Clippers Can Only Look Forward to Next Season

Bruce Springsteen’s “Better Days” blared over the Sports Arena public address system during a timeout with 2:01 left in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ season-ending 124-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday before an announced sellout of 16,021.

After finishing with the NBA’s worst record (17-65), the Clippers can only hope the song proves prophetic.

“I’m disappointed in the fact that we didn’t win more games,” Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor said after the club matched the second-worst record in franchise history, “but I think if you look at the overall season you can be pleased with the effort the players gave and how hard they played. They raised their game to another level. It’s a positive to build on.”

The Clippers have a 25% chance of winning next month’s NBA draft lottery and are guaranteed of drafting no lower than fourth.

“I’m not going to get into what we need (in the draft),” Baylor said. “First, we don’t know where we’re going to pick in the draft. We don’t know who’s going to be in the draft. . . . We’d like to keep (the pick), but if something comes up we feel we just can’t refuse, you have to do it for the good of the club.”

Expected by many to break the NBA record for most losses in a season, set when the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers lost 73 of 82 games, the Clippers opened the season with 16 consecutive losses, one shy of the league record.

“I’m stubborn and Pooh (Richardson) is stubborn and we weren’t going to allow that to happen,” forward Loy Vaught said. “We were underdogs every single night, but we managed to have some big wins. I think that’s a positive thing to build on.”

After ending the streak by beating the Milwaukee Bucks, 96-94 on Dec. 7 in overtime, the Clippers managed to win 16 more games to avoid breaking the 76ers’ record. The highlight was a 15-point victory over the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets and the low was a 48-point loss to Portland on Dec. 14.

“It was not a fun year but it would have been more painful if we had gone through the season with a different group of guys,” Clipper Coach Bill Fitch said. “It’s hard to build from 17 wins, but that’s the way it’s done.”

Vaught, who had 26 points and tied his career high by grabbing 21 rebounds as the Clippers ended a six-game losing streak against Dallas, evolved into a productive leader, averaging a team-high 15.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. Rookie forwards Lamond Murray and Eric Piatkowski also developed well.

Murray, who was suspended indefinitely last Monday after getting into an argument with Fitch in practice last Sunday, was inconsistent. However, he averaged 15 points in the final three games of the season after being reinstated.

Terry Dehere, who shot 37.7% as a rookie, also improved after being moved from shooting guard to point guard, averaging 10.43 points. Swingman Malik Sealy, who played small forward for the first two seasons of his NBA career, blossomed after being moved to shooting guard, averaging a career-high 12.95 points before suffering a season-ending hip injury last month.

Fitch is already looking forward to next season.

“Oct. 6--Two-A-Days,” was scrawled on the blackboard in the Clipper locker room after the game.