The Clippers are a team that has suffered through an amazing amount of injuries this season to many of their key players. That's what's mostly been to blame for the club's dismal record, but now that they're starting to get healthy again, there should be a more consistent effort and we should at least see some competitive games.
In theory, that's how it should go down. But in practice, it hasn't happened yet.
The injuries are still lingering, and L.A. is still getting blown out on a nightly basis. It appears that the team's owner Donald Sterling is tired of seeing what he views as a lack of effort, so he made a rare appearance in the locker room after the Clippers' 28-point loss at the hands of the Spurs.
Owner Donald Sterling, frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of effort, went on a tirade in the locker room afterward.
According to team sources, Sterling offered a blanket denunciation of the players and strongly backed Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy. The owner said he would be willing to trade all the players and said he was putting their future in Dunleavy's hands.
The public statement of support for Dunleavy might have been alright, but has Sterling not ben paying attention to the NBA this season? The Spurs are one of the top four teams in the league, and they were playing his Clippers while they were missing their leading scorer in Zach Randolph, and another potent member of the starting lineup in rookie sensation Eric Gordon.
It's not that Sterling shouldn't have been disappointed with his team's inconsistent effort this season; he absolutely has that right. But had he waited a game to blast his team -- like say, after L.A. lost by 23 at home to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies -- Sterling's message might have had more of an impact.
