Because simply, we love Andray Blatche. Last season he was playing "he said, she said" with Coach Flip, and he was supposedly arrested at a Borders Bookstore in late Decemeber of 2010. Now he's threatening to fight common people with a Twitter vendetta. The bookstore situation however, was proven to be inaccurate and made up, which was too bad. The Wizards, who barely saw success with a few ho-hum playoff appearances (in which they were 8-18 from 2005 to 2008) before slowly scrapping everything via trade, hit the jackpot twice recently with the number one pick, John Wall, and the highly unlikely unloading of Gilbert Arenas and his cartoon contract. Now a team of slightly promising youngsters and cast-off veterans, like Josh Howard and Rashard Lewis, Washington plays basketball two to five days a week. Tune in and watch Blatche light it up or the opposite, which is always an interesting coin toss.
The Bobcats had a cool run to the playoffs in 2010. They had savy veteran workhorses, all from unique backgrounds, all with psychic friendships. Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, and Gerald Wallace were growing together after formidable years in France, Golden State, and obscurity. Suddenly, Michael freaking Jordan owned the team, and he's making crazy moves left and right. He's making moves with his eyes closed! Charlotte has the talent to perhaps make another playoff push only to lose highhandedly in the first round (AKA the bye round for Eastern Conference teams 1 and 2). Young tough guy DJ Augustin is incredible to watch, hitting shots and moving speedily. They've got a guy to root for in Shaun Livingston, who once upon a time had the worst looking knee injury anyone has ever seen. Would the world be a better place if the Bobcats were contracted? Sure, nobody goes to their games. But that doesn't stop us from enjoying their silly Bobcat ways.
Memphis is an interesting one. They're almost, kind of, a little bit very solid. And they kind of, have been, sort of, for a few years now. Unable to sneak into the playoffs in the ultra-competitive West, Memphis's young and flashy players have gone 74-70 since the start of last season. Unlike other bad teams, Memphis has resisted to blow things up. Their hard play and exciting antics have made for a likely playoff appearance later this year, which will be their first since 2006. Their best player, Zack Randolph, used to play for teams who wanted him lobotomized. Now, he's a public relation man's dream, and the Grizzlies keep competing hard, even with the loss of their second best player, the young and pompous Rudy Gay. If they can commit a large sum of money to Zack Randolph in the form of a basketball player's contract, they should continue their success in seasons to come, meaning they may just find their way off this list one of these days.
Don Nelson gets the Essence Award on this one. His gameness, grit, and life force were each a guiding light for the young and running Warriors. For years, Nellie acted bravely as his critics blamed him for all sorts of outlandish tomfoolery. But the truth of the matter is, the Golden State Warriors of California hadn't enjoyed playoff success since 1994, but then like a crazy school of fish, Nelson led his team to a historic, tiny championship type, first round series victory over the Dallas Mavericks of 2007. With confetti and booze, gambling and more, Don Nelson lived on top of the world, and the following season Golden State improved to 48-34. They became, however, the first team in NBA history to win 48 games and miss the playoffs (which just didn't seem fair at all, I mean look at some of the teams that slithered in out East). Suddenly after that, things started crashing down in Oakland. Nelson's favorite players slowly started disappearing, with Baron Davis heading to the Clippers and Stephen Jackson to Charlotte. Continuing to coach the only way he knew how (with stubborn, full force, all offense, no defense basketball) Nelson achieved his goal of becoming the coach with the most wins in NBA history, and afterward, it was apparent to all that it was finally time to go. The current Warriors haven't forgotten him though, as they continue to implement the run-and-gun offense with high scoring entertainment on a nightly basis.
Sometimes a lovable loser creeps into your heart over time, but once in a while, you love that son of a gun right from the start, and their agonizing pit of losing for years and years becomes your constant, your rock, your diamond necklace. The Los Angeles Clippers are that bad rock. Ever since Eric Piatkowski and Keith Closs laced up for the Clip Show, I knew who to root for in LA. With an owner only a mother could love, the Clippers stink, always. They went to the second round of the playoffs in 2006 thanks to the great Sam Cassell. It was the first time they had won a playoff series since they were the Buffalo Braves in 1976. People started to speak highly of the Clippers. Elton Brand was an all star big man, and they actually made a free agent splash with the greatly overpaid Baron Davis. Then, suddenly, with all the hype, they fell back to where they've always been. The bottom. Brand bolted for the big city of Philadelphia, and Baron Davis rediscovered his love for frozen pizza. They went back to their losing ways. Rookie jackpot Blake Griffin and fire shooter Eric Gordon are making them fun to watch again, and even though they're currently near the bottom of the West, things are certainly looking up in Clipper Land. The smart bet though, like always, is that things won't be looking up for long. Hopefully, someday, we lose that bet.
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