<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This is a new world for the Clippers and they aren't about to pretend otherwise. They couldn't, really. "We don't know what to expect," said Elton Brand. "Everything is the first time. We're all excited." The world they left behind was filled with ridicule. Their name was synonymous with sad, pathetic losing. With how not to run a franchise. Now it's all upside down. Strange sentences are being put together, combining words like Clippers and winning. They took it to yet another level Monday night. Not satisfied with just advancing into the playoffs, they actually went out and won a series. Won it fairly easily, knocking off the weak-kneed Denver Nuggets 101-83 to take the best-of-seven series in a snappy five games. The last time this franchise actually won a playoff series was two cities and 30 years ago. Patty Hearst and the SLA were on trial. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were starting Apple computer in a garage. America celebrated its bicentennial. I had hair. "It's been 30 years and it's definitely the changing of the times," Brand said. "We have a great young nucleus with a nice mix of vets, so if we keep it together we could be good for a long time instead of just the once every nine years type of thing." Put your mind around that. The Clippers a perennial playoff team. These current Clippers are good enough to give any team concern. Good enough that all things at least seem possible. Coach Mike Dunleavy doesn't pretend the Clippers are some kind of title favorite, but neither does he concede it is beyond the realm of possibility. "I always let my imagination go," Dunleavy said. "From the very beginning I look at the path potentially you could take to win a championship. "We feel we have a very versatile team that is built for the playoffs. We can play big. We can play small. We can play fast. We can play slow. And we're a defensive team." Naturally, these being the Clippers, advancing to the second round could never prove a simple matter. First off, the Nuggets actually made the Clippers earn Monday's victory. Actually demonstrated brief heart after a string of playoff performances that left you unsure how good the Clippers were because the Nuggets looked so absolutely terrible. But the Clippers started to pull away late in the third quarter, breaking open a tight game with a 20-3 run that took out what little life was left out of the shrinking Nuggets. And now having advanced to the second round, who of all teams appears to be waiting for them but their own little L.A. nemesis, the Lakers. The Lakers lead their first-round series 3-1 over the Suns. They can advance into the second round with a victory tonight in Phoenix where they would play the Clippers. </div> Source
