When I think of progress, I imagine a steady, linear ascent. I think of the cartoon lines on the graphs with the black arrows steadily drawing upwards. I imagine always learning and literally getting better every day. But that’s not how it works in real life. There are times when things click, when the progress becomes evident and there is tangible, visible growth. And yet, there are times like the Clipper game tonight, when it looks like nothing has been learned or gained.

Flash back to November and what were the problems with the Clippers? Inability to contain opposing small forwards, terrible third quarter scoring, absence of Eric Gordon’s three point shot, and giving up high percentage of opponents 3 point field goals. Of all those, the Clippers only managed to defend the three point line well, holding the Jazz to 5 for 15 shooting from deep. Other than that, the Clips saw the floundering Gordon Hayward surface, find his stroke and score 17 points on 6 for 12 shooting. The Clips took a 57-51 halftime lead and gave it up in 2 minutes and 9 seconds on four points from Al Jefferson and two from Paul Millsap. And from 9:14 in the third on, the Clippers trailed. What about Eric Gordon’s three point stroke? A woeful 1 for 7, on top of going 7 for 20 overall and 4 for 13 in the second half.

It was a failed test. In their 6 game hot streak, the Clippers showed the ability to win, even if 5 of those teams had losing records. Sure, the win on the road against Chicago was important, but there was definitely a sensation of getting away with one. How easily could the Derrick Rose of the Bulls have made that last free throw and sent the game into overtime, and then beat the Clippers? Other than the Bulls, the Clips have faced Detroit, Minnesota, Houston, Phoenix and Sacramento. At the time of matchups, all were under .500, even if Houston was “statistically” better and trending upwards (they lost that game anyways). Other than the Minnesota game, the Clips didn’t look dominant in any of them, and they showed a willingness to let other teams hang around and get back into the game. But with Utah, there was the opportunity to measure progress against a good team and the best they could do was muster a few good individual performances against a disastrous. It’s too early to go into doom and gloom talk, Blake set a record for consecutive double doubles and Aminu looked as good as he has all season, but the Clippers still have a ways to go.

DeAndre and Blake allowed for Al Jefferson to go off tonight. Prior to tonight, Jefferson had played more like a high quality role players than the 20-10 guy he was with Minnesota. But tonight, he crushed the Clippers, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds en route to a Jazz victory. Jefferson’s play seemed emblematic of the Jazz as a whole, after a rough start, he roared back in the second half, scored 10 points in the third and 9 in the fourth. Most of his shots were of his normal right handed post move variety, inside the free throw line but not in the “around the rim” distance. And the Clippers? They didn’t have any answer in the second half beyond Blake, whom they largely ignored for swathes of time in the third and fourth quarter.

Although for a moment, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, I thought the Clippers had a chance. Eric Gordon made a layup and Bledsoe sank a three to get the Clippers within 4. The momentum had changed, the fans, quiet after a depressing third quarter, were almost boisterous. But then the Clips allowed for the accumulation of crushing little mistakes. After the Clippers almost forced a turnover, then Okur rushed into a bad shot, Ronnie Price snagged a rebound and laid the ball in easily amongst Blake, Aminu and Diogu. None of the Clippers even jumped. Then on the following defensive possession, Blake tracked down Price on the fast break and swatted his layup attempt, only to have Gordon Hayward simply rebound the ball for a layup.

From there, the Jazz maintained the momentum and closed out the game. The Clippers continued to fight, Blake even knocked down another 3 pointer, a curious development that I’m not completely sure I’m excited about, but the Clippers just didn’t have enough to beat the Jazz.

The Clippers will take a few days off and play on Sunday against the Hawks, and maybe that’s where they’ll resume the progression.

