Tim's Two Cents-January 14

Are the Clippers Cursed?  News broke yesterday that this year's number one draft pick Blake Griffin is going to have season-ending knee surgery.  So that means Griffin will have to wait until next season to make his NBA debut.  The various reactions to the news centered around whether the Clippers are a cursed franchise.  I'm not holding my breath.

Ever since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984, they've always existed under the shadow of the other, more successful Los Angeles team.  The Clippers have tried so much to be like the Lakers that they even play in the same building.  How sorry of a franchise must you be if you have to share your arena with another team in the same sport?  This team should have moved to Anaheim a long time ago when they had the chance.  They probably still have the chance to move elsewhere but they will probably screw it up once again somehow.

As for the Griffin injury excuse for a curse, I don't buy it at all.  L.A.'s other team has more key players injured than any other team in the NBA right now: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest.  Those are three star players who have been dealing with injuries all season long.  As of last night, their record is 30-9.  The Clippers, who still have the likes of Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and Sebastian Telfair, are 17-20.  So don't give me any of this "we're cursed" nonsense.

The bottom line is the Lakers are a much better run franchise than the Clippers.  They're not a very good team to begin with, living in the shadow of the big brother.  Some other notable first round picks by the Clippers include Michael Olowokandi and Shaun Livingston.  They are now both virtually nonexistent in the NBA today.  Olowokandi never panned out as a premiere athlete in the sport and Livingston was a walking bandaid with numerous injuries. 

As far as I'm concerned, the Clippers will never be a viable franchise as long as Donald Sterling owns the team.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Conman33 under CC-BY 3.0 License