L.A. Clippers: All Hopes Rest On a Finger

In Los Angeles, there are two teams.

One of these teams is called the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles Clippers have two kinds of fans: The first kind are long die-hard fans, who will always support the Clips, even though they acknowledge the flaws of the team and management.

The second kind are those who will always get frustrated when something bad happens to their team, and will cry out for justice.

Unfortunately, it is quite likely that both types are, in fact, screwed.

For a collection of hours this summer, the Clippers projected to have not only their lone shining star of the decade back from injury in Elton Brand, but also All-Star point guard Baron Davis. Immediately, articles flooded the net on the potential that this team could have had. Some manics even whispered championship aspirations.

In L.A, thousands of people smiled as for a moment, like they did back in 2006, they believed in their team.

After another collection of hours, those smiles left, as did Elton Brand.

And now, it has gotten considerably worse, as it appears that Davis, the last hope that Clipper fans could cling to for this season, has gone down with a sprain to his ring finger on his left hand. The finger was injured during practice on Friday, and there is at least some decent news as it has been reported that the finger wasn't broken.

The bad news is that there still may be a ruptured tendon, and there is a large chance that Baron will have to undergo surgery, which would put Davis out of action for up to six weeks. It appears that even if surgery is not required, Baron will still miss the first five to six games of the season.

Obviously, the Clippers are going to struggle mightily without the All-Star. He is, without a doubt, their best player and the first option on the offense. Of course, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm not saying the Clippers are going to prob up the rest of the West simply because of this one injury, after all, there will be plenty of time after Baron returns for the Clips to prove themselves.

Eric Gordon has shown great promise in preseason. Marcus Camby has joined the team and Al Thornton will hopefully be able to improve on his surprisingly successful rookie season.

But still, short of a more serious injury to Davis, there isn't much worse news the Clipper fans could hear.

Davis is easily one of my favorite players in the L, always has been, but I truly wish he had stayed in Golden State. I understand the move makes more sense for him, being closer to his movie company and all that, but still he was the epiphany of what a Golden State Warrior should be. I still think that when we look back at his career, it'll be those years we focus on. (Specifically the first round series win over Dallas, and then the dunk in the series following.)

Still, he's in L.A now, and for the next few years at least, the hopes of the franchise once again rest on his shoulders.

The West is still the West, and even with a healthy Baron the Clippers would be very hard-pushed to even make the playoffs, let alone win a series. Thing is, without the point guard, it becomes dam-near impossible.

This has scared the Clippers, and with good reason. Though Baron did manage to have his healthiest years in Golden State, he still used to be injury prone, and there is always concern that his health will return to its old ways. Not only that, but the injury is going to take away time needed for Davis to develop chemistry with his new team, and he may have difficulty coming back into the team when he does return.

If I had my way, the Clippers would trade Baron back to Golden State and put it all down to just wanting to be relevant for a while. That probably isn't the most likely outcome, but still I hope the finger doesn't do too much damage, because Baron on the floor is always better than no Baron on the floor (perhaps something Nellie should have learnt in that last game?)

And for both Clipper fans, depending on which type you are, it is just another one of those things that you accept or one of those things you scream about and cry for justice.