FULLY LOADED CLIPS

So that sucked.

In an almost poetic fashion the Clippers found a way to hurt their fans one last time before fading into the obscure wasteland that is the NBA offseason. The players will now have all the time they need to heal up, work out, and buy expensive automobiles. The Clippers found themselves down by one point with 30 seconds to play and suddenly the stage was set. Chris Paul versus the Spurs for the Clippers playoff life. As is the Clippers’ M.O. Chris Paul fumbled the ball out of bounds before having it ricochet off Manu’s leg. The Clippers were granted a 2nd chance at a memorable finish in front of a home Clippers crowd. Once again the possession disintegrated into chaos and the Spurs came up with the ball. As if some evil force was toying with the Clippers, the Spurs’ Green missed 1 of 2 free throws with 10 seconds to play. Coach Del Negro called his final timeout and drew up his final abortion on his Fisher-Price white board. A near disaster on the end bounds pass nearly resulted in a premature ejaculation of a final play, but Mo Williams got the ball to Paul for one truly final chance at NBA history. CP3 waited for his customary 4 seconds on the shot clock and shot towards the basket. He cradled the ball like an NFL running back, praying for a ref’s whistle and as he faded back, he lofted the ball toward the rim. Clank.

And that was that.

I feel…so unfulfilled.

I don’t know how I would have reacted if the ball went in and the Clippers eventually lost by 5 in OT. But there was something about the play call and the futile fade away runner. It was so lifeless. So antiseptic. In a town like Hollywood, and a series record of 0-3, I just felt like it was time to go for the win. One shot. One 3 point attempt, win or lose. Do or die. But CP3 and VDN decided to go for the tie. Sure, that’s smart on paper. But it’s a home playoff game, down 0-3, headed back to San Antonio against the best team in the NBA this year. Suppose the 3 goes in? The game would become an instant classic and the #1 play in Clippers history. It’s a true love letter to the fans. If the shot misses? We end up right where we are right now.

So that was 2012.

There was a lockout, a trade, and a playoff appearance.

The Clippers put the league on notice and the league noticed.

Today the league let the Clippers know they’re still not there yet.

So now we wait for 2013. No draft picks to really get excited about. At least there’s a crazy free agency period waiting in the near future. But is it really time to be optimistic?

Personally I think it’s too early to tell. NO SHIT you say, but the way I look at it, the Clippers have more question marks than they have stable pieces. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr mentioned during the broadcast that the Clippers need to add a piece or two. The way I see it, the Clippers need to add a team to their two pieces. I mean, does anyone really truly believe the Clippers wouldn’t have lost to the Spurs if they had a healthy Chauncey Billups? Sure the Clippers would’ve been deeper and more potent offensively, but c’mon San Antonio is the class of the NBA.

Next year is another year. I really don’t know much and can’t tell you what the future holds, but for at least one year the Clippers will have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. And I will take my chances with those two against anyone. Right now this hurts. It hurts BAD. But I couldn’t feel luckier to actually feel like shit. My entire life has been spent having to bid the Clippers good night shortly after Christmas, but this year was different. I got to watch my team in the playoffs. ESPN was talking about my team. TNT was talking about my team. Other teams were talking about MY team. The Clippers count now. I guess that’s what I always wanted. 

Now I want one more thing.

I want that fucking title.

Go Clippers!

I just finished watching the post game press conference and coach Del Negro gave his political concession speech. There’s still at least one game left, and Del Negro was saying things like, “it’s all part of a learning process” and “this is the first step in building a program for years to come”. I’m enraged by his presumption that he’s even going to be around for the future. Hey Vinny, you need to coach like this game is your last, because it probably will be!

RECAP:

Much will be made about the Clippers having an amazing first quarter and surging out to a 24 point lead in the first half, but I’m still troubled by Vinny’s inability to change up his match ups and formulas against this Spurs team. Every fan in the arena and at home knew the Spurs were coming back and it was only a matter of when. Candidly, I began to get nervous when the lead shrunk under 20. 

The 3rd quarter will live and infamy and hopefully it will be shown on a projection screen on the side of coach Del Negro’s house for the next 12 months. There’s a hacky expression that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different response. If that’s the case, the 3 quarter was insane. Pitching the ball down low to Blake Griffin, who as of this date doesn’t really have an NBA low post game, and waiting for him to force a shot or run the clock out. Meanwhile, the Spurs run more back door cuts and perimeter screens than the Princeton Tigers. My question to the Clippers would be this: “Can you make a shot 1ft from the basket?” BECAUSE THE SPURS SURE AS HELL CAN!

