EL SEGUNDO HERALD May 18, 2017 Page 5 End of an Era on the Horizon for Clippers By Adam Serrao It has been six years now since the Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan show got started at Staples Center to take center stage just as the Los Angeles Lakers began to flame out. A Clippers franchise that had traditionally been in the gutter of the Western Conference for once got the talented pieces to make the team relevant within the NBA. In those six years, the Clippers may have been the best basketball team to call Los Angeles home, but what they have done with that title has been lackluster at best. Now, as a team that has failed to make it out of the second round of the playoffs in each of the past six years, it may just be time for the Clippers to blow up the roster and start all over again from scratch. “Once again, we’re done,” a somber and angry Chris Paul said after his team’s Game 7 loss to the Utah Jazz in the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs. “Too many times,” he continued. Too many times is right. Not only have the Clippers failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs in each of the past six years, but the team has also failed to make it out of the first round for two years straight. In addition to that, Paul’s team has now become the first in NBA history to blow a series lead in five consecutive playoff appearances. Fans of the Clippers may wonder how it can be so easy for some to say that dismantling a team full of such great talent is the correct course of action to take. Players like Paul, Griffin and Jordan don’t just come out of the draft every year--and when stars do hit free agency, playing for the Clippers isn’t necessarily the first thing on their minds. The fact is, while Paul may be one of the greatest point guards in the league, his inability to raise his team to greatness didn’t just begin in L.A. Back when the All-Star was with the then-New Orleans Hornets and was just as efficient (if not more so) at the beginning of his career as he is now, he and his team continued to struggle in the playoffs. New Orleans--with Paul--made it past the first round only once in the 2007-’08 season and failed to make it past the first round every year since. The Clippers’ latest disappointment came nearly three weeks ago when the team fought all season long to secure home-court advantage only to lose three of four games to the Jazz at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A 2-1 series lead disappeared, just as the Clippers somehow do every year in the postseason. Now, president of basketball operations and head coach Doc Rivers along with third-year owner Steve Ballmer must decide what is next for the ball club. That task won’t be as easy as it may seem on the surface when Paul and Griffin can choose to opt out of their contracts and J.J. Redick will become a free agent. “Winning is not easy,” Redick explained to the media after Game 7. “Winning it all is certainly extremely difficult. So, you know, some teams aren’t meant to figure out those answers, I guess. Maybe next year we will.” Whether or not the team will still be constructed in the same way remains a giant question mark for Redick, Paul, Griffin and the Clippers. In order to keep the core group of players together, Ballmer will have to shell out approximately $200 million, including the luxury tax. While money may not be an issue for Ballmer, team chemistry certainly may be. The Clippers began and ended this year’s 82-game season as the hottest team in the league, yet once again floundered in the playoffs. What’s the use of going into another year with the same roster, expecting results that would differ from any of the past six years? With an injury-prone Griffin and an aging All-Star in Paul, it would be impractical for Ballmer and the Clippers to commit years and money to players who can’t take the team to the next level. Paul and Griffin could very well turn down more money from Los Angeles to simply walk away from the team. Eagles Baseball Team Claims Ocean League Title By Gregg McMullin When the seniors on this year’s El Segundo High School baseball team entered as freshmen, the expectations for their success was high. Their potential has seen the fruits of their hard work and persistence. With their sweep of Santa Monica the Eagles improved to 25-6 overall, including 9-1 in the Ocean League, for the program’s first outright league title since 2010. The Eagles faced Santa Monica, a team that was tied atop the standings with El Segundo, for a chance at history. The Eagles would be looking for their 34th league title and a chance to give first-year head coach Billy Traber his 25th win of the season. It would mark the best record for a first-year coach in school history. With the Eagles second in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 polls, it would also mark the first time since 2010 the Eagles would be ranked that high. In the first game, the Eagles ran into trouble