While I’m delighted to see the Clippers newfound brinksmanship in the last two games, neither of those games should have reached that point. In both situations, the Clippers got up to double digit leads over sub-.500 teams, only to give those leads away and win by a defensive play. The Kings game was especially nerve-wracking, as Tyreke Evans had a free throw to tie and then when it bounced out, DeMarcus Cousins almost tipped the ball in and then the ball bounded back to Tyreke and he had an open 12 footer to win the game. The shot skipped out of the hole and the Clippers won the game. But against a better team, say San Antonio or even tonight’s opponent, the Jazz, and the end result most likely won’t be so pretty.

Still, the Clippers are 9-9 in their last 18 and 5-1 in their last 6, and they play an exciting brand of basketball worthy of national attention. Just look at what John Hollinger and David Thorpe have written.

Here’s Hollinger’s thoughts on the All Star merits of two Clippers:

Blake Griffin, LA Clippers (PER 22.40)
Coaches get one pick for backup center, and I’d love to see them stretch the definition and include Griffin as that player. His YouTube dunk collection speaks for itself, but he’s done a lot of the nuts and bolts of making an All-Star team too, by averaging 21.2 points, 12.5 boards and shooting 51.9 percent.

Like the other players here, Griffin has a major negative on the front of his jersey. The Paper Clips are just 10-22 in a conference that could have 11 teams finish at .500 or better. Will the coaches really plumb the depths of the standings this far down?

He faces another challenge known as “Kevin Love.” One might imagine the coaches reaching for one exceptional player at the bottom of the standings — but two? Given recent history, that seems highly unlikely. Yet on pure merit, Griffin probably belongs.

Eric Gordon, LA Clippers (PER 21.19)
Gordon has no chance whatsoever because of Griffin’s candidacy — it’s almost inconceivable that coaches will write two names from the 10-22 Clippers on their ballots when submitting just one name from such a squad is a rare feat in itself. Nonetheless, I wanted to note his impressive start to the season, one that has him tied for 11th in the West in EWA.

Now there is David Thorpe doing a simple breakdown of the Clipper rookies:

Blake Griffin, Clippers

Something good: Oh my, where do we begin? Monster dunks, beastly attitude, competitive spirit, willing and able to put his team on his back for long stretches of games — he’s been the best rookie we’ve seen since this report started three years ago. It’s hard for a No. 1 pick to exceed expectations, but he has done so without question.

Something bad: There’s not much to choose from here, but his biggest weakness is the most obvious one. He’s making just 59 percent of his free throws, a problem when he is so good at getting fouled. With a team on the upswing, this becomes even more of an issue, as the Clippers are playing so many games to the wire. Check this out: The Clippers are 7-7 in December, and in their seven losses, Griffin missed enough free throws to either tie or win three games. How would a 10-4 December record heading into the last game of the year look to Clipper Nation? It makes a world of difference when your best player is also money from the line.

Al-Farouq Aminu, Clippers

Something good: I lobbied through Twitter and this report all spring and summer about how I thought Aminu was better suited to be a power forward, at least early in his career. While I think it’s still a worthwhile argument, there is no debate over his abilities as a shooter, which are better than I expected. Yes, now he’s nowhere near the torrid levels of the first five weeks, when he made 20 of his 37 attempts from Halloween through November. But still, he’s at a respectable 34.6 percent (9 of 26) this month. He’s made 46 percent of his 3s this season with a healthy number of attempts, suggesting that this is no fluke. Aminu is a shooter.

Something bad: Similar to Johnson, Aminu has made more 3s than free throws. But Aminu is taller and longer than Johnson and he has the great hands all special rebounders have. To be a great rebounder, one has to loiter around the rim. And by doing just that, Aminu would earn a lot more free throws, or more paint shots. Both would help him be more productive. There’s nothing wrong about being a good deep shooter, but the absence of productivity in other facets of the game means the Clippers took a talented player with huge upside at No. 8 in the draft and turned him into a spot 3-point shooter. The Spurs and Nuggets each got one of those kinds of guys (Gary Neal and Gary Forbes) without wasting a draft pick and for millions of dollars less.

