The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the premiere professional sports franchises in the entire world. Some would argue it is the number one franchise. There are 16 championship banners hanging in the rafters of the Staples Center. Their geographic little brothers are the Los Angeles Clippers. A franchise that has no championship banners and only one divisional title, which was won last season. The annuls of the Lakers are filled to the brim with such all-time greats as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal and, of course, Kobe Bryant.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers’ best roster ever is arguably the one that is currently adorned in its signature red, white and blue colors. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan lead a resurgent Lob City roster that is trying to do away with the Lakers’ long-time dominance in the battle of L.A. Last night a Kobe-less Los Angeles Lakers squad was trucked by a Clippers squad whose fast break offense was so devastating and precise as to rival that of the Magic Johnson-led Showtime Lakers of the 80s.
This recent trend of Laker losses versus the team formerly derided as the Paper Clips goes back to last season, and Blake Griffin and company have defeated their down-the-hall rivals six of the last seven meetings. However, none has ever been more resounding than the 142-94 dismantling the Lake Show took last night. The 48-point loss was the biggest in the history of the franchise. This adds insult to injury as the 21-41 flail and flounder through a season without All-Everything shooting guard Kobe Bryant. Lakers head coach Mile D'Antoni has never been known for teaching defense, but this is ridiculous by any measure.
"We got beat by 48. It's not fun," Lakers shooting guard Jodie Meeks said. "Regardless of whether it's a record-breaking performance or not, it is still frustrating. It's not fun getting blown out at any level, but especially on national TV and in front of the world. We have to have more pride than that. I do not think the Clippers are 48 points better than us."
Man, not for nothing, but that’s a whole lot of butt-whooping the Clippers put on them last night. Long-time Laker fan Jack Nicholson bolted early and there were all kinds of sad faces adorned in purple and gold. Despite this historic victory by the Los Angeles Clippers, their fan base shouldn’t be expecting any “we won” prizes in the mail anytime soon. It’s just one win and, as far as rivalries go, this one is still rather lopsided. The Clippers are 35-98 versus the Lakers.
"Since day one, there's always going to be something to talk about since we both play here in this building. During the game, all the fans were yelling: 'It's still a Laker town.' And it is — no secret," Clippers point guard Chris Paul said. "But we just have to worry about us and keep playing. It's going in the right direction. We don't want to get too high or too low. We just want to try to keep getting better."
