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By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Clippers were dazzling in the first quarter of Game 5 Tuesday night. They raced to a 28-13 lead over the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center The Clippers have the reputation of possessing the best starting five in the NBA and were living up to the reputation. Then Coach Doc Rivers inserted three substitutes and the Spurs scored the next 16 points. From there the teams engaged in a dramatic, thrilling game that the Spurs won, 111-107....
(Editor’s Note: Three seasons ago, after the Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs in the first round a summary of their troubles was analyzed in part 1 of this series. I didn’t plan on a part 2 but readers asked for one. Now part 3 is required because the Lakers have just completed their worst season in franchise history, 21 wins, 61 losses) By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I understand the reasoning. The Lakers were going to sacrifice this season in order to retain money to sign free age...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When Doc Rivers found out the Clippers would be playing the five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in the first playoff round he asked ‘this is what we get for winning 14 of our last 15 games?” It was nothing personal. The Clippers were the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs were No. 6. The No. 3 always plays the No. 6 in the first round. But it’s still unfortunate. This could easily be a conference championship matchup. Instead, one of these...
(Editor's Note: Three seasons ago, after the Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs in the first round a summary of their troubles was analyzed in part 1 of this series. I didn't plan on a part 2 but readers asked for one. Now part 3 is required because the Lakers have just completed their worst season in franchise history, 21 wins, 61 losses) By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I understand the reasoning. The Lakers were going to sacrifice this season in order to retain money to sign free...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor So many times during the Lakers' feat of winning 16 NBA championships I've been in the building, feeling the excitement, eager to do my work and being thankful I'm in the sportswriting profession. On Tuesday night those years came back to me as I watched the Golden State Warriors, who have the best record in this NBA season, outlast the Clippers, 110-106 before a raucous sellout crowd in Staples Center. The playoffs haven't started yet but you wouldn't know it ju...
The National Basketball Association announces that NBA Global Games China 2015 will feature two preseason games between the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers in October. The Clippers and Hornets will play the NBA's first game ever in Shenzhen when they meet on Oct. 11 at the Shenzhen Universiade Center, followed by a rematch in Shanghai on Oct. 14 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The NBA in 2004 became the first American professional sports league to compete in China, with two...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers and New York Knicks are the richest franchises in the NBA, but this season they’re two of the worst teams. The Knicks arrived at Staples Center last Thursday with the least wins, only 12. The Lakers were the fourth worst with 17. The game was originally scheduled to be shown on national television but, as expected, was taken off the list. What happened was the Knicks won, 101-94 and Lakers coach Byron Scott called his team selfish. He also said the L...
By Bosmat Eynav Sports Columnist David Blatt was born on May 22, 1959. He grew up in the town of Framingham, Boston, Completed a degree in English literature at Princeton University. During his studies he played as a guard under legendary coach Pete Carril. Blatt had great success as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel and won the Euro Cup League five times. Blatt was also the coach of the Russian national team in the years 2006-2012 and led it to its first and historic European championship. His...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Ralph Lawler began broadcasting San Diego Clipper basketball games in 1978. Six years later the team moved to Los Angeles and it seemed likely Lawler wouldn't leave San Diego – a city he loved. But he did leave because he loved broadcasting NBA games even more. In LA he worked in the shadow of legendary broadcaster Chick Hearn, who had championship after championship to describe as the Lakers ruled the city. But gradually, Lawler began receiving the a...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Kobe Bryant was outraged. Byron Scott was outraged. Mitch Chortkoff was outraged. How can a mere sportswriter include himself on a list of competitors outraged by the antics of three Lakers – Nick Young, Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer who thought they were being clever in clowning while a teammate was being interviewed on television after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in overtime last week? Well, you see, this sportswriter traveled with Laker teams for 2...
Commissioner Adam Silver released the following statement regarding the passing of NBA pioneer Earl Lloyd last weekend at the age of 86. “The NBA family has lost one of its patriarchs. Earl Lloyd, the first African-American to play in an NBA game, was as inspirational as he was understated. He was known as a modest gentleman who played the game with skill, class, and pride. His legacy survives in the league he helped integrate, and the entire NBA family will strive to always honor his memory. Our deepest condolences to the Lloyd family.” Llo...
