Houston 110 - Clippers 93
by Steve Perrin on Mar 29, 2009 1:07 AM PDT
in Game Recaps
Email
PrintThe Clippers are terrible, and absolutely no fun to watch right now.
As bad as they were last year, I never felt like this. We did the whole AYSO parent thing - one team has to be the worst one in the league, and it doesn't mean that they're bad kids. We encouraged them to try their best, we cheered wildly for the occasional good play, we reminded them that they'd get a pizza party at the end of the season.
But the only reason the Clippers didn't lose these last two games by 40 points each is because the other team simply couldn't be bothered. With the playoffs looming, the top players need to get their rest. A third to a half a game is plenty to beat the Clippers.
It seems like I'm not the only one having a tough time staying interested. With the news in this morning's LA Times that Baron Davis likely has stomach ulcers and not just a case of the flu, no one even mentioned it here. He has ulcers? I have ulcers!
What is being said in the locker room prior to games on this trip? Whatever it is, it certainly isn't firing the team up. Quite the opposite, it would seem. In the last five games, the Clippers have trailed at the end of one quarter by no less than 13 each time. They managed to come back and get a win in New York behind a spectacular (and highly unlikely) performance from Mike Taylor. But let's face it - digging a big first quarter hole is not a good formula for winning basketball games. In those five games, the mean first quarter score has been 35 to 20. Game over. Season over.
Intellectually, I know that having something to play for matters hugely. The Clippers don't, and it is brutally apparent in everything they do. But there's just no way you can look at this team right now and conclude "yeah, they'll be OK next year." The argument that they're a good team when they're healthy just doesn't stand up. They're just a bad team - a really, really bad team - healthy or not.
In Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the protagonist, Peter Bretter, composes a puppet musical about Dracula (if you haven't seen the movie, trust me, it somehow works). In it, puppet Dracula sums up the current situation quite well in song:
It's getting kind of hard to believe things are going to get better
I've been drowning too long to believe that the tide's going to turn
I know just how puppet Dracula feels.
You may be asking yourself, why was ClipperSteve thinking about Forgetting Sarah Marshall after watching the Clippers versus the Rockets, aside from the obvious puppet Dracula connection? Well, it's because Luis Scola reminds me of Russell Brand.
29 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
hahaha
luis scola just entered top 10 ugly players in the league, along with Charlie Villanueva and AK 47
I figured...
Scola has this rep as hideous, while Brand at least spoofed a sex symbol on screen. But being a dude, I have no idea. I just get a real ‘separated at birth’ vibe from the two of them. By the way, Brand was great in Forgetting Sarah Marshall – “I was going to do that, and then I decided to carry on living my life.”
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
by Steve Perrin on Mar 29, 2009 12:48 PM PDT up reply actions
the solution to this miserable season...
bring back q ross!
by cantthinkofagoodname on Mar 29, 2009 1:38 PM PDT reply actions
wowwwwwwww lmao
"I think pro athletes should be forced to use steroids. I think we as fans deserve the greatest athletes science can create."- Daniel Tosh
Crabtree ! Crabtree ! Crabtree ! -NPK
nice recap
forgetting sarah marshall was my fav comedy of last year, russell brand absolutely killed that part. as for the clippers, you’re right in saying there isn’t any more excuses we can make for the team. they look like college kids playing against pros these days
college kids playing against pros
College kids try hard. They look like bad pros playing against good pros to me.
What’s most disappointing is the utter incompetence. Kaman picks up his 4th foul, walks off the court, DJ’s not in, technical foul. WTF? Watching the replay, there was just confusion on the bench… DJ’s sitting there, Acker taps him to tell him the coach is telling him to go in… but why is Kaman leaving the game if no one is at the scorer’s table for him? The Clippers ended up burning a 20 second timeout AND getting a T.
On consecutive possessions in the fourth, no one was guarding Von Wafer. No one. Twice. Once, I understand. It’s not good, but it happens. Twice? Are you kidding?
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
by Steve Perrin on Mar 29, 2009 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Disorganized
Never seen anything like that in my life. Dunleavy can’t even make his team sub properly.
"This kid is the best new talent in the league right now, and I don't care who else you mention." -Suns Coach, Alvin Gentry, on Clippers rookie sensation, Eric Gordon.
I don't see things getting any better for this team.
