A Very Clippers Turnaround
- Updated: December 13, 2014
Blake Griffin (Kelvin Kuo, USATODAY)
A little less than a month ago while the Clippers were sitting at 5-4, I wrote an article advising all Clipper fans to remain calm. Just 3 weeks and a road trip later and the Clippers are 15-6 following a tough loss to the Eastern Conference Wizards last night. But what has led to this dramatic turnaround for the team that just a short time ago was in “panic mode”?
It was clear in those first nine games that something just had not clicked yet for the Clippers, especially defensively. However, during their nine game winning streak things have changed on that side of the ball. Rotations and help defense have looked much more crisp than it did early on and the results have showed as the Clippers had only allowed over 100 points three times during the streak and one of the times was in the overtime thriller against the Suns.
Although the streak wasn’t against the best teams in the NBA, (the nine teams had a combined record of 75-123), there have been some very impressive wins. The streak started with four wins at the end of the Clippers longest road trip of the season until February. One of the biggest wins came against a very competitive Houston team whom boasts the strongest record of any of the Clippers victories during the streak at 17-5 currently. There was also the tough task of shutting down the league’s hottest player in Anthony Davis which Blake Griffin did an excellent job of holding him to 26 points and just 3 rebounds in the contest.
Then there was the game against the Suns. I don’t think you can get much closer to losing the streak than the Clippers did here. A first ever ejection for Jamal Crawford and a slew of seemingly unreasonable calls from officials made this game as tough as possible on the red, white and blue but thanks to a miraculous three point shot from Griffin in overtime the streak continued to eight games. This game also woke Clipper fans up to the idea we’ve all known for so long that Jared Dudley for Eric Bledsoe may have been a bit of a mistake as Bledsoe went for his first triple double in his return to Los Angeles although that’s fodder for another time.
I may have jinxed it but looking forward on the Clippers potential streak possibilities, after the Wizards game the schedule eases up for Los Angeles as the Clippers won’t play another team with a winning record until December 22nd at San Antonio. If the Clippers would have won last night they may have been able to hold the streak until that Spurs matchup that would have put the team at 15 consecutive wins which would be just behind the franchise record of 17 that I’m sure most Clipper fans can remember from just a few seasons ago in the month of December.
Although Clipper head coach Doc Rivers was quoted shortly ago saying he does not care about the streak but just wins in general, it’s important to remember what streaks such as these can do for the chemistry of the team moving forward. Not to mention the ease it allows the Clipper faithful to breathe with. All I’ve got left to say is, lets keep this thing going Clippers!
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