LA Clippers – the team of the moment
If we think about Los Angeles, the first basketball team that comes into our minds is LA Lakers, because it had more success over the years than the Clippers. But in the past half of decade, the roles were inverted and the Lakers have fallen into a phase of mediocrity, while the Clippers have been battling for the top places in the Western Conference. Even though the team trained by Doc Rivers had a big three which included Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, they never managed to qualify into the Conference Finals. Now, they don’t have a superstar anymore but something is changed.
In the summer of 2017, Jerry West, one of the greatest general managers in history, if not the greatest general manager, signed with LA Clippers. He came in after 7 years spent with the Golden State Warriors, where he created a dynasty, and his impact is starting to be seen. The LA Clippers currently hold the first place in the Western Conference, with a record of 15 wins and 6 losses. This comes as a big surprise if we think of the other great teams in the West, for example, the Golden State Warriors, the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Houston Rockets, who all have more than one star on their rosters.
In my opinion, the secret of the Clippers’ success is that they play like a team and they don’t care about the media. Sharing the city with the much popular Lakers, which have LeBron James, the best player in the world, on their roster, is surprisingly better for the Clippers. They don’t seek attention, instead, they shut up and do their job. Currently, their best player is Tobias Harris, who averages 21.7 PPG, 8.7 RPG and 2.3 APG, but they have 4 more players who score in double figures. Jerry West managed to create a very good relationship between the players and a big factor has been the veteran Lou Williams, who is a big candidate for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Now the important job for them is to try to keep this way of playing. The LA Clippers have won 9 of their last 10 games and they can add another one on Sunday, against the Dallas Mavericks.
David Istrate, info@brainbasketball.net
