What’s Happening With The Clippers

As I have noticed that this site has been devoid of any real coverage of the NBA basketball team that plays in Staples Center that’s not called the Lakers, I felt it was high time that the Clippers got some space here.

It’s no secret that this club, despite winning its last two games, has struggled in the past two weeks, losing games that they were supposed to win and barely getting by sub-.500 teams, including having to go overtime to beat the Detroit Pistons 87-83 on Sunday at Staples.

The biggest reason for the Clippers being barely over .500 over the past month or so, to me, is simple: Chauncey Billups and his torn achilles tendon.

When Billups tore his achilles, the dynamic changed and left the Clips without the veteran guard’s leadership and defensive ability, and that exposed the Clippers a bit.

The good news, however, is that Blake Griffin is having a Blake Griffin season, being one of the main characters of Lob City with his tremendous and monstrous thunder dunks, and DeAndre Jordan has complimented him well down low with his play, along with something else very important…

Chris Paul has played as advertised; the point guard is the number one reason why the Clippers are currently 26-17, standing in second place in the NBA’s Pacific Division and 4th place in the Western Conference, and are just a game and a half behind their cross-the-hall rivals, the Lakers. He has led the team with his play and his determination, and his nine points in overtime, as part of his 19 points and 15 assists, were the difference in the Clippers’ recent win over Detroit after being down by ten in the third quarter.

Help is also on the way with the Clips signing former USC guard Nick Young, who came in from Washington and helped out with nine points in 28 minutes during the Clippers’ win. He’s a solid defender who will score points, and should be a decent replacement for Billups, who will need about a year to recover from his torn achilles.

What about how the rest of the season and how the Clippers will do, I’m sure folks are asking.

In my view, this is clearly a playoff team as long as Griffin’s and Paul’s jerseys say “Clippers” on them, but the team, as a whole, must step up.

That will especially be the case this week, as they go on a road trip starting this Tuesday that features back-to-back-to-back games against Indiana, Oklahoma City – who happens to have the best record in the Western Conference and the second best record in the league – and New Orleans, which marks Paul’s return to his old stomping grounds as the Hornets are his former team.

If these Clippers can go 2-1 on this swing, I, for one, will be very encouraged, but if they don’t and go 1-2 or lose all three games, concern will obviously set in.

It will be interesting to see how things will go for the Clips on this roadie; that is very much for certain.