The LA Clippers should be every NBA fan's second favourite team.
They should be riding a wave of goodwill after the Donald Sterling debacle.
They should have a squad ready to contend for a title.
They are none of these things.
They're a team intensely disliked by the rest of the league, they seem to still be affected by the Sterling stigma and the Clippers look headed for a first-round exit after surrendering home-court advantage in game two against San Antonio.
While there is no official statistic in the box scores, the Clippers must surely lead the league in whingeing.
From head coach Doc Rivers' near tired old flabbergasted expression toward the referees to Chris Paul's constant sniping at the officials and gamesmanship in trying to take shots after being fouled from anywhere on the court to draw free throws, to Blake Griffin's compulsion to cry foul whenever he's on the receiving end of any contact, it's more than most NBA observers can handle.
This time last year, the Sterling era thankfully came crashing down. When the franchise came out the end of the dark tunnel that sustained period of under-achievement and nastiness, the Clippers should have been on the verge of success and popularity the likes of which they had never seen.
After being perennial whipping boys living in the giant shadow cast by the Lakers, it was all set up for a made-for-Hollywood story of an underdog coming good. With the Lakers in a tailspin over the past couple of years as Kobe Bryant's ageing frame has failed him, the Clippers could have united LA.
But they have struggled to finally make the Staples Center truly theirs.
It was beyond embarrassing for the Clippers at a recent home game when the MVP chant for Warriors guard Steph Curry from visiting Golden State fans reverberated around the arena. The Clippers have made it so hard on themselves.
On top of the on-court whining and sense of ill-deserved entitlement, the Clippers also damaged their already tarnished image mid-season when they traded for the coach's son, Austin Rivers, after a couple of mediocre seasons at New Orleans.
Nepotism was not required. Another back-up guard was not required. What the team needed was another forward to strengthen their fragile bench.
It's no wonder the club is looking to undergo a makeover with new uniforms, colours and logo in the pipeline. They should go one step further and come up with a new name. Clippers represents their former home of San Diego. I could be wrong but a Clipper is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era. Being named after a type of yacht hardly delivers street cred in hoops circles.
Another issue to sort out in the off-season is whether to pay top dollar to re-sign centre DeAndre Jordan. Other teams will offer him massive coin and although he's a defensive demon who can rebound and dunk as well as anyone in the association, he's extremely limited on offence and a target for deliberate fouls because of his free-throw ineptitude.
First things first and there's still a series on the line against San Antonio. All is not lost though in this playoff series but the 111-107 overtime loss to the Spurs in game two makes it a tough job even harder.
At the risk of delivering a Dr Seuss diagnosis, plenty of pressure's on playmaker Paul to produce. CP3 has dragged a middling New Orleans team and the Clippers past the first round but has never stepped onto the floor for a conference final. If his career is going to progress from very good to genuinely great, he has to lead a side to a conference decider, if not the NBA finals.
Continuing the theme of "should haves", Wednesday night's match was there for the taking for the Clippers. Spurs playmaker Tony Parker limped off injured, Manu Ginobili fouled out before the game went into overtime. If they can't get the job done at home with everything in their favour, what chance do they have with the next two games in San Antonio?
