All Ball: Clippers make Playoffs; Lakers make Play-in
by Paul Teetor
Eleven victories in a row.
Thirty-six wins in the last forty-three games between the two teams.
That’s straight up domination, homes.
But that’s where the recent record stood after the Clippers beat the Lakers 125-118 Wednesday night in a game that was critically important to the playoff chances of both teams.
The casual fan doesn’t realize it, but LA’s “other” NBA team has owned the Lakers for most of the last decade. And that domination projects to extend well into the foreseeable future.
A week after that 11th straight Clippers beat down, the consequences for both teams are clear: the Clippers finished fifth in the West and qualified for a best-4-out-of-7 playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, starting next Sunday.
The Lakers? They finished seventh and made the play-in tournament, where they will face the Minnesota Timberwolves at home Tuesday night. If they win that game, they then qualify for the playoffs and will play the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a full 4-out-of-7 playoff series, starting next weekend.
If the Lakers lose that home play-in game Tuesday night, they will get one more chance to make the playoffs when they play the winner of the play-in game between the ninth place New Orleans Pelicans and the 10thh place Oklahoma City Thunder.
If they lose that game, they are done for the season, and will not make the playoffs, just as they didn’t make it last season.
One crucial difference: last season they didn’t even make the play-in tournament. So in that sense they are making progress in that they are at least in the play-in tournament this year.
So, yes, they’re making progress, of a sort.
Big picture: it is embarrassing – no, make that humiliating – that the NBA’s flagship franchise has been reduced to this level of desperation to even qualify for the playoffs.
If they lose both play-in games, it will mark the third season they have been shut out of the playoffs during LeBron James’ five seasons as a Laker.
Despite having the second greatest player in the league’s history in LeBron – behind only the great Michael Jordan — and a wingman who is supposed to be in the prime of his career in Anthony Davis, the Lakers have exactly one title and one other quick playoff appearance to show for turning their team and their future over to LeBron five years ago.
And remember: that one NBA title, in the pandemic year of 2020, was the equivalent of winning a summer camp pickup game when all the other kids were dying to go home as soon as they could.
Only LeBron – desperate to justify his huge salary and outsized influence over team decisions – had the mental fortitude and physical tenacity to drive his team to a title that no one else really wanted.
All the games were played in a Florida bubble, complete with gym and hotel. No one could leave the pandemic safe zone until their team had lost, and the fallout was obvious: most players had lost their motivation and just wanted to get the hell out of there.
Three seasons later, Lakers fans are supposed to be celebrating the reality that they made the playoffs at all after posting a 2-10 start to the season. Like that’s some kind of great accomplishment, if you listen to General Manager Rob Pelinka, Coach Darvin Ham and their mainstream media minions.
Not that the Clippers are doing a whole lot better. Back in the pivotal summer of 2019 they mortgaged their own future and turned their team over to free agent superstar Kawhi Leonard and his new sidekick, Paul George.
Like the Lakers star tandem of LeBron and AD, the Clippers tag-team of Kawhi and PG has been beset by injuries every year since they arrived in LA. Such is life in the NBA for aging stars: still great when they can actually play, but increasingly unavailable to play.
And this year was no different: Kawhi was only a shell of his old self until early February, when he started to regain his explosiveness after missing more than a full year with a knee injury.
And just as he got going and the Clippers started to look like serious title contenders, PG badly sprained his left knee three weeks ago, and shows no signs of returning any time soon.
Thus both teams arrived at Wednesday night’s showdown at the Crypt with identical 41-38 records. And both teams knew the reality: this was like a playoff game because it was likely to decide where and if they made the playoffs.
So naturally the Lakers came out flat as a corn tortilla and watched helplessly as the Clippers jumped out to a 15-3 lead.
Then the Lakers came roaring back to take a one-point lead at 26-25. But that soon disappeared, the Clippers regained control, and for the rest of the game the Lakers never really challenged for the lead.
LeBron was awful in the first half. He scored only three points and looked sluggish and out of sorts. He tried to power a comeback with another 30 points in the second half, but by then it was too late and the Clippers had driven home their total domination of the Lakers yet again.
Now the Lakers have two chances to salvage their season with a playoff appearance.
If you’re a Lakers fan, start rooting as hard as you can.
They’re gonna need it.
Contact: teetor.paul@gmail.com
Follow: @paulteetor. ER