2013-2014: The Year the Clippers Ruined the NBA, Kind of…
Yes, ruined is a harsh word, but in my eyes, this was interestingly the LA Clippers’ fault.
Under new head coach Doc Rivers, who was traded from Boston to LA in exchange for picks, the Clippers eclipsed their win total from the year prior, winning 57 games and leading the league in points per game.
Winning the Pacific division once again graced the Clippers with the third overall seed in the Western Conference and a date with the Mark Jackson and the Golden State Warriors.
In the midst of this series against the Warriors, the Clippers were dealing with off the court publicity in the form of Donald Sterling, who made racist comments which nearly caused numerous major sponsors of the league as well as the White House to threaten to break ties with the NBA, which led to Adam Silver’s first major move as Commissioner, to ban Sterling for life and fine him $2.5 million dollars, which happens to be the league maximum for comments detrimental to the NBA.
Chris Paul had this to say after the news and prior to a playoff game against Golden State:
“In response to today’s ruling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, my teammates and I are in agreement with his decision,” Paul said. “We appreciate the strong leadership from Commissioner Silver and he has our full support.”
Keep in mind this was happening during a close series against Golden State and completely distracted the players. The Clippers managed to come out on top in seven games and are the last team to have defeated Golden State in the Western Conference playoffs.
Now here is why it ruined the NBA in my eyes. I hate super teams and coaches who are graced to coach them. Jackson was fired after the series loss which led to the hiring of Steve Kerr, who as we know led the Warriors to five-straight Finals appearances and made the parity of the NBA lackluster. So thank the Clippers for that.
Meanwhile, the Clippers played arguably the toughest series of their history against Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder. The series was neck-and-neck all throughout and of course I have to mention this moment in the series.
Tied at two games a piece, the Clippers held a 10-point lead with four minutes to go in Oklahoma City. OKC managed to comeback and cut it to a two-point lead when Reggie Jackson drove to the lane and lost the ball, which appeared to go out off of him, but was kept Oklahoma City ball which led to a Chris Paul foul on Russell Westbrook from beyond the arc, which was also a questionable call on the part of the referees. You can watch the final two minutes on this video for yourself.
The Clippers would go on to lose 105-104 and squander game six at home and lose again in the second round but this time it left a bitter taste in the mouth of Clippers fans because it felt as if they were robbed and were right there to take the games they needed. As this season ended, the Clippers ran it back and things got even more crazy in Lob City.