Aging Clippers crash against Suns in Green's season opener
The Los Angeles team, the oldest roster in NBA history, is once again revealing its physical limitations in the decisive moments of games
Jalen Green celebrates a point against a helpless Heat.
Even the brightest veterans eventually fade, leaving behind a black hole that swallows everything around it. That's what the Los Angeles Clippers, the franchise that has assembled a handful of former NBA stars with the highest average age (33.2 years) of any roster in NBA history, are experiencing. The result, a third consecutive loss start the season (3-5) and the realization that opponents have learned to tighten up when the Clippers' physicality runs out of gas.
That's what the Suns did to pummel the Los Angeles Clippers (115-102) in Phoenix, a result that was made up at the end, when everything was decided before the end of the third period (83-64) and that reached a maximum of 104-79 with less than 8 minutes to play. Without James Harden (36 years old) and Kawhi Leonard (34), the rest of the cast of illustrious veterans showed all their shortcomings for today's intense basketball.
Old rockers fade out
Such dazzling names as Chris Paul (40), Brook Lopez (37) and Nico Batum (nearing 37) did little more than draw applause on the video scoreboard when they were announced, light years away from the talent that dazzled years ago. But the night underscored, above all, the disastrous bet the Clippers made with Bradley Beal (32), signed as if he were still the superstar of five years ago in Washington and not the mediocre player of recent years in Arizona.
The shooting guard ended being booed by the crowd with a game to forget: just 5 points, one assist (but two turnovers) and a dismal 2/14 shooting attempts. Something that explains why the Suns decided to get rid of him despite having to pay him $110 million for the next few seasons.
Green's good debut in Phoenix
On the other side, 23-year-old Jalen Green, making his season debut for the Arizona team, poured in 29 points, with another 24 coming from franchise star Devin Booker Green, who missed the first eight games with an injury, joined the Suns this summer in a blockbuster seven-team deal that sent Kevin Durant from Phoenix to Houston.
LATEST
