The Clippers have long been the laughingstocks of the NBA, save for one season when Sam Cassell was running the show back in 2006 – the last time the team sniffed a winning record in the past 19 years and only the second time they made the playoffs in that stretch.
Through its first 42 years as a franchise, the team has yet to even win a division title.
The Los Angeles Clippers (32-21) look to finally change these fortunes behind MVP candidate Chris Paul as they face their hallway rivals, Los Angeles Lakers, at “home” in Wednesday night’s best game.
The Clippers are 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers for the division lead and the third seed in the Western Conference.
They have won two of the first three meetings this season, and a win tonight would give them the first season series win over the Lakers in 19 years.
Winning the division may still be a tall task, as the Clippers play eight of their final 12 games on the road, and six of those against teams with .500 records or better.
The team is riding its first six-game winning streak in 20 years, late in the 1991-92 season.
After a down season with the Hornets in which Paul scored a career-low 15.9 points, he is having a resurgent year, averaging 19.3 points, 8.8 assists, a career-low 2.0 turnovers, and a league-leading 2.4 steals while proving doubters wrong about his impact.
Randy Foye tied a franchise-record for most 3-pointers made in a game in a 94-75 victory against the Mavericks with eight makes en route to a season-high 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting. He has averaged 21.6 points on 57% shooting, including 48.4% beyond the arc, in his last three games.
Although the Lakers (34-20) have won 11 of their last 15 games, they have had trouble putting teams away as eight of those victories had a difference of six points or less.
Such was the case Tuesday night when they squandered a 17-point lead to New Jersey before Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left to seal the 91-87 victory.
Pau Gasol has hit a stride in the last three games, averaging 23 points on 58.8% shooting, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.6 blocks.
Andrew Bynum, who missed the last game due to an ankle sprain, is a game-time decision.
The game should see plenty of “Lob City” as the Clippers lead the league with 82 alley-oop dunks, followed by the Lakers with 70.