NBA: Journey To Become Unplayable. Chapter 158: Clippers vs Knicks

Back to the Garden

After demolishing the Bulls, the Knicks were right back at it on December 18, hosting the Clippers in a back-to-back at Madison Square Garden.

But the real surprise? The Clippers got cheered. No, seriously—Knicks fans stood up and gave them a round of applause when the team walked out. Even Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy got a standing ovation when the cara zood in on him.

So casual fans were scratching their heads.

"Wait… do we like the Clippers now?"

"Did Dunleavy used to coach here or sothing?"

Nope. Nothing like that.

It's just… love. Pure, petty, beautiful basketball love.

You see, during the draft, it all ca down to a coin toss—Clippers vs. Knicks. Winner gets the No. 1 pick. Clippers won the toss and took Lin Yi. Knicks got Blake.

But the Clippers fumbled hard and traded for Blake, thereby sending Lin to New York, and for that, the Knicks are forever grateful.

And ever since Lin started lighting it up, Clippers fans—and especially their front office—have been having sleepless nights.

There are no secrets in this league. Everyone knew the Clippers had Lin Yi. Now, they're stuck watching their ex glow up while they fumble around regretting everything.

Clippers Assistant GM Neil Olshey had tried to push for Lin back then. He got overruled. Coach and GM Dunleavy? Way too sold on Griffin's raw talent.

But the biggest clown in the whole circus? Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

Back when the trade happened, the Knicks tossed in a bit of cash, and Sterling was thrilled. He thought he'd pulled off a heist.

"I got a future All-Star and a stack of cash!" he bragged to the other owners at the league etings. "Dolan doesn't know what he's doing!"

Fast forward to today—Griffin hasn't played a single regular-season ga. Got hurt before opening night. anwhile, Lin Yi's out here putting up highlight reels every ga.

After Lin torched the Nets, Sterling flipped. He called up his front office, always screaming.

Suddenly, the genius businessman was just another bitter old man getting booed by his regrets.

And it hurt. Because they had Lin. They could've had Lin.

Olshey? His career highlight beca the worst what if in Clippers history.

What if he pushed harder for Lin?

What if he convinced Mike?

Coach Dunleavy? Could've coached a generational star. Instead? He's got season tickets to regret.

The Clippers basically self-sabotaged. It's like they saw the iceberg and steered into it.

And let's not even talk about their cursed franchise history. The only consistent thing about the Clippers is Lord Veto David Stern, that team afloat despite them.

Now, Griffin? Poor guy's just sitting at ho watching this ss unfold. Dude hasn't even played a single minute, and he's already catching strays because of Lin Yi. Unlucky doesn't even begin to describe it.

Sterling started treating Griffin like a third-string benchwarr. Barely acknowledged him. anwhile, Lin Yi's getting love from every corner of the league.

The solution was obvious: wait until Griffin could finally play. Give him a chance before writing him off. But the Clippers? Nah. They chose violence. Or at least sha.

They showed up at MSG like a guilty party at a confession booth.

And you know what? Maybe this was karma. Because a few years down the line, Sterling gets absolutely wrecked by his girlfriend Vanessa Stiviano, 50 years younger than Old Man Sterling, who liked to hang around the locker room pretending to be a GM.

The league had been dying to elevate the Clippers into a real big-market contender. But you can't build a dynasty on a foundation of stupidity.

The NBA wanted to prop them up.

Sterling made sure they stayed on the floor.

And that's why tonight, when the Clippers stepped into the Garden, Knicks fans gave them a hero's welco—not out of kindness, but out of delicious, delicious irony.

Because deep down, everyone loves watching soone else regret losing their lottery ticket.

What happened to Sterling wasn't so wild twist of fate—it was bound to happen.

Even if that whole recording scandal hadn't exploded, the league would've found sothing else to get him on. Running Sterling out of the NBA wasn't hard. Honestly, it was long overdue.

...

TNT hyped this Knicks-Clippers matchup as Lin Yi's Revenge Ga.

But Lin? He wasn't mad at the Clippers at all.

If anything, he was thankful.

They traded him to New York.

And co on—who wants to be stuck in the Western Conference gauntlet? Out there, even if you win 50 gas, you might still miss the playoffs.

But in the East? That's paradise.

Fewer good teams, more room to breathe, and way more stat-padding opportunities.

So no, Lin Yi didn't need revenge. He was already winning.

...

The ga itself? Kind of a joke. The Knicks coasted through it.

Clippers head coach Dunleavy kept sneaking glances at Lin from the sideline. Was that envy in his eyes? Or straight-up regret?

Maybe both.

Final score? Clippers 94, Knicks 105.

And it wasn't even that close.

Lin Yi played just 29 minutes, finishing with 20 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, and 2 blocks. Solid numbers, but honestly, he didn't even break a sweat. Not because he was trying to coast—just because the Clippers were that bad.

...

After the ga, every reporter wanted to poke the sa sore spot:

"Lin, what do you think of the Clippers trading you on draft night?"

Lin Yi just smiled. No bitterness. No drama.

"To be honest?" he shrugged. "I don't feel any kind of way. I'm in New York. I'm happy. Blake's got great potential, too."

He even threw his guy Griffin so praise.

"As for whether the Clippers made the right call... I an, it is what it is. Life goes on."

What was he supposed to say? The Clippers dood themselves. That their front office fumbled the bag.

Lin didn't even see them as rivals anymore. He'd moved on.

Griffin, after all, was a beast in his own right—at least in those early years. With his bounce and explosiveness, it wasn't like the Clippers lost completely... it just turned out Lin fit better sowhere else.

...

December 19, 2009.

Knicks hit a one-day break.

anwhile, in a plane sowhere between Phoenix and D.C., Jas Caron Butler was staring out the window, deep in thought.

What he didn't know was that he was flying straight into one of the craziest sses of his career.

Back in Washington, the Wizards were imploding.

The whole thing started with a stupid bet over a ga of booray, a card ga—so ridiculous amount of cash on a flight, and suddenly it turned into a full-blown war between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton.

It started with trash talk...

Then it turned into threats.

The Wizards' GM had begged Butler to step in and calm things down. And Butler tried. He really did.

But things just got worse.

"I swear, don't let see you at practice tomorrow. You're trash. A grown man crying over a ga of cards. Get your punk ass out." Arenas shouted.

"You wanna get shot, n**ga?" Crittenton barked back.

"I can bring the guns," Arenas shot back.

"Fuck off," Crittenton replied cold as ice.

Butler thought—hoped—they were just blowing off steam. He figured things would cool down by morning.

But he was wrong.

Very wrong.

...

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND SO STONES.

Feel like joining a Patreon for free and subscribe to advanced chapters?

Visit the link:

[email protected]/GRANDMAESTA_30

Change @ to a