It was on Friday night at the Staples Center. But soon, it was off. The Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Raptors from Toronto faced off and the results were an obtuse roller coaster that most Clippers fans are already too fed up to watch in this, only their 10th game of the season. Those who missed this game were the lucky ones.
Things just can't go too far the Clippers' way these days without a red flag going up. So when they came out with all engines firing and took a big lead against Toronto's motley crew, something inside begs the viewer to keep watching. When the Clippers are on the up side of a blowout, it does not take even a keen fan to surely know there is not such a thing in Clipper Nation these days.
Lets face it, when your team is facing one of the worst defensive teams in the league, it is difficult to get pumped up to watch. And when your team gets up 44-22, in some cases, it is usually best to just get on with your night. Take a shower, spend quality time with a loved one, go meet the friends a little earlier than usual - but there's no such thing as a gimme in Clipper Nation.
The Raptors outscored the Clippers 30-15 in the forth quarter to take away a 104-89 win. Jose Calderon, Toronto's point guard was an absolute baller, scoring 18 points, amassing eight assists (zero turnovers). He hammered nail after nail into the Clippers coffin in the final quarter.
And with each successive loss, the Clippers fall a little deeper in to despair. Haunted by the burden that is the memory of the 2008-2009 season, the Clippers have managed to wiggle out of several games in which they had full control of for at least an entire half of basketball.
Uninspired, stagnant offensive sets that included poor board crashing, lethargic passing, giving away 17 turnovers (resulting in 24 Raptor points) and tossing up prayer 3-pointers (Clippers shot 4-18 from behind the arc) spelled doom for the Clippers (3-7).
Red, white and blue insight: Up by 18, DeAndre Jordan was fouled and his first free-throw of the night air-balled short by a foot and to the left. It was ugly. And wouldn't you know it, something strange happened. The next time the Clippers brought the ball down, Toronto intentionally fouled Jordan for no real reason but to shake things up a little. It worked. DeAndre only hit one of two and Toronto came down and scored again. Dunleavy was spooked, and instead of letting DeAndre work through the problem, he changed the landscape of the game by yanking him. It was a bad set, but if Jordan stayed in the game, the Clippers would have gone to the locker room up double-digits. A bad coaching decision that made Toronto look like the geniuses they are not.
The boos are getting louder at the Staples Center, but is anyone listening?
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