The LA Clippers have hit a rough stretch, dropping five straight, and NBA fans are starting to question what’s really happening with this group. Their latest loss — a 140-123 setback to the Miami Heat — got people talking for reasons beyond the score. Down by nearly 30 in the second half, the Clippers looked flat, and things took an odd turn early in the third.
About a minute into the period, Ty Lue pulled all of his starters at once. It wasn’t a subtle adjustment — it looked more like a full reset. The move stunned viewers, and the reaction online leaned heavily toward disbelief and mockery.
One fan went all in, saying, “Nigga ts ain’t funny they turned themselves into suicide bombers to give OKC a top 3 pick. WE’RE F**KED.”
CLIPPERS DOWN 30
THEY BENCHED THEIR STARTERS FOR THE SECOND HALF 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/5NNgJcc0jj
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) December 2, 2025
Someone else added, “ik we all hate the clippers but I’d rather not have OKC get a top 5 pick in a loaded draft.”
A third fan chimed in with, “The NBA is f*cking doomed, we shouldn’t be celebrating the Clippers losing. OKC is about to dominate the league for the next 10+ years.”
All of it circles back to that 2026 first-rounder — the one the Clippers don’t control. If they keep sliding, that pick becomes even more valuable for Oklahoma City, a team already loaded with young talent. That’s the part that really bothers fans: LA can’t tank, yet they’re losing like a team that could accidentally hand OKC a top-tier lottery prize.
“The mafia must have his family”: NBA fans tie Ty Lue’s move to gambling rumors
While a chunk of fans had fun clowning the Clippers, others took Lue’s mass benching in a very different direction. Some linked the move — even jokingly — to the gambling chatter that bubbled up earlier this year.
One person said, “The mafia must have his family.”
The mafia must have his family
— GHOST (@AE_4_L1F3) December 2, 2025
Another posted, “His ass still gambling he don’t give a fcc lmaooo!!”
A third chimed in, “Coach might lose the game. But, he’s going to win some money. Who’s the real loser?”
The rumors haven’t fully gone away since October, when Lue’s name popped up online after talk surfaced about coaches attending rigged poker games in Vegas — the same situation that reportedly led to Chauncey Billups being detained by the FBI. Nothing was proven, but the whispers lingered long enough that moments like Monday night only pour gasoline on the fire.
Right now, the Clippers look lost, the fanbase is restless, and every loss tightens OKC’s future stranglehold on the West. Whether this skid is just a rough patch or something deeper, Lue and his group are running out of runway to figure it out.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
