I’ve been reading Eric Patten’s excellent Lob City Memories series these past few weeks, and like the rest of you all, I’ve been searching for my own favorite memories from the last six years. Even though it violates Eric’s rules, I keep coming back to the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Memphis first-round series back in 2012, the incredible 24-point comeback for Lob City’s first playoff win.
Everything about that run is just wonderful, starting with those beautiful, deep red jerseys. (Is it too soon for another redesign, Ballmer?) There’s Nick Young, pre-Crazy Rich Asians fame, earning the postseason green light he’s always yearned for. There’s Eric Bledsoe, somehow a perfectly adequate 2-guard, nailing jumper after jumper off of Chris Paul’s pinpoint passes. Reggie Evans, just a few years removed from doing unspeakable things to Chris Kaman, is bodying up Marc Gasol and finishing in the paint. Caron Butler is impeccably dressed in a suit on the bench after breaking his hand in the third quarter.
The little details are great, but I think the reason I love this particular moment so much is because you could feel the excitement for what the future held for those Clippers. The comeback itself was amazing, but I was more interested in what it meant going forward. It didn’t matter that DeAndre Jordan couldn’t close games because of his free-throw shooting, or that Young and Bledsoe were the most competent wing tandem Vinny Del Negro could muster, or that Del Negro was even the one making those calls. Everything was still possible for that team. To begin that chapter of Clippers history on such a high note was unforgettable.
I start here at Clips Nation at the beginning of another era for the Clippers. I have been in Los Angeles my whole life, and even with so many years of knowledge of Clipperdom, I can honestly say I have no ideas for how this year will play out. That’s what makes this kind of great.
For my entire life, I have been an enormous basketball fan. The NBA is my favorite source of entertainment, and it is a joy to be able to cover it. I have been writing for a long time, dating back to my time at Duke when I reported on both the men’s and women’s basketball teams there. More recently, I have been writing about the Lakers over at Silver Screen & Roll and the WNBA for Women’s Hoops World.
But my role at Clips Nation is the first time that I will be professionally working as an editor and writing frequently about the NBA. I am so thrilled to have this opportunity, especially for a team with so many stories to tell. I am delighted to work with the writers we have at Clips Nation and to support them in the excellent coverage they already provide.
There is so much uncertainty for what this Clippers season will bring, but you can at least count on my name consistently showing up in your feeds. I can’t wait to share the season with this community.