Goon Squad
On to San Antonio for Game One of Round 2. It was violent, brutal basketball today. No calls either way, everything was a battle. But who pulled it out? Not Griffin. Not Paul. Not Jordan or Butler or Foye. This game was won by KMart, SwaggyP, Reggie, and the bulldog, Bled. Sure, the starters (especially Paul) contributed. But without the bench shutting down the Grizzlies and scoring in bunches, pushing the pace and attacking the glass, no way the Clippers win this game.
Now they’re going to go to San Antonio and play the polar opposite of this series: everything is going to be called. Every little bit of contact. But the Clippers are going to be dishing out a lot of it.
Caron Butler is Demonstratably Amazing
The guy has a broken left hand. He was supposed to be out 4-6 weeks, but he barely stayed out6 days. Not only is he inspiring his teammates merely by showing up on the court, he scored 11 points at the opening of the game when nothing was going the Clippers’ way. He had a monster slam off a cut, a big, contested three immediately following one by Memphis, and swamped Rudy Gay yet again. All this with one hand!
It would be remiss to overlook the fact that he missed all of the playoffs last season, and nearly missed them this season. But they don’t call him Tuff Juice for nothing, clearly. It’s my opinion that he had a big hand (no pun intended) in swinging both Game 3 and Game 4.
CHRIS FREAKING PAUL
Clippers go up 3-1 and look good doing it! Unfortunate it had to go to overtime, but hey, all the calls were going against them, and Gay and Conley were hitting some crazy shots (Gay is known for that, Conley less so) and they still pulled it out! Griffin was crazy good at scoring, going every which way with impeccable footwork. He didn’t even take a jumper the entire game. Only 5 rebounds, but he matched Paul with 7 assists, all of them big ones.
Can’t wait until Wednesday! Clippers in 5 would be AWESOME (but I think they win it in 6)!
After Last Night
And with the Lakers’ remaining schedule? I think the Clippers could end up with the division title and the 3rd seed – setting up a potential second round series with the 2nd seed OKC Thunder. Yeah. 2nd seed. And the Clippers are the only team in the NBA that beat the Thunder three times this season. Not that regular season series ever correlate to postseason play…
But I’d be really really happy with a Western Conference Finals appearance this season.
I Can’t Even Write a Playoffs Preview
For the Clippers yet… as they could face any number of teams in the first round. And there are only 6 games left! The stretch run is here! The division is still in play, too. As is home court advantage in the first round.
As an aside, Eric Gordon is back for the Hornets, and since he’s been back, they’ve won 3 of 4. I miss EJ… wish he could still be a Clipper.
But I’d still rather have Chris Paul. He is a legitimate MVP candidate.
Clippers lose to T-Wolves 109-97
The Timberwolves’ two young stars had a magical offensive performance tonight. They combined to shoot 20-25, with 27 points each, including a composite 7-7 night from deep. Of course, the T-Wolves are growing used to this kind of showing from their powerful duo. They both were drafted early (in the same spot, no less!) and haven’t always lived up to their promise, or simply hadn’t arrived yet. They’re young, one of them drafted in ‘08 and the other being a rookie.
I’m talking, of course, about Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams.
Wait, what?
That’s right. Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio were both awful tonight, but it didn’t matter. This was the flukiest of all fluke games. Those two guys, Beasley and Williams, are never going to play like this again. They weren’t even taking good shots; bad shots just happened to go in. Griffin, Paul, and Jordan were all spectacular, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the ridiculous, once-in-a-lifetime combination those two presented.
There’s nothing else to say. A fluke is a fluke. Let’s just forget this ever happened.
Clippers at the All Star Break
20-11!
Wow, this team already has 20 wins after 31 games, just a few seasons removed from one in which they did not win 20 games after a full 82-game schedule. Just, wow. As a Clippers fan, this is strange new territory for me.
To top it all off, they are a game and a half ahead of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead. That’s a pretty big deal, considering the Clips have never headed into the All Star break at the head of the division. Ever.
The Clip Show looked like it was going to be on a bit of a downward spiral going into the break, with horrible, soul-crushing losses to the Spurs (GOMES!) and then the Warriors (just bad. No one person to blame, unless you think the officiating swung the game (spoiler: I do)) in a row. I didn’t post anything about them because I was depressed over them and the horror I witnessed. Fortunately, I missed the Spurs game and the Gomes Special. But then, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin showed why they are starting Sunday Night in the All Star Game itself against the Nuggets. Paul was a virtuoso, with 36 points on only 16 shot attempts, to go with 9 assists and 2 steals (along with a disappointing 3 turnovers). Griffin scored 27 on 18 shots, as well as grabbed 12 boards and dished 5 dimes.
I think it’s safe to say Chris Paul is a magician (thankfully not a Wizard, not even he could help that mess), and really nothing he does can be considered a surprise at this point.
The season so far has to be considered a success. The Clippers are still a work in progress. They’re incomplete, fitting in new players and still looking to acquire more. Considering that, a division lead and third seed in the conference is very good, especially since they will only improve. The MVP so far is All Star starter Chris Paul. He might not just be the Clippers’ MVP, he might be the league MVP. He’s been that good.
Looking forward to the second half of the season!
