Fork 'Em: Los Angeles Clippers

As teams get eliminated from the 2009 NBA playoff picture, Fork 'Em figures out what went wrong.

No team has been as disappointing in 2008-09 as the L.A. Clippers. At least one or two teams have been worse in quality, but the phenomenal ability to fail with this much talent seems unprecedented. An All-Star level point guard, a D.P.O.Y. level center, two strong big men, a R.O.Y. candidate, an experienced coach ... what happened to the playoff hopes? What happened to 2008-09?

You could listen to me toss out some jokes, or you could read a completely sober(ing) dispatch from a guy who has watched it all, ClipperSteve of Clips Nation. I think you'd prefer the latter. ClipperSteve's words, after the jump.

Heeeere's ClipperSteve:
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The Clippers entered the season with a veteran-laden team that they truly believed would be in contention for a Western Conference playoff berth. Instead, they've won a mere 15 games so far, and are the second team in the conference to be eliminated from playoff contention (thanks for that, Kings). However, what's pretty amazing is that many things have actually gone RIGHT for the Clippers this season. Eric Gordon is having a legitimate Rookie of the Year type season and has all the makings of a future star. Second round picks Mike Taylor and DeAndre Jordan each appear to have almost limitless potential. New acquisition Zach Randolph is one of only five players in the league averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. Marcus Camby has had no drop off in his productivity even at age 34. But these positives have been almost completely lost in a vast ocean of problems.

* Injuries. I hate injuries as an excuse, but they do happen and they do make a difference. For the second consecutive season, the Clippers are among the league leaders in player games lost to injury. What's especially frustrating about this season is that they all seem so minor. Unlike last season, when Elton Brand was out with a ruptured Achilles and Shaun Livingston's knee completely disintegrated, it's been a series of bizarre and mundane ailments that have kept the Clippers from ever fielding their strongest team. Chris Kaman missed 48 consecutive game with a strained tendon in his foot that was at first deemed day-to-day. Sure it's day-to-day -- for 100 days, it's been day-to-day. (He is actually expected to finally be back Tuesday night against Cleveland.) Marcus Camby recently missed a handful of games with a ruptured eardrum for FSM's sake, and that problem has led to a series of migraines. That's not an injury report you see every day. Randolph has played in 26 out of 49 games since being acquired. Baron Davis has missed 15. The list goes on and on.

* Chemistry. The team went into camp with only five returning players from last season. Baron and Camby were the major new pieces, and they each missed the majority of training camp with injuries, eliminating their first chance to become accustomed to their new team. The early season trade that brought in Randolph sent away two of the returnees in Cat Mobley and Tim Thomas, and Paul Davis was eventually waived. With Kaman a non-factor due to his injury, the Clippers have fielded a team that had literally never played together before -- Al Thornton is the only healthy player who was here last season. Kaman was hurt the day Randolph joined the team and the two of them have yet to play together. They have no identity at all. Seventeen different players have started for the Clippers this season. That's just nuts.

* Baron Davis. Baron was supposed to be the best point guard in franchise history and he was the one that was going to give them an identity. But he has been dreadful as a Clipper. He's shooting 36 percent on the season. 36 percent! That's an unimpressive three-point field goal percentage, and it's his overall percentage. Whether he is apathetic or simply washed up (or perhaps it's both), he has shown zero explosiveness. The guy who posterized AK-47 in the '07 playoffs hasn't had a single dunk worth mentioning since coming to L.A.

* The Coach. I'm not, generally speaking, a "blame the coach" guy, but at some point the injury excuses and the chemistry excuses just wear thin. The Clippers show every sign of having completely quit on Mike Dunleavy Sr, and it's not necessarily right, but it's easier to change the coach than to change the players. He does not appear to be able to motivate them at all. They got up all on their own and played defense against the Celtics and won -- then they lost to Sacramento and Memphis in the next week. How do you explain that?

That's the bad news. The worse news is that unlike most of their brethren on the "forked" list, the Clippers appear to be more or less stuck with this team. Their four highest-paid players are, in order, 29, 27, 26 and 34. Their three highest-paid players are all signed through 2011. So while the rookies look good and should continue to develop, there's little hope of adding anything around them for several years. And although a coaching change likely wouldn't help much, there's not even much hope of that since evil owner Donald Sterling is not going to leave the $11M he owes the coach for the next two seasons on the table. Nope, this is the hand the Clippers have, and they're pretty much going to play it for another season at least. Goody gumdrops. With Kaman due to return, the team has a chance to get as healthy for the final month of the season as they've been in over two years. The "plan," such as it is, is to use that month to show that they can compete with this roster. So you can stick a fork in that plan also.
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Thanks again to ClipperSteve of Clips Nation for the insight. Cheerful enough to replace my afternoon cup of cyanide.

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