The L.A. Clippers haven't had many "rivalries" throughout their history to this point, though there seems to be one burgeoning with their neighbors to the north, the Golden State Warriors.
The two teams have been downright nasty to one another at times, and the latest mini-kerfuffle involved Warrior super-utility man Draymond Green and little-used Clipper winger Dahntay Jones. Following the Warriors' 106-98 win over the Clips earlier this month, Jones "accidentally" bumped into Green as Green was being interviewed on national TV. Here's the "incident".
In his press conference after the game, Doc Rivers said of Green, "The bump was too hard for him, clearly, the way he reacted. My goodness, I thought the guy was tough."
When asked about Rivers' comments on a Bay Area radio show the next week, Green famously responded, "Cool story, Glenn." Glenn, of course, being Doc's real name. "Cool story, Glenn" then enjoyed a mini-takeoff, and Green even started selling shirts bearing the phrase. He's since stopped selling them, but Rivers seems to enjoy the interchange between the two. When asked if he should've gotten a cut of Green's shirt profits, Rivers told the LA Times, "I should, for sure. Like I said earlier, I love that I'm on his mind."
Sadly, Green won't be suiting up for Tuesday night's season finale between the two clubs as he nurses a shin injury. But surely the Clippers aren't crying a river over his absence.
This means Golden State, who has already clinched the No. 1 overall seed for the Western Conference playoffs, will be without one of its best all-around defenders, which should help free up some space for Blake Griffin. Griffin missed the last meeting between the teams as he was still recovering from his elbow surgery, but he should be able to feast against the likes of David Lee and Marreese Speights.
Each team comes into this one blazing hot, as Golden State has won nine straight, while the Clippers have won their last seven games. A win for L.A. on their home court would knot the season series at 2-2, which would be little more than a moral victory. While Golden State has nothing left for which to play, the Clippers are still furiously battling for their playoff seed, as they currently sit fifth in the conference, just a game-and-a-half ahead of surging San Antonio.
A win tonight would also put the Clips at the 50-win mark for the third consecutive season. Quite the feat, especially when you consider the franchise won no more than 47 games in any of its first 28 years in Los Angeles.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are currently 60-13. Even if they lose all of their remaining nine games (which, duh, they won't), they're going to finish with the best record in franchise history. They are extremely close to pulling-off the rare feat of being both the No.1 rated offense (they're currently one-tenth of a point behind the Clippers in offensive efficiency) and No. 1 rated defense (they're currently over two points better per 100 possessions than second-ranked Milwaukee) for a full season. In case you were wondering, the Clippers are 17th in defensive efficiency, allowing 103 points per 100 possessions.
Tip-off at STAPLES Center is set for 7:30 PT on and can be seen on TNT.
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