Season Preview + Game 1: Los Angeles Clippers @ Golden State Warriors: Oct 21 7:00 PM PCT
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:38 pm
And there is a rare chance of a game being rescheduled to fit inside one of those five in seven nights. If it were to happen, the Clippers would be faced with a back-to-back-to-back, a six-game in seven-night stretch, or both. This ridiculous schedule is befitting for a lottery team, and to put that on the Clippers following one of their best seasons in franchise history screams "hidden agenda."
Eric Bledsoe's best years were with the Clippers during the Lob City era, playing as a role player coming off the bench behind superstar Chris Paul. His final year with Clippers had his best blocks per game and three-point percentage. When he left the Clippers, so did his element of surprise: exchanging chase blocks, highlight-reel dunks, and agility defense for playmaking, high scoring and leadership - things that Bledsoe is not always good at. He was in the lottery with the Suns, blamed for the Buck's playoff shortcomings, and uninterested with Pelicans. The NBA ruined his skill set, if not his career, and now the Clippers feel compelled to fix the mess the Suns, Bucks and Pelicans made to their prized trade chip.
Sans Kawhi Leonard, who will be out for possibly the whole year after suffering an ACL partial tear in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, the Clippers will be coming into the 2021-22 season at a severe disadvantage, already being counted out of contention, going so far as to declare them lottery-bound without a draft pick. Short of throwing in the towel, the Clippers have no choice except to fight their way in the most Mortal Kombat of seasons since last season's post 3-1 collapse. By default, Paul George is the leader of the team. Role players will have to step up like never before, replacing the points, rebounds, assists, defense, and Spursian philosophy normally provided by the Klaw with a little something of their own; from the veteran-tested down to the scrubs and rookies. Players like Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum, Ivica Zubac, Serge Ibaka, Justice Winslow, Marcus Morris Sr., Luke Kennard, Isaiah Hartenstein, Brandon Boston Jr. and others will need to have their "All-Star For A Day" moments. But the responsibilities of such will be nothing compared to last year's breakout player...
Terance Mann's 39-point outing in Game 6 versus Jazz in 2nd round signified the Clippers finally sealing the deal, the first team in NBA history to come back from down 2-0 in consecutive series to reach their first ever conference finals appearance. In regular season, Clippers were 16-9 when Mann played at least 24 MIN or greater, 14-6 when Mann scored 10 PTS or more, and 24-9 when Mann's difference rating was positive, 11-1 when positive rating was 10 or more. Simply put, Mann is a lucky charm that ensures the Clippers will win games, surpassing Patrick Beverley's same such ability. But whereas Beverley is an eight-year journeyman role player, Mann is younger, just in his third year, and was a 2nd round draft pick personally selected by Clippers. He has the qualities to win the Most Improved Player of the year, but with Leonard rehabbing, Mann will have to do even more. George and Leonard both had All-Star berths with other teams, Pacers and Spurs respectively. It's been five years since Clippers had an All-Star that was homegrown with DeAndre Jordan (2017). A new dynamic duo of Mann-George would aid Clippers tremendously in avoiding the Lottery Apocalypse, and when Leonard returns, the Clippers would have a True Big 3.
Of all the teams to finally allow Chris Paul to reach the NBA Finals, it had to be the Clippers, who is not just any former team. Paul was gift-wrapped to the Clippers thanks to David Stern and the infamous veto that would have sent the Wake Forest Point God to the NBA's golden child, the Lakers. The veto caused the once prestigious purple and gold to have their worst stretch in franchise history, including a record six-year playoff drought, while the Clippers experienced their most famous rollercoaster ride of relevancy... ever. The joys were high, but so were the pains, and the agony of defeat became too much for Paul to handle, resulting in his request to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Now on the Suns, realizing that his path to the Finals was closer than ever before, the only thing standing in the way was his former team. Look no further than Game 6 of his performance to see how he really felt about the Clippers, being betrayed because they cared more about being loved than competing for championships, trading for a player who single handedly ruined his career and reputation with punches that resulted in his first ever NBA suspension. Paul wanted revenge on the Clippers, and his matching playoff career high of 41 PTS and drawing an ejection to Patrick Beverley was proof of his pettiness. He may have lost the NBA Finals to the Bucks, but if the Clippers end up missing the playoffs, then CP3 would have done more than just eliminated his old team in the conference finals.
The NBA's mission is clear: keep the Clippers out of the playoffs and play-in tournament by any means necessary. Prove that without Leonard, or a third superstar that can fill in his shoes by complicating their schedule, they're toast. Get Paul George ejected from a game to break their spirits, and break up the team. Protect the Lakers, Nets and Bucks at all cost. And most importantly, do not let Paul's lone Finals visit be in vain. And that thinking of underestimation could be the very thing that saves their season.
For all intents and purposes, every Clipper game is a trap game. By being treated as a lottery team, every opponent will be expecting the Clippers to implode like in the old days of Sterling, not realizing that the Clippers have something worth fighting for now. They're playing for the right to reactivate Leonard, who is expected to return come March or April. But what if I told you, "He's not coming back until the Clippers can prove to him they want him back." Leonard's history with injury and withholding injury information gives the Clippers a psychological edge, prompting their opponents to bring out their best defensive schemes earlier than expected - just in case Leonard returns - only for Lue and his coaching staff to be fully ready against them should they meet in the playoffs. Leonard is pulling another secret test of character for the team to partake in, a challenge to prove that they are worthy of his services: make the playoffs without him. If the Clippers can't, Leonard will not see the floor for the rest of the season. But if they qualify for the playoffs, or make the play-in and defeat their opponents to secure the last remaining seeds for the playoffs, not only will Leonard announce his return, the Clippers will become a dark horse juggernaut. They could become one of the most intimidating teams to make the playoffs since the 6th seeded 1995 Houston Rockets.
"Mortal Kombat continues!" - Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Shang Tsung, Mortal Kombat