Usually, I’m mad after performances like this, but I just don’t care anymore and the Clippers clearly don’t either. This team is bogged down in bad contracts, bad coaching, bad front office management, and of course, bad ownership. This team doesn’t need to rebuild; it needs to be blown to shreds (after evacuating Gordon, Taylor, Deandre and Novak).
"If a Clippers fan is reading a newspaper in his living room and the ceiling falls on him, he'll just shrug and move to another room." -Bill Simmons
by WestsideBrandon on Mar 29, 2009 5:37 PM PDT reply actions
+Mardy Collins
(hey, he’s not bad)
"This kid is the best new talent in the league right now, and I don't care who else you mention." -Suns Coach, Alvin Gentry, on Clippers rookie sensation, Eric Gordon.
Just another
loss that gets us closer to MDsr leaving…I mean being fired. That is the only silver lining I can think of at the moment. All season ticket holders should be calling their reps and telling them they are not renewing if MDsr is around. I know that is what I am going to do first thing on Monday.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Most of us have been complaining about Dunleavy all year...
and telling your rep. isn’t going to make any difference. Sterling is going to do what his bottom line tells him. If he gets rid of Dunleavy and has to pay his contract will he retain enough STH and gain new ones to cover the cost. Sterling doesn’t give a shi* what the fans think. The only hope for a franchise when the owner doesn’t care is for the franchise to at least have a good gm who does. Where are we on that?
Most fuc*ed up season ever.
by eastie Rich on Mar 29, 2009 11:04 PM PDT up reply actions
What's most depressing
Is that we could see this coming.
I blame Dunleavy and Baron
"This kid is the best new talent in the league right now, and I don't care who else you mention." -Suns Coach, Alvin Gentry, on Clippers rookie sensation, Eric Gordon.
All I want now is for the team to make the games close
so It would be watchable. I think I’ve only watched an average of 15 game minutes these past 5 games.
"This kid is the best new talent in the league right now, and I don't care who else you mention." -Suns Coach, Alvin Gentry, on Clippers rookie sensation, Eric Gordon.
Do you think we still count as a Nation?
We’re losing citizens everyday… at some point we won’t qualify as a Nation and are more of a Village or City-State. Just curious as to when this becomes official.
If there is a basketball god he will send us Blake Griffin. If you are reading this, you owe us or I’ll have no choice but to beg the FSM to consume you.
FA in 2010.
The Nation
will always exist, whether its 5 people or 50,000. We are now just getting rid of all the band wagoners that jumped on the the Clipper ship back when this team was actually better than their co-tenants at Staples. Things are now normalizing, and those that jump ship now are not really true citizens to begin with. Long live the Nation!!
Do or do not. There is no try.
I don't think...
that blindly following the existing regime regardless of its intents and performance is a sign of good citizentry. Alot of “good” Germans did that during the Nazi regime and they did not do their nation nor the world a service. Real fans need to be critical of the team and voice their displeasure and opposition if they think the direction of the team/organization is wrong. If you truly care about the Clippers, then you want them to improve, and you will use your finanical obligations/leverage to push the franchise in the right direction. Some folks in my section have been season ticket holders since the Sports Arena days. That they’re giving up on the team says alot about our current personnel choices and direction. I cannot fault them at all. As a matter of fact, I admire these fans because they show up at almost every home game, with their heads in their hands in frustration. They have every right to quit supporting this team. Because most of the players have given up on us.
I don't know why
there are so many comparisons of the Clippers with the Nazi’s. Seriously. Can we get a little perspective here please? We are talking about a sports organization…that’s sole purpose is to entertain…not a regime that is hell-bent on conquering the world at any cost. If you aren’t entertained, then by all means leave.
This is not about following blindly regardless of intents or performance either. This is about supporting a team…with your own time, energy and money…the way YOU want to. There is no life or death situation here. We have the luxury to be able to spend our free time doing whatever we please, and if supporting (or not supporting) the Clippers is how you choose to spend your time, then so be it.
This is also not a matter of being a “real” fan. Being “real” is a totally subjective thing, and a personal preference at that. Root how you want to root, jeer how you want to jeer. The only person that really matters in this whole equation is you, the fan. Being a fan is a personal choice. There are no rules or regulations.
