New era of the Lakers-Clippers cross-town rivalry set to begin

The injury plagued Lakers are finding it tough to prevent themselves from falling into the bottom two of the Conference after losing 10 of their last 11

After the disastrous season of 2012-2013, the Lakers are in rebuilding mode while the Clippers look legitimate title contenders and are determined to go deeper into the post-season than the first round.

Friday night in the Staples Center saw a showdown between the two teams from Los Angeles. The Lakers playing a road game were blown away, losing by a margin of 36 points. The highlights of the box score were that the Lakers gave away 43 points in the first quarter and were outscored 31-8 in the third quarter.

Meanwhile for the Clippers, this game was sweet revenge for the opening day loss, a match that was stolen from their grasp by the Lakers’ bench.

This game might be remembered as the turning point in this cross-town rivalry. Over the last two seasons, the gap has gotten closer between these two teams and during that tenure no team was blown out the way the Lakers were Friday night.

The injury-plagued Lakers have now lost 10 of their last 11 games and are currently ranked 13th in the West, ahead of Sacramento by just half a game. The gap of 2.5 games from the Utah Jazz isn’t small either given the circumstances the Lakers are in.

On the other hand the Clippers are having a very contrasting season to the one the Lakers are. Despite losing Paul to a right shoulder separation in a game against the Dallas Mavericks, the team has won three of the next four games without him and has been a turnover forcing machine.

In the last three games, all victories, the Clippers have scored 76 points off opponent’s turnovers. The 16 steals against the Lakers was a season high and a huge testament to their defensive pressure.

The story of these two franchises might not be so for just this season. This might be a preview of things to come in the next few years.

Although Kobe Bryant has signed a two year extension with the Lakers, no amount of off-season activity by the franchise is going to make the Lakers a contender for the Playoffs, let alone the NBA championship.

The young superstar duo of Paul and Griffin, aged 28 and 24 respectively, will no doubt be the backbone of the Clippers’ franchise for some time to come given their age. Until the time they remain with the Clippers, a Lakers win would be considered an upset, when some years ago it was usual business to see the Lakers sweep the season series.

Unless the Lakers find another superstar to build around after Kobe Bryant, the roles will be irrevocably reversed, with the Clippers being the new championship contenders from Hollywood.

It’s funny how just a David Stern veto has changed the tides when it comes to basketball in L.A.