Sound the Alarm!: Los Angeles Clippers Squander Another Opportunity

Sometimes, life works in your favor. Everything lines up perfectly. That girl you have been checking out for months happens to drop something, which you pick up and return. The boss is demanding a fix for something you figured out a week earlier, making you a star. Sometimes, you get to go directly to GO and collect $200.

For the Clippers, winners of four in a row, things were lined up perfectly as they started their most recent road trip.

With the playoffs suddenly a possibility for this team and the club's self-appointed goal of reaching .500 before Blake Griffin plays his first NBA game well within reach, the Clippers could not have asked for better matchups. Holding down the 12th spot in the Western Conference, the Clippers play the Memphis Grizzlies, who are 11th, and the New Orleans Hornets, who are 10th. 

These two games marked a great opportunity for the Clippers to gain ground on the clubs ahead of them, which would help them meet their goal of reaching .500 and continue to send a message throughout the NBA that this isn't business as some have come to expect in Clipper Nation!

Everything was lined up perfectly.

Then, a water main broke and ruined everything.

In fact, fate started to throw darts at the Clippers good fortune long before the weird 36-minute delay in Memphis. During warm-ups, Chris Kaman felt a pinch in his back and could not play. Marcus Camby soon joined Kaman in the locker room with a stomach virus.

It's like passing GO and reaching out to collect your $200, then realizing you landed on "Income Tax," forcing you to have to pay the $200 back you thought you were about to collect.

One step forward, one step back.

To the Clippers credit they continued to not only battle through the adversity of losing both their big men, they dominated.

It was during the preseason that Ralph Lawler commented about the play of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. He pointed out that their defense on Tim Duncan made the future Hall of Famer look old. In this game, Jordan's offense opened eyes. The club can't afford to go long without their soon-to-be All Star center, but Jordan cushioned the blow of Griffin's absence with a career-high 23 points.

Baron Davis was running the point and controlling this game at a level not seen in L.A. since Magic Johnson. Calm down Laker fan's, I'm not hoisting Davis up to Johnson's level, simply making the point that for one game he channeled the Magic Man as well as anyone in LA has. His 27 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, and 12 assists are magic, man.

Everything was lining up perfectly until fans began to rush for the exits. Emergency fire alarm lights flashed throughout the stadium and a stern message on the scoreboard urged immediate evacuation! Ominous stuff.

I remember when the Angels were blasting the Red Sox in the playoffs last year when suddenly, and inexplicably, a door in the outfield was opened. Torii Hunter was forced to go close it, breaking up the rhythm of the game just a little. Some speculated that it was a Red Sox faithful trying to throw some water on the Angel parade. Was worth a shot.

Drunk Grizzlie fan No. 1: "Boy, the guys are getting beat up bad tonight."

Drunk Grizzlie fan No. 2: "Ya, hey wanna pull the fire alarm?"

Drunk Grizzlie fan No. 1: "Hell ya!"

The "official" word was that a waterline break in the fire sprinkler system caused the delay. Mhm. Whatever the reason for the delay, which the Clippers endured on the team bus in 30 degree weather, it had a negative effect.

When play resumed, the Clippers were outrebounded 13-6 and Rasual Butler and Eric Gordon went as cold as the team bus must have been. They combined to go 0-for-8, with Butler missing what would have been the winning shot set up perfectly by Davis.

Mike Dunleavy made no excuses, even though they were there for the taking. "That had nothing to do with us losing," Coach Mike Dunleavy said of the delay. "We came back in that fourth quarter and we got beat to loose balls and offensive rebounds."

So, this may not be the road trip where they gain ground on those ahead of them or reach their goal of .500; everything isn't lined up perfectly anymore, but the opportunities remain. A win against the Hornets and a second straight victory against the suddenly struggling and hurting Lakers would certainly remove the sting of this loss.

Lets hope for solid and secure waterlines in New Orleans.