TrueLAfan wrote:Don't know about this beloved stuff. I have good memories of him, wished him well when he left, hope we defeat him and his new team now.
That's just me and my "how can I get people's attention with just the right words without making it a hot take". Even I admit the title is click-baity, but this is how it works now in the sports world. Might as well make use of it, right? An eye for an eye.
Seriously, in my years watching Clippers since the 2012 lockout season, I learned that fans have a huge tendency of lamenting over the loss of their fan favorites just because the team had a collapse, meltdown, or catastrophe. The first 3-1 collapse saw DeAndre Jordan joining Mavericks for a short stint before the emoji war happened, and the vibes I got was sadness, humiliation, anger, as if the Clippers were being punished by having one of their core players unwillingly taken away from them. That feeling became more clearer once Chris Paul demanded out and the team replaced him with Milos Teodosic, thinking his production could easily be replaced. In reality, it felt to me like Clippers were jilted and wanted revenge on their former savior. The conference finals meeting between Clippers and Chris Paul was poignant alone: tying his playing career high in the series clinching Game 6, the only player who could draw an ejection on a Clipper after going the entire season without one, especially knowing they were under a huge microscope following
the greatest 3-1 collapse in NBA history.
The Clippers need to understand that nothing is personal, business is always going to be paramount when it comes to competition. Most of the time a team loses in the playoffs is because their emotions are an uncontrollable high, not being able to keep focus of the situation, and feeling like they need to do something herculean in order to be loved, respected and worshiped. It's good that Clippers have a Good Samaritan Spur in Kawhi Leonard, who learned about the fallacies of egos, blowhards and narcissists from the great Tim Duncan. Duncan knew his opponents preferred chaos and mayhem, so he responded by not giving them that. Be respectful, be courteous, be an ambassador, find something that is worth fighting for, and channel that into your game. By doing this, Duncan created this invisible shield which made him immune to techs, flagrants and ejections. On the flip side, it's the opponents who are drawing the techs, pulling out flagrants, and finding themselves ejected from games. Duncan is the living example of rubber: "I am rubber, you are glue, everything you say [and do] bounces off of me and goes back to you."
Clippers have to understand the ins and outs of competition. This is not about getting highlight reel plays, winning accolades, or getting back at your old teammates for getting into their feelings. It's about winning a championship, bringing legitimacy to a franchise that has never had it. You can kind of see why I'm so critical of them despite their newfound success and complete 180. They needed a double 2-0 comeback to make their first ever conference finals, and their first opponent was ironically their former savior. Like the previous two rounds, Clippers prevented a 3-0 lead, and once Paul made it 3-1, he knew that Clippers were going to take it personal by pulling off a 3-1 comeback. What better way to atone for two 3-1 collapses within a five year span than by having a 3-1 comeback of their own against a player who has already been in one! Paul took that threat seriously and shut them down in Game 6. Paul has conquered his demons: have Clippers? Trading Beverley didn't seem like it, it felt more like they still had feelings over letting down Paul, and Beverley shoving Paul was seen as disgraceful. In the end, it felt to me like Clippers were unwilling to add to Paul's long line of playoff failures, so they were willing to let this loss slide. Clippers should have tried to go for a Game 7, even without Leonard.
I always keep this in perspective: Clipper's turnaround was due to a vetoed trade. David Stern threw them a bone after witnessing the Laker's unceremonious disgraceful sweep at the hands of the Mavericks. Now the Clippers have to prove they can be an honest competitor without any sort of executive meddling from outside the club. It also means not taking this personal. Beverley played a part in those double 2-0 comebacks: that was in the past. Now they have to defeat Beverley. What if Clippers and Lakers meet in playoffs, and one of their guys does something to Beverley that warrants an ejection? What if it came from one of their superstars? Will they trade that player just because they hurt a former Clipper? I wouldn't say trading Beverley cost them a playoff appearance, no Leonard for the season was already an indication. But I will say that if something like this were to happen again, then it proves my point that Clippers are incapable of controlling their emotions.
I know that Clippers can do this. Spoiler of large margins of defeats, master of preventing 3-0 leads. They broke Jazz. Can they break a former Clipper?
