Thanks to my DVR, I was able to enjoy the entire first leg of the LSF Cup uninterupted during my fourteen month old son's nap on Sunday afternoon. It took a while for my C's to get rolling, but they eventually did (or maybe it was just the Clippers collapsing on offense for long stretces of the second half) and nailed down a 99-92 victory. Sure, there were some tense moments. Blake Griffin electrified the crowd with a one handed dunk (and also showed that he's a one trick pony when he tried to dunk a ball he had no business trying to dunk, just to get a foul call), Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green looked like they'll need some practice to keep up with the Green Army (though Krstic was a beast on the offensive boards), and Delonte West somehow came out of his shell to play some quality backup PG for Rondo.
Even though my team triumphed in round one of this year's LSF Cup, I came away from this game feeling the same way I come away from this game year after year: I hate the Clippers even more. And so, I present my "5 Reasons I Hate The Clippers Even More" after the 99-92 Celtics win. I know, trimming it to 5 will be hard, but I'll try.
1. Randy Foye is a beast, but you wouldn't know that.
This 27 year old from Newark, NJ looked like a champion out there against the C's. 32 points, 7 assists. Sure, he went 50% from the field and just 4 for 11 from beyond the arc, but he picked up 2 huge steals, and kind of commanded the game. He received a pass from Blake Griffin on the run for a sweet fastbreak bucket, and just sliced and diced the Celtic defense all night, looking like one of the most underrated guards in the Western Conference.
So, why don't we know this guy? Why does a) the LA media and b) the Clips themselves fail to promote this guy? It's all Griffin and Jordan all the time, but Foye is a freaking stud. The 'Nova grad may be averaging just 10-ish points per game, but his minutes are all over the place from game to game. 43 against the C's, 27 against the Lakers, 40 against NO, and then 35 against OKC. Get this guy some more time, and you'll see some more production.
He did, to prove my point, put up 24 points on the Lake Show in his 27 minutes. Drag that out to the 43 minutes he played against the Green Army, and he could have drilled 38 (+6 on his effort on Saturday). He's awesome. Play him, talk about him.
2. The Clippers got Bill Walton to sell his soul.
So, we all know Bill Walton's story. He played as a San Diego/LA Clipper from 1979-1985. We also know that he is one of the big pieces in this whole gigantic rivalry between the Clippers and the Celtics, and one of the reasons that this is the greatest rivalries in all of sports. After his contract was up with the Clips, Walton chose to go play with the Celtics over the Lakers (who were going after him, as well), and the rest is history. Walton won the NBA Championship in 1986, and won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award that same year. If you look at his career accomplishments, they all happened from 1974-1979 and 1985-1987, all the parts of his career when he wasn't a Clip. Once he went to the Celtics, his association with the Clippers was over.
And yet, he came out on the court to honor Clipper announcer Ralph Lawler for his 2,500th telecast as the Clip play-by-play guy. Walton came out and gave a very personal speech to Lawler, despite never looking at him while he was talking. It disgusted me to see the beloved Celtic, and huge piece to this rivalry, selling out to support the BUF/SD/LA franchise. Totally bogus.
3. Where are your fans?
The ESPN recap of the game explains my point here perfectly. "Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic are still getting used to those classic green uniforms, and they're stunned to here fans on the road cheering for them louder than the home team." Yeah, that was pretty noticeable on the TV broadcast. Fans were going nuts with every play that went the Celtics way, while the Staples Center was completely quiet when the Clippers would do something cool (well, I guess I mean when the non-Blake Clippers would do something cool).
If Griffin threw down an insane dunk (which happened...once?) the crowd went crazy, although I think Celtic fans were cheering as well (because, hey, it's impressive) but if Foye made a play, or the Clips created an important turnover, crickets. That's embarrassing. Get out of your seat and make some noise. Taunt the road team. Do something to stand out, and drown out the opposing fans.
Come on!
4. Blake Griffin is pretty much Sidney Crosby to me now.
Maybe even worse. Come on, we all hate the young rookie who is better than anyone to ever play the game. The comparisons of Sidney Crosby to Wayne Gretzky have always made us hate him. How can our feelings about Blake Griffin be any different? I now present my reasons why Blake Griffin sucks:
4a. The Kia commercial: That commercial is so weak. It's a crap car, and a crap dunk. Try and do something different and original without jumping over a car that's major accessory is a cassette player. Guess who is tossing the pass in the commercial? Cleveland Cavalier Baron Davis. Odd.
4b. He ALWAYS tries to dunk: Mostly because he sucks with his jump shot. His jumpers were pretty poor throughout the game, and he tried to hide this by attempting to dunk from practically everywhere on the floor. It was lame to see a dude attempting to dunk from way too far out on the side, and being happy with drawing the foul.
4c. Come on, he went to Oklahoma: His dad was his high school coach at Oklahoma Christian High School, which is lame (his dad, not the school), and then he went on to become a Sooner. We can't like a Sooner, right (ahem, Bradford)?
4d. Pre-game friendliness: Blake went out of his way to walk across half court just before the tip to shake the hands of all the opposing players. I may be alone on this one, but I hate that. Step on to the court ready to play. I'm not saying that you should be a jerk, but just be a warrior. Giving KG a kiss on the cheek to show your respect before the game doesn't make you a warrior.
5. Does anyone in Clipper Nation talk about Moses Malone?
You know how everyone always talks about Babe Ruth being the curse on the Red Sox because he got traded for money to fund some Broadway musical? Well, how about the reason the Clippers are cursed? When they were the Buffalo Braves (which, I never thought about how they started the same year as the Sabres in Buffalo. It must have been really cool for the Buffalo area and sports fans there), they acquired future Hall of Famer Moses Malone. They snagged him from Portland in 1976 for a first round pick, getting a deal so good they didn't even know what they had. After 2 games and just 6 total minutes, Malone was traded to the Houston Rockets for two draft picks.
After the trade, the push to send the Braves out of Buffalo started to pick up steam. This, clearly, has something to do with why the Clippers seem to be cursed, if you believe in that kind of thing. And for me, if fans and the media don't talk up the history of a team (good and bad), and appreciate what has happened in the past, there is no passion.
The greatest rivalry in sports continues in Massachusetts on Ash Wednesday, and I can't wait. Before that, though, the 42-15 (first in the East by 0.5) C's get the Jazz in the Land O' The Mormons tonight.
Bring it, Jazzies.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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