Los Angeles Clippers Win 9th Straight Over Lakers; What the Future Holds for LA

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As the Los Angeles Clippers notched their ninth straight win over the Lakers, the city of Los Angeles watches both teams work toward the future

Let’s state the facts, the Lakers success is visible with just a glance at the rafters in the Staples Center. Their history is long and storied, both on-court and in the hearts of fans.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been a perennially losing franchise in the NBA.

In the last few years, the roles have reversed on the court. The Clippers have been one of the top teams in the West while it is the Lakers who are among the worst teams in the league.

On Friday night, the Clippers won their ninth straight battle for the city with another double-digit victory over the Lakers.

The Lakers effort on the offensive boards helped to keep the game competitive. The Lakers with twice as many as the Clippers and their effort paid off with a lead in the third quarter.

However, an offensive burst of 22 straight points from the Clippers bench pushed the game out of the grasp of the purple and gold. The closest that the Lakers came was within six points in the fourth quarter.

Lance Stephenson, who had not played for eight of the last thirteen games, had an explosive 16 points off the bench.

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Chris Paul led the way in points and assists with 27 and 7 respectively.

Austin Rivers provided 17 off the bench while DeAndre Jordan provided 6 points and 17 rebounds.

Wesley Johnson, who was with the Lakers for several seasons, started for the Clippers and had 9 points.

For the Lakers, Julius Randle responded to not being named to the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend by leading the team with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Jordan Clarkson had 17 while Lou Williams provided 11 points.

Of course, all eyes were looking for stars that were not on the court. Kobe Bryant sat out after playing against Chicago the previous night, watching the action from the bench. Blake Griffin was absent as well, with coach Doc Rivers stating that he wanted the media to focus on the game and not the situation with himself.

Moving forward, Bryant’s NBA finale has been a pageant to watch as the entire basketball community wants to make sure he gets one last ovation. But the future after the Mamba is quickly looming for the franchise as their young core is still developing under Byron Scott.

It is important to note that unless the Lakers require a game-changing piece this summer, the squad that played in this match is essentially the team that will be playing without Bryant next year. Even with four players in double-digits, the team was severely out-gunned by one of the better teams in the West.

For the Lakers and Clippers, the Goal is the Same

While talk will intensify about Kevin Durant as May approaches, the name currently going around is DeMar DeRozan from the Toronto Raptors as the future of the franchise. DeRozan was named to his second All-Star game last week and the rumors are currently swirling that the Lakers intend to offer him a maximum contract in free-agency.

While Los Angeles is a prime destination for free-agents, the Raptors are currently second in the Eastern Conference. In the prime of his career, it is entirely possible that DeRozan forgoes the allure of Hollywood to stay in his win-now situation with Toronto. The situation wouldn’t be unfamiliar to the Lakers as they saw it with Kevin Love two years ago when the latter signed with Cleveland.

Finally for DeRozan, the challenge of facing the tinkering Cleveland Cavaliers may seem less daunting than competing in the same conference as the streaking Golden State Warriors.

Until the Lakers add the missing piece of the puzzle, it will be a slow and painful march back into upper-echelon of the NBA.

For the Clippers, the Blake Griffin issue underlies a deeper problem facing the squad. Their situation boils down to issues of timing and team psychology.

In terms of timing, the Los Angeles Clippers have run into the Spurs twice and Thunder in the post-season the last few years, getting eliminated each time. While the roster has seen several changes, it is the rise of DeAndre Jordan to the next level that has really put the Clippers in title-contention. Put simply, it is not the current Clipper squad that had faced those elite teams.

As stated previously, I do believe that the Griffin altercation is indicative of an issue with the team’s psychology. When looking at the top teams in the league, like the Bulls or Cavaliers, players like LeBron James and Jimmy Butler have plenty of reasons to express their anger physically after severe slumps this season. But it is unheard for such players to risk their health on such juvenile behavior.

The only conclusion I can come up with is the the Clippers truly don’t believe they can go all the way despite the off-season moves and effort. If the players truly do believe they can make the run, no player from Griffin to C.J. Wilcox would risk so great an opportunity.

It’s this type of mentality that would explain why the team has faltered in moments like last post-season against the Rockets where they lost a 3-1 series lead.

Next: How The Clippers Would Trade Blake Griffin

The Clippers have a tall order as the All-Star break approaches. They’ll have to remain on their current course without Griffin for several more weeks, all while games begin to intensify as teams push to enter the playoffs and jockey for seeding.

A dip too far could see the Clippers facing the Thunder, Spurs, or Warriors in the first round, none of which is a position they want to be in.

The Los Angeles Clippers have shown that they have all the pieces needed to do something special, but it seems the entire NBA is expecting the opposite.