INGLEWOOD, Calif — There’s no black cat running around the Los Angeles Clippers franchise, no unnecessary fumigation needed to re-christen their sprawling new facility that’s sure to be the envy of owners who don’t have Steve Ballmer’s deep pockets.
It wasn’t even funny or fitting James Harden missed the back end of two free throws that would’ve tied the game in overtime, at the Intuit Dome’s regular-season debut Wednesday night as the Clippers fell 116-113 to the Phoenix Suns.
It was merely Game 1 of a new season for the Clippers, the first in a while where championship expectations weren’t on the tip of everyone’s tongue, a season where the margin for error is razor thin and a bit stressful.
But that’s probably where the Clippers operate best as they straddle between two eras, purgatory that’s the result of both choice and circumstance — a space they can dig themselves out of with some deft moves.
As Ballmer’s new playpen opened its doors in Inglewood in the Clippers’ boldest, grandest attempt at keeping a footprint in Los Angeles, still yet to emerge from the Lakers’ massive shadow, it seems like last year would’ve been the best chance to take such a voyage.
After all, Russell Westbrook was on the roster, so was Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard was en route to participating in his most games since he was a Spur.
Four marquee names, four L.A.-area kids who could carry the flag of the city and connect the neighborhood to the new building. A building that had kids shooting on a court outside, before going through the actual turnstiles, a building that, for all its bells and whistles, was still confusing to navigate — which is usually the case when a new arena opens.
There’s the giant floor-length Jumbotron that’s a visual marvel, and all the technology meant to make things easier for fans to get back to their seats and back into the action as soon as possible.
But only Harden remains upright as a marquee player for the moment, as Westbrook wasn’t ready for a diminished role and George wasn’t ready for a salary that was less than the max. As for Leonard, it’s all anybody’s guess as he’s out indefinitely following yet another offseason knee surgery and a confusing period with USA Basketball that had him sent home from him being an Olympian this past summer.
With Harden, his numbers weren’t quite vintage but he was able to muster 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in nearly 40 minutes, shrugging off a two-for-11 start to score 24 in the second half.
He helped dig the Clippers from a sluggish start, where they trailed by 14, to an energetic comeback that brought the fans to life. Can he go back to being the every night machine he was in Houston compared to the distributor and occasional boss of a scorer he’s been in his last three (!) stops, all since January 2021?
Seems unlikely but he’s the best option.
“We competed, we played hard. We all feel it was a game we should’ve won,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Can’t question how hard we’ve played. How in tuned we were. Overall, I thought our guys did a good job of competing.”
As for Harden’s free-throw miss and later, mishandling of an inbounds pass when the Clippers were trying to tie the game in overtime with a 3-pointer, Lue said his team was “in perfect position” to win, but wouldn’t lament too much on one singular moment.
The building had its moments, particularly when Ballmer went to a section known as “The Wall,” where fans stand on their feet the entire game, going through chants and playful jabs to the opposing team, as the conglomerate is placed behind the basket near the visitor’s side.
“The wall’s crazy. That’s our sixth man,” Lue said. “They’re into the game. I think they made (Kevin Durant) miss two free throws in a row. We’ll need that. It was good to see.”
Ballmer jumped on the microphone to welcome the fans to the Intuit Dome before the game tipped off, and sat in animated misery when Harden’s free throw went awry — not too long after Kevin Durant hit a vintage high-arching jumper over two Clippers, including Harden who was coming over to help.
“Yeah, K made some, some tough shots, especially that shot in the fourth quarter when I tried to contest it, and he still, I don’t know how he made it,” Harden said in half-admiration, half-exasperation.
“History, you know, Inglewood, Intuit Dome, the fans came up and they came out and showed out,” Harden said. “And we were just, you know, we got the short end of the stick. But I think they gave us great, great energy tonight.”
Lue kept referring to the effort, which represents a sea change in philosophy with this organization. In no insult, this is a try-hard team now, one that will have to rely on wild cards like Kai Jones to develop, or Derrick Jones Jr. or Terance Mann to take a next step to keep the Clippers afloat.
That element starts with Harden, though, who isn’t surrounded by preseason or offseason controversy for the first time in awhile. Not that it deserves applause, but it is worth noting that’s where he sits, and he’ll be counted on even more to produce because of the roster uncertainty.
“We need him to be special until Kawhi gets back,” Lue said.
There was no hint of irony in Lue’s words, because nobody knows when Leonard will return. People will say he’s doing great work with rehab and that he hasn’t suffered any setbacks — a positive sign to say the least.
But even with the collective eye-rolling of Leonard and his myriad injuries, it’s helped the Clippers choose a path in the interim.
For the Clippers, this is who they have to be for now. Their ambitious gambit to snag Leonard and Paul George back in the summer of 2019 — George was an MVP Finalist in Oklahoma City and Leonard dragged his leg and the Toronto Raptors to an improbable championship — was beyond worth it.
The ending was ultimately unsatisfying, even with just one conference final to show for it and all those picks and pick swaps owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But it was a chance the Clippers had to take, for it forged an identity, or at least the expectation of one.
They’ve been a relevant franchise for well over a decade now, after years of being the joke around the league. Dating back to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, they’ve long been on the national stage, even as the Lakers struggled in the wilderness. But beyond the cuteness of the Lob City era, not much stuck.
But the league needed to see how this iteration treated its players, like Leonard and George, and then later, Harden. Having this brand new facility shows the commitment the organization has to being on its own, even as the Lakers are arguably the biggest brand name in sports but certainly the NBA.
Now even as Harden ages out of being a 48-minute supernova and Leonard remains an unknown, the Clippers can be a destination for the next crop of free agents who no longer view the Clippers as the clown franchise, the franchise of Donald Sterling.
They now have their own home, their own unique wall, their own place in this NBA ecosystem. It seems like Clippers will forever be the Clippers, and it could be the case in the end.
But they’ve set themselves up, at least by intention and investment, to continue taking chances even as they sit idle in the interim.