met free Chapter 171 Los Angeles Derby
Chapter 171 Los Angeles Derby
Chapter 171 Los Angeles Derby
When it comes to Los Angeles, the first thing most fans think of is the Lakers, and the Clippers in the same city are probably the second option after that.But the city has only two teams.
Just like the status in the hearts of fans, the Clippers have always been like the illegitimate children of the big city of Los Angeles, and they have not been able to seize the orthodox position so far.Even if the Clippers' record is much higher than that of the Lakers in recent years, they still cannot change such an embarrassing situation.
The Clippers were founded in 1970. Similar to the Lakers, it was not a team in Los Angeles at the beginning of its establishment, but in distant Buffalo, known as the Buffalo Warriors at the time. In the 77-78 season, after the team moved from Buffalo to San Diego, it officially changed its name to the Clippers.
In 1981, Sterling, the famous racist owner, bought the Clippers.He ignored the voices of the local fans in San Diego and relocated the unprofitable team to the sensual Los Angeles in 1984, starting the Los Angeles Clippers era.
Originally, the Clippers used the San Diego Stadium as their home court. It was not until 1999 that they moved their home court to the Staples Center with the Lakers.
The team history of the Clippers is not brilliant. The first star is Bob McAdoo, whom many fans have even heard of.After decades of turmoil and silence, it was not until 2001 that the team ushered in its first representative star.
Before the start of the 2001-02 season, the Clippers used No. [-] pick Tyson Chandler to reach a deal with the Bulls in exchange for power forward Elton Brand, who had unlimited potential at the time.However, the improvement in record did not come quickly. In the following five seasons, the Clippers failed to make the playoffs.
In the 2005-06 season, the Clippers entered the playoffs for the first time, ending a nine-year slump.That year, the Clippers advanced to the Western Conference semifinals, and finally lost to the Phoenix Suns by a big score of 3-4, and missed the Western Conference Finals.
In the 06-07 season, the Clippers had a chance to make the playoffs again, but unexpectedly lost to the Hornets in the last regular season game, regretting to bid farewell to the season.
In August 07, team boss Elton Brand was unfortunately injured during training-the same Achilles tendon tear as Kobe.This injury directly caused Brand to slip, and he could never return to the top, and the Clippers also sank.
Two years later, in the summer of 09, the Clippers were lucky enough to get the No. [-] pick and used it to select the Brutalist power forward Blake Griffin.But the No. [-] pick missed the entire rookie season and failed to help the Clippers who were in deep trouble.
In the 10-11 season, the Clippers had a poor record at the start of the game, but this could not affect the popularity of Griffin the Flying Griffon.He gained countless fans with his violent dunks, and brought the Clippers, an unpopular team, into the eyes of the audience. He also became the first rookie to be selected for the All-Star Game since Yao Ming in 2003.
Although the Clippers still failed to make the playoffs, Griffin won the best rookie without any suspense by virtue of his excellent data of 22.5 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
In the 11-12 season, the deal between the Lakers and the Hornets was rejected by the managed league for basketball reasons, which made the Clippers profitable and successfully picked off the Hornets star Chris Paul.
The partnership of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is very entertaining, allowing the Clippers to successfully have the title of lob city and helping the team successfully enter the playoffs.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Clippers won the tough Grizzlies through seven fierce battles and successfully advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.In the semifinals, the Clippers had no power to fight back and were swept out by the San Antonio Spurs, regrettably returning home.
In the 12-13 season, the Clippers made a comeback and finished third in the Western Conference in the regular season.Just when they wanted to show their ambitions, they were unexpectedly defeated by last year's old rival Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs, ending the season early.
In the middle of the 13-14 season, the Clippers experienced turmoil. The recording of boss Sterling insulting black people was exposed, which caused an uproar in an instant.In the end, the league officials forced Sterling to sell the team, ending his nearly 23-year career as a team owner.
Steve Ballmer is a former Microsoft executive. He is rich and powerful, and he spent $20 billion to take over the Clippers from Sterling. $20 billion set a record for a franchise deal.
Despite the turmoil in the management, the Clippers' record has not been greatly affected, and they once again entered the playoffs with the third place in the Western Conference.Facing the fledgling Warriors in the first round, they fought seven games and finally succeeded in breaking through.In the semifinals, they faced the Thunder led by Shuang Shao and lost by a big score of 2-4, and missed the Western Conference Finals again.
Although the Western Conference Finals has become Paul's black spot, the name of the Thunder's double whistle has also begun to appear.
Last season, the Clippers once again achieved the third place in the Western Conference, and succeeded in the first round tie-break, winning the defending champion Spurs and advancing to the semifinals.
In the semifinals, the Clippers took a 3-1 lead in the first four games, but were eventually overturned by the Rockets and stopped again in the Western Conference semifinals.
The rumors about Paul in the Western Conference Finals are rampant, and the black history of losing 58 points in the playoffs has also been constantly ridiculed. In addition, Curry led the Warriors to win the championship.Personal reputation almost fell to the bottom.
Chris Paul attaches great importance to the title of the first point guard, and he is not used to Curry on weekdays. Now that the Lakers in the same city have another super point guard, it is difficult not to make him alert.So much so that when the players from both sides gave high-fives, he still couldn't get rid of his disgust towards Xu Tian.
Xu Tian didn't care about Paul's body movements. After muddling the greeting, he put the braces in his mouth and returned to the half court where the Lakers players were, quietly waiting for the start of the game.
Scott and Doc Rivers shook hands in front of the technical stage, then returned to their respective teams' benches, also waiting for the game to start.
Rivers dared not look up at the arena.There are 16 championship flags and a large number of retired jerseys hanging there, highlighting the glorious history of the Lakers, which will virtually bring great pressure to him as a member of the Clippers.
Tyson Chandler and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan clapped in the middle circle, and then stood in the designated position after a friendly gesture, ready for the jump ball to open the game.
The starting lineup for this game had already been announced, but it unexpectedly appeared on the screen again.
Lakers starters: Xu Tian, Kobe Bryant, George, TJ Warren, Tyson Chandler.
Clippers starters: Paul, JJ Redick, Paul Pierce, Griffin, DeAndre Jordan.
After the referee communicated with the technical desk to ensure that everything was running normally, he took the game ball picked out by Xu Tian and walked slowly towards the centers of the two teams, ready to execute the opening jump ball.
"Friends of the Lakers" Barkley and Kenny Smith were on the scene, and they had been chatting for a long time. Seeing that the game was about to start, they immediately stopped talking and turned their attention back to the field.
The Lakers players are wearing white home jerseys tonight. The elegant tones are in sharp contrast with the golden angel wings on Xu Tianshang's feet, which made the two of them notice the sneakers instantly.
(End of this chapter)