Clippers say pregame huddle had nothing to do with Pierce stabbing
The Los Angeles Clippers’ post-introduction huddle before Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics generated a lot of attention and raised more than a few eyebrows:
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While watching the Clips players descend on Paul Pierce after the veteran received a rousing ovation from the TD Garden faithful who watched No. 34 rock kelly green and bedevil opponents for 15 years, some fans and media members found themselves wondering: were the Clippers referencing or re-enacting the 2000 stabbing at a Boston nightclub that nearly cost a then-22-year-old Pierce his career and life?
A Clippers spokesperson firmly denied that claim on Thursday, telling Ball Don’t Lie that the team has been doing this pre-game pile-on hype-up routine all season long, and that Wednesday’s iteration of it had absolutely nothing to do with Pierce’s stabbing.
A spin through YouTube shows that, at the very least, the Clippers’ post-introduction mosh-pit act’s been going on since early December.
Here’s a look from high up in the Staples Center stands at the Clips before their Dec. 5, 2015, home win over the Orlando Magic:
… and before their Dec. 16, 2015, home win over the Milwaukee Bucks:
… and in a video posted on Jan. 11, 2016, but dated “December 2015,” opponent unknown:
… and before their Jan. 2, 2016, home win over the Philadelphia 76ers:
… and before their Jan. 9, 2016, home win over the Charlotte Hornets:
If this thing is the Clippers in some way making light of their 38-year-old veteran forward getting stabbed nearly a dozen times in the face, neck and back at the Buzz Club in Boston’s Theater District and sustaining injuries that required lung surgery, it’s one that’s been a running gag within the Clippers for the last two months, and one they’ve been breaking out against random opponents rather than solely as a gallows-humor reference before what Pierce said Wednesday could be his final game in the city where he built a Hall of Fame career and became an NBA champion. The Clippers say that’s not the case, and that what we saw Wednesday night was no different than what they’ve done all year long.
(Now, if you want to suggest the Clippers might want to pocket the “everybody get into a fight” play-acting in light of the recent intrasquad fisticuffs that left Blake Griffin with a broken hand and a four-game suspension, I hear you.)
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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