The NBA’s new In-Season tournament just kicked off. The tournament is the most recent addition to the pre-existing NBA format and was devised to incentivize players and teams to take the regular season with more seriousness. The opening night saw 7 games begin played on the newly laid out court designs.
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NBA DEBUTS IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT COURTS FOR ALL 30 TEAMS pic.twitter.com/OHmOA8LYGL
— NBA (@NBA) October 30, 2023
The NBA even revealed all their new court designs for their In-Season tournament, posting the same to Twitter. Though the reception for the tournament and the new designs have been mixed, the games have been nothing short of box office.
While talking about one of the opening night games, JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson got into a hilarious back-and-forth. Redick, who was calling a Bucks-Knicks game, decided to roast one of his old teams, the Los Angeles Clippers. Talking about the new NBA courts, JJ said,”
I was very confused. The first court I saw was the Clippers court and there was a trophy at half-court. And I was like, ‘Well the Clippers never won the trophy.'”
Redick’s ESPN colleague Richard Jefferson instantly burst out laughing at JJ’s comments. Quickly reminding Redick, Jefferson said, “ You’re part of the problem JJ, what are you talking about? ” To which JJ hilariously reacted, saying, ” I’m well aware, I am well aware RJ. ”
JJ Redick: “I was very confused. The first court I saw was the Clippers court and there was a trophy at half-court. And I was like, ‘well the Clippers never won the trophy.'”
Richard Jefferson: “You’re part of the problem.
JJ: “I’m well aware RJ.”pic.twitter.com/bjw3RIb5cQ
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 4, 2023
JJ Redick and The Clippers go way back
The exchange between the two commentators was nothing short of comical, especially after one realizes that Redick was a core piece of the Lob-City Clippers with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Redick spent four seasons with the Clippers from 2013 to 2017.
At the time, the Clippers had one of the best squads in the NBA and were touted year after year to be the favorites to win it all. But after 4 straight years of disappointing playoff performances, the team was broken up. In all those years, Redick was the main shooting guard for their star-studded roster, and it would be fair to blame Redick as much as any other player for their failures.
But the Clippers as a franchise itself seems to be cursed. The Clips have failed to ever make a final, despite its star-studded rosters. Even with Kawhi and Paul George, the best the Clippers could achieve was a Western Conference Finals in 2021. But sadly enough, the dreams of making a final quickly disappeared as Kawhi went down with a knee injury. With Clippers owners and players both losing patience, the time for winning is now.
