5 straight 50-win seasons

[Akklaim1]

If you've been a Clipper fan for a long time, it's still a little hard to believe. I'm really embracing this era even though we have not gone past the second round.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I've posted this before, I never take the winning for granted. I appreciate all of it and don't want to go back to those losing ways anytime soon.

[janmagn]

I have to say, I started following NBA in 2012 and Lob City was the thing that got me into Clippers, so I don't know anything about those tough years. Yeah, it's great we can win 50 in 5 straight seasons, but if we can hardly play 50 playoff games in those 5 years, it's not good

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[QRich3]

I know the younger kids are all about championship or nothing, but this is an incredibly hard accomplishment, something not many franchises are able to achieve, and I am really proud of this team.

[Quake Griffin]

I'm happy the Clippers have done this.

I, for one, am not championship or bust. I am very much into our regular season success as I hope that I live a long life and that by the time I'm 65-70, we could have an overall team record over .500

Laugh at me but I'm very serious.

[donemilio21]

I've been a fan for around 16 years now, and yes going from 20-30 win teams to half a decade of 50+ wins is amazing.
But we have a serious problem. We have 2 rivals that we share a geography with, Warriors and Lakers. and we've only been better than both one, maybe two seasons ever in our history.

Having 50+ win seasons is not as a fun when you have face warrior or laker fans who have gone to the finals combined 5 times in the past decade.

[heyPlayer]

I wonder if there is something wrong with the water in Los Angeles.....

[Neddy]

I guess there are a very few of you guys who remember Chris Ford's 9 game win team back in the late 90s or a pair of 17 game winning seasons of Bill Fitch led teams. at least from what I remember, Ford's season was cut short due to the strike/lockout. the commonality? they were ex Celtic coaches... for whatever its worth.

can't NEVER take success for granted.

[Neddy]

I've been a fan for around 16 years now, and yes going from 20-30 win teams to half a decade of 50+ wins is amazing.
But we have a serious problem. We have 2 rivals that we share a geography with, Warriors and Lakers. and we've only been better than both one, maybe two seasons ever in our history.

Having 50+ win seasons is not as a fun when you have face warrior or laker fans who have gone to the finals combined 5 times in the past decade.

California has about 40 million people living in it. they have 4 teams to choose from including the KIngs.

Oregon has less than 4 million poeple in it, and Blazer basketball isn't even the favorite team or sport around here. outside of the Portland Metro, not too many people even talk about the Blazers and yet they sell out every game for year after year. there are probably more people who identify themselves as hardcore/casual Clippers fan than the entire population of my current State. when I was growing up in LA, it was hard being a Clipper fan, I was always the only kid who rocked Clipper jerseys anywhere, being laughed at while playing pickup games, everyone else used to sport Magic/Kareem/Worthy/Scott jerseys until the Bulls came into the limelight and suddenly every other kid was donning Jordan/Pippen jerseys. I was once even told by a Blazer fan while attending a game in Rose Garden, before the Lob-City era, that he had no idea there were any real Clipper fans existed.

it doesn't matter what the Lakers were, and it doesn't matter what Warriors are now. one sucks while being our roommate, and the other plays 400 miles away from our Arena. do you know how many teams are within 400 miles on eastcoast? we sell out. there are people who share the sense of brotherhood under the red white and blue banner. and our numbers are in millions now. not 400 or less that used to fill up the old Sports Arena some nights.

[nickhx2]

for whatever reason i liked chris ford. i guess because he wasn't bill fitch.

those were some woeful ass years. i know some of you guys have expressed disappointment with not achieving more in the playoffs, but the point of this thread is to not forget the past and to respect how far along this team has come. consider, the owner, the coaches, the players, the venue, and more. virtually everything has changed.

being a clipper fan of years past was extremely tough. i know we want more, but don't forget the past.

[MartinToVaught]

consider, the owner, the coaches, the players, the venue, and more. virtually everything has changed.

And that's why fans should raise their standards for the franchise accordingly. At some point, we all need to stop patting ourselves on the back for no longer being the punchline of American sports and start treating the Clippers like the legitimate organization they are now.

I say this as someone who remembers the bad old days vividly (just look at my username). But I'm also aware of how much has changed since then, and my expectations have changed along with it.

[QRich3]

I've been a fan for around 16 years now, and yes going from 20-30 win teams to half a decade of 50+ wins is amazing.
But we have a serious problem. We have 2 rivals that we share a geography with, Warriors and Lakers. and we've only been better than both one, maybe two seasons ever in our history.

Having 50+ win seasons is not as a fun when you have face warrior or laker fans who have gone to the finals combined 5 times in the past decade.

