The Staples Center has been home for the playoffs for the last six seasons. Yet only one of those seasons has been for the Lakers, and they got swept in the first round. If it wasn't for the Los Angeles Clippers having some of their greatest years as a franchise ever, The Staples Center would have been a very quiet place during the NBA Playoffs. With the Clippers trading away Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, you would think their playoff streak of 6 consecutive seasons would end. But with some dominant interior play and good coaching, the Clippers have found themselves with a chance to continue their streak. The Los Angeles Clippers are in the playoff race yet again. If you're about 10 years old living in Los Angeles, there is a pretty good possibility that you have chosen to become a Clippers fan. Hey kid, you do you, because your team has been in the playoffs more than half of your life. Whereas the other Los Angeles team has been fishing for talent in the lottery for 5 consecutive seasons. And if you happen to also be a Dodgers fan, well kid let me tell you that your sports watching life is going to be filled with a lot of disappointment. But not for this season at least, as there is still a way for the Clippers to find a way into the NBA Playoffs and shock the world by winning the NBA Finals. With 3 of their final 4 games left on their schedule coming against playoff opponents, they are essentially in a play yourself into the tournament situation. Peaking at the right time is key in runs like these, and after a huge win against the San Antonio Spurs, the confidence for the Clippers can only grow if they find a way to win out and lock up the 8 seed. The last time an 8 seed upset a 1 seed was when the Golden State Warriors defeated Dallas Mavericks who were 67-15 and had the MVP in Dirk Nowitzki. Now the Clippers would have to face off against a team very similar to that Mavericks team in the Houston Rockets who will probably end up with 65 wins and has the MVP in James Harden. So basically what I'm saying is that this has been done before. Deandre Jordan is second in the NBA in rebounds and rebounds per game, so having to match up against an untested guy like Clint Capela could be a significant advantage. Boban Marjonovic will destroy Nene and send him into retirement two games into the series. Wesley Johnson gets revenge with his own crossover that literally breaks both of James Harden's ankles on the first play of the series. And with Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, and Ryan Anderson all somehow getting hurt, the Clippers sneak past the Rockets in an unbelievable upset. The Clippers will win the series in game 6 in front of their home crowd. As I said in a previous article, in this world where the Clippers find themselves winning their way to the top, the San Antonio Spurs have gotten abducted by aliens. Which has opened the door for them to play a very young team in the Utah Jazz. The moment proves far too big for Donovan Mitchell, who gets whooped in all phases of the game by Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams. Tobias Harris gets hot from three point land and makes 60 three pointers in a series that goes the full 7 games. The entire home crowd in Utah is stunned when Austin Rivers makes a game winning shot in the final seconds to send the Clippers to their first ever Conference Finals. Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers have been in existence since 1970 and they have never been to the Conference Finals, like ever ever. But that all changes in 2018. Luckily for everyone, Steph Curry couldn't overcome his injury which led to the Golden State Warriors losing to the New Orleans Pelicans. Boban and Deandre take turns guarding Anthony Davis for the full 48 minutes of every game. They wear Davis down to the point where he is only averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds over this 7 game series. Milos Teodosic just makes Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo look foolish as he averages 20 assists and 5 steals per game. The rebirth of Danilo Gallinari gives the Clippers more than enough firepower to defeat the Pelicans in the lowest scoring Game 7 in NBA history, when their 42-39 victory punches their ticket to their first ever NBA Finals trip. The Milwaukee Bucks played so horribly in the final few games that the NBA decided to give the Detroit Pistons their spot, and they somehow found a way into the NBA Finals. With the Staples Center hosting its first NBA Finals since the Lakers won in 2010, the city of Los Angeles trades in all of their Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram jerseys for Montrezl Harrell and Sam Decker jerseys. Austin Rivers scores 60 points per game and Deandre Jordan dunks all over his former teammate Blake Griffin multiple times and actually makes him cry on the court. With Austin Rivers winning the Finals MVP, he and his dad decide to both retire from the NBA and start their own league of 2-on-2 basketball where fathers and sons match up against each other. The city of Los Angeles pretends to be Clippers fans the entire summer and ESPN acts like they knew this was going to happen all along. They make a movie about the team and nobody goes to watch it because they forgot any of this even happened. Stay classy Los Angeles. Let's throw it back to when Deandre Jordan ended Brandon Knight's career...
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Anthony VallesterosJust a man trying to make the most of his time on this planet. Categories
All
Archives
February 2019
|