The Spurs aren’t lucky. Memphis has bouts of luck. Minnesota was crazy lucky against the Clippers this season. Even the Lakers have a horseshoe up their asses occasionally. The Spurs know how to play basketball better than every other team. They’re old. They’re slow. They’re boring. And they’re going to win a 5th title unless some NBA coach is able to go head to head with coach Pop. Sadly, there isn’t a coach left in the entire playoffs with that ability (no, Doc Rivers is a terrible coach). 

AT WHAT POINT DID YOU KNOW COACH VDN GAVE UP?

At the end of the 4th quarter, with the Clippers having just enough time to make one more run, coach Pop shrewdly begin intentionally fouling Reggie Evans. Not once. Not Twice. THRICE. So Vinny, where were you on that one? If he admitted he was cleaning the piss out of his pants I’d feel validated, but a real coach would stand right up in his piss pants and make a damn substitution!

NOW THAT THE TEAM HAS GIVEN UP, WILL THEY GET BETTER?

I think yes and no. I think Chris Paul will be dying for his 1st championship especially because he has been injured and unable to perform at the level he’s know for. I believe Blake Griffin will get better just because he’ll get better at controlling his emotions and nerves. I truly hope Blake is a smart enough player to know he has A LOT of off-season work ahead of him and that most of it will be not be done in a weight room or treadmill. He needs to got to big man school.

The negatives I worry about are the younger guys and the role players. Randy Foye has not progressed and he wasn’t very good in the Memphis series either. At some point he needs to really contribute or possibly he shouldn’t be a piece of the future. DeAndre Jordan is signed to be a part of the future, so he really needs to step up his game and his learning curve. He’s an offensive void that has become a glaring problem in both playoff series, and he constantly has to be removed because of his confusion with defense and rebounding. DJ has been better in the less physical San Antonio series, but he’s still miles away from being a starting center on a championship team. When I look at guys like Mo Williams, Nick Young, Caron Butler, and Kenyon Martin, I really worry they don’t want to stick around and play a minor role on a team that still looks like they’re 2 years away. Mo has been a good egg all year even though he’s been fuming behind closed doors about his lack of playing time. It wouldn’t surprise me if by this time next year 6 or 7 different players are a part of this team. I do believe CP3 will try to get Chauncey to resign at least a one year deal with the Clips but a lot may have to do with the next Clipper coach.

Your team of the future looks like this:

PG: Chris Paul

SG: Chauncey Billups

SF: NONE

PF: Blake Griffin 

C: DeAndre Jordan

Bench: Eric Bledsoe, Trey Thompkins„ Travis Leslie, Nick Young? Reggie Evans

GONE: Ryan Gomes, Caron Butler, Kenyon Martin, Bobby Simmons, Mo Williams, Randy Foye, 

5 Things to Look Forward to Next Year:

5. Full 82 game schedule- The days of rest in between games should help out with fewer injuries and allow for more practice time. Sweet sweet practice time.

4. Another year older for Eric Bledsoe, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan- Players get better the longer their in the NBA. These 3 shouldn’t be any different.

3. Free Agency- With a 2nd round appearance and Blake Griffin and CP3 in place, some  quality players are going to want to be a part of this. Things might actually be on the up and up.

2. New Coach- The only reason VDN is the current coach is because the Chicago Bulls are paying half of his salary. Everyone knows owner Sterling is cheap, but with the new pressure of expectations he may have to go get a REAL coach. (Phil Jackson on line 1)

1. Playoffs 2.0!- Barring injury, this team is going to be back again and again. Consistency and optimism will keep CP3 in town and everyone wants to play in L.A. Another year older, wiser, and a more cohesive roster and the Clips will be able to take the next step towards that 1st ring. 

A few encouraging facts about contenders:

Lakers- the HAVE to reload. They’ll be totally different next year and Kobe will be a year older.

Spurs- They have to get old eventually…right?

Miami- They’re in total disarray.

Boston- Unlike the Spurs they already ARE old. It’s over Celtics.

Memphis- They’ll never go anywhere until the figure out the Z-Bo/Rudy Gay thing.

PREDICTION OF GAME 4: Spurs lose on purpose, and Clippers go down with a little pride left. Clippers WIN 110-98. Spurs will close out in 5 @ home.

as always, Go Clippers!!!

