The Los Angeles Clippers’ season is over. There’s one guy in particular who seems quite happy about that.

Chris Paul, the twice-over former Clipper who retired from the NBA after an acrimonious divorce with the team during the season, responded to the team’s 126-121 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament on Wednesday with a single meme.

There were no words, but Paul didn’t need them to convey his message when he posted a certain image on his Instagram story. The internet is quite aware this image comes with the caption, “I stopped by one of my biggest haters funeral today just to make sure that n**** was dead.”

Instagram

Time does not appear to be healing any wounds so far.

In case you need a refresher on Paul might be enjoying the Clippers’ demise, this season saw him sign with the team for his final NBA season, fall out with leadership after they didn’t appreciate his presence in the locker room, get permanently exiled from the organization, get dealt to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline and finally retire rather than try to hop onto a contender.

Paul, the Clippers’ all-time assists leader and one of the best players in franchise history, has not been shy about his displeasure with the franchise ins retirement. Soon after retiring, he was airing grievances on his friend Carmelo Anthony’s podcast. And now both parties are done for the season.

Wednesday was a brutal night for the Clippers

As awkward as Paul’s exit was, it was less embarrassing than what happened to the Clippers on Wednesday. Facing a diminished Warriors team that only got Stephen Curry back a week ago, the Clippers seemingly had 10 different opportunities to turn a big lead into an insurmountable one.

They failed at that every single time, and then got ripped apart by a vintage Curry and the Warriors’ other aging veterans down the stretch. They led for 85% of the game, at home, and lost.

It gets even worse, though, as the Clippers won’t even get to enjoy a lottery pick. They owe their unprotected 2026 first-rounder to the Oklahoma City Thunder due to the Paul George trade, which could now land in the top 4. They do have the Indiana Pacers pick thanks to the Ivica Zubac trade, but that only goes to them if it lands between No. 5 and 9.

Oh, and the team is also still awaiting the results of the NBA’s investigation into their Leonard-Aspiration scandal, which could come with significant repercussions if the league finds they circumvented the salary cap.

The Paul situation was another chapter of dysfunction in the Clippers’ recent history, but it might only be one part of a bad 2026 for them.

The worst injury of Wednesday’s NBA play-in tournament game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers might have been to a ref.

Veteran official Ben Taylor exited the game in the third quarter with an apparent injury, limping off the court in some discomfort. Alternate ref Sean Corbin entered the game to replace him after a brief break in play.

The 40-year-old Taylor is in his 11th season as an NBA ref and has officiated 31 playoff games in his career.

This article will be updated with more information

Since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani has played as a designated hitter 347 times and a designated hitter/starting pitcher 20 times (including playoffs). On Wednesday, he will play his first game as a pitcher only.

Ohtani was not in his usual leadoff spot in the lineup against the New York Mets for the Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson Day game, but was penciled in to make his scheduled start on the mound.

Kyle Tucker, the team’s usual No. 2 hitter, took over leadoff duties, while Freddie Freeman got bumped up from cleanup to No. 2.

The last time Ohtani started as a pitcher without hitting was May 28, 2021 during his career with the Los Angeles Angeles. That start also predated the Ohtani rule, which allows him to remain in the game as a DH after being done as a starter.

Once he’s finished throwing Wednesday, he’s out of the game.

The decision to give Ohtani a break as a hitter comes two days after he took a hit-by-pitch to the shoulder from Mets pitcher David Peterson. He went 0-for-7 at the plate after that between Monday and Tuesday.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday that Ohtani is still sore from the HBP, but it didn’t play a factor in Ohtani not hitting. Instead, he said the set-up “gives him the best chance to stay loose during the outing.”

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There were also complaints from the Toronto Blue Jays during Ohtani’s last start over how much time he was given to warm up between innings after coming off the basepaths, continuing a debate from last year’s World Series. Again, it’s unclear if that has any bearing here, but it at least illustrates that being a two-way player requires more than the already formidable task of becoming elite at both hitting and pitching.

Ohtani entered Wednesday as the only real starting pitcher to have not allowed an earned run so far this season. He has looked like a somewhat different pitcher in his two 2026 starts, but most important for the Dodgers is he remains healthy.

Ohtani playing as a pitcher only also won’t endanger his MLB-best 48-game on-base streak, already a record among Japanese-born players.

Tatsuya Imai’s career with the Houston Astros has so far consisted of a bad start, a good start and a start that landed him on the 15-day IL with arm fatigue. That might not be what the Astros had in mind when they guaranteed him $54 million out of Japan.

Now sidelined until at least late April, the right-hander spoke to reporters via interpreter on Tuesday and has some rather interesting things to say when discussing his arm fatigue. Per The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Imai admitted having trouble adjusting to the American lifestyle in baseball and outside of baseball.

When asked for an example, Imai reportedly pointed to when and where the players eat compared to how teams in Japan operate.

It’s unclear how eating in the Astros clubhouse can cause excess arm fatigue. It’s also quite possible something is being lost in translation here as well.

This isn’t the first time Imai has pointed to something surprising after a disappointing development. After his last start against the Seattle Mariners — in which he walked four out of seven batters and got only one out — he complained that the mound at T-Mobile Park was unusually hard and he wasn’t used to pitching in cooler temperatures compared to Japan.

He also spoke of adjusting to the MLB baseball and mound slope after getting roughed up in spring training.

Jack Compton via Getty Images

That’s a long list of issues for a player to have two-and-a-half weeks into his MLB career. There are, of course, adjustments that every player needs to make while moving from Japan to the U.S., but this is also stuff they should be aware of while considering teams and preparing accordingly.

The biggest adjustment for Japanese pitchers is usually the schedule, where Nippon Professional Baseball starters usually pitch once a week while MLB arms are asked to go out every five days. The Astros have so prevented Imai from having to pitch on less than five days rest.

Imai is on a contract that guarantees him $54 million through the 2028 season, though he can also opt out after 2026 or 2027.

As much as he’s struggled, his injury was still bad news for a Houston organization that has already seen fellow starting pitchers Hunter Brown (shoulder strain) and Cristian Javier (shoulder strain) hit the IL this season. It’s unclear when any of these pitchers will return, which isn’t ideal considering the Astros have lost eight straight games and are in last place in the AL West with a 6-11 record.