Eric Bledsoe, Clippers

Something good: Sure, the Clippers knew they were getting a stud of an athlete when they drafted Bledsoe, but could they have expected him to play with such poise, as a pass-first point guard, after just one year of playing off the ball in college? I think not, but that’s what Bledsoe is giving them. Next to Fields, he’s probably the steal of the draft and certainly the most surprising first-round pick. He’s ever dangerous as an athlete, but his willingness to pass and his sense of where and how to make the pass seem more appropriate for a veteran player. His feel for the game is much better than he was given credit for. As he learns the pick-and-roll game, which can take years to master, he’s going to end up being a dynamic point guard.

Something bad: As expected at the pace of the NBA game, a player trying to set up his teammates is going to turn the ball over. A lot. Bledsoe is getting better at reading the first line of defense, though it’s not something he’s good at yet, but beyond that is way beyond him. NBA players don’t move around as much as college kids do, but they think 10 times as fast, and that’s why Bledsoe gets into as much trouble as he does. His legs get him into spots that his mind has not processed yet. He’s had three or more turnovers in 18 games, though I do see an improvement this month.

Is it perfect? No, but this team is definitely set up well for the future. They have three of the best rookies, with Bledsoe being a steal of the draft, and Blake playing at an All Star level along with third year guard Eric Gordon. There is more reason for optimism in Clipper Nation than ever before.

Keys to the Jazz game:

- Paul Millsap v. Blake Griffin. Millsap has been doing an admirable job supplanting Carlos Boozer by averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds a game. But he’ll have his hands full with Blake tonight. I’m interested to see how the Jazz play Blake as there have been moments when Blake has struggled against double teams (Houston) and against quicker small forward types like Artest and Grant Hill. In a chicken and the egg predicament, it appears that countering Blake’s speed is more important than strength, and Millsap is pretty quick and strong. I still think that Blake gets double double streak extending numbers, but if Millsap can slow Blake down at all, the Jazz could eke out a win.

-Turnovers. I like that Aminu has been getting minutes again, and his play is one of the reasons the Clippers are winning, but he’s part of the turnover problem. In the Kings game, the Clippers turned the ball over 19 times to the Kings 9. This pattern can’t continue against better teams if the Clips have any hopes of extending their winning ways.

- Disciplined defense. One of the reasons that the Clippers have struggled against the Jazz, has been due to lapses defending the Jazz’s efficient flex offense. Going into the game, the Clippers are holding opponents to 42 percent shooting in December, second in the league, after giving up a disasterous 48 percent in November. They’ll have play smart to keep up that trend against an efficient Deron Williams-led Jazz offense.

Injury Report:
Brian Cook – Sprained Right Ankle, out
Chris Kaman – Sprained Left Ankle, out
Craig Smith – Herniated Disk, doubtful

Andrei Kirilenko – Lower back strain, doubtful

By Brian Chan
Special to ClipperBlog

The strong play of the rookies has been one of the encouraging stories of the 2010-11 Clippers season. Blake Griffin has met or exceeded all expectations of him, averaging 20.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per 36 minutes. Eric Bledsoe took advantage of the early opportunities and proved himself a valuable rotation player, now averaging 10.0 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per 36 minutes. Blake has an All-Star level Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 22.38 and Bledsoe has a solid PER of 10.66, but right above Bledsoe with a PER of 11.45 is another Clipper rookie–Al-Farouq Aminu.  More...

Perhaps understanding the excitement they have garnered across the NBA, the Clippers did their part to entertain the local fans in the state’s capitol on the way to a 100-99 victory over the Kings. During the start of the season, they managed to be fun to watch despite the near inevitability of defeat, but things have certainly changed since their tough start. And while they have been much more successful of late, they are still improving in many areas. Having won five of six games, the theme recently has been the Clippers outplaying opponents but not being able to sustain big leads. Even when they look like the better team, they have struggled to show consistent effort on defense and limit their own turnovers. On Sunday, the Clips allowed the Suns to come back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game before they eventually prevailed. Against Sacramento, it was Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin leading the way, but continuous lapses of effort on Kings shooters, combined with 19 Clipper turnovers, left the outcome undetermined until the final seconds.

