Los Angeles Clippers: Only A Matter Of Time Before The Curse Came Back
The Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most successful NBA teams the last 4 years but that’s on a regular season scale. The playoffs have been a different story altogether. The Clippers, since Doc Rivers arrival, have won 56, 57, 53 and 51 games respectively but never made it past the Western Conference Semifinals. What gives?
Obviously, with those numbers, talent was not the issue as they had three of the best at their positions in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. But, with all that success, questions still arose and this past offseason, the direction of the franchise changed. The Clippers traded away their leader Paul and handed the keys to Griffin, Jordan, and Patrick Beverley.
But, the Clippers needed more and went and grabbed Danilo Gallinari from the Denver Nuggets to fill a void at small forward that’s been vacant for years. Well, nothing has gone as planned this season and the Clippers are on the verge of a major meltdown.
Blake Griffin’s injury raises age-old question: Are the Clippers cursed? https://t.co/4SlhGyaHWZ pic.twitter.com/ADd2TFaTpn
— NBA World (@NBAWorldNewz) November 30, 2017
Some teams are just not meant to succeed past a certain level and this might be the case with the Clippers. Maybe the curse on the Clippers still exist. The last we heard of it was during Griffin’s rookie season when he got injured like so many earlier Clippers before him but he returned the following season and all was well. Then the league vetoed the Hornets trade with the Lakers and it seems as if the curse was lifted as Paul landed in their lap.
After Paul arrived, all seems well as the Clippers began their remarkable regular season run. But, once that dark cloud has you in its sights, it’s hard to get from under it. On the surface, the Clippers were riding high and while the Lakers were crumbling the Clips became the must-see team in Los Angeles.
Just Give The Curse Time
But then it all began to fall apart. There was speculation that Jordan and Paul didn’t get along, which caused Jordan to almost bolt in free agency to the Dallas Mavericks. With Jordan back in the fold, the Clippers still managed to find ways to lose. Maybe it was a case of too much talent or the curse rearing its ugly head yet again. Whatever the case was, the Clippers now find themselves treading water and answering questions that thought they were done with.
Now, Jordan is the talk of trade rumors, Beverley is out for the season, Griffin is out for with another injury and Gallinari, has taken his annual seat on the bench in street clothes. While all this is going on, Paul and his new running-mate, James Harden are rolling with the Houston Rockets. And, to make matters worse, the Clippers have now played their way back into the shadows of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The hard part that Clippers’ fans must come to terms with is that it will get worse before it gets better. With the Clippers hell-bent on not resigning Jordan, a trade is their only option but what will they get back? A package of Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, and the Nets 2018 pick looks good but red flags may hold that up. If Jordan were to go, is Griffin the type of star who can carry a team? His career has been helped by the passes of Paul and the stellar defense and rebounding of Jordan. Take those away and you have Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.
For a while, it seemed that the curse was lifted, however, recent events have shown that no matter what happens, the Clippers will always be the Clippers.
[BXReporter]
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