The Spurs very well might be the best team in the NBA and they might win a their 5th title this year, but there’s absolutely NO reason why the Clips should be playing and losing in this way.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are killing the Clippers in this series.

Yes they’re the two best players on the Clippers’ roster. Yes, they’re two of the best players on the planet. But Jesus, Blake is a no show on defense. Blake’s a no show on offense. Now Chris Paul is a turnover machine. I love both guys, but they aren’t healthy enough to contribute for real minutes in this series.

The reason the Clips are getting massacred is because of Coach Del Negro.

Every time the starters are in the game, they have only one (!) offensive play. CP3 runs a high screen and then dishes to a hobbled Blake Griffin on the low block. Blake wastes the shot clock and then misses a shot. Its a strange thing that coach VDN has to put all his bench guys in just to claw back in the game. The bench brings speed, energy, and defense on to the court. With Blake out of the game, the small bench players are forced to play a ball movement based guard-centric offense. When your offense fails while your two starting all stars are in the game, and your offense surges while the all stars are on the bench, look no further than the coach.

This team has always succeeded in spite of coach Del Negro, but now he’s faced with the best opposing coach in the NBA. Coach Pop looked up and down the line up cards and saw the biggest glaring mismatch was actually in the coaching box. Del Negro is getting played.

The Spurs were still unconscious from the field and made shots they didn’t deserve.

The refs were awful and biased during the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

CP3 was horrible and Blake was worse.

BUT NONE OF THIS TAKES AWAY FROM THE FACT THAT THE CLIPPERS ARE LOSING BECAUSE OF VINNY DEL NEGRO.

GOING FORWARD:
The Clippers play next at home for an early 12:30 game. The crowd will be crazy and the players will be eager to show the home fans that they will not go quiet into that good night. The Spurs are playing loose and confident, and they will continue to be a handful. I look for the Clippers to do a better job on the boards. I think CP3 will play better in front of the home fans (he has to right?). I don’t believe the Spurs can shoot the ball that well for a 3rd consecutive game. Yet, the Spurs have won 16 consecutive games, so what the hell do I know? Luck alone would suggest that the Spurs have to put out a clunker eventually but go ask the Utah Jazz how that worked out.

Prediction: Everytime I pick the Clippers they lose. So I’m going with another big win for the Spurs and the Clippers don’t even bother to show up.

Spurs 100 Clippers 78 (jinx jinx jinx)

Go Clippers!

The Clippers lost game one of this hopefully long series, 108-92. Many other media outlets were reporting how dominating the Spurs were in this game and that the Clippers should now begin fighting to win just ONE game to preserve personal pride. These media outlets are crazy (I’m looking at you K-ROCK Los Angeles). Chris Paul played one of his worst games of the year AND San Antonio set their own personal record for three pointers made.  With both of those factors playing a major role, the Clippers were still in the game deep into the 4th quarter. All of these things could mean nothing if the Clippers lose tonight to put themselves in an 0-2 hole, but I believe the Clippers can compete and damn it they can win in San Antonio.

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS:

-Blake Griffin was held out of the 4th quarter for the most part again in game 1 as he was in the final game against the Grizz. He did complete a few high flying dunks and a couple of great offensive moves, but his defense has become an even more glaring problem with his knee injury. The Spurs are way to much of a well oiled offense to play 4 on 5 defense. The key to beating the Spurs will be the ability to force turnovers and to not allow easy shots deep in close to the basket.

-Chris Paul was not himself. CP3 is hurting and coach Pop of the Spurs, is far to smart to allow Chris to do whatever he wants. Now the Clippers proved their mettle by having a tremendous performance from Eric Bledsoe, but sadly, that’s something the Spurs are  going to happily live with. Pop is sitting in his chair saying, “Make the Clippers bigs beat us at the free throw line and their guards pick up the slack when we clamp down on Chris Paul”. Over the course of 7 games, if coach VDN cannot make any adjustments and the Clippers role players can’t come up huge, this series will be very difficult to win. 

POSITIVE THOUGHTS:

-The Clippers are younger, faster, and tougher than the Spurs. One of these games Blake Griffin is going to abuse the front line of San Antonio. The Spurs play average team defense and great team offense, but their strengths are all based on their coach. There’s an old boxing saying that, “everyone has a plan until they get hit.” The Clippers have to go out and hit the Spurs and see if they have the ability to recover. Remember this is the same Spurs team that lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the 1st round last year. They are not invincible and they can’t match up to physical teams. 

