TWiCH: Injuries, Vol 1

Hello everyone. It's been a while, but TWiCH is back. Looking back in the history of this week, something jumped out at me. The Clippers tend to be successful against the Lakers during this week in history. Not including last nights 114-89 victory over the team from across the hall, the Clippers and Lakers have played each other 202 times, with the Clippers victorious in 58 of those contests. That is a horrible 29% winning percentage. But, if you look at contests between the two teams between January 4th thru the 10th, the Clippers come out on top, with 8 victories to 4 losses. Just a random fact for you.

And now, this weeks TWiCH Record:

63-84

TWiCH Record Decade Breakdown:

70's   12 - 18

80's   11 - 25

90's   14 - 18

00's   13 - 21

10's   13 - 2

It's been a great decade so far!

1972

Braves Beat Royals, End Franchise Record 12 Game Losing Streak

At the time, the 12 game losing streak was the longest in the young history of the Braves. Luckily, the schedule makers gave them a gift. The Royals were heading into the game riding a 12 game losing streak as well, so the winner would end their streak there, and the loser would continue their downward spiral. The Braves would win the game, 97 - 87, lead by Bob Kauffman and Dick Garrett, combining for 50 points.

1980

Clippers Coach Gene Shue Hits Referee Dick Bavetta

In the fourth quarter of a game between the San Diego Clippers and Chicago Bulls, age defying referee Dick Bavetta called a technical foul on the Clippers, for an illegal substitution, for having 6 players on the court. Coach Shue got upset and charged Bavetta. In the melay, Clippers players tried to restrain their coach. With all this going on, Shue took a swing at Bavetta, and, according to the referee, hit him in the arm. Bavetta reported it to the NBA, and the league reviewed the incident. In the end, commissioner Larry O'Brien suspended Shue for 1 week without pay, and fined the coach $3,500. The incident must have sparked the Clippers, because they would go on to win their next 6 games.

1989

Danny Manning Injures Knee, Out For Remainder of Rookie Season

In a January 4th game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Clippers star Rookie Danny Manning would injure his knee. There was speculation at first that the injury was not too serious, but in the end, Manning would require knee surgury, and would be out for the remainder of his rookie season. At the time of the injury, Manning was averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, and the Clippers had a record of 10 - 19, which is not great. But after the injury to Manning, the Clippers would finish out the season going 11 - 42.

1995

Clippers Get Win, Coach Fitch Gets 850th Career Victory

On January 5th, 1995, the Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 95-93. To secure the victory, Loy Vaught would hit 18 foot jumper over the slender giant, Shawn Bradley, with 9 seconds left. The victory was the 850th of coach Bill Fitch's career.

2014

Chris Paul Injures Shoulder Against Mavericks

This injury would keep Chris Paul out of action for about 6 weeks. Luckily, the Clippers had a starting caliber point guard in the reserve role in Darren Collison. Collison would fill in nicely for the Clippers while Paul was out, and the team would continue it's strong play.

There you have it. This week's edition of TWiCH. Make sure to check back each Thursday for more This Week in Clippers History! Now, in honor of coach Gene Shue, here is a classic LL Cool J song: