k3uw-LA-clippers-power-forward

The Geek, The Bully, & The Idiot

2006-07-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

These are the times that try fan’s souls.

Throughout a season where the Knicks won a meager 23 games (for you ladies, good teams win 50-60, mediocre teams win 40) and it felt like they won 10, I never once really questioned my loyalty or allegiance to my team. I was prepared to have an awful season, after all we had an awful roster. But we also had one of, if not the best coach in the business. And not one of these flavor-of-the-month hot coaches, we had a guy who had been around and proven himself over years and years. I’m a guy who believes change and success starts at the top and trickles down and permeates. Put people who “get it” and know what they’re doing at the top, and even though it may take them a little time, eventually they will figure it out. Case in point is with the recently crowned NBA champion Miami Heat. So I was under the impression we had three wise men leading this franchise. And while Starbury had yet to look like anything close to a savior, we could still feel confident that these guys would lead us out of the wilderness.

Unfortunately now it’s clear that we didn’t have three wisemen. We had a geek, a bully, and an idiot.

First, the basketball geek Larry Brown, who knows everything there is to know about the game, and obsesses over it, and is successful at what he does, but perhaps isn’t the most gallant virtuoso of the communicative arts. Of course he’s a geek at coaching, which entails a certain amount of communication skills, but clearly where Larry Brown failed the most this season was in adapting and ultimately getting his players to like him. He was a geek, a geek empowered as the highest paid coach in the league, and that meant he didn’t have to give ground to anyone. And he didn’t. And he put out his record for everyone to see, and said, “hello, I’m the geek here. I’m the one who’s succeeded. All you guys are class clowns and fools. Listen to me, I know what I’m doing.” And as far as this business of basketball goes, he’s probably right. He was the only man around with a record of success, and the Knicks should have listened to him. Problem was he wasn’t the only guy running the ship. And the other guys didn’t use the tools of rationality and intelligence to get in their positions. Rationality and intelligence are the tools of geekery (and maybe some others), but they are not the tools of bullies and idiots.

Which brings us to the bully, aka Isiah Thomas. Thomas is not quite the traditional bully, he’s not a big physically intimidating type, he’s more of the asshole-jock type. Always a winner on the court, Zeke won a national championship with Indiana and back-to-back NBA championships with Detroit. Named one of the 50 greatest basketball players of all time, Isiah Lord Thomas’s playing skills are undeniable. Unfortunately since leaving the court and becoming an executive, all he’s done is make for an incredible case against affirmative action and avoid success like an old, poor, obese woman with AIDS, leprosy, and herpes all at once.

From 1994-1998 he was in charge of the Toronto Raptors. He made some great draft picks, but never sniffed the playoffs.

Then Thomas became a forgettable broadcaster for a while.

Then he owned the CBA, until it went bankrupt and folded under his inept management.

Then he decides to try coaching, replaces Larry Bird in Indiana, and sort of has some success. This is a vote for Isiah until you realize he had a team that had Jermaine O’Neal, Brad Miller, Ron Artest, Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, and other solid role players. These teams made the playoffs, but never did anything in them, so essentially Thomas built his coaching resume by taking a team of all-stars to the playoffs, and nothing else.

And now, he has his track record with the Knicks. Which is abysmal.

So, this man has done nothing but fail, and then to add on to his bottom line track record, he’s also a renowned asshole. The type that wouldn’t shake hands with Michael Jordan after the Bulls ended the Pistons playoff reign. The type to have to deal with sexual harassment lawsuits. The type to burn bridges and make enemies wherever he goes. In other words a jerk, an asshole, a bully. Choosing Thomas over Larry Brown to run your team, is like choosing Hulk Hogan* to run your company instead of Bill Gates. By all accounts, it is the move of an idiot.