-Eric Bledsoe is coming of age. Clipper fans have known for a while that he’s become as best defender at the guard position due to his length and athletic ability. But it’s quite something to see CP3 having the confidence in him to run the point in the offensive sets. If he can play in control, limit his turnovers, and continue to make some shots, the Clippers could have a one, two punch that could make life very difficult for the Spurs. 

-The Spurs do NOT have a great defense. After the lockdown, gritting and grinding of Memphis, now the Clippers wings all of a sudden are seeing open looks at the basket. There certainly could have been some 1st game jitters about seeing open shots, but with Mo Williams, Randy Foye, Nick Young, and Caron Butler, the Clippers are going to have the ability to score 100+ points in the next 6 games of the series (doesn’t mean the WILL, but they CAN, and SHOULD).

PREDICTION TIME:

Tonight I fully expect the Clippers to hot early and make an onslaught of shots from the perimeter and off transition. As is always true in the NBA the Spurs will stay calm and will work their way back into a close game. In typical Clippers fashion the game will come down to the final moments, but this time the Clippers make the big shots.

Clippers 109 Spurs 106 OT

Go Clippers!

As Clipper fans we all have some sort of social flaw. There is some basic mental make up that is miss wired in all our brains. What on Earth would make a person choose to do this to themselves? Sports are not fair, nor will they ever be. Some teams win, some teams lose, but they don’t take turns being high or low. The Clippers are losers. I don’t mean that in a derogatory or depressing way, but check the statistics, they LOSE (a lot).  So when Clipper fans talk themselves into some kind of optimistic frenzy it goes against all of our own rational judgment. So once again we find ourselves climbing back up on that old rugged cross, for one more go at the pain we’ve become so accustomed to.

Think I think…

What would it actually be like to win? In the now dated 90s movie Swingers, the depressed main character Mike, is cheered up by his friend by hearing, “someday you’ll actually miss your pain. You’ll miss it because you lived with it for so long.” Well damn it, I hope that’s true. Give me the problem of someday missing this pain. 

On to the Game 6 recap and Game 7 predictions:

HEROES:

-Marc Gasol, Grizzlies= he scored 23 points and added 9 rebounds. In a game featuring spotty shooting, he was one of the few bright spots for either team.

-Reggie Evans, Clippers= he continues to play great defense and make all the clutch rebounds for the Clips. Without Reggie the Clippers wouldn’t even have the opportunity to lose a game 7.

-Kenyon Martin, Clippers= K-Mart went for 10 points and played the most inspired defense of any player on the floor. When people talk about playoff experience mattering, they’re talking about Martin.

-Eric Bledsoe, Clippers= I’ll go on record as saying I don’t trust this guy with the ball in his hands. He plays at 100mph, and as a result loses control and misses a lot of lay ups. But his defensive energy is the #1 reason the Clippers were in this game in the final minutes. He was the MVP in the losing effort.

GOATS:

-Gilbert Arenas, Grizzlies= This guys sucks. He only played 3 minutes, scoring zero points. I just wanted a Grizzlies player on this list.

-Chris Paul, Clippers= His effort and bravery to play hurt was truly inspired, but once you step on the court, none of that matters. He didn’t do what was necessary to win and he turned the ball over twice in the final 3 minutes. I LOVE CP3, but tonight he was a mess and only taking 9 shots in unacceptable.

-Blake Griffin, Clippers= Ditto on the injury thing. My main gripe with Blake is his defense. The only thing necessary to play defense is effort, just ask Reggie Evans. Blake was leaking like a sieve out there and Vinny was forced to leave Blake on the bench even as the Clips struggled to score. Blake is also proving to be emotionally fragile when it comes to the referees. He absolutely will NOT stop bitching to the refs. His whining may actually have cost the Clippers this game because he put the officials in such a foul humor. Kudos on the clutch free throws though.

-Vinny Del Negro, Coach Clippers=Someone should have given Vinny one of the free red tee shirts all the fans got at the ticket turnstile, because he was literally a spectator. Lionel Hollins isn’t an amazing coach, but all it takes is a little adjustment and Vinny shits his pants. The Clippers shot themselves out of the game in the first half, but were still in it due to the Griz settling for outside jumpers. The minute the 2nd half started and the Griz began pounding the ball inside, Vinny basically went home.

