Blake Griffin lined up on the block with Randy Foye at the line. The Clippers had all but sealed the win, even though the Clips almost completely lost a 29 point lead. Randy Foye missed his second free throw, Blake grabbed the rebound, missed, got his second rebound of the possession for his 10th rebound and his second triple double of the season, a monstrous 31 points (on 13 for 21 shooting), 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

“Well, you can’t say we don’t make it interesting,” Vinny said. “That’s a microcosm of our season.”

Blake’s last second triple double didn’t even count for all the excitement in Clipperland. After amassing a 29 point half time lead over a “tanking” Memphis team, in which Bledsoe had 13 points in addition to Blake’s evisceration of the Grizzlies, the Clippers gave up all but four points before settling back in for the win.

The reality is that there shouldn’t have been too much excitement to write about. The Clippers played a Grizzlies team that sat Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Tony Allen. Or as we all know them, the Grizzlies that give the Clippers the most trouble. There is the argument that the Grizzlies wanted to face the Spurs instead of the Lakers, so they purposefully tanked the game. Without those three starters, the Clippers’ first half lead should have allowed Blake Griffin to sit. Instead, Blake Griffin played 41 minutes and eked out his second triple double of the season.

Everything that the Clippers were doing well (strong bench play, assists) failed them in the second half. The Grizzlies, maybe having seen that the Lakers were losing their lead rapidly, stormed back at the hands of the illustrious crew of Sam Young, Ish Smith, Hamad Haddadi, Greivis Vasquez and Shane Battier in the third. The Grizz charged back on a 11-0 run before a different unit ran out on a 19-4 run in the fourth. When the Clippers were charging in the first half with their second unit, in the second half that same unit coughed up passes and points so quickly that the Clippers didn’t halt the Grizzlies comeback so much as the clock did. Had there been a few more minutes in the game, the Grizzlies would have definitely comeback.

So the Clips get away, they end the season on a win, even if the game was frustrating. They finish with 32 wins on the season (and 50 losses) and that’s improvement. Definitely not as much as Clipper fans and the Clippers themselves would have wanted, but improvement nonetheless.

Now, let’s hope for a quickly agreed upon CBA.

Notes

• DeAndre Jordan played well tonight. Not only did he go for 14 points on 5 for 5 shooting, but he defended Gasol very well. Gasol went 5 for 11 from the field and struggled with Jordan’s length even with DeAndre helping so frequently. Most players played against substitute level players, but not DeAndre. And he even grabbed 10 rebounds, stole 3 balls and blocked 2 shots. Not a bad night to end on.
• The Clippers are so good at momentum dunks (and that fast break alley-oop by Bledsoe and Blake was incredible), but they also let the Grizzlies get some good looks. Sam Young and Darrell Arthur found themselves opportunities to dunk and took advantage of it. The Clippers have to be better at letting cutters get around the hoop.
• Eric Bledsoe and the energy. That should be a band name. But seriously, after sitting out a game due to a still unknown (and I asked) suspension, Bledsoe came in and made a huge difference. Bledsoe scored 13 points on 6 for 9 shooting, served 6 assists, stole the ball three times and blocked two shots, but he did most of the damage in the first. He’s still a turnover waiting to happen, but the fact that Bledsoe responded well to the suspension has to be a good sign.
• Another good game for Eric Gordon. He seriously has the most quiet big points of any player I’ve ever watched. He made some huge floaters down the stretch, but when I see that he scored 24 I’m left scratching my head. More important, he had 6 assists and handled the ball well with Mo Williams and