Joke Is on NBA Now, but Smiles Aren’t in Order

The best basketball player in Los Angeles, Danny Manning, never made a point as emphatically as the one he made the other day.

The Dan Man’s dander was up because public interest in the Clippers is nowhere near what he and his teammates think it should be. Although the Clippers clearly have turned into winners, it is Manning’s very strong impression that they are still being treated like losers.

Among other things, Manning said: “We need to get people in the seats. In years past, it was: ‘Who wants to see the Clippers play?’ Now we’re winning, we’re playing hard and we’re fun to watch. We deserve better support.”

You tell ‘em, Dan Man.

Where are you people? Get off your lazy duffs and get out there. A lot of us sneered and jeered at this klutzy team back when it was the NBA’s funniest joke. The least we can do now is pay the Clippers some respect now that they finally are doing something right.

As they say in the ads, plenty of good seats are still available.

Last season, the Clippers averaged an attendance of 12,200 per home date. Their average this season: 12,481.

This for a team that has won 37 of its 60 games since Larry Brown became coach.

Seeing as how the Clippers’ record between 1980-91 was 317 victories and 667 defeats, I would say this definitely qualifies as a turnaround.

But for the life of him, Manning can’t figure out why every other team in the NBA has “a distinct home-court advantage that we don’t have.”

All I can say is, Dan Man, you’re not in Kansas anymore.

I spent some time Tuesday talking with a Clipper official, trying to figure out why the crowds aren’t turning out to see one of the NBA’s top teams.

As of Tuesday, only the Bulls, Knicks, Trail Blazers and Suns had more victories this season than the Clippers.

And those four clubs have the luxury of playing in front of some of the NBA’s loudest crowds.

Near as I can figure, here is what keeps killing Clipper attendance:

Not everybody’s convinced.

A “loser” image is not easy to shake. Fans have been teased before into thinking the Clippers finally had turned a corner. Then came the crash--a big injury or a bad draft pick. Maybe the fans want more proof. Maybe a couple of months isn’t enough time.

But hey now--these guys did make the playoffs, remember? And those home crowds--one of them at Anaheim, of all places--practically catapulted the Clippers into a Game 5 at Utah. Had the Clippers had home-court advantage in that series, they would have advanced to the second round.

Give them some help in gaining that advantage this time.

It’s the neighborhood.

Well, what can I tell you? That I have never been hassled inside or outside the Sports Arena? I haven’t. Does that do any good when, just Monday night, more than 350 police officers were called out to seal off an area near Florence and Normandie, a few blocks from the arena, after an outbreak of rock and bottle throwing that led to more than 60 arrests?

What can I tell you? Here’s what I can tell you. Security outside the arena on game night is always tight. The parking lot is well lighted. And this stadium is in a neighborhood a hell of a lot safer than Chicago Stadium or Madison Square Garden, let me tell you.

This “unsafe” reputation is like the “loser” thing. It’s difficult to shake, even when it’s untrue.

The Lakers didn’t fold.

Yes, it might have helped Clipper attendance had the Lakers fallen on their faces, as they had every reason to do upon Magic Johnson’s exit. But these continue to be NBA franchises situated three-point distance away from one another, and one of them has never given its fans a cut-rate product.

Were the Clippers the only game in town, or even inside new digs at Burbank or Anaheim, they would be selling out by now. Or if the Lakers had a record similar to that of the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers might be selling out by now.

It isn’t the fans’ fault that the Clippers over-saturated the market.

What’s really changed?

Attitude, for one thing. The Clippers no longer have that hangdog look. You can see in their faces that, unlike Clipper teams of old, these guys expect to win. They don’t fear road games as they once did. They finally got rid of those fourth-quarter-fold faces.

And I’ll tell you what else is new. Mark Jackson is new. Maybe he will backslide, but at the moment Jackson is making fools of those who mocked the Clippers for wanting him. For all of their funny deals, the Clippers have acquired a sensational backcourt, Jackson and Ron Harper, through trades.

Come out and see them some time.