Which leads us to James Dolan, who much to every Knicks fan's chagrin is at the top of this totem pole of buffoonery. I wondered about Dolan, thinking he might just be a victim of Isiah's bullying tactics. Which he probably is. But after his recent "I'm really an idiot" coming out party veiled as an informational interview with Al Trautwig of MSG, it's eminently clear that he's the primary source of the cancer here. Success or failure starts at the top and trickles down. We see it with the Heat. We see it with the Knicks. The thing is Dolan's foolishness isn't totally represented by the decision to stick with Isiah over Larry Brown. It's demonstrated by his attempt to spin this whole debacle. Sometimes you have to know when to face the facts, and accept your mistakes, but it seems like this idiot Dolan is digging himself a hole, then when you ask him about the hole, he's like, "no, no hole here. I mean maybe there's a small ditch in the road, but nothing we can't get out of in a couple months." And then he continues digging. Isiah Thomas is the shovel. Larry Brown was the guy walking by with a truck full of dirt to fill up the hole, willing to sell it if you gave him enough money and control of the situation. The shovel said no. The idiot digging listened to the shovel instead of the guy with the dirt. And here we are continuing our descent into darkness. Our transformation into the LA Clippers.

*sigh*

These are tough times Knicks fans. It's times like this we have to stick together ... and root for the NETS!!!

or at least the Mets.

**Draft Addendum**

I know it's easy to pile on Isiah Thomas right now. I mean the guy can't even spell his name right. But the one thing he has done over the years, is identify NBA players in the draft. They may not be winners, but they can play. So I'll hold off on trashing him for the Reynaldo Balkman selection. In the bigger picture here, it doesn't matter. We didn't pass on Tim Duncan to select him. Maybe the PG marcus Williams is a better prospect, but no one's going to be doing any fair trades with Thomas. Thomas is like the runt in your fantasy league who everyone hits up with unfair trade offers. At some point that guys just shuts down, or he has no more talent left to offer, Or he gets raked over the coals so much that he refuses to trade unless it's decidely in his favor. So Williams would have probably just set us up for another disastrous move. Might as well get a guy with some hardware, even if it is an NIT trophy.

*No offense to you Hulk, I know you're smarter than you look, just going with an archetype there brothah. ok, back to eating my vitamins.

The Phoenix Suns vs The LA Clippers Playoffs Round 2 Game 5 ...

2006-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

All resellers be sure to select ticketfast as the ticket delivery method so you could quickly sell them and send the tickets right away via email to the buyer because the game will be pretty soon. These will be HOT tickets to sell!!

Show info:
Phoenix Suns vs L.A. Clippers Playoffs Round 2 Game 5 (Home Game 3)
The US Airways Center
Phoenix, Arizona
Date: Tue, May 16th, 2006

Presale Info:
Downtown Live Presale
Start:Thur, 05/11/06 12:00 AM MIDNIGHT PDT
End:Thur, 05/11/06 12:00 PM PDT
Presale Password: 2P2DTL

Ticketmaster Page: Phoenix Suns vs L.A. Clippers Playoffs Round 2 Game 5 (Home Game 3) at the US Airways Center

Adidas Superstar 2007 NBA Line!!

2006-07-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here's some photos of the 2007 Adidas Superstar aka "shell toes" NBA Line...
I hope this is'nt old news I got these from the espn sneaker show "It's the shoes"

The Champs - Miami Heat

The Western Conference Champs - Dallas Mavericks

LA Clippers

LA Lakers

Memphis Grizzlies

Phoenix Suns

Cleavland Cavaliers

Milwaukee Bucks

New Orleans Hornets

Atlanta Hawks

And Most of the rest of the NBA teams.....

playoff preview pt 3

2006-07-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the strangest match-up we have seen in years comes in the Western Conference when the Denver Nuggets meet the L.A. Clippers. I know it is strange and kind of scary to think that the Clippers are in the playoffs and at a sixth seed nonetheless. However, that is not the strangest factor in this series. The Clippers will have home court advantage throughout this series despite being the lower seed.

Only in the NBA with the current flawed playoff format can this be possible. The Denver Nuggets won their division pretty easily. Then again look at the Northwest division and you see there is only one playoff team in division. The Trailblazers actually managed to finish worse in the standings that the Knicks. The SuperSonics and the Twolves are in disarray as franchises, so they provided little competition throughout the season. Leaving only the Utah Jazz as a potential playoff team in the division, and they are still a building franchise with plenty of unanswered questions.

