The NBA championship window is shrinking for the LA Clippers

AS THE LACLIPPERS' charter plane took off from the Los Angeles International Airport runway on a cloudy afternoon on Feb. 25, several players were napping when the Denver-bound flight took a sudden veer toward the left seconds into the air just above the Pacific Ocean.

The Clippers' plane began to shake and rattle before a loud bang could be heard. Some staffers saw a flash on the right side of the aircraft as the engine went eerily silent for a moment before roaring back to life and filling the cabin with thunderous revving.

The plane dropped in altitude several times and shrieks could be heard from passengers in what some staffers called one of the worst moments they've experienced on a flight.

«Us players, we're trying to nap away,» guard Eric Gordon told ESPN, calling it the second-worst flight he has experienced in his 15 NBA seasons. «Oh, everybody was up after that for sure.»

Shortly after the Clippers landed safely in Colorado, the team saw a mark that took some of the paint off the tail of the Delta Air Lines plane — the result of a midair lightning strike.

If the Clippers could survive this, coach Tyronn Lue figured his team could certainly navigate any turbulence they experience on the court after the February additions of Russell Westbrook, Gordon, Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland.

But even he was surprised that the Clippers lost their first five games out of the All-Star break after winning 10 of 14. The Clippers dropped games in tumultuous and breathtaking fashion to playoff contenders Sacramento (twice), Denver, Minnesota and Golden State. Lue's team scored plenty of points but found ways to lose — blowing multiple double-digit leads, allowing an astonishing 176 points to the Kings in double overtime,