Clippers believe they ‘have more than enough’ without Kawhi
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes about the LA Clippers believing they have enough to beat Dallas without Kawhi Leonard.
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1. Clippers believe they ‘have more than enough’ without Kawhi
The Sporting Tribune's Mark Medina writes about the LA Clippers believing they have enough to beat Dallas without Kawhi Leonard.
The LA Clippers exerted their dominance with James Harden’s step-back 3s, Paul George’s pull-up jumpers and Ivica Zubac’s paint presence. As the Clippers demonstrated in their 109-97 win in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, they could manage just fine without Kawhi Leonard.
“We still have more than enough,” George said. “Obviously, Kawhi puts us well over the top. But we still got more than enough.”
The Clippers also revealed their vulnerability with Leonard’s absence, Luka Doncic’s aggressiveness and Kyrie Irving’s late-game outburst. The fourth-seeded Clippers may have retained home-court advantage against the No. 5 Mavericks. Only moments after touting the Clippers’ depth without Leonard, however, his co-star conceded the team’s long-term fortunes hinge on whether Leonard can recover from a right knee injury that has sidelined him for the final eight regular-season games and the Clippers’ playoff opener.
“Kawhi obviously is the piece we do need if we plan on winning it all and getting to where we want to get to,” George said. “But we’re going to hold it down for him until he’s ready to return. We feel comfortable with where we’re at.”
2. Los Angeles to be an Olympics host unlike any other
The plan is for the 2028 Olympics to be the first summer Games in recent history in which no new venues will need to be constructed, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Jackson Thompson.
When the Paris Olympics closes Aug. 11, the world can turn its attention to a handover ceremony that will feature a heavy Los Angeles theme.
The moment was teased by U.S. Olympics committee CEO Sarah Hirschland and LA 2028 Chief Athlete Officer Janet Evans at the U.S. Olympics Media Summit in New York this week, but all of its key details of the ceremony are still under wraps.
The ceremony will be the first tick in the countdown to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the first Olympics hosted by LA since 1984 and the third overall.
“This very well may be the single most important decade in sports in this country and we see a massive obligation and massive opportunity,” Hirschland said.
Many of the same pillars from 1984 will be reprised in 2028, but in many ways Los Angeles will be a vastly different host city from that of 1984.
3. Hawaiian pipeline gives US surfing star advantage at Olympics
Carissa Moore, five-time World Surf League champion, believes Pipeline is the closest wave to what she will face at the Olympics.
Surfers at the Paris Olympic won’t be surfing in France. They will compete off the coast of a village in Tahiti called Teahupo’o.
It’s a place known for some of the world’s heaviest waves, so heavy that the name of the village loosely translates to “Place of Skulls.”
Carissa Moore is one surfer who already has qualified with a distinct advantage. She lives an island away on Hawaii’s famous Pipeline wave.
The Pipeline, formally known as the Banzai Pipeline, is a wave caused by the shallows of three reefs located off the coast of Ehukai Beach Park on O’ahu. The wave often is higher than 12 feet, can reach as high as 20 feet and plays host to some of the most intense surfing competitions in the world.
Moore, a 31-year-old Honolulu native and five-time World Surf League champion, believes Pipeline is the closest wave to what she will face at the Olympics. She has spent the last several months taking advantage of the famous wave in her home state.
“The closest wave to the Olympic venue in Tahiti is Pipeline, so I just finished spending a few months practicing at that spot, so hopefully it will help me a little bit,” Moore said this week at the U.S. Olympics Media Summit.
4. Dodgers pitching staff will only get better this year
The Sporting Tribune's Doug Padilla writes about a Dodgers pitching staff that will get stronger as this season progresses.
It was a few years ago, following the end of an unsuccessful playoff run for the Dodgers, when a major league scout summed up the situation succinctly.
“Ran out of pitching,” the scout said as the Dodgers limped into the offseason without a World Series appearance that was expected.
The assessment was delivered matter of factly and in one drawn-out word: “ranoutofpitching.” There was no shoulder movement, although you could see the shrug. Nothing else was said, although you could hear his, “No surprise.”
Twice in the past 10 seasons, the Dodgers had enough late-season pitching to win a title. In 2017, they had a championship in their grasp, but it was the Houston Astros who banged on the back of plastic buckets and took it away. In 2020, the Dodgers landed their title, when they pitched their way past the Tampa Bay Rays.
5. Life lessons from World Cup winner and Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillas
In an exclusive interview with The Sporting Tribune’s Chandrima Chaterjee, Iker Casillas reflects on his life and career.
Some might say he’s done it all – a successful career, a lasting legacy, a family, a divorce — but World Cup winner and Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillas, has a more evolved outlook on life that reflects his own journey which has taken unpredictable twists and turns, bringing him face to face with both the highest joys in his personal and professional life, as well as the depths of loss and heartbreak.
During his 16-year tenure with Real Madrid, currently 11 points clear at the top of the La Liga table after defeating their arch-nemesis FC Barcelona in the latest edition of the El Clásico, he amassed 5 La Liga titles, 2 UEFA Champions League trophies.
His parting words in 2015, on the day of his departure from the club he joined at the age of nine, “Be sure that no matter where I go, I will keep shouting, Hala Madrid,” ring true to this day.
And while his intention was to continue prospering in the sport which defined the first three decades of his life, his dream was abruptly cut short after a dream season with Portugal’s Premeira Liga’s FC Porto wining the league title, when he suffered a heart attack during practice in May of 2019. The 2010 FIFA World Cup winner and would attempt a return to the pitch after his recovery, however he was forced to announce his retirement from soccer in the following summer.
6. What will be the fate of the best Clippers team we’ve ever seen?
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi wonders how far the greatest group of Los Angeles-born players will go this playoffs.
I was in New York the night James Harden made his debut for the LA Clippers earlier this season.
It was moment I needed to see in person because, well, as we’ve learned with the Clippers you just never know when all the players on one of the most talented teams ever assembled will actually all be healthy at the same time.
As the Clippers’ new starting lineup of Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook took the court at Madison Square Garden that night there were several questions about how all new pieces would fit together. They lost six straight following the Harden trade and were 8-10 on Nov. 30 leading to doomsday prognostications but everything changed when Westbrook moved to the bench and became a contender for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The Clippers went on to win 26 of their next 31 games and were 34-15 on Feb. 6. It looked like they could be the No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:38 p.m. – Orioles at Angels – $5
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
6:30 p.m. – Golden Knights at Stars (Game 1) – ESPN
6:38 p.m. – Orioles at Angels – Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Lakers at Nuggets (Game 2) – TNT
7:00 p.m. – Kings at Oilers (Game 1) – ESPN 2
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
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