The LA Clippers play in the Pacific division, a division that sent four teams to the playoffs this season. The Clippers finished second in the division behind Phoenix, not an easy task. They were rewarded with a sixth seed in the playoffs. This happens because the top three seeds in the playoffs go to division winners i.e. Denver.

So while Denver earned the prestige of the three seed, they still have to go on the road to open the playoffs against the Clippers who hold the better record. This makes no sense. Either the Clips are the higher seed, or finish screwing them over and let the Nuggets have home court.

This also led to the situation of the Memphis Grizzlies and the LA Clippers meeting in the final game of the season and actually wanting to tank the game. The loser of that game got the sixth seed and the winner got the five seed and a hot Dallas team. The result was we saw two teams full of players no one has ever heard of… terrible for the league. Nonetheless the Clippers were able to stink it up more (go figure) and take the sixth seed.

Anyways the Clippers are going to host the Nuggets in the first round. This is not your fathers Clippers, or even your older brothers. The new look Clippers are good. They are led by a double-double machine in Elton Brand. Brand has quietly made himself into a superstar while residing in the obscurity of Clipper land. He is currently averaging 24 and 10 every night and will give Kmart and Camby fits in the post. The floor general for the Clips is Sam Cassell, who is one of the most interesting players in the league. Rarely mentioned as one of the best at the point, but so many times he has been the X-factor in pushing a team over the hump. He provides veteran leadership and poise to a young Clips team that has no previous playoff experience. Cuttino Mobley is another rising star who can put up points, and is averaging just over 1 steal per game.

The Nuggets are a young squad who at times appear to be on the door of greatness, while at other times they seem to be one player blowup from destruction. Carmelo Anthony has continued his growth progression into a star player in the league, attempting to join the status of his draft classmates Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James. Anthony averaged over 26 points a game while taking his team to a division title. The Nuggets have also received a boost from the resurgence of Marcus Camby who has had an outstanding year in rebounds and defensive skill. Andre Miller is running the point for the Nuggets. On paper the Nuggets are a good team, who can beat most any team on a given night.

The cards are going to be severely stacked against the Nuggets though. The Staples Center will be packed for each home game. For once LA is no long strictly Laker country. The Clippers run a balanced half court attack featuring Brand in the post. If he can create double teams then Mobley and Cassell have the opportunity to roam the arc and find open slashing lanes. Also the mental frailty of the Nuggets is always a legitimate question. We have seen Kmart blow up in game situations, and twice Carmelo has been thrown out of games for tossing a ball into the stands. If the Nuggets get into that mind set this series will be a tank job for them. Other than that, I am sticking with the Clippers the home court advantage, along with the steady big man in the middle; they will win the series in 6 games. However do be aware that this is a prime stage for Carmelo to have his defining playoff moment and if that is the case all bets are off.

TOTAL DISAPPEARING ACT BY CLIPPERS

2006-07-10T18:25:00.002-07:00

A lot of Clipper fans have been talking about tanking to drop out of the 5 spot and avoid facing Dallas or San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs. Well, you heard it here first: the Clippers will have lost the 5 seed within the week and will not come close to regaining it. You can kiss that sucker goodbye.

How can I be so sure? For one, after flapping their gums about how tonight's game would be a battle of toughness, the Clippers showed absolutely none -- never showed up at all -- as the Memphis Grizzlies coasted to a wire-to-wire 95-85 win. Moreover, Memphis' remaining schedule is a Ralph Lawler-certified "cakewalk": while 10 of the Clippers' final 15 games are against playoff-bound opponents, 10 of the Grizzlies' final 14 are against playoff outsiders, starting with the Knicks, Bobcats and Sonics next week. (Don't be surprised when you hear about their eight-game or longer win streak.) Most important, the Grizz are playing playoff basketball, while the Clippers look soft and tired, mentally and physically weak.

