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 A year after their playoff hopes were rocked by a racism scandal
that left previous owner Donald Sterling with a life ban from the
NBA, the Clippers seemed set to make a run at a title as they made a
stirring start to the postseason.
They came back from a 3-2 series deficit to beat the defending NBA
champion San Antonio Spurs in a pulsating opening round, then closed
in on a first ever conference final by taking a 3-1 series lead over
the Houston Rockets in the second round.
At that point, the Clippers were widely acclaimed as the best team
remaining in the playoffs and former Lakers great Magic Johnson
predicted they would go on to win the coveted Larry O'Brien NBA
Championship Trophy.
"I've watched all the teams in playoffs and right now the Clippers
are playing better than any team left!" five-time NBA champion
Johnson tweeted.
"They have a little bit of everything...the Clippers have outside
shooting, Blake is dominating, the best leader and coach in Chris
Paul & Doc Rivers and great team defense!"
Die-hard Clippers fans savored the prospect of a maiden Western
Conference final when only a year ago their team's playoff run ended
weeks after racist comments made by Sterling surfaced, sparking
public outrage and causing sponsors to quit.
Following protracted legal wrangling, a California appeals court
rejected Sterling's last-ditch attempt to block the sale of the
Clippers to Steve Ballmer for a record $2 billion, and the tech
billionaire took over as the new owner in August.
BLEW COMMANDING LEAD
Immediate redemption in their very next season was not to be,
however, as the Clippers blew their commanding lead over the
Rockets, who became only the ninth team to come back from a 3-1
deficit and win an NBA playoff series.
"It was very frustrating how this season came to an end, with that
late collapse against the Rockets," 15-year Clippers fan Griffin
Thomas, a medical trainer and physiotherapist aid from Thousand
Oaks, told Reuters.
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"I definitely thought that they were going to be achieving a little
bit more the way the playoffs were unfolding. For whatever reason,
the Clippers are just stuck in that same plateau, they're not yet
among the elite teams of the league."
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers could only reflect on opportunities
lost after his team were ousted from the Western Conference
semi-finals for a second straight season.
"We had our chances, there's no doubt about that," he said. "It's
funny, we went from good enough to now everything I hear is that we
weren't good enough. It's amazing how that flips in sports. We just
didn't get the job done."
However, Rivers expressed optimism about the team's immediate
future.
"You have the whole summer to get over this," he said. "There have
been so many examples of this, where you keep getting close, keep
getting close and then you break through. Once you break through,
this is forgotten.
"My guess is this'll make our guys work harder this summer, not only
physically, but mentally, too."
Asked whether the Clippers' playing staff could undergo big changes
before next season, Rivers replied: "We were a quarter away from the
Western (Conference) finals, so I don't think we need to blow this
thing up.
"We need to add pieces, but it's going to be hard because we are
restricted."
The Clippers, spearheaded by All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin,
expect DeAndre Jordan, who has been the NBA's top rebounder for the
past two seasons, to re-sign with the team.
That would then leave the Los Angeles franchise with only the 'mini'
mid-level exception of $3.37 million per year for up to three years
to offer free agents, along with a few veteran's minimum contracts.
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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