The Ridiculous Saga of L.A.’s “Other” Basketball Team

After HBO abruptly cancelled Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, I figured that television was done with dramatizing pro basketball.

I was wrong.

Hulu just dropped the first two episodes of Clipped, its mini-series on LA’s other professional basketball team: the Clippers, best known for their on-court futility and the racist remarks of its owner, not necessarily in that order. The verdict? I’m not ready to say that Clipped, which was based on ESPN’s podcast, The Sterling Affairs, is a slam dunk, but it’s a winner thus far, highlighted by wonderful performances and a fun script.

The show tips off with the hiring of a new Clippers coach, former Clippers player Doc Rivers (Laurence Fishburne), who inexplicably left the blue-blood Celtics for the challenge of the dysfunctional Clippers. Immediately, Doc butts heads with wacky, goofball Clippers owner Donald Sterling (Ed O’Neill) over sharpshooter J.J. Redick’s skin color. Donald was unaware that J.J. is white, and he’s outraged. His rationale, my take: J.J. doesn’t have game because of his skin color.

Meanwhile, another drama, an unconventional love triangle, the spine of the show, is playing out. Donald, who’s married to Shelly (Jacki Weaver), is carrying on with his assistant, V. Stiviano (Cleopatra Coleman), an aging Kardashian wannabe, who’s striving to be more than Donald’s side dish. As far as the physical nature of their relationship, spoiler: it supposedly doesn’t go past intense foot massages. If V. had her druthers, Donald and Shelly would disappear, and she’d take over the team. In a cluster of unsympathetic characters, V. is right there with Donald.  However, it’s tough to hate her completely. She’s trying to adopt foster children and provide them with the security that she didn’t receive in her youth. Shelly will put up with V. to a certain point, but things turn hairy when Donald flaunts his mistress.

Without a doubt, the all-star cast puts the air in Clipped. They make the unsympathetic very watchable. O’Neill, playing a character in the Al Bundy ballpark, is wonderful at obliviousness and not going over the top. There’s a hilarious scene of V. dying his hair. It’s a wonderful sight gag. Weaver flexes her Oscar nominee chops as the put-upon Shelly. She has a particularly nice moment when she tells Donald that regardless of his indiscretions, he still owns her heart. Props to hair and make-up for their complete transformations. V. is perhaps the most challenging assignment. Coleman gives her as much depth as the script allows. Fishburne gets a lot of eye rolls and grimaces over Donald’s bizarre antics. His frustration is profound. Rivers served as a consultant on the show.

Two episodes in, Clipped mostly stays away from on-court basketball action. Excellent move. Watching actors on Ozempic pretending to play basketball is invariably a miss. Also, this team doesn’t look like a team of elite, world-class athletes. They’d lead the league in the least number of six-packs.  Ultimately, basketball is just trimming for this fun dramedy about wealthy, powerful people behaving goofy.