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
It doesn’t look good for the next few games either, with the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat and Charlotte Bobcats on the schedule. Yeah, the same three teams that are directly responsible for the other LA team’s current three-game losing streak. That alone should tell you how I feel about our chances.
-Will.
“Diary of a Clippers Fan” will be published Mondays and Thursdays during the regular season.
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