With 5.1 seconds left, and the Kings down three, it looked like Tyreke Evans was going to have to make a contested three-pointer to tie the game and send it to overtime. Instead, with a foul to give, Ryan Gomes committed one at the top of the key. Evans, as you can do in the NBA, took another dribble and threw up a shot, giving the refs reason to call it a shooting foul and send him to the line for three free throws. After making the first two, he missed the third and, two frantic tips later, the Clippers emerged with a victory, their first at Arco Arena since December 7, 2007. It wasn’t “pretty,” but as Vinny Del Negro said, “We were fortunate at the end, but we’ll take it. We’re finding ways to win. You’ve got to learn how to win games like that in this league.”

Winning is better than the alternative, regardless of opponent, and it should be noted that the Clippers are doing it far more frequently these days. After starting the season 1-13, they have played .500 basketball (9-9). They have improved their efficiency on both ends of the floor (23rd in offensive and 20th in defensive) after starting the year at or near the bottom in each. But most importantly, have begun to form an identity by playing to their strengths. Primary among those strengths is rebounding. The Clippers who rank 2nd in the league in total rebound rate, outrebounded the Kings, 48-34, tonight, a huge key to the win. Obviously Griffin is a big part of this (14 boards to go with his 24 points), but the dominance on the glass has been a team effort. Al-Farouq Aminu, last year’s leading rebounder in the ACC, has proven to have a nose for the ball, despite shifting to the small forward from power forward, which he played primarily in college. On this night, he pulls down eight rebounds while chipping in 11 points, and showing the potential to be a viable third option to Gordon and Griffin. The newest Clipper, Ike Diogu, also came up huge in the win, battling hard, especially in the second half, for six big boards to go with eight points. And perhaps the most impressive number of all – one that had many Clipper fans (including the leader of this blog) concerned – was the starting backcourt of Gordon (six) and Baron Davis (five) combining for 11 rebounds to go with their 13 assists. It was, indeed, a team effort on the glass, and they needed every last one of them to compensate for their turnover issues, which assistant coach, Dean Demopolous, called, “insanity.”

Without a doubt, the star of the game was Gordon, who is playing like we expected he would now that he is back to draining threes like he has his whole career. He tied his career high with six makes on seven attempts, on his way to 31 points on 12 of 19 from the floor. He continues to amaze with his silky smooth touch, and ability to adapt his offensive game to the defense. On a night where he only got to the free throw line once, Gordon went to his old bread and butter to carry the team from deep. He has become so difficult to guard, in large part, because his approach, after the game saying he’s, “just letting it come to me. Teams sometimes try to go under a screen under me so I won’t be able to get to the basket so I gotta knock down the outside shot.” He did have three turnovers, including a costly one down the stretch where he just dribbled out of bounds, but his performance was a key for the team’s strong half court execution.

Griffin had another great game, tying Michael Cage for the franchise record with 19 consecutive double-doubles. He continued to show the diversity of his game, with a three-pointer and a couple of mid range jumpers to go with his usual paint dominance. He, along with Diogu and DeAndre Jordan, helped the Clippers to a 50-26 advantage in points in the paint. The Clips continue to show good spacing in their half court sets, and guys like Aminu, Baron, Foye, Diagu and Gomes are reaping the benefits of the attention defenses have to pay to Gordon and Griffin.

With a five-game homestand coming up against quality teams like Utah, Atlanta and Miami, the Clippers will have to tighten up their defensive rotations and limit turnovers if they hope to continue their winning ways. Against the Kings, they really didn’t commit to defending shooters like Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi until it was almost too late, but they did turn in some pretty strong defensive possessions down the stretch that helped secure the win. Despite the best efforts of Evans (32 points) and his shooters, as well as the Clippers’ issues with protecting the ball, the Clippers appear to have become a team that can win close games. It is a step, with the next one being the ability to prevent games that shouldn’t be close from getting there.