The Lakers will hold "Camp Lakers 2015," presented by Denny's, a youth basketball day camp for boys and girls ages 9-18, this summer in two sessions. Hosted at Next Level Sports Complex in Garden Grove for the third consecutive year, session one will occur from June 29 to July 2 and session two from July 6 to 9. Camp Lakers is structured and focused on providing young athletes of all skill levels an opportunity to improve their overall basketball skills in a fun and challenging environment, whil...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I often attend Doc Rivers’ pre-game sessions with the media at Staples Center. The session was of particular interest last Thursday night because DeAndre Jordan had missed 16 free throws in the Clippers’ previous game and the coach had decided against benching his center. The NBA rules permit intentional fouling on a player who doesn’t have the ball until two minutes remain in any period, none after that. When Shaquille O’Neal played for the Lakers and hack-a-Sha...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Last week Clippers coach Doc Rivers was considering making a trade that would bring his son, Austin Rivers to the team. He asked his wife what she thought of the idea. "Chris has been with me a long time and she said the same thing I was thinking," the coach told me. "If you think it will help the Clippers do it." The Clippers did it and it was a historic move. Never before in the NBA had a team had a head coach and his son on the same squad. One year the Denver...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor All right, you win, we surrender. Those words often come from battlefields. Today, they appear to be coming from the Lakers. When Kobe Bryant underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn rotator cuff the Lakers adopted a plan for the upcoming months and most likely the rest of the season. Instead of fielding a lineup they’d likely put on the court in a bid for a playoff berth they’re featuring a group of inexperienced players they’re hoping to develop for the f...
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter The Clippers failed another mid-term exam on Friday. This time, the “professor” was league superstar LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers who ended up with 32 points and 11 rebounds to lead his team to victory, 126-121. LeBron’s “assistant professor” Kyrie Irving ended up with a team-best 37 points and also put on a show much to the dismay of the Clippers fans. This contest was again an indication of what the Clippers need to do to beat the top teams in...
Clippers Coach Doc Rivers, who guided the team to a franchise-record 57 regular-season wins last season and magnificently kept the team afloat during a turbulent ownership scandal, has been selected the 2014 Coach of the Year by the L.A. Sports Council. Rivers will be honored at the 10th Annual LA Sports Awards, presented by Coca-Cola, which will be held on Sunday, March 15 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Rivers succeeded in keeping the Clippers together during a playoff run under what may be the...
Alina Kupchak, 15-year-old daughter of Lakers’ General Manager Mitch Kupchak and his wife, Claire, has died following a lengthy illness. The Kupchaks expressed their appreciation of well wishers but asked for privacy at this difficult time. The Clippers’ issued a press release expressing their regrets....
By Steven Lieberman Observer Reporter The Clippers (23-12) failed their mid-term test on Monday by losing to the Atlanta Hawks (26-8), best record in the Eastern Conference, 107-98. The Hawks went 18-2 in the month of December. This contest was an indication of what the Clippers need to do to beat the top teams in the league, which has been their Achilles heel. They now have a 7-10 record against winning teams. Clippers team leader Chris Paul, gave praise to the Hawks after the game. "It is a...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor As I look at the Lakers’ dreadful record I wonder how much better they’d be this season if Pau Gasol remained on the team. Gasol, a far better big man than anyone on the Lakers this season, was driven away (let’s be frank about this) by his dispute with Coach Mike D’Antoni. As I’ve written before, D’Antoni’s offense featured three-point shooting rather than plays revolving around a center. Dwight Howard didn’t like that and departed after one Laker season wh...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When the National Basketball Association revealed its list of the 50 greatest players of all time I was on the selection committee. When the list was made public, unfortunately so was the balloting of every committee member. For years afterward several players who weren't chosen confronted me to ask me why I didn't vote for them. Really, it was an impossible task. There were 70 or 80 deserving players. No amount of research allowed me to feel comfortable about...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Reserve guard Xavier Henry is the latest in a long line of Laker players who have been injured in the last two seasons. Henry suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon in practice last week. The Lakers announced he will be out for the rest of the season. Henry was far more successful last season than this one. Coach Byron Scott gave Henry limited playing time and said he was trying to see if Henry could regain his form of last season. The Lakers didn’t i...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The joke in the Staples Center press room a few weeks ago was that new Clippers owner Steve Ballmer had called a meeting of the players. And he told them “if you don’t start playing better I’m going to sell the team back to Donald Sterling.” Well, no need for that anymore. The Clippers, who got off to a slow start this season, went on the road in the last week of November and did better than any Clippers team in history had ever done – six wins in seven gam...
The Lakers’ injury problems continued when reserve forward Ryan Kelly suffered a torn right hamstring in a loss to the Golden State Warriors last week. Kelly is expected to miss at least six weeks....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The NBA season began only two weeks ago but already there have been numerous surprises. The biggest one is the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 1-3 start and apparent friction between LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ talented point guard Kyrie Erving. When James left the Miami Heat and signed with his hometown Cleveland team and the Cavaliers then acquired Kevin Love, Shawn Marion and others the team became the favorite to reach the NBA Finals. Instead the Cavaliers lost the...
