Background of the Companies
According to the National Basketball Association commonly referred to as NBA history, Los Angeles Clippers (Clippers) and Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers) have had a long time rivalry. The two teams regularly meet in the L.A basketball circuit, and this forms part of the cause in their rivalry. Other causes of their rivalry include the location where they play their home tournament games. For the two teams, Staples Center located in Los Angeles is the place where the home games are played. These home games at times lead the matches’ common to both teams known as “Hallway Series”. Historically, the native fans from Los Angeles have been staunch supporters of the Lakers. The Lakers shifted to L.A in the 1960`s and have bagged 11 championships in the NBA tournament while the Clippers who moved into L.A in 1984 have only been successful in making it to the playoffs for 6 times. Coincidentally, the two teams have never met in the playoffs. However, the game played on October 31st 2014 at around half past seven o’clock was a memorable one in terms of the event and the place as well as the scores recorded by the two teams.
The play by the Lakers appeared as dominant over the Clippers for the entire game. Top scorer for the game was Blake Griffin, who plays for the Clippers. He made a significant 39 points throughout the game giving his team a 118 points victory over Lakers that managed to score 111 points for the entire game. The Lakers appeared to dominate over the Clippers due to their previous victories and team ratings, but the Clippers did not consider any of these factors. The game presented a unique event for the Clippers to present their prowess in the game in one of the very few chances where the two teams meet. On display during the game was the immense confidence from Griffin and his teammates which enabled the Clippers to present such an outstanding performance. The team presented itself as one of the hidden talents in Los Angeles that awaited discovery. Clearly, the game was one event that the Clippers had waited for a long time just like depositing money in the bank and signing the checks. Truly, the Lakers may have been banking on their history to have won many tournaments in the past as well as poor ratings from the Clippers side. In this regard, the Lakers may have had a poor image about the Clippers prior to the game but after the game, the perception of the Lakers on the Clippers changed. However, although basketball lovers view the one game as the rise of the Clippers, such views can only be justified if the Clippers bag as many titles as the Lakers.
Analysts have argued that the performance realized in this match failed to conform to the traditionally assumed culture/ideology that Lakers are dominant over Clippers. These two teams have traditionally been rivals and the Lakers has constantly emerged victorious in most games. The Lakers moved to Minneapolis in 1960 while the Clippers migrated San Diego in 1984. Traditionally, Los Angeles fan have supported the Lakers and they have mainly bragged of their performance. Since migrating to Los Angeles, the Lakers have won 11 NBA championships while the Clippers have only emerged victorious 6 times since 1984. Accordingly, the Clippers were culturally assumed to be the laughingstock of the NBA. Repeated defeat of the Clippers made the Lakers feel very powerful over their rivals. This became so extreme that some Lakers’ supporters argued that the word “rivalry” was in inappropriate when referring to the competition between these two teams. This is because it was obvious that the Lakers could easily beat the Clippers. The Clippers won season series against the Lakers in 2012 for the first time in 20 years. The October 31st 2014 match was a surprising match that astonished many as it contravened the people’s expectations. The match challenged the cultural assumption that the Lakers were unbeatable.
DeAndre Jordan secured 11 points for his team with 13 rebounds in 39 minutes. The Clippers have been declared as the two-time defending champions. Chris Paul scored 12 points through the game and successfully managed to have 10 assists, as well as two steals for his team the Clippers. John Hill made 13 points from a total of 21 points in the third quarter. For Kobe Bryant, the score was 21 points by the finish of the third quarter but did not perform as expected. From the game, Kobe Bryant cost the Lakers along the stretch due to the cold shots. For a long period, Bryant has been a very valued player for the Lakers. The Clippers defender, Paul, seemed to like the task of defending against Kobe Bryant. Throughout the game, Paul seemed to make it hard for Bryant to make a move and make points, and this appears as the reason for the cold shots.
The lead came at 112-109 points when Jamal Crawford made a 3 point adding his 19 points to make 22 points throughout the game. At the time of the successful lead, the time left stood at 1:37 and this left the Clippers with about 4 free throws within the final 15 seconds of the game. The victory enjoyed by the Clippers can be attributed to Jamal Crawford for the three point, as well as, the four free throws awarded to him for the three-point score. The performance displayed by Crawford appears as a maintenance of performance in the previous period where he attained the title of 6th man of the season (year) from NBA. Previous losses by the Clippers may be attributed to the lack of effort prior to plays and inadequate confidence among the team players when it comes to the play. One may view the 31st October game as just another basketball game but this depicted a change in tact on the side of the Clippers with more confidence and true sportsmanship from their counterparts the Lakers in accepting the defeat.
As Griffin led the Clippers to a 62-56 win by halftime his points stood at 18 by the end of the half which was a return from the game on 23rd October where the Clippers recorded a win over Oklahoma City with 93-90. The season seems to favor the Clippers and indicates of the teams continuous efforts to come to the top of the league and play against the top teams. Most scores recorded in the game were 3 pointers that were followed by free shots. The game was simply a twist of fate.