WHAT ABOUT THE REFS?!?

-They were horrible, but I really can’t say they ruined that game. The Clippers lost that game on their own. But the refs certainly didn’t do the Clips any favors. Next question.

CAN THE CLIPPERS ACTUALLY WIN GAME 7?

The only way I see the Clippers pulling out game seven in Memphis is with a perfect storm of luck. Can we all pray that the Grizzlies spent all their enthusiasm trying to get to a game 7, but now that they achieved their goal they will come out flat believing the victory is their birthright? This is actually a possibility, albeit a small one, because of the early start time of the game on Sunday (10 Pacific). The other thing the Clips need to have happen is an absolute unconscious shooting exhibition. The gods of 3 point shooting need to smile on Foye, Young, Williams, and Butler. I’m talking an “At my signal UNLEASH HELL!” sort of onslaught. The Clippers have actually done this a few times in the regular season, and putting the Grizzlies in a deep hole would really ruin them. Memphis came back from a ten point deficit on Friday, but they just don’t have the team to work their way back from a large double digit deficit.

WILL THE CLIPPERS WIN GAME 7?

Never in my life have I wanted to be more wrong than when I write; no, they won’t. The Clippers have had their hearts torn out. They don’t have enough healthy bodies to with stand another physical bruiser of a game. The Memphis crowd is going to be insane and the Clippers offense just doesn’t seem to start fast enough to get the crowd on their heels. Too many injuries. Too many missed free throws. Too many bad calls. Too much Memphis length.

PREDICTION: GRIZZLIES 96 CLIPPERS 85

It’s just sad because if the Clippers don’t win this game the season was a failure. Sure, a loss anywhere on the way to the finals results in a failure, but this was the season meant to change the loser stigma. A first round exit isn’t going to do much convincing better players to sign with L.A. A first round exit isn’t going to do much convincing Chris Paul to sign an extension. A first round exit isn’t going to do much. Period.

GET OUT THERE AND PROVE ME WRONG CLIPPERS!!!

GO CLIPPERS!!

Technical fouls? check

Falling behind early? check

Injuries to star players? check

Confused head coach? check

So here we are…

Things couldn’t have gone much worse than they did in Wednesday night’s 92-80 loss at Memphis. Now the Clippers are faced with the game on Friday at Staples Center. Not a game on Friday…the game. Okay not, THE GAME, that would be a game 7, but for all intents and purposes, the Friday game is “the game”. Agreed?

World renowned asshole, Bobby Knight, once quipped when asked how his team found victory, “Our team scored more points than the other team.”

Sadly, he’s right. I can give you all the professional expert analysis you need, but this series is going to be won by the team with the most points. The Clippers must make more shots. I don’t care what Memphis does on defense, or what the state of CP3’s groin is, the Clippers MUST hit their shots. 

The Clippers are going to get double and triple teamed, and probably even hacked on every opportunity, but the ball needs to start going in. In the 4th quarter run at the end of Wednesday’s game the Clippers made just 2 of their final 10 attempts. These were not hotly contested shots either, they were open jumpers. The Clippers have to dig deep, get hot, and stay hot. This team is constructed as such that they should be able to out shoot any team on any given night if their mojo is right. Come Friday, the mojo best be in alignment.

Friday’s game is going to feature a starting line up with only one (!!!) healthy starter. Chauncey Billups is out for the year. CP3 has strained both sides of his groin (insert joke). Who knows what Blake has done to his knee (hyperflexed? sounds made up)? Caron Butler has a broken left hand. And the healthy guy on the totem pole, DeAndre Jordan has been playing so poorly coach Del Negro has had to remove him from every game. So alert the Bat Signal, get Danny Manning out of retirement, check if Sam Cassell is still alive, because the Clippers need bodies on the floor.

Nick Young

Eric Bledsoe

Mo Williams

Reggie Evans

Kenyon Martin

Randy Foye

and maybe even Bobby Simmons

These are the men that have to find away to score points, get rebounds, and play defense. This ain’t exactly murderer’s row, but it’s not the Little Sister’s of the Poor either. Mo Williams and Nick Young are brave to a fault which is only a major problem when their shots aren’t falling. Wednesday the shots weren’t falling, on Friday they have to. 

