Al Thornton and Eric Gordon will be arch rivals — at least for a couple of hours.  Both Clippers have been selected to play in the 2009 Rookie Challenge during All-Star Weekend in Phoenix:

Forward Jeff Green, Durant’s teammate in Oklahoma City, joins him on the Sophomore team, which also includes Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford, Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton, Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler, Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey and a pair of teammates from the Houston Rockets — guard Aaron Brooks and forward Luis Scola.  More...

Given his combination of brute strength and quickness, there’s really no reason that Eric Gordon should record his first rebound at the [3rd, 1:44] mark, particularly with Camby on the shelf.  But that’s what happened Friday night against Oklahoma City.  In Monday night’s game vs. Portland, Gordon put up a goose egg in the rebounding column in 41 minutes.

In 13 games this January, Gordon has collected greater than three rebounds only twice, despite averaging 41.2 mpg.  Among shooting guards who average greater than 30 mpg, Gordon ranks ahead of only Jamal Crawford in rebounding rate.  More...

Going into the 2008 NBA Draft — before Baron Davis signed a five-year, $65M contract to serve as the Clippers point guard through 2013, and before Elton Brand slipped out the back door — the Clippers were a team in desperate need of a backcourt scorer, and preferably one that could play the point.  Unlike this upcoming draft crop, the 2008 draft class was perfectly suited to the Clippers’ needs.  Between Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Jerryd Bayless, and Eric Gordon, there were any number of collegiate guards the Clips could pluck off the board and plug into their anemic backcourt.  More...

The Clippers manage to stay close to Portland for three quarters, but they play much of the game on borrowed time.  How can we tell?  By taking a closer look at the shot distribution.  While both teams shoot well in the first half — Portland 55.9%, the Clippers 48.5% — Portland gets precisely the shots they want [Brandon Roy 8-9 FG, 4-4 FT], while the Clippers make do with the ones they get [Fred Jones 4-7 FG, 2-2 FT; Al Thornton 3-10 FG -- almost all of them a high degree of difficulty -- 3-4 FT].  More...

Game 44

7:30p PT

Fox Sports Prime Ticket

KSPN 710 AM

UPDATE, 6:52pm: About 45 minutes before tip-off, and Baron Davis is working his way counterclockwise around the three-point arc.  Coach Mike Dunleavy told reporters during his pregame avail that Baron is still on schedule to return Wednesday or Friday.  Davis has now shot about 125-150 3PAs.  After starting out cold from the left corner [2 for his first 12], he’s hit his stride, having hit his last eight from the right side.