LA Clippers, Golden State Warriors trade Twitter blows

The Clippers and Warriors are having a little fun on Twitter with one another

One of the most exciting young rivalries in the NBA is shared by the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. Los Angeles has developed into one of the most hated teams in the Association, but when Golden State is the opponent, things get even more heated than normal.

That applies to the two teams’ respective social media accounts, as well.

The Clippers and Warriors will meet at Staples Center on Tuesday, October 20. It’s only a preseason encounter, but the tension of a postseason game is expected to exist—for however long the key players remain on the floor.

In an attempt at some pre-game trash-talking, the Clippers posted the following on the official team Twitter account:

"Playing this team tomorrow night. See you at STAPLES Center!"

Shots fired.

That isn’t too egregious a social media offense. It’s more of a harmless jab to get fans excited than anything else, but that doesn’t mean Golden State’s social media manager was required to sit back and take the punches.

Nor did he.

Backed into a corner, the Warriors came out swinging:

Shots. Fired.

The evolution of rivalries may not appeal to fans of past generations, when there were clenched fists instead of Twitter fingers. Nevertheless, one can’t help but feel excited by the bickering between the two teams. Knowing how intense their encounters tend to be, this can only add fuel to the fire.

In 2014-15, the Warriors won the season series by a count of 3-1. The season prior, the two sides split the regular season series before Los Angeles won a highly competitive postseason bout in seven games.

Five of those seven playoff games were decided by five points or less.

Beyond the final score is a relentless level of underlying hatred that has infamously resulted in this:

And this:

Sheesh.

The preseason game between the two sides—a potential case of, “Must see TV,”—will commence at 10:30 pm ET on ESPN and Watch ESPN. They’ll meet again on November 4 and March 23 at Oracle Arena, and November 19 and February 20 at Staples Center.

Regardless of the time of year, every one of those games will be the talk of the sports community. Rightfully so.