In Los Angeles, nope. But the NBA will use all of this drama to create one!
To grasp this concept, the perfect Hollywood movie that sums up the NBA’s plan is the movie “The Great White Hype”.
Damon Wayans was the champion whose fights were losing money from the lack of interest. The promoter, played by Samuel L. Jackson, set up a situation to create hype for the next fight. The scene plays out here.
Now in Los Angeles, the Clippers will never measure up to the Lakers. Have the Clippers won an NBA title yet? How about getting to the Western Conference Finals? No. So there is no rivalry. Nobody is going to take Clip Nation seriously enough to entertain a conversation until they get one.
Bird-Magic was a rivalry. Peyton-Brady was a rivalry. KD-LeBron is a rivalry. LeBron-Kawhi is not a rivalry.
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) December 24, 2019
pic.twitter.com/HybncjnCzB
The NBA doesn’t see it that way. They need some drama to attract fans to the TV sets.
Even when the Golden State Warriors were dominating the NBA, they had Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant. Skilled players that drew attention to the sport. They were the Goliath of the NBA for 5 years, but they were fun to watch. All of them are gone for the majority if not all of this season.
Think they don’t matter? Just check the tweet below.
The NBA's ugly year continues. The much-hyped Lakers-Clippers showdown was down 14 percent from LeBron's Christmas game last year. Overall, the day was down 10 percent.
— Bobby Burack (@burackbobby_) December 26, 2019
Yikes.
It counts. So when you turn on the TV set to watch ESPN or a game and this subject comes up, don’t roll your eyes. It’s a chess move. If the Lakers and Clippers aren’t a rivalry, the NBA and media will make it one.