Bill Plaschke: The Clippers need to tone it down
The Clippers need to chill.
The Clippers need to stop acting like some young new movie star who feels it necessary to prove his street cred by trashing hotel rooms and tossing bouncers.
So far this season, the Clippers are the best team in Los Angeles and one of the best teams in the NBA’s Western Conference, a talented and energetic group, legitimate contenders who could play deep into spring.
Now they need to start behaving like it.
Now that they are in the process of erasing the traditional Clippers jinx off their resume, they need to lose the traditional Clippers chip off their shoulder and stop turning Lob City into Lob Alley.
Fellas, you’re good. We get it. You don’t need to throw a flagrant elbow to show us. You don’t need to pose after a dunk to convince us. And you certainly didn’t need to subject the city to nearly three hours of cheap stuff and chippiness Wednesday night to make your point.
What happened during parts of their 96-91 loss to the Lakers at Staples Center was unsightly and unbecoming, the Clippers bumping and grinding on the outmanned Lakers to the point of distraction. By the time it ended, it was the Clippers who had been flattened, blowing a game-long lead in the fourth quarter to a Lakers team that had risen to the fight, Pau Gasol lashing, Kobe Bryant snarling, Metta World Peace declaring war.
“All that physical stuff is fine,” said Bryant afterward. “But you better know who you’re messing with.”
In the end, the Clippers messed mostly with themselves, shrouding their high-flying brilliance with 10 more personal fouls that gave the Lakers 18 more free throws, which the Lakers converted into 15 more points. It was particularly ugly during their fourth-quarter meltdown, when the Clippers were hit with two technical fouls and one flagrant foul.
When asked about that chip afterward, Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro admitted, “Well, we do have one. I mean, we haven’t done anything yet.”