A message to the referees:

Dearest referees,

I know you’re confused and this certainly has been a physical series, but now is not the time to make the NBA playoffs about you. People pay a lot of their hard earned money to watch this heroes of the hardwood compete at the highest level. The ongoing inconsistencies of the calls have become disheartening. I’ve come to accept the home court advantage calls that exist in the NBA, but the barrage of technical fouls mixed with what appears to be blindly guessing at when to blow the whistle is beginning to mar the series. Blow the whistle when someone gets hit. Otherwise, let the players decide the outcome.

regards,

FullyLoadedClips

A Final Word on the Memphis Fans:

A lot is going to be made about the Memphis fans loudly booing Blake Griffin’s knee injury. The media is going to start making love with the definition of “class”. I’m only going to use this as an opportunity to point out the dangers of a mob mentality. The Memphis fans are not bad people because they booed Blake’s injury (they’re bad people because they’re from Tennessee). They got worked up in the moment and the mob took over. Whining about whether it was right or wrong is not important. People aren’t good or bad. People are people. Yeah, they shouldn’t have booed, but whatever. As a fan, I only care about the scoreboard. And Wednesday night, the Clippers were on the short end.

PREDICTION FOR FRIDAY:

MEMPHIS GOES COLD, CLIPS GET HOT: CLIPPERS WIN BY 9 MOVE ON TO SAN ANTONIO

The Los Angeles Clippers won 101-97 in an overtime thriller last night. When the dust settled on last nights victory something became abundantly clear to me; to win a championship a team needs the best player in the league. I’m not suggesting that the Clippers are going to win a championship purely because of Chris Paul, but with the nature of playoff games someone, preferably an All-Star, is going to have to close the game. Last season, Dirk Nowitzki  was the best player in the league come playoff time and his team rode him all the way to their first ring. Right now, I don’t think it should even be argued that Chris Paul is the best player in the NBA playoffs. Lebron and Kobe will get their chance in the 2nd round to prove they’re the best, but without real adversity, we don’t know how great they’re really playing. 

What did we learn?

-Caron Butler is a tough sonofabitch. He came out and score double digit points in the 1st quarter…with ONE HAND. Getting anything from him in these games is going to be huge for the Clips.

-Blake Griffin is learning. Blake still can’t put together a complete game, but he scored 30 points on the largest front line in the NBA last night. His defense and rebounding leaves much to be desired, but the Clippers are a MUCH better team when he’s in the game.

-Kenyon Martin is important. K-Mart has become a shut down defender. Who the hell thought Martin was going to be one of the deciding factors in the 1st round.

-Reggie Evans IS a god. Reggie has taken it upon himself to win these games on defense and on the glass. It’s very possible that he won’t have nearly this much value in further series if the Clips should advance, but this Memphis series belongs to him.

-The refs are very confused. I’m sure this series has been difficult to officiate. There has been a foul committed every second of every play. Literally both teams starting line ups could have fouled out last night. Yet, the inconsistencies of the refs calls has begun to shape the 4th quarters. Local broadcaster, Mike Smith, commented that every 50/50 ball that went out of bounds went the way of the Grizzlies. Meanwhile the Grizzlies put the Clippers in the bonus with 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Is it possible the refs were screwing BOTH TEAMS? Going back to Memphis this makes me nervous.

-Chris Paul is the best player in the NBA. CP3 blew it at the end of regulation and he continues to make me crazy by delaying his drives until 3 seconds left on the shot clock, but he is a dominating unstoppable force in the way that all great finishers were.  Lebron James may score 35 points going into the 4th quarter, but even heat fans want the ball in Dwyane Wade’s hands when they’re going for the win. If the Clippers are to close out this series it’s completely dependent on whether or not CP3 can will them to another win.

WHAT NOW?

-The Clippers head back to Memphis needing just one more win to advance in the playoffs and face the Spurs. Memphis is decidedly angry following their latest of 3 frustrating defeats at the hands of the Clippers. I fully anticipate the Clips having major troubles winning game 5 in Memphis. The fans won’t be on their side. The refs won’t be on their side. Fate won’t be on their side. To win game 5 or any game in this series they’re really going to have to start hitting some 3 point baskets. Last night they got 2 huge 3’s from Nick Young and Mo Williams, but for the most part the team was cold from outside. 

The offensive rebounding is and will continue to be a major problem, but like most of the Clippers flaws, it can’t be fixed, but can be improved on. Vinny Del Negro needs to get Reggie and Kenyon in the game earlier because DeAndre Jordan just plain hasn’t figured out how to rebound.

