The cursed Clippers latest failure may mark the stunning end of an era

Injuries and bad luck have derailed a franchise full of promise.

All great teams need to be great come playoff time, but you also need to be lucky when it comes to injuries to your key players. The Clippers, unfortunately, haven't been. Leonard has had numerous knee injuries through the years, including a torn ACL, a torn meniscus, knee soreness, and so on. To George, who's had shoulder issues, injuries to his elbow, etc., as they just can't seem to catch a break to their dynamic duo in terms of health.

Adding Harden and Westbrook, who are known as two iron men throughout their legendary careers, helps take some pressure off George and Leonard to have to play through injury during the regular season to keep the team afloat. However, that hurts them during the playoffs, as it doesn't help the team continue to improve cohesiveness as a unit and be sharper come playoff time. I call it "The Clipper Curse," as it just seems like nothing can ever bounce fully in their favor as a franchise.

From the Donald Sterling era, to the "Lob City" era with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, to the current era of the Leonard-George pairing. The Clippers as a franchise just seemed to never have luck on their side, whether it's from a racist owner, injuries to key players, or playoff plunders and chokejobs that have cost the team any legitimate success.

The future of the organization will be something Clippers forward Steve Ballmer will have to think about, with Leonard injury-prone and George being inconsistent in the postseason as he's trying to help bring the organization a title.

They'll be opening up the 2024–25 season in their own arena, no longer as the "little brother" to the Lakers in Crypto Arena (formerly known as Staples Center), opening up the Intuit Dome that seats 18,000. Unfortunately, they'll do so without bringing a title to open up their new dome: "The Clipper Curse Continues."