I for one couldn't care less if it's the Warriors at the top of the standings, or if it's the Lakers, Kings or Timberwolves. Most of those Warriors and Lakers fan will jump ship to whoever is winning at the moment anyway, so you can never be higher than them.

consider, the owner, the coaches, the players, the venue, and more. virtually everything has changed.

And that's why fans should raise their standards for the franchise accordingly. At some point, we all need to stop patting ourselves on the back for no longer being the punchline of American sports and start treating the Clippers like the legitimate organization they are now.

I say this as someone who remembers the bad old days vividly (just look at my username). But I'm also aware of how much has changed since then, and my expectations have changed along with it.

So what are your expectations exactly? Taking a look at the teams that have changed owners recently, which are closer to a championship than we are? Bucks? Kings? Hawks? Would you rather be the Grizzlies just because they happened to face two injured teams one year and got the right to get swept in the WCF? do you actually think any of those teams are in a better situation for the future than the Clippers are?
Warriors are in a better situation, of course, but if your expectations are matching a 73 win team, you're not very reasonable.

We're not just "not the punchline anymore", the Clippers have been one of the 5 best teams in basketball in the current decade, you can go from RS record, number of playoff series won or whatever you want, they are. If your expectations are winning a title or else it's a disappointment, the problem's not the Clippers, it's you.

[MartinToVaught]

So what are your expectations exactly?

How about making it to a conference finals when your window is open, you have a so-called "elite" coach and a "Big Three" all getting paid a lot of money? It's not that hard. There's only two other franchises that have never done it and they're both a lot younger than ours is.

Taking a look at the teams that have changed owners recently, which are closer to a championship than we are? Bucks? Kings? Hawks?

The Bucks are easily closer to a championship than we are right now. Giannis is 22 years old and looking like he could be the next Magic, Middleton is 25, Parker is 22, Malcolm Brogdon is 24. They own all their picks going forward and have a competent front office. We are capped out and asset-strapped with a treadmill team that is not good enough to get past the second round. It's no contest.

Would you rather be the Grizzlies just because they happened to face two injured teams one year and got the right to get swept in the WCF?

Yes, I would rather be the Grizzlies. Do you think Memphis fans would trade their recent playoff history for ours?

We're not just "not the punchline anymore", the Clippers have been one of the 5 best teams in basketball in the current decade, you can go from RS record, number of playoff series won or whatever you want, they are. If your expectations are winning a title or else it's a disappointment, the problem's not the Clippers, it's you.

My expectations are not title or bust. My expectations are making meaningful progress in the postseason - the games that actually matter. Treadmilling in the first and second round with an old capped-out team for year after wasted year is not progress.

But if you want to bring in the regular season results: we've gone from winning 57 games in 2013-14 to winning 51 games maximum this year. Our win totals have decreased every year for the last four seasons. So even the regular-season "success" is diminishing now.

[QRich3]

Yeah, most of that is pure exaggeration to make it all more bleak. I guess what can I expect. The Bucks are not in a better situation than us, not even close. How many teams have had a few young pieces and never done anything. They've never even had a positive record with this core until this year, where they are gonna win 42-43 games FFS.

So, you'd really rather be the Grizzlies who are locked into an older core than us, are currently a worse team than us even if they're healthy and we're not, and owe their next two picks unprotected? I would love to be able to see the alternate reality where you are a Grizzlies fan

But yeah, I can see the way you think, you care more about shiny milestones that you can brag about than real substance. You'd rather have a phony WCF appearance like the Grizzlies have, than have an actual chance at winning the championship like the Clippers have had for the last few years. You'd rather have a team that gets more wins every year than in 2014, than having actual progress from that team like we've had.

Honestly, I know you point to your username every time, but everything about the way you speak screams new money. I very much doubt you were there for Loy Vaught. Which is ok tbh, just be honest about it.

[Quake Griffin]

Why can't someone want this organization to win and appreciate where this organization has come from? They aren't mutually exclusive ideas and it's not unrealistic to hold both views.

I don't think a single person here is disinterested in this organization figuring out a way to take the next step.

[MartinToVaught]

Yeah, most of that is pure exaggeration to make it all more bleak. I guess what can I expect. The Bucks are not in a better situation than us, not even close. How many teams have had a few young pieces and never done anything. They've never even had a positive record with this core until this year, where they are gonna win 42-43 games FFS.

It's not just that the Bucks have "young pieces." So do the Magic, and their future prospects with their core are rightfully viewed in a poor light.

The Bucks have a transcendent player in Giannis in his early 20s and they've surrounded him with young players. They're closer to OKC in the early years than they are to a team like the Magic. The Thunder won 20 games in Durant's first year and 23 games in Westbrook's first year. Were you writing off their future then?