Vinny Del Negro has to do a way better job. Chris Paul wasn’t just playing against the Grizzlies last night, he had to play against his coach. The entire 3rd quarter and start of the 4th was an experiment on watching a dumb coach self distruct. Vinny hasn’t drawn up an inbounds play this entire year worth running. He almost cost the team the game by calling a timeout right as Mo Williams received a pass and got fouled! Vinny’s offense is offensive. TNT’s analysts were lambasting the Clip coach last night, for his inability to run ANY plays. Charles Barkley calls it the “stall” offense. 

CAN THE CLIPPERS WIN THIS SERIES?

Well yeah, they’re up 3 games to 1. But……………………………the Clippers are going back to Memphis with too much confidence while playing an angry Memphis team. Mailing in game 5 is okay for Jordan’s Bulls, or Bird’s Celtics, but the Clippers don’t have the ability to turn in on at home and coast through the playoffs. T’would behoove them to give it their all and steal this game and series in Memphis, but I think the only way they win game 5 is if the shooters catch on fire. There are a possible 3 games left in this series and luck only favors the Clips in 1 of the 3. So should they lose game 5, they HAVE to win game 6. Plain and simple this is going to be trench warfare. Nothing will come easy and every game is going to come down to the final seconds. By goodness I hope they can close this thing out and advance.

PREDICTION?

Game 5: Bad Guys 92 Clippers 85

C’mon Clippers, prove me wrong.

It’s really difficult to quantify how big one win can really be. So for lack of better writing skills, I’ll say that yesterday’s win was HUGE. I was fortunate enough to witness yesterday’s game from the 5th row behind the Clippers’ bench. The atmosphere in Staples Center was something I’d never experienced in L.A. before. The Clippers themselves couldn’t believe the energy in the building. Even in pregame warmups the team shoot around developed into an impromptu dunk contest. I was terrified when I saw Blake and DJ executing “between the legs” dunks, because of the potential injury risk. But it was cool to see the moment even got to the players. These were not cold veterans, these were excited young guys that we so hyped up that they had to do SOMETHING.

Strangely, all that energy was a nervous energy. I can’t really explain it, but I could actually feel the crowd cheering louder and louder so that they wouldn’t be able to hear their own negative feelings of self doubt. In the post game press conference, Chris Paul credited the crowd with winning game 3. CP3 has not been around the Clippers long enough to realize the crowd was cheering to fight their own demons. Cheering for the Clippers goes beyond typical fandom. Cheering for the clippers is practically a metaphysical trial. 

RECAP AND THOUGHTS:

GOOD NEWS: Caron Butler taped his hand back on and gave the Clippers a brave energy boost that they desperately needed. He is clearly one of the leaders on this team, but he’s gonna have to come up with an even bigger bag of tricks to stay effective in this series.

DJ played better. He still fumbles the ball out of bounds too often, but he played physically, and fought harder to keep the Grizz off the boards.

REGGIE EVANS. Some teams have a mascot or a lucky trinket (see: the rally monkey with the Angels), the Clippers have Reggie Evans. I’ve never seen a player less qualified to play basketball than Reggie Evans, yet he is completely beloved by his team and embraced by the fans. As CP3 was shooting free throws the crowd actually began chanting Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! This is one of the stranger things I’ve ever witnessed. Even more bizarrely Reggie Evans is probably the key to this series. His ability to control the glass and play pressure post defense will be the most important component to winning the series. To make an even more drastic a point, without Reggie Evans, the Clippers would lose this series.

BAD NEWS:

-The Clippers still keep playing from behind. Momentarily in the 1st half the Clippers had a 13 point lead, but that quickly evaporated because Coach Del Negro went to his “no one can score” line up. Coach really has to make sure he has at least 3 scorers on the court at all times, otherwise the Clippers are going to go on scoring droughts and allow the Grizzlies to extend their leads or crawl back into the game.

-Eric Bledsoe. Analysts always talk about experience winning in the NBA playoffs. Eric Bledsoe is why they say these things. His energy and defense would be tremendous assets in this series, but his inability to cope with playoff pressure makes it difficult to allow him into the game. He tends to be careless with the ball and is known to play out of control. In the playoff EVERY possession counts. EVERY turnover is huge. And as we almost found out, EVERY FREE THROW IS IMPORTANT.

