ONTARIO, Calif. — The LA ClippersThey have completed their preseason schedules here at the G League affiliate the last two seasons. The Ontario location is 35 miles east from downtown Los Angeles. It can be reached by car in approximately an hour, without any rush hour traffic, in San Bernardino County.
Due to a variety of reasons the team bus ride Wednesday took longer than two hours. It also disrupted a planned pre-game walkthrough. The Clipperd didn’t arrive until around 4:45 p.m., ahead of a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Denver Nuggets.
Tyronn Lou, Clippers head coach, felt good about his team as he headed into the preseason finale. Training camp was successful. Kawhi LeonardEveryone else has also returned to good health. High expectations are being set. The team has accepted the challenge.
The Clippers aren’t underdogs anymore, and Lue made it clear they’ll handle prosperity accordingly.
“We will be good,” he said pregame. “Expectations are high, but we still got to put the work in and we understand that, and we just got to approach it day by day. Just because we have high expectations doesn’t mean anything. You’ve still got to go out and give your best every single night, and that’s not something that we’re scared of and afraid of.
“Our goal is to win a championship. And so let the whole world know that.”
The Clippers bench boss, John Clippers, made a strong and foundational statement with this speech. However, the performance that followed failed to validate his message.
The Nuggets won 126 to115 with eight players scoring in double digits.
