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It has been a rough couple of days for the LA Clippers, who dropped games to both the Memphis Grizzlies and the lowly New Orleans Pelicans in rapid succession. However, the team isn’t just getting dunked on during games — it’s happening in the post-game presser, too.
After the loss in Memphis on November 18, Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks hit the Clippers’ Paul George with a monster flex.
“Paul George needs illegal screens to get open against me because I’m on him all night,” he declared after his team beat Los Angeles 120-108.
The seven-time NBA All-Star was still the Clippers’ best player; in 31 minutes, he scored 23 points on 18 shots (hitting 5-of-9 from three) and added six dimes and five boards. There’s no doubting, though, that Brooks limited some of the damage, and he was more than happy to talk about it.
“He still had a solid night. He went 9-for-18. That’s what MVP’s do, but I made his life challenging to get shots off. He’s complaining to the refs, he’s doing the extra stuff that he doesn’t do when he’s playing against the rest of the league.”
Clips Hit Rock Bottom in NOLA
Losing four of their first five games to open the season was… not ideal, to say the least. And before the Cleveland Cavaliers officially became one of the surprises of the early campaign, a 92-79 loss to Evan Mobley and Co. felt like some kind of grim reality check for the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers.
This is clearly the new rock bottom, though.
On Friday, the Clippers managed just 81 points against the Pelicans, who entered the contest with no Zion Williamson and a 2-14 record. LA shot just 37.8% from the floor in the contest and was a paltry 9-of-37 from three-point range. Things got particularly rough in the second half, when NOLA outscored the Clippers 51-26; it was the lowest point total allowed in a second half by the Pels since 2011.
Needless to say, that’s not the kind of history the Clippers — who have now lost three of four — want to be a part of.
“It was just a game where nobody could make a shot. We didn’t move the ball in the second half,” Clippers forward Nicolas Batum said after the loss. “When we play like that, we can lose against anybody and we did it tonight.”
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Staples Center Curse?
Earlier this week, it was announced that the Clippers’ current home, Staples Center, would soon be taking on a new moniker, as Crypto.com shelled out a reported $700 million for 20-year naming rights. For his part, George was not a fan of the development.
Meanwhile, the move has seemingly yielded some less than desirable results for the Clippers and their current arena mates, the Los Angeles Lakers.
It has been noted that neither the Clippers nor the Lakers have been able to win a game — logging a combined 0-4 record — since the December 25 arrival of Crypto.com Arena was announced. That may be somewhat misleading; the Clippers actually beat the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center that same day.
Since then, though, it’s been bad times in So-Cal, leaving some to wonder whether a Staples Center curse may be in effect.
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