Redemption. Chemistry. Progress. Advancing past the second round. That was pretty much the theme of the Los Angeles Clippers Media Day. The Clippers have the right nucleus of players to take care of the chemistry part. With Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan forming the core of the team’s present and future, the Clippers will be in good hands for years to come.
Drop in a couple of sprinkles of solid vets in Jamal Crawford, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Matt Barnes, with the addition of shooting big man Spencer Hawes, the Clippers will be looking will be looking to move past the second round roadblock they’ve encountered for the past several years.
Interesting enough as the Clippers officially kickoff the 2014-15 NBA season with training camp in the fun city known as Las Vegas, the team’s Big 3 in Paul, Griffin and Jordan, all looked ready to take care of a lot of unfinished business. There were few giggles or smiles as the three team leaders sat at the arranged seating podium being peppered with with question and after question.
A person can read a lot in body language. If that is the case, the aura that Paul, Griffin and Jordan presented was a tone that spoke volumes of getting it right and doing whatever it takes to move past their nemesis better known as the second round of the playoffs.
This could be the year that the Clippers make that breakthrough. This will be Doc Rivers second full year on the year running the program, and the first without Donald Sterling’s presence as owner of the team. When we last saw the Clippers on the hardwood, Los Angeles was going through the tough adjustment of playing the postseason with a lot of unwanted baggage belonging to Sterling hanging over their heads.
There is no need to rehash what transpired because all the world knows about it. The big thing now is the Clippers, with Steve Ballmer as owner, are looking for a refreshing start to an era of basketball that will take to NBA championships heights. Media Day was just Day 1 on that journey.
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”