Clippers' bad luck continues
Let's come to an agreement on one thing right off.
There is no such thing as being snakebitten in sports. No cover jinxes. No franchise curses. No video game voodoo.
Even if you are the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Anybody who's rational at all knows that's not going to be the case," Los Angeles Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "There are no jinxes on anybody. If you believe in jinxes and things of that nature, then you've got other problems than following us."
There is such a thing as bad management. Unmotivated ownership. Wasted draft picks: Michael Olowokandi (first overall), Darius Miles (third), Keyon Dooling (10th), Melvin Ely (12th) and Yaroslav Korolev Korloev (12th).
Yet that finally appeared behind the Los Angeles Clippers after Dunleavy arrived.
There were smart player signings. A competitive team. A private training facility underway. Matching offers to their own strong free agents.
Then the Los Angeles Clippers not only made the playoffs in 2006, but advanced to the second round.
Created a buzz. Finally looked forward to a bright future.
No more laughable losers. No more the "other" team in town. No more waiting for this season's edition of young players to mature.
Then it was almost like that thing we all know doesn't exist
had enough. Promising point guard Shaun Livingston suffered a stomach-turning broken leg in February, dislocating his left knee so severely he tore almost every part of it.
The Los Angeles Clippers, who struggled all season to find their fire, missed the playoffs by one game. They went into the offseason determined to redefine their focus. To recapture their spirit. To build upon the progress made a year earlier.
Then power forward Elton Brand, the heart of the team, tore his Achilles tendon in a summer workout.
"It happens to a lot of teams," general manager Elgin Baylor said. "Other teams have had problems, too. That's part of the game. They've had injuries, they've had people out."
Right, just not ones that normally includes their leading scorer and rebounder (Elton Brand) and top assist man (Shaun Livingston), all while crossing fingers on 37-year-old point guard Sam Cassell's bad back.
One moment the Los Angeles Clippers are the talk of the town, the next they're trying to avoid the NBA's skid row.
They're a team on the rise, they're rebuilding on the fly.
"I was very pleased with our program all summer long," Dunleavy said. "I thought our guys had really good focus, as far as working out and in terms of mindset. Everybody's mindset was to get back in the playoffs this year. Everybody was ramping things up.
"We were really pleased with our draft with Al Thornton and Jared Jordan. Everything was positive.
"Then all of a sudden Elton Brand tears his Achilles. There's no way to spin that in a positive way. He's going to be out six to eight months."
That's taking a very positive approach. Truth is, the Los Angeles Clippers cannot be certain when Elton Brand will return.
They can't even count on Shaun Livingston.
"At this point right now, he might miss the season," Baylor said of Shaun Livingston. "There's a possibility. It's a serious injury and we can't take it for granted that he's going to be back."
Having acted professionally as an organization the past few seasons, the Los Angeles Clippers now find themselves over the salary cap and extremely limited in their ability to respond.
They've lost their starting power forward and point guard, and their new plan is mostly for everyone else to play better?
That's a tough way to make it back to the playoffs.
"Players do get better," Baylor said. "They work over the summer and they do get better. Even veteran players."
Or they get old and lose a step. Sometimes they do improve, particularly the younger players. And sometimes they regress (See Chris Kaman, 2006-07).
Dunleavy said wiser management decisions in the past have given the team more depth to address their mini-crisis.
Tim Thomas likely will take over Elton Brand's starting spot. And if the team can just stay in the race until early next year, who knows?
"Everybody has to take it up a couple of notches and try to keep us in that hunt until (Elton Brand) gets back," Dunleavy said. "If we can stay close and he gets back and we make the playoffs -- and Shaun Livingston as well -- then we'll be in good position."
Certainly, there are going to be a lot more touches for everyone.
Among other things, Elton Brand is a marvelous passer. The ball would frequently go into him at the post.
Now the Los Angeles Clippers are without their best post presence and inside passer. Rookie Thornton, selected 14th overall, is more a small forward, and a miserable passer.
And then there's the matter of someone to run the offense. With Shaun Livingston out and Sam Cassell's health uncertain, Baylor signed veteran point guard
Brevin Knight. The 5-foot-10 former Stanford star averaged 9.1 points and 6.6 assists last season for Charlotte.
Jordan, taken in the second round, is also a point guard.
Dunleavy said the Los Angeles Clippers "may have to change and experiment a little bit with style and certain things" while Elton Brand is out.
Count on it.
Unquestionably Kaman will need to overcome his disappointing season and step up inside.
"The positive part from my standpoint is I had a couple of guys call me and say, 'Hey, coach, I just want to let you know you'll be starting down but I'll be stepping up my game. I'm ready to go. This thing is far from over and we're going to get the job done," Dunleavy said. "Overall, I think we have enough pieces that if we play at a high enough level, we can be there."
And ride through this, er, difficult cycle. It sounds so rational.
See more at www.dailynews.com
