The early 2010s was undoubtedly one of the best times to become a fan of the Los Angeles Clippers.
After all, the Los Angeles Clippers had a dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul leading the team. Combining its strengths, the “Rob City” Clippers nickname was coined.
On top of that, the Clippers signed Doc Rivers as head coach ahead of the 2013-14 NBA season. However, it turns out to be the beginning of the end of the Clippers’ Rob City era.
In their first season with the Clippers, Rivers led the team to a 57-25 record. The Clippers also reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
A similar fate awaited the Clippers during the 2015 playoffs. This season, the Clippers also traded Doc’s son, Austin Rivers.
Well, Austin’s arrival appears to have played a clear role in the fall of the Rob City Clippers as former NBA player Matt Burns spoke about the situation on a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast.
“He brought his son in. It was a strange energy there. He paid him. I’m not mad.
He added:
“And that made people watching him interesting… When his son came, the energy with it seems the guys weren’t really leaving it.”
To be fair, Rivers acquired fewer than JJ Redick, Matt Barnes and Jamal Crawford during the 2014-15 season. It wasn’t until the 2016-17 season that Rivers really got other important players on the roster.
The Rivers’ arrival was only part of the problem for the Clippers. As Burns later explained, the team’s top names were less chemical.
“Our superstar stabbed his head. Blake and CP sometimes had the best chemistry in the world, so sometimes he didn’t see his eyes or eyes,” Burns continued.
He then stated: “And at the same time, it is the emergence of DeAndre Jordan, who is beginning to become a Fringe All Star player, a defensive player of the year and an Olympic player.
“So he’s grown into himself.”
Ultimately, the growing chemistry issues for the Clippers ended what was supposed to have been a time of franchise championship victory.
“It felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen, so there were too many s___ that I couldn’t get through the hurdles, too many mental s___,” he concluded.
The Rob City ERA officially ended with Paul’s departure for the Houston Rockets and Griffin, and was traded with the Detroit Pistons in the 2017-18 season.