A New Look Won’t Change All The Clippers’ Problems

As exciting (or confusing) as completely changing your team’s logo and adding one of the NBA’s best bad boys to the roster, it won’t do you any good if you can’t actually gel as a team.

As we saw unfold in the 2015 NBA Playoffs, the LA Clippers have a serious issue with communication when it matters most.

All it would’ve taken to bounce the Houston Rockets in Game 6 with a huge lead in their favor was control of the ball and slower possessions while making sure everyone on the floor knows the game plan.

But apparently the red, white, and blue didn’t get the memo.

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And because of that they basically became the red, white, and oops.

More specifically the oops.

If the Clippers had gone on to the Western Conference Finals as pretty much everyone in the basketball world thought they would following a commanding Game 4 win, they might have had more in the tank to bring the worst out of the Warriors.

But instead Golden State caught a massive break and was handed a beyond exhausted Rockets squad, taking themselves to the Finals thanks to a 4-1 conference finals victory.

In 2014 the Clippers had the answer to the Warriors and were a major blow to Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr’s prior position holder.

In fact, knocking off Golden State was the definite nail in the coffin and all the Golden State front office needed to give Jackson the boot.

While it’s not always a great idea (okay, never really a good idea) to over dwell on the history of anything, ignoring the trend in which the Clippers find themselves would be seriously foolish.

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With that, let’s break it down.

Doc Rivers, above all else, came under enormous fire when things imploded in the playoffs this year.

Knowing that LA is usually not a very forgiving place to players, coaches, or even fans that give the city a title or shortfall that they don’t deserve, it’s safe to say that 2016 needs to be Doc’s best year with the Clippers.

Or else.

When Mark Jackson got knocked off his perch with the Warriors, it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense.

Getting rid of Rivers after what he’s done with the Clippers in his short time on their sideline wouldn’t be an argument that follows well either unless he went above and beyond to make a fool out of himself.

And if the Clippers don’t march their way into the third round or beyond, be ready to have the entire Clippers’ culture rocked from top to bottom.

Starting with none other than their head coach.

Now with Lance Stephenson in the line up and a new logo to hide behind, it’s almost like the Clippers are without excuse.

And then some.

With the new look, you would assume this has some sort of correlation to their confidence as a team (which it does…and should), but the fact that they were bold enough to bring Stephenson to LA speaks volumes about their expectations.

Does it not?

Stephenson is the same guy that stood toe-to-toe with LeBron James when the Pacers and Heat squared off just a couple seasons ago.

Nobody really gave him a chance then.

Nobody gives him too much of a chance now.

Bottom Line: Despite all the fog, there’s never been a better time to love the Clippers

He loves that. It’s what he loves the most, more than anything else in his career — at least from what we can tell.

Let’s hope this is enough to light the fire the Clippers need to get everything back on track.

It’s their last legitimate shot at glory for a while.