There was a time when the gap between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Clippers was indeed too wide. Although in terms of winning NBA Championships that’s still the case, the Clippers have certainly closed the gap during the regular season.
Wondering how? Well, the Lakers’ recent blowout loss against the Clippers this week marked the 7th consecutive defeat that the Purple & Gold have been handed by their noisy neighbors.
In fact, the last time the Lakers defeated the Clippers was back in the 2019-20 NBA season. Moreover, their most recent defeat must have been pretty embarrassing for the legendary franchise.
The reason for it is quite obvious as the Clippers weren’t even at their full strength but manhandled LeBron James and co. Anyway, our focus today isn’t the Lakers’ recent defeat but on the last time when they actually won against LAC.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last few games of the regular season and the entire postseason were shifted to the Orlando Bubble. The step was taken to protect the players from catching coronavirus.
So even though the Lakers won against the Clippers in the Bubble, many still don’t give them the credit for that victory. In fact, former NBA player Reggie Miller recently pointed this when he was in the commentary box during the Lakers vs. Clippers game. Miller said:
“Does that (Lakers’ win in the Orlando Bubble) really count? Does it count?
Even Reggie miller know that the bubble didn't count 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/cuVxVwezPB
— LeCancun James (@Le0verrated) March 4, 2022
While Miller was asking a question, it was clear to NBA fans that he was indirectly dismissing the Lakers’ victory over the Clippers in the 2019-20 NBA season.
Whether you count that win or not, it doesn’t matter as of now. Since the 2020 NBA champions have a bigger target to achieve this season. They are barely hanging on to a play-in tournament spot with the season already over.
