Over at ESPN Los Angeles, I wrote about the reported friction in the Clippers locker room, and how Doc Rivers and Chris Paul not only deny it, but also wouldn’t be worried if it were real. Click here to read the article. Here is an excerpt: Reports of chemistry issues generally appear when a team is struggling to meet expectations or just continuously losing, as personalities clash, blame is dealt, and minor flaws become too glaring to gloss over. The Clippers, who have gone just 6-6 over their last 12 games, have definitely underperformed on their sky-high expectations this season, as many saw them as co-favorites to finish with the best record and/or win the Western Conference. As it currently stands, they are 22-11, good for sixth place in the ever-competitive West standings. Los Angeles has struggled against playoff-caliber competition this season, going just 7-9 against current playoff teams in both conferences, while also being unable to blow out inferior competition, grinding out unnecessarily close games against sub.-500 teams. “I’m not getting into all of this stuff,” Rivers said when asked the team’s chemistry issues for a second time. “I’ve had teams that have won that got along. I’ve had teams that have won that hadn’t got along. That’s why it doesn’t matter. Really, it’s so silly. To me, whenever I hear stuff from outside of us, I usually don’t make any comment on it because it gives people something to write about. So go write about it, is what I’m saying.” Read the rest here.
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