Every once in a while, the worst franchise in all of sports... the Clippers... tease their fans with a decent squad. This might be one of those years.
First, most people will say they got the only "lock" of the draft in Blake Griffin. He showed why people think that last night by dropping 27 and 12 in his summer league debut.
Second, they're actually making a serious pitch for Allen Iverson. And despite his previously mentioned "me-first attitude" that has turned off all but a few teams... he's still capable of generating some excitement and scoring in bunches.
So if the Clippers do get AI, they can trot out a starting lineup of Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, Al Thornton, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby while bringing Griffin and Ricky Davis off the bench. That's actually not a bad lineup. Plenty of defense and rebounding down low... a lot of scoring punch on the wings... some talent coming off the bench.
Yep... this is gonna be a decent squad for the Clips. But it's gonna be a decent squad that MIGHT fight for the last playoff spot. That means the best-case scenario is that the Clips are first-round fodder for the Spurs or Lakers. People will start to toss around phrases like "turning it around" and "promising future" with this club... all the while forgetting the past failures that followed the promise.
Don't be surprised by some Clippers success this year... but don't be fooled by it either.