The Bucks have the building blocks in place, and they have assets that will enable them to keep improving the team around their young core. Maybe they never get to that championship level, but I really don't see an argument that they aren't in more of a position to win one than our current team does with its rapidly aging players and lack of cap/asset flexibility.

So, you'd really rather be the Grizzlies who are locked into an older core than us, are currently a worse team than us even if they're healthy and we're not, and owe their next two picks unprotected? I would love to be able to see the alternate reality where you are a Grizzlies fan

But yeah, I can see the way you think, you care more about shiny milestones that you can brag about than real substance. You'd rather have a phony WCF appearance like the Grizzlies have, than have an actual chance at winning the championship like the Clippers have had for the last few years. You'd rather have a team that gets more wins every year than in 2014, than having actual progress from that team like we've had.

I'd rather have real, tangible, meaningful progress when it counts than to sit here and boast about how much more competitive this year's first/second round exit was than last year's. You can make every excuse in the book for the Grizzlies' playoff success, but it doesn't change the fact that they've been more successful in the games that matter most than we have. Playing the injury card is especially rich, considering that the Clippers couldn't get it done with a 3-1 lead against an injured Rockets team missing two of its best defenders (Bevereley and Motiejunas).

I don't care if it's "real" or "fake" by your standards. Ending the drought and finally getting to the conference finals would be like a weight lifted off the shoulders of this franchise and all its fans. It would be the final separation from the bad old days.

Honestly, I know you point to your username every time, but everything about the way you speak screams new money. I very much doubt you were there for Loy Vaught. Which is ok tbh, just be honest about it.

I expect a so-called "championship-caliber" team to at least get to the Western Conference Finals once in a while. Especially when they have a 3-1 series lead against an inferior, depleted team that they've historically owned. If that makes me "new money," so be it.

[MartinToVaught]

Why can't someone want this organization to win and appreciate where this organization has come from? They aren't mutually exclusive ideas and it's not unrealistic to hold both views.

I don't think a single person here is disinterested in this organization figuring out a way to take the next step.

I agree with you on this. I just think fans are too quick to bring up the bad old days as an excuse for why it's okay that this team hasn't gone further in the playoffs.

As a lifelong fan, of course I'm proud and ecstatic that Sterling is gone and the Clippers are operating like a professional sports franchise instead of the Bad News Bears. But when it comes time to judge the team that is currently on the court, I try to leave the past in the past and judge them only on what they've done.

[illastrate]

But if you want to bring in the regular season results: we've gone from winning 57 games in 2013-14 to winning 51 games maximum this year. Our win totals have decreased every year for the last four seasons. So even the regular-season "success" is diminishing now.

That also coincided with Blake missing 15, 47, and 22 games the past 3 seasons. I would think they're winning at least 60 games each year had Blake been healthy.

[Neddy]

The Bucks are easily closer to a championship than we are right now. Giannis is 22 years old and looking like he could be the next Magic, Middleton is 25, Parker is 22, Malcolm Brogdon is 24. They own all their picks going forward and have a competent front office. We are capped out and asset-strapped with a treadmill team that is not good enough to get past the second round. It's no contest.

LOL no they are not, they are looking more like how we looked under Donald Sterling and Elgin Baylor still as our GM when we had the Rat Faced Punk, Q, D Miles, ELton, Corey, and Kandiman. their ownership sucks and their front office is inept. they lucked out with the greekfreak but surely they won't be able to keep him around once he is an unrestricted free agent. we have big Steve with the deepest wallet in all NBA in one of the very top markets. this is not even arguable.

Yes, I would rather be the Grizzlies. Do you think Memphis fans would trade their recent playoff history for ours?

GREAT!!!! then please, do us a favor and go be a Grizzlies fan.

[DLaren]

At some point, we all need to stop patting ourselves on the back for no longer being the punchline of American sports and start treating the Clippers like the legitimate organization they are now.

The Clippers are still the punchline of American sports...

Bring-up Clippers basketball in any venue outside of this forum and watch how people react: almost universally, they'll laugh first, then with a grin on their face they'll ask why we haven't been able to escape the 2nd-round after 30+ years of existence.

Then as a Clippers fan you either laugh it off and quickly change the subject or you sit there and make a fool of yourself trying to defend the indefensible.

I'm not giving this team any props for doing what they're supposed to do: when you have 3 All-stars in your starting line-up your're supposed to win 50 games...you're not supposed to go home before the conference finals 5 years in a row.

5 straight 50 win seasons

When I say it out loud it almost sounds like an indictment of this team when you look at what we have to show for all those wins...absolutely nothing. We can't even win our division but I'm supposed to throw these dudes a parade...nah.

Lets see how much you all appreciate those 50 wins if we get bounced by the Jazz in a couple weeks...I'm not even going to a Clippers game this post-season unless we get to the Conference Finals -- I'm raising the bar.