Wait a minute, you say, we're eleven games over .500 and Clipper fans have never had it so good. I don't think I'm being too tough on them when Cuttino Mobley said this week, "We should be nineteen games over .500." I'm sure nobody in that locker room is satisfied with the team's level of play in the last two games. Nor am I being a drama queen -- remember, I shrugged off last week's loss in Phoenix -- to suggest they'll have to raise their level measurably to stave off the Kings and Lakers (who close the season with five straight at home) for the 6 seed.

Tonight, the Clippers were a mess from start to finish. Elton Brand finally resembled the Elton Brand we know, recording a 25-and-11 double-double. But only Sam Cassell shared the scoring load, putting up 21 points on 8-17 shooting. Chris Kaman contributed all of seven on 3-9 shooting and made Lorenzen Wright look like an absolute All-Star, completing a trip from hell in fitting fashion. Has he ever hit a wall. Cat Mobley hit just 1-4 before sitting out the second half with a sprained ankle; with Zeljko Rebraca due back within the week, we may find out tomorrow whether Coach Dunleavy will ever get to field a fully healthy roster.

Off the bench, Vladimir Radmanovic was a Matt Pinto-proclaimed "nonfactor," scoring most of his 12 in garbage time, while Corey Maggette was a horror story, shooting 1-5 from the field and committing five turnovers. In total, the Clippers turned the ball over an obscene 24 times, and you'll never win with numbers like that. Meanwhile, Memphis had five men in double figures, taking full advantage of the Clippers' lack of interior defense. The teams post almost identical records, but the Grizzlies appear far sharper coming down the stretch.

The Clippers have feasted on the fair to poor teams in the NBA. And, as Lee Klein notes, all the games count the same. But there's one problem with that: the Houstons and Minnesotas and Chicagos of the league won't be around come playoff time. Tonight was billed as a "statement game," and I can count the team's statement wins on one hand: the last San Antonio game, the Denver back-to-back, the first Miami game, the first Phoenix game. Maybe you throw the last Laker game in, but even the less talented Lakers have bagged more big game than the Clippers. And with both L.A. teams facing higher seeds in the first round, one thing no Laker hater wants -- least of all in this, our best season in forever -- is for the purple and gold to outshine us in the postseason.

Click on Clipper Talk and join the discussion. -- Jordan

TOTAL DISAPPEARING ACT BY CLIPPERS

2006-07-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

TOTAL DISAPPEARING ACT BY CLIPPERS

2006-07-10T18:25:00.000-07:00

2001 NBA Draft Revisited

2006-07-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was at the beach last week so I wasn't able to post what I usually post each year right before the NBA Draft, namely an analysis of the draft 5 years prior. But the 2001 NBA Draft was such a monumental draft in terms of spectacular successes and busts that I couldn't just let it pass. You'll see in this draft that the trend of picking high school players backfired a little bit while almost all the foreign picks paid off handsomely which accelerated that trend.

1. Washington - Kwame Brown - I think this pick perfectly summarizes the precariousness of picking a high schooler in the draft (even if those days are technically done). It's been five years and even though you'd have to rule this pick a bust, you still don't know what you have. There's still a chance Kwame might be a great player. Of course, now it would be with the Lakers as he was traded a few years ago.

2. LA Clippers - Tyson Chandler - LA traded this pick to Chicago for Elton Brand which is an excellent trade by the Clippers. Maybe this is the moment in time where their fortunes changed for the better. Chandler is still with Chicago and is a pretty decent defensive player, but is nowhere near the talent of Brand. It was clear in this draft that Jerry Krause was buying time which probably led to his "retirement" a few years later.

3. Memphis - Pau Gasol - Gasol has turned into an All-Star which makes this the best pick so far. I remember the commentators saying that this would be a big risk for Memphis as foreign players were still not quite as accepted as they are today. If I'm not mistaken, this was the highest a foreign player who didn't go to a U.S. college had been taken at that time.

4. Chicago - Eddy Curry - Not a bust by any means, but he's definitely not lived up to his potential. Curry is a 6'10" 300 lb center who can score but is soft as a doughnut. He had a heart condition which prompted Chicago to trade him to the New York Knicks who promptly signed him to a $60 million contract. Chicago has just turned the pick they got in return into superstud prospect Tyrus Thomas. Ah, Isiah. The NBA is definitely a more interesting place thanks to you.

