The Los Angeles Clippers blew a 19-point lead in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinals series with the Houston Rockets, then proceeded to lose Game 7 by a comfortable margin, reminding everyone about their ill-fated history as a franchise.
Until becoming a winning franchise and, quite frankly, Western Conference power the past four seasons, the Clippers were known for being a doormat and embarrassing team. The squad rarely made the playoffs, constantly bungled draft picks, and just couldn’t seem to do anything right except for make Donald Sterling money.
But since acquiring Chris Paul and getting it right with a couple of draft picks like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, things have turned around. The Clippers have had winning percentages greater than .680 the past three seasons. Even with their new success, they still do not seem to be able to get past the second round of the playoffs; they’ve lost in the conference semifinals three of the past four years. This fact led a reporter to ask Griffin after Game 7 whether the new “Clippers Curse” is an inability to get past the conference semis.
Griffin gave the perfect answer.
“The ‘Clippers Curse’ when I first got here was No. 1 picks getting hurt, not working out, their draft picks not working out, they’re not making the playoffs, they’re not having winning seasons. Nobody talked about not getting past the first round (of the playoffs). Not a single soul talked about that. But now, that’s what everybody talks about,” Griffin responded.
“Just like the last one, we’re going to bust through this one.”
You have to love Griffin’s optimism. This was the year when the Clippers really should have advanced but they collapsed in Game 6 and let the series slip away. Still, Griffin won’t let this define his team, nor should he.
Think about this for a second: if the Clippers were so cursed, then how did they put away the defending champs in the first round and beat the battle-tested Spurs in Game 7? They blew one series, but let’s not get carried away talking about curses here.
I will have to admit that this meme was pretty funny:
Sorry, but it's true. #clipperscurse pic.twitter.com/qr496bIOBm
— Roj Grobes (@RojGrobes) May 17, 2015
