50 years of futility and frustration may finally be over for success-starved LA Clippers fans.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Staples Center during the Clippers’ 131-119 victory over the favored Utah Jazz, Clipper fans who have been loyal to this franchise began to realize that the demons of the Clippers’ past had finally been lifted. There was jubilation outside of the Staples Center as thousands of fans celebrated long into the night.
After the first two games of the series against the Dallas Mavericks, it seemed inevitable that the Clippers would again disappoint their fan base and be unceremoniously bounced out of the playoffs when many people agreed that they were one of the top four teams in the Western Conference.
After losing the first two games against Dallas in the Staples Center, LA Clippers fans had that “here we go again” attitude.
How appropriate would it be for the LA Clippers to lose to the fifth-seeded team with only Luka Doncic to really concern themselves with? The turnaround then started with the Clippers winning the next four of five games, including three games in Dallas.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George began to step their game up to another level, and it looked as though the Clippers were playing some of the best basketball in the entire NBA playoffs.
After dispatching of the Mavericks, the Clippers then had to face the best team in the NBA, record-wise, in the Utah Jazz. Although the Jazz were the No. 1 seed, many pundits felt that the Clippers could actually win this series.
After losing the first two contests in Utah by close margins, the Clippers then came back to dominate the next two meetings in the Staples Center. As the clock ticked down under five minutes in Game 4, the Clippers and their fans could sense something special may be happening with this team.
Then the Clippers Curse reared its ugly head, as Kawhi Leonard exited the game with about four minutes left with what has been diagnosed as a sprained knee.
Damn! The air was let out of the balloon of the entire Clippers fan base. There’s no way they could now beat the Jazz without their best player and one of the top five players in the game.
In Game 5 in Utah, the Clippers were led by the much maligned Paul George, who may have played the best playoff game of his career while scoring 37 points and collecting 16 rebounds. Can this really be happening? Can the Clippers overcome another huge obstacle and actually make it to the WCFs?
Game 6 at the Staples Center would be the icing on the cake for Clippers fans. No way are they losing that game with that kind of momentum on their side. However, a 3-point barrage and a 25-point lead at one point by Utah put plenty of doubt into the minds of Clippers fans.
In comes second-year player Terance Mann, who willed the Clippers to victory with an awe-inspiring 39-point performance to propel the Clippers into the WCFs for the first time in their history. Fans were hysterical inside and outside of the Staples Center, as they partied in jubilation in the team finally getting the monkey off of their backs.
Although this is a wonderful and monumental accomplishment for this franchise, the job is not yet complete. Whether Kawhi Leonard comes back in these playoffs or not, the Clippers have a more than a punchers chance to defeat the Phoenix Suns who will be without Chris Paul for one or maybe two games.
Making it to the NBA Finals for this team will end a culmination of years of frustration, bad luck, bad ownership, and the constant mocking of the franchise by hardcore Lakers fans. It would put a nice bow on the end of a storybook season, and would finally give the loyal Clippers fans a taste of success that they have all been craving.