Before the season started, there was an unheralded optimism in Clipper Nation. Dunleavy gone, Blake in, a great draft class, Kaman coming off an All Star year, and Eric Gordon the Clippers’ gold medalist all compiled to form the giddiest fan base the Clippers have ever had. This was more than just an exciting nucleus, it was a foundation. Optimism was so widespread that some national pundits even picked the Clippers as dark horse candidates to make the playoffs. NBA fans watched highlight reel dunks from Blake throughout preseason and wondered just how far he could take the Clippers. Now, the Clippers finally playing up to those expectations.

Winners of 4 of their last 5 games, the Clippers have begun to settle in, learn each teammates nuances and play as a unit, not just a collection of talented basketball players. They’re watching each other’s backs as much as they are looking to score on their own, a trait well-shown in Blake Griffin. But it’s more than just that.

The Clippers dominate the glass, they’re second in the league in rebound rate. And that’s without Kaman playing the majority of the season. It stems from Blake, but DeAndre improved immensely and the rebounding upgrade at small forward (Gomes and Aminu) should not be overlooked.

Not only that, but after enduring regular scorchings, the Clippers have brought down opponents’ field goal percentage. Finally, they are better than league average, if only by a tenth of a percentage (45.4 percent). Sure they still allow opponents to shoot 39.3 percent from three point range, but that’s down 3 percentage points as well.

If there is any measure to contrast the team, it’s the matchup with the Sacramento Kings. While DeMarcus Cousins has been playing better of late, their wins still seem sporadic and lucky, not necessarily caused by anything the Kings are doing, more like what the opponents stumble upon. Part of it is all the lingering injuries to their star guard Tyreke Evans, but it’s more about the unity of the team. The Clippers also have had growing pains, but unlike the Kings, they appear to learn from them, which may be the reason that the Clippers have faired so well against them this year. They’ve won twice, handily, in the regular season as well a 42 point beatdown in the preseason.

Another win tonight would not be so unfathomable, and would further the Clippers development. The win would be their third in a row on the road making the Clips a respectable 9-9 in their last 18 games, as well as 5-1 in their last six. Still the Kings can be a handful, and playing on the road has been very difficult for the Clippers as they’re only 2-11 when traveling.

Keys to the Game:

- DeMarcus Cousins v. Blake Griffin. While DeMarcus Cousins averages 11.4 points and 7.4 rebounds on the season, he’s been trending upwards. In the last two weeks, he has averaged 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds. We’re spoiled with Blake so those don’t seem particularly impressive to Clippers fans, but DeMarcus has begun to evolve. What I like about him is that, even though he does have his issues, one that included an argument with Head Coach Paul Westphal, he has apologized, showing potential to outgrow his immaturity. On the court, Cousins has learned to stay out of foul trouble, a big reason that he wasn’t putting up great stats in the beginning of the year. He’s surprisingly nimble and the Clippers will have their hands full with Cousins on the interior. On the flip side, every team has trouble containing Blake. He just keeps getting better. I have seen improved defense and evidence of range (he has nailed some three pointers recently), but what I like most, is how infectious his style of play is. It’s not that he’s unselfish, you can see he wants every rebound, but it’s more of a simplistic and even viewpoint. If you’re on Blake’s team, you’re on his team. End of discussion. And I like how that attitude has been spreading to the rest of the players.

- Eric Gordon v. Tyreke Evans. I waffle a lot on how much I like Tyreke’s game. Does he dominate the ball too much? Maybe. Should he rest his injuries in a season like this? Probably. But I like how single minded and aggressive he is. At his best he gets some of the easiest looks at the rim, collapsing defenses and handing out easy opportunities for his teammates. Although at his worst, he stagnates the offense, takes too difficult of shots and knocks the team out of rhythm. With Eric Gordon on him, it could be a long night, but don’t think that Tyreke won’t dish out some pain of his own.

Injury Report:
Brian Cook, Chris Kaman and Craig Smith are all out for the game.

Chat Note: I’ll be at ESPN’s Daily Dime Live Chatting for the first half of the game.