finding ways to score even though they got nine hits. CJ Shevlin’s RBI single in the sixth inning was ultimately the difference-maker in El Segundo’s 3-1 win. Jimmy Galicia went the distance, giving up one earned run and scattering four hits while striking out six in the process. His command allowed his defense to get involved, which meant third baseman Nico Celestial had plenty of highlight plays. Galicia improved to 7-3 overall and lowered his ERA to a minuscule 1.05. If you‘re wondering how good that is, you have to go back to Nigel Nootbaar’s junior year when his ERA was 0.98 seven seasons ago. For a team to be successful, you need two frontline pitchers--and the Eagles have another in Spencer Long. His dominance over the season has been evident with his 1.14 ERA, his nine wins and average of a strikeout per innings pitched. Long took his talents to the mound against Santa Monica in the second game and proved to the Vikings that he is one of the best pitchers in the South Bay. The four-year starter for the Eagles shut down the Vikings in limiting them to two hits. He struck out seven, including the side in the seventh inning after walking the leadoff hitter. Nico Celestial was a one-man wrecking crew and besides Long on the mound was the reason the Eagles won 4-0. He not only went three for three, but drove in two runs, scored one, hit his third home run and notched his 11th double of the season. As good as his bat was, he was equally as impressive playing third base. He dove to catch a bunt attempt, took a slow roller and threw out the hitter by two steps, and fielded two ground balls to his left as well as Brooks Robinson once did for the Baltimore Orioles. The Eagles scored two runs in the second inning on the strength of three doubles. Celestial doubled and scored on Spencer Palmer’s team-leading 17th double of the year. Kobe Estrada hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Celestial unloaded on a 380-foot blast for a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give the Eagles more than enough runs for Long who cruised to his ninth win. The Eagles will host the wild card winner of the West Torrance/Downey game today at 3:15 p.m. in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. The second round is slated for next Tuesday at a site to be determined. The future looks bright for the baseball program. The JV team ended the season with a 15-8 record and placed second behind Santa Monica. The frosh/soph team swept Santa Monica 5-4 and 2-0 to win the Ocean League. In the first game, Kyle McMullin was two for three and had an RBI single to tie the score in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Alex Heflin hit a ground ball that was mishandled and the Eagles scored the eventual winning run. Matias McClain shut down the Vikings after taking over for Nick Villa in the sixth inning. In the second game Cameron Long tossed a four-hit shutout, struck out seven and the Eagles won 2-0. Softball The Eagles finished 7-3 in Ocean League play and wound up tied for second with Culver City after losing 5-0 to Santa Monica. The Lady Eagles managed just three hits off Viking ace Kenedee Jamerson. They did however keep the ball in play off Jamerson’s explosive delivery. The Lady Eagles will enter the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs starting today. The team will make a long-four hour bus ride to San Luis Obispo to take on the Mustangs. Should they win, they’ll most likely host the second round on Tuesday. The JV team looks to feed the varsity with a number of quality players next season. The Lady Eagles finished 16-6 overall and with their 9-3 win over Santa Monica finished a perfect 10-0 in the Ocean League. Malia Clagg led the team in hitting with a .540 batting average while Audrey Butler was the ace of the pitching staff. Volleyball Falls in Quarters The Eagles had another successful season come to an end in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 quarterfinals playoffs against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. In the second round, the Eagles swept Crescenta Valley 25-16, 25-18, 25-21. Joe Kelly was at his best, leading the Eagles with 18 kills while Joe Karrer had 15 kills. News and Notes The El Camino Warriors baseball team has swept the Super Regional series with Pasadena. Former Eagle standouts Connor Underwood and Hunter Lewis had a big part in the series clincher. Underwood led off the fourth inning with a single and later scored to make it 3-0. Lewis, who was three for five, had an RBI double made to make it 4-0. The Warriors went on to win 9-2 and will advance to Southern California Sectionals. Lars Nootbaar is having a good season for the USC Trojan baseball team. The sophomore has played in all of the team’s 45 games, is hitting .278, leads the team in home runs, triples and base on balls, and has yet to make an error in 245 chances. • Like Us on Facebook See Clippers, page 16
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