I don’t believe season ticket holders have any more vested in this team than the guy who watches every game on TV. Mind you, I have been a STH for almost a decade now. Yeah, STH’s have spent more $$, but like they say, you can’t take the money with you when you die. I don’t buy the financial leverage angle either. We have been shown time and time again that this organization doesn’t really need our money. They can get along pretty well with out us. It’s an irrelevant point when it comes to fandom, which really is what makes up the Nation.
I totally get the frustration with this team right now. But in the grand scheme of things, it amounts to nothing. The better question is whether or not you, the fan is coming back for the next game…or next season. Have I been entertained this year?….probably….did I enjoy it?…not as much as I have before. Do I expect more?…you bet I do! But I am not ready to make a knee jerk reaction and abandon this team. But that is just me. Others may be willing to give up now, and that is their prerogative.
I think the hardest part for us fans to realize is that being a fan of a team is all purely entertainment, just like reading a book, going to a movie or visiting a museum would be. If you liked the museum, go again. If the movie was ok, tell a friend about it. If the book was bad, try selling your copy. The thing about the NBA and the Clippers though, is that there is always potential. You may see something great at the game tonight…then again you may not. That’s part of the thrill. Even when your teams wins it all…the fan wants more….wanting to feel that thrill again.
So please, no more talk of the Clippers being the Nazi’s, MDsr being Hilter, or any more of that nonsense. This has been a long and difficult season ripe with unfulfilled potential. Whether you remain a fan is a personal choice. And as long as there are a few fans that still believe, hope, root or jeer, there will always be a Nation.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Um
You guys are missing the point. These are simply analogies. No one is comparing MDSr to Hitler. There is something to what he said. Some people will follow the current regime because it is safer, it is easier, it is more comfortable. And there are dangers in doing that.
Comparisons
The whole facism/genocide angle aside, Hitler was unfortunately very very good (too good) at rallying the mob and getting what he wanted. You don’t have to like the person or agree with that person to see that he was good at being a total monster. Dunleavy on the other hand is just incompetent at his job at this point.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Mar 31, 2009 12:02 AM PDT up reply actions
Don't be too literal...
The point is that alot of people will go along with the status quo because it is the easiest thing to do. If you care about something, you want to try and improve it, not sit idly by and watch it die. Clip Show, I’m astounded that you answered affirmative to your own question about being adequately entertained this year. Well I don’t know about you, but watching the Clippers lose by 20 plus points time and time again when our veterans don’t give it a shit and yuck it up on the bench is not my idea of entertainment. Believe me, I have been a Clippers fans during some awful periods, even during the 12-70 season, and it has never been as bad as this in terms of effort and heart. I actually don’t mind if we finish the season 0-82 and we lose most games by a few points if our guys left everything they had on the floor. Seeing the corrosive selfishness and lackasadical attitudes of our veterans zap the enthusiasm of our rookies is the most disheartening thing of all.
And believe me, the Clippers and Donald Sterling needs our money. If they don’t care about the ticket revenues at all, why would they slash prices so heavily this year and promise heaven and earth when they try to get us to renew? Every Inside Sales Executive is under tremendous pressure to increase sales. That edict comes directly from Roeser and Sterling. Now the Donald might be the only developer in the world who’s not leveraged to the hilt and buys everything in cash, but I don’t think there’s a developer out there who’s not impacted by the huge decline in both commercial and residential property values. Some of the country’s largest commercial developers like The Mills & Meruelo Maddux have already gone bankrupt, and it’s not far fetched to assume that even the Donald isn’t as rich as he was five years ago as the country’s asset bubble deflates.
And yeah ClipperChuck, most man made catastrophes and atrocities are really just the end results of runaway incompetence and not true maliciousness. But as Norman Mailer once wrote; there are crimes too monstrous for remorse. All kidding aside, Dunleavy is just guilty of incompetence, like the entire Clippers franchise, from top to bottom, is guilty of gross incompetence. It is something that shouldn’t be lionized, or even tolerated.
The Pefect Storm
Clippers sucking (front office and personnel wise) + down economy – season ticket sales = DTS storming into Clippers locker room after losing to Western Conference powerhouse SA Spurs.
"This kid is the best new talent in the league right now, and I don't care who else you mention." -Suns Coach, Alvin Gentry, on Clippers rookie sensation, Eric Gordon.
by cliptakular on Mar 31, 2009 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
