What up. It’s entry number four of my season-long Diary of a Los Angeles Clippers Fan and despite a very promising three quarters against the defending eastern conference champion Orlando Magic, the Clippers lost 97-86 (true to my brilliant part 3 prediction) after another poor fourth quarter.
Since the short-lived flirting with the win was an injury to this Clipper fan’s hope, I guess it was only fitting that the Magic’s top player would cap the night off with an insult.
“”L.A. is a fun place to play,” Dwight Howard told the AP after the win. “Except when you play the Lakers.”
Ouch. Apparently multiple posterizations of Chris Kaman weren’t enough for Howard in his first visit to the Staples Center since losing the Finals to the Lakers. Playing on his 24th birthday, Howard finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and five assists. Someone should have told Kaman that letting Howard do whatever he wanted was not a good idea for a birthday gift.
Dwight Howard dunks against the Clippers. Yes, meet your 2009 LA Clippers Defense!
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Playing against the Clippers interior “defense” was definitely fun for Howard, who hit his first five shots and seven of 10 overall. His teammates joined in on the festivities, with four of the five starters scoring in double figures, including 16 (in 26 minutes) from Jason Williams.
Williams, a former Clipper in name only, was regularly booed by the Staples crowd after signing with the team last year, retiring before ever playing a game, then un-retiring and eventually joining the Magic. Against LA, the Magic finished the game hitting 14 threes and shot 41% from behind the arc. One can only wonder what made him not want to play here.
Even Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wanted to take some shots against the Clippers perimeter defense.
(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Despite the loss, the Clippers are still a very respectable 9-12 in a Western Conference playoff race that promises to regularly change – at least in the lower seeds – and will be facing a San Antonio Spurs team that has underperformed its way into a 10-9 record this Sunday. And as far as I can tell, no one on the Spurs will be celebrating a birthday Sunday, so we might still have a chance.
After that, we have the hapless Wizards and T-Wolves, so room for some optimism still remains, even if the AP pointed out out that the Clippers have only beaten two teams with winning records this season.
If all else fails and we continue to lose, at least we’ll have the solace of knowing that head coach Mike Dunleavy is enjoying himself.
And really, what more can a Clippers fan ask for?
-Will.
“Diary of a Clippers Fan” will be published Mondays and Thursdays during the regular season.