5. Golden State - Jason Richardson - Richardson is a near All-Star so you can't say that this is a bad pick. But he's not exactly helping Golden State get out of the lottery. Of course, that might be too hard of a task for anyone to overcome.

6. Memphis - Shane Battier - Battier is a solid NBA pro who has just been traded to Houston. He plays good defense, hits open threes and generally does all the little things that annoyed me when he played for Duke. The knock on Battier is that he's too selfless to be a star which at the time I thought was a ridiculous criticism. Now that he's helped Memphis make the playoffs a couple times but never got them past the first round, I have to agree with that assessment. But if McGrady and Yao are healthy for Houston, he could become a very dangerous player for them much like Josh Howard was this year for the Mavericks.

7. New Jersey - Eddie Griffin - New Jersey drafted Griffin and traded him to Houston for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. This is probably my favorite draft trade of all time because it was so one-sided. I'll get more into as I reach the other picks, but Griffin was a spectacular bust for Houston. He was never that good on the court. Also, he had a drinking problem and missed the entire 2003-04 season. To his credit, he's still hanging around the league in Minnesota. Unfortunately, he's also still making stupid headlines.

8. Cleveland - Sagana Diop - As recently as a year ago, this pick would have been viewed as a flop. But Diop left Cleveland and went to Dallas where he was a very servicable backup center. He looks like he has a lot of potential for the future. I think this was the worst case scenario for GM's who drafted high school kids. Your team may not be the one that benefits when that player develops.

9. Detroit - Rodney White - It's odd that one of the better teams recently made one of the worst picks here. Detroit redeems themselves down the road, but this was a terrible pick. Not sure if Rodney White is anywhere near the NBA anymore, but I do remember someone lobbying for this guy as the number one pick.

10. Boston - Joe Johnson - This is a good pick. Unfortunately for Boston, Johnson really blossomed when he was traded to Phoenix midway through his rookie year. If Boston hadn't given up on some really good players (Johnson, Chauncey Billups), they might be contending for the Eastern Conference crown.

11. Boston - Kedrick Brown - Of course, if Boston also would have contended if they hadn't made dumb picks like these. Kedrick is out of the league already and Boston is still in the lottery. Amazingly, neither Rick Pitino nor Danny Ainge were responsible for this pick.

12. Seattle - Vladimir Radmanovic - A decent offensive player who played with the Sonics up until last year when he was traded to the Clippers. Now he just signed a contract with the Lakers so we'll see how much better Kobe makes him.

13. Houston - Richard Jefferson - Included in the Eddie Griffin deal that I mentioned above, Jefferson alone makes this trade lopsided. I'm not sure if Jefferson has ever been an All-Star, but he's pretty damn good. It was a good pick by Houston, just a bad trade.

14. Golden State - Troy Murphy - A pretty good player with a terrible team. I've heard his name mentioned in trade talks so if he gets moved somewhere, maybe we'll find out how good he really is.

15. Orlando - Steven Hunter - I remember this guy had some pretty good pre-draft camp performances which, combined with the fact he's 7 ft tall, got him picked here. He probably shouldn't have been picked this high, but he's still playing in the league and getting some minutes. So it's not a terrible pick like this next one coming up...

16. Charlotte - Kirk Haston - Oh boy. This is a really bad pick. I mean really bad. Not only did he not pan out, he left Indiana early while they went on to the NCAA Championship game the next year. He could have been the difference that helped Indiana win. So now he's out of the league and everybody in Indiana hates.

17. Toronto - Michael Bradley - I remember thinking that this would be a good pick, but that goes to show you that I can be wrong. Still in the league, but has bounced around being the end of bench cheerleader for a lot of teams.

18. Houston - Jason Collins - I was going to say this was a good pick for Houston as Collins is one of the top defensive centers in the league now, but in reality, New Jersey probably told Houston to make this pick. So Houston really blew it here too.