-Poor Free Throw Shooting. This bugaboo that’s been following the Clips around all season almost crept up and bit them in the ass. Reggie Evans is never going to make his shots, but CP3, Blake, and whomever else gets the opportunity down the stretch must make their free throws. Rudy Gay made two ridiculous 3 point shots with less than 25 seconds to play and thanks to several missed free throws, including 2 in a row by Bledsoe, the Grizzlies had a final shot to win the game. 

NOW WHAT?

The Clippers won the game.

The Clippers are up 2-1.

I believe it’s becoming increasingly clear the Clippers are only going to get 1 shot at winning this series, and it’s gonna mean winning ALL of their home games. They won their first one, and now they have 2 left, but they’re going to need both to close the deal. Sadly, the refs are not doing a great job of calling the series and it’s likely a game could be won or lost due to their incompetence. Here’s hoping the bad calls will be in the Clippers’ favor.

The Grizzlies are not ever going to go away. If this was a 100 game series, it’s possible it would end 50-50. This is going to go down as one of the great 1st round series in NBA history, which alas, is torture for both fan bases. If the Clippers can win game 4, they’ll be one game away, but I think we’re on a collision course for a must win game 6. If the Clips lose game 4, this is going to get really tricky. Let’s pray it doesn’t come to that.

Go Clippers!

GOOD NEWS:

-The Clippers gained homecourt advantage by splitting the two games in Memphis.

-The Clippers are shooting the ball well (56%), and CP3 appears healthy.

-Blake Griffin actually played BETTER in the loss than the win.

-The Clippers have extra days of rest to rehab their injuries.

BAD NEWS:

-The Clippers are making a bad habit of turning the ball over.

-The Clippers got killed on the offensive boards 16 to 4.

-The Clippers got out shot from the FT line 39 to 18

-The Clippers are hurting BAD. Mo Williams, Eric Bledsoe, and NIck Young got hurt and couldn’t return. With Chauncey and Caron already out for the year, this already thin team just got thinner.

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM:

-The refs will be homers for the Clippers. It’s very WELL known that refs favor the home team in the NBA playoffs. Teams don’t bitch too much about it because: A) If they do they’ll be fined and B) The refs will be on their side during home games so it evens out.

-The Clippers will never turn the ball over 20 times again. CP3 won’t let that happen.

-The Clippers will never get killed on the offensive glass like that again. Part of this has to do with the refs. Get ready for a lot of loose ball fouls and foul shots.

-Someone, anyone will step up and score for the Clips besides CP3 and Blake. Bobby Simmons was aggressive tonight and could get hot. Randy Foye really needs to get his shit together, but Mo Williams looked great until he injured his forearm.

REASONS FOR PESSIMISM:

-DeAndre Jordan. I love DJ, but he is becoming a liability in playoff games. He’s an offensive black hole (we knew that). But on defense, his commitment to shot blocking has left tons of rebounds open for the Memphis players. His inability to control the defensive boards put the Clippers in a hole for the first 3 quarters, until VDN knew he had to get him out of there. DJ is also too talented to be so careless with the basketball. He’s made a habit of fumbling passes and rebounds out of bounds, as well as making WAY TOO MANY ill advised passes. Boring plays like end line inbound passes are routinely ending up in Grizzly hands. DJ has to sit until he gets his head together.

-Randy Foye. This guy was on fire in the second half of the season and he was really shaping into one of the better 3pt assassins in the league. So……where the fuck is that guy?

-Injuries. I mean really. Chauncey, Caron, Mo, Bledsoe, Young? How much abuse at the wing position can this team endure? The Grizzlies are big, long, and mean. It’s time Kenyon Martin become the mean motherfucker we all know he is, and checks these Grizzlies in the mouth. I predict technical fouls. Lots and lots and lots of techs.

-Coach Del Negro. This series is going to be long. Tonight proved that, but now the Clippers have been down by double digits in both games and have only materialized a largest lead of 7 points. I really don’t know if Vinny has enough tricks up his sleeve to keep adjusting his strategies and line ups.

GAME 3: SATURDAY 1:30 PM PACIFIC TIME

PREVIEW: The Clippers will have the crowd and refs on their side. I predict the Clips winning a close game. I see the Clips taking the lead and maintaining it for most of the game, but with the shoe now on the other foot, the Clips will have to withstand a late 4th quarter charge from their Memphis counterparts.

Go Clippers!