Letters: Unfortunately for Clippers, some things don't change

Sept. 18, 2020 3:13 PM PT

It seems that nothing is like it was. I can’t get a haircut. There’s no going out for dinner and eating inside. I’m unable to visit the gym. Movie theaters are closed. But in this crazy, topsy-turvy time we’re living in, one thing remains the same: The Clippers are still the Clippers.

Doug Dunlap
Valencia

Overheard on the PA system at Clippers headquarters: “Paging Dr. Heimlich, please report immediately.”

Jack Nelson
Los Angeles

Looks like even “Ballmer’s Billions” couldn’t overcome the “Clippers Curse!”

Stan Shirai
Torrance

I’m still reeling from the Clippers’ stunning defeat to the Nuggets. But you have to hand it to Denver ... on second thought, the Clippers already did.

Joe Kevany
Mount Washington

Dear Clipper Fan,

While you were wasting your money buying billboards proclaiming L.A. as a Clipper Town, I was warning you that winter was coming. And, exactly on cue, the Clippers extended their perfect, and NBA leading, streak of collapsing in Game 7s to go 0-8 and “ring” in their new season: winter.

Los Angeles is a town of NBA champions, not embarrassing, choking-dog losers. So, when you exit Staples Center permanently, please take the L.A. moniker off your jerseys on the way out the door. And “Balls,” while you’re at it, take your billions and second-rate franchise, second-rate logo, second-rate mascot, and second-rate All-Stars with you back to Seattle, San Diego, the Inland Empire or anywhere else that will have you.

L.A. is not a Clipper Town now, nor will it ever be. Go, Lakers!

William David Stone
Beverly Hills

Getting dominated by a Canadian and a guy with the same body as my uncle? Maybe the most Clipper-like choke in their long and ignominious history. Basketball wins though, because Jokic vs. AD alone is worth the price of admission.

Maddox Rees
Santa Barbara

I’ve always thought bailing out bad owners with ridiculous amounts of money was a bad idea. Steve Ballmer bailed out Donald Sterling to the tune of $2 billion and the Dodgers’ current administration did the same for Frank McCourt. We’ll have to wait and see if the Dodgers can overcome the McCourt Curse, but the Sterling Curse lives on.

Dave Thoma
Ventura

Apparently LeBron James can put together a better team than Kawhi Leonard can put together.

Loren Coleman
West Hollywood

At the start of this Clippers season, I looked at my Ralph Lawler bobblehead and felt somewhat disappointed that Lawler had retired last year. Well, with COVID-19 not infecting the Clipper curse, I am pleased that Lawler did not have to experience this year. Bingo! Oh me! Oh my!

Wayne Muramatsu
Cerritos

I remember when I jumped on the Clipper Ship as it sailed here from San Diego in 1984. There were a lot of storms over the years, but I stuck it out with them.

Then not so long ago they turned the ship around with Lob City but still never went where they wanted to go.

Fast forward to this year and it was full steam ahead and the crew they assembled could compete with anybody. Finally their time had come and the long suffering passengers on this trip would be rewarded.

Then the unspeakable happened. The Clipper Ship took on water and sank like an anchor to the bottom of nowhere.

With no good real excuses for their sinking, my patience has been pushed over the edge this time. I’m jumping ship just like they did. Count me done with this team. Over and out!

Steve LaRochelle
Simi Valley

Doc Rivers is an average basketball coach. There, I said it, was that so hard? Why does everyone give this guy a pass when his teams self-destruct in the playoffs? Must be the curse, right?

Doc has coached 21 years in the NBA and has a winning percentage of .581 and .506 in the regular season and playoffs, respectively. He had Garnett/Pierce/Allen/Perkins in Boston for several seasons and won only one title. Outside of Boston, he never even won a conference championship.

After the game, Doc said regarding the loss, “I’m the coach and I’ll take any blame for it.” The Clippers should take him up on his offer.

Tim Muret
Encinitas

Politics and sports are like oil and water. Doc Rivers understands this and doesn’t blame the Clippers’ poor playoff performance on distractions caused by sports page politics. He should be a role model to all.

Patrick Kelley
Los Angeles

On Saturday evening, as Mike D’Antoni went into a fetal position on the Houston Rockets’ bench and essentially stopped coaching in the fourth quarter, it struck me as so appropriate that his latest playoff disaster should come at the hands of the Lakers. When he coached the Lakers, his inflexible approach to offense and his ignorance of NBA defense set the Lakers back for years. Now, they are back and it’s at D’Antoni’s expense. We are taught not to savor revenge, but sometimes...

Thomas Bailey
Long Beach

The NFL is back!

I’m watching a game with two teams (Bengals and Chargers) that were 2-14 and 5-11 last year. You might not see any difference this year. Tyrod Taylor is not the guy for the Chargers and Joe Burrow wasn’t ready, no matter how much lipstick they were trying to put on a pig.

I know that announcers are supposed to try to make the game exciting, but Trent Green and company must have been seeing another game than the one I was watching. The rookie quarterback for the Bengals was way out of his league, yet all we heard was how well he was doing. Please announce what you see, not what you expect to see.

Luis Cruz
La Mirada

Three takeaways from the Rams’ Week 1 win:

1. They can contend for the tough NFC West title.

2. SoFi stadium challenges for superlatives.

3. The uniforms look like high school hand-me-downs.

Cy Bolton
Rialto

On the money or off base?

Dylan Hernandez nailed it. His column after the Dodgers game on Wednesday is a blueprint for exactly why this team will not win a World Series. They don’t have a dominant starter. They have a group of average relief pitchers. They have a grip of hitters struggling to reach the Mendoza line. They have a manager who hasn’t proven the game isn’t too big for him. They will have to navigate through a three-game and five-game series before reaching the NLCS. They don’t have a set rotation. They don’t have a set lineup.

The easiest way to put this is, the Dodgers are the Clippers of the MLB. All fluff and no buff. A lot of talent being watched over by an overrated coaching staff.

Geno Apicella
Placentia

Despite having the best record and probably the strongest lineup in baseball, the cup always seems less than half full for Dylan Hernandez. Kenley is erratic, Bellinger and Muncy are slumping, Ferguson is hurt, etc. Tell me, is there another team in the majors with no slumping stars, no injured mainstays, no question marks? Of course not.

Hernandez’s real beef is with the laws of probability. FanGraphs rates the Dodgers by far the most likely team to win the World Series this year … at a whopping 17%. That means there is an 83% chance they DON’T win the Series this year. If Bellinger was playing MVP ball and Muncy was slugging again, maybe the odds of winning improve to…18%? 19%?

Failing to win a World Series is not a failure. It is by far the most likely outcome annually, even for the very best team. Dylan Hernandez’s morbid musings on the Dodgers are making Plaschke look like Polyanna. Cheer up! There’s already enough bad news in the front section.

Don Gould
Claremont

The good news is that this year’s 16-team MLB playoff format should make for an interesting and exciting postseason. The better news is that due to the COVID-19 clubhouse protocols, we most likely won’t be subjected to 16 of those wildly excessive celebrations for merely making the playoffs. Save the champagne for winning championships.

Bennett Beebe
Westwood

Well, that’s something

I’ve got to admit that as exciting as cornhole tossing has been these last few months, it is nice to witness the return of college and NFL football.

W. Lee Miller Jr.
Inglewood

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