19. Portland - Zach Randolph - At this spot in the draft, this is an excellent pick. Randolph is now one of the few legitimate low-post threats in the league who can average 20 points per game. Unfortunately, he's also a knucklehead and probably didn't do anything to dispel the "Jailblazers" mystique.

20. Cleveland - Brendan Haywood - If I'm not mistaken, Brendan was traded to Orlando and then later traded to Washington where he now resides. Despite having a shooting range of about two inches, he's a defensive presence and can put in a few stickbacks for you. You could do a lot worse for the center position.

21. Boston - Joseph Forte - Well, Boston went 1 for 3 and then traded away the only one they got right. Nice job by them. This miss was a surprise to me though. If you would have asked me in 2001 which North Carolina player would have a better NBA future, Joe Forte or Brendan Haywood, I would have bet the house on Forte. But unfortunately, his ego probably got the best of him as he seemed to only be in the news for clashing with coaches. He also had a habit of wearing an LA Laker jersey in the Boston locker room so maybe he wasn't the brightest guy either.

22. Orlando - Jeryl Sasser - I think this guy was a 6'7" point guard which is why he was drafted so high. Needless to say, I don't think he was a good point guard as he's not in the league anymore.

23. Houston - Brandon Armstrong - If this guy would have panned out for New Jersey, it would have rivaled the Manhattan purchase as one of the most lopsided trades ever. Maybe New Jersey and Armstrong agreed that he wouldn't become a good player so that Houston wouldn't be that embarrassed.

24. Utah - Raul Lopez - I would think that this probably the only foreign player in the first round that didn't work out. And I think he had some knee issues too so maybe it wasn't really his fault.

25. Sacramento - Gerald Wallace - Now playing with the Bobcats, he's turned into a pretty good player. He was stuck behind some veteran players in Sacramento for awhile but now I bet they wish they had him back.

26. Philadelphia - Samuel Dalembert - Signed a big contract with the Sixers last year, but that really doesn't mean anything as the Sixers sign everybody to big contracts. He's a pretty decent center, but probably not really any better than Haywood is. Just a lot more expensive.

27. Atlanta - Jamaal Tinsley - Atlanta immediately traded him to Indiana where he's been the starting point guard ever since. He's solid, but maybe not really starting material. Still, considering Atlanta's chronic need for a point guard, I bet they wished they held onto him.

28. San Antonio - Tony Parker - This pretty much sums up why San Antonio is an elite club and why Boston and Houston are still struggling. To get an All-Star player with the last pick in the first round is outstanding. If you redid this draft, Parker would probably be a top five pick. Maybe even number one.

Notable second round picks:

30. Chicago - Trenton Hassell - Plays for Minnesota now. Averaged almost 10 points last year, but I think he's more known for being a defensive stopper. If you get any production out of a pick from the second round, it's a good pick. So Hassell qualifies.

31. Golden State - Gilbert Arenas - Wow. Not only did every other team in the league screw up by passing on 30 point per game scorer Arenas, Golden State messed up by not picking him in the first round because second round picks weren't locked in guaranteed contracts like first round picks were. So when Arenas' initial contract was up after two years, he had vastly outperformed expectations and the market for him was so big that Golden State couldn't afford to resign him. Another reason why Golden State sucks. But give them credit for making possibly the best 2nd round pick ever.

35. New Jersey - Brian Scalabrine - Not much more than a bench guy, he signed a fat contract with Boston last year. He did have an awesome performance in a 2 OT loss to the Pistons in the playoffs a couple of years ago so my theory is that Danny Ainge had only seen him play in that game when he signed him last year.

38. Detroit - Mehmet Okur - As bad as their first pick was, they really got a steal here by drafting Okur. Okur helped the Pistons win the championship two years ago and then signed a fat contract with Utah. He had a pretty good year last year by averaging 18 points per game so this is another excellent second round pick.

40. Seattle - Earl Watson - He's bounced around a lot in his short career, but now he's back with Seattle. He's turned himself into probably the best backup and defensive point guard in the league. In fact, he probably should be starting over no-chair-guarding Ridnour.

