RAUCOUS RETURN
Clippers, fans give Paul the reception that he deserved
They wanted to be bitter. They tried to be tough. They really did.
When the Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul grabbed the ball in the opening seconds of his return to the Clippers’ court Monday night at Staples Center, Clipper Nation erupted in boos.
They booed him the next time he touched the ball. And the next time. And the next time. The tenor grew dark, the traitor talk rumbled, this was seemingly going to be a night of revenge wreaked upon the superstar who skipped town.
But then, with 6 minutes 46 seconds left in the first quarter, during the first timeout, the Clippers gave Chris Paul what he did not have the grace to give them. They gave him a classy farewell.
The giant video board played a tribute. It was filled with replays of the magic that Paul created during six seasons that altered a franchise’s history. There was Paul twirling impossible passes, dancing through acrobatic dribbles, and ultimately making the one-legged bank shot to beat San Antonio in Game 7 in the 2015 playoffs.
And here came the cheers, growing, growing, from the same folks who had just been jeering, cheers that became a roaring, standing ovation that Paul recognized with a wave.
And just like that, the persistent booing ended. The good memories were bigger than the lousy departure. The gratitude was more powerful than the regret. It made complete sense even if it elicited some quiet frustration.
“Don’t get me started . ... I have no comment,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said when asked about the video and its response. “But I was proud of our crowd.”
Chalk up one last sleight of hand for CP3.
He would win games, and you would never be quite sure how. He would stay above the blame heaped on every other leading member of the disappointing Clippers playoff teams, and you never quite could figure out why.
It was only fitting that on a night when he was mostly cheered, he finally showed one of the true reasons for his departure with 3:34 left in the game, when he jumped in the face of former locker room nemesis Blake Griffin after a hard foul and the two had to be separated.
The small incident was a reminder of something much larger. Paul was never so much a team leader as a team instigator. He was tough to play with, and tougher to play with when you didn’t play his way. He was Kobe Bryant without the ability to finish.
Griffin was so fired up he eventually was ejected, but the DeAndre Jordan-less Clippers were jazzed all night in a 113-102 victory over the James Harden-less Rockets. Paul played well, and the Rockets are the legitimate contenders, but the Clippers somehow have a winning record and are fun again.
Even after the game, the confrontations continued when several players, including Paul, futilely attempted to get into the Clippers locker room to confront the victors.
“We knew this would be an emotional game,” Rivers said, but added it wasn’t all about Paul. “Chris was great for us, but Chris decided to leave us, so we don’t talk about him.”
Paul certainly was worthy of the cheers. Yet, after he forced his way off the team in a lopsided trade last summer — which was absolutely his right — he later set fire to the mess he left behind, criticizing the Clippers culture, citing a lack of communication, and claiming the team that finally contended didn’t try to contend.
Rivers countered by implying that in his final year, Paul already was thinking about leaving and wasn’t committed enough. Rivers wondered why Paul had to go so negative when the Clippers were always so positive. And Rivers openly wondered why Paul never would hold himself accountable.
Said Paul to ESPN: “It’s the culture of our team. If you’re not trying to contend with the Warriors, then what are you doing?”
Said Rivers to ESPN: “I thought when Chris rubbed guys the worst was when he messed up. Because when you mess up, you gotta take it. I didn’t really think he did.”
It was all building toward a big Monday night that could have been as ugly as other nasty NBA homecomings in the last two years, from Kevin Durant’s to Paul George’s.
But in the end, the thank-yous won, something which might not have happened with other more established fan bases in this town, but Clippers fans know history when they see it.
Paul helped give them national credibility for the first time. Paul put them on the playoff radar for the first time. Despite the star power of Griffin, Jordan and even Rivers, it is Paul who got this whole Clippers spirit thing started.
Of course, he’s also the one who ended some of their best chances. He melted down in the infamous Game 5 loss in Oklahoma City in 2014, committing two turnovers and an awful foul in the final 49 seconds. He couldn’t halt their collapse against Houston in 2015. Even in his final game as a Clipper, a Game 7 upset win by Utah, he had only 13 points while making less than one-third of his shots.
When asked about Paul’s legacy, Rivers said, “You’re always judged by wins, and we won a lot of games, but we didn’t get it done . ... We’re all part of that legacy, you shouldn’t separate Chris . ... We were an ‘almost’ team . ... It will haunt me forever.”
The disparities in Paul’s legacy are equally haunting. Paul has the fourth-most wins of any player in franchise history, but never led them out of the second round of the playoffs. He is the franchise career leader in assists, but left because he couldn’t connect with his teammates.
His jersey number is the most iconic in franchise history, but that jersey obviously never will be retired. Who retires a jersey of someone who left because they didn’t think the franchise wanted to win?
“When a player of Chris’ ability leaves, they’re actually saying they want to leave to try to win somewhere else,” Rivers said. “For the team you’re leaving, you’re never happy with that.”