42. Seattle - Bobby Simmons - Took awhile for this guy to develop, but played so well for the Clippers last year, he earned a big fat contract from Milwaukee. I thought the Bucks overpaid (almost $10 million a year), but Simmons had a pretty decent year this year too so maybe he'll prove me wrong.

53. Utah - Jarron Collins - Not as good as his brother, but still in the league with the same team. Pretty decent backup center.

I love this draft because it seems to be feast or famine. You could strike out with the top pick and then land a perennial All-Star in the second round. I'd still consider this a fairly strong draft even with all the busts and it's miles better than the previous year's draft. Too bad the league can't draft high schoolers anymore because I think that's a big reason why this draft is so erratic and interesting.

2006-04-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

k3uw-LA-clippers-power-forward new articles for Sunday, April 02, 2006Artest, Miller lead Kings past Clippers (The Sports Network)
Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - Ron Artest totaled 26 points and Brad Miller compiled 25 points and nine rebounds, as Sacramento defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 106-96, at ARCO Arena.

Kings welcome Clippers to ARCO (The Sports Network)
(Sports Network) - Two teams with playoff fever square off tonight at ARCO Arena, as the Sacramento Kings host the Los Angeles Clippers.

Clippers assured of winning season after downing Jazz (The Sports Network)
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Elton Brand and Sam Cassell each scored 22 points, as the Los Angeles Clippers clinched their first winning season in over a decade with a 106-91 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center.

Kaman Eager for Playoffs (NBA.com)
In THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, Jason Reid writes, "The postseason couldn't begin soon enough for center Chris Kaman, who has eagerly awaited an invitation. The Clippers failed to earn a playoff berth in Kaman's first two seasons, but they appear to be on the verge of qualifying for the first time since 1996-97, marking their fourth appearance in Clipper history and seventh in franchise history. Kaman

Change for Brand Helps Kaman Too (NBA.com)
Mike Terry of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES writes, "When Elton Brand and Chris Kaman were preparing for this season last summer, they did not work out together, or even discuss how they were going to approach the season. But a change in Brand's style has benefited both players, and the Clippers as well."

Are the Clippers for real? (Fox Sports)
With the Clippers clinging to fifth place in the Western Conference entering Tuesday's game vs. the Spurs, Charley Rosen set out to see if the other team in L.A. is really up to snuff. Well, San Antonio had no problem beating Elton Brand and company, and the Clip joint still has some serious shortcomings.

SPORTS SLATE (The Pueblo Chieftain)
TODAY NBA basketball: Denver at Dallas, 11 a.m. MLS soccer: Colorado at Houston, 5:30 p.m. College baseball: Fort Hays State at CSU-Pueblo, Rawlings Field, noon College softball: New Mexico Highlands at CSU-Pueblo (2), Rawlings Sports Complex, 11 a.m. Juco baseball: Otero JC at Trinidad State (2), noon Juco softball: McCook (Neb.) CC at Trinidad State

Duncan, Spurs down Clippers to lead the West (The Sports Network)
Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - Tim Duncan scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lift the San Antonio Spurs past the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-87, at the Staples Center.

Clippers moving towards the postseason (The Sports Network)
(Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Clippers continue to surprise by winning more games and inching closer to their first playoff berth since the 1996-97 campaign.

UPI Sports Calendar for Sunday, April 2 (UPI)
New York at Philadelphia, 1 p.m. Phoenix at Detroit, 1 p.m.

2006-02-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

Midway through the 1991-92 season, the Clippers made yet another coaching change, but this one worked out in their favor. Larry Brown, who was fired by the Spurs weeks before, was hired as the team's head coach in late January 1992. He replaced head coach Mike Schuler, who at the point of his dismissal, posted a 22-25 record. Brown finished the season with a 23-12 mark, and the overall record for Los Angeles was 45-37. The Clippers were eliminated in the first round of the play-offs by the Utah Jazz, 3 games to 2. Due to the late April 1992 Los Angeles riots, game 4 of their series was moved to the Anaheim Convention Center, and the Clippers won that game. The Clippers returned to the play-offs again in the 1992-93 season (with a 41-41 regular season record), and again lost in five games in the first round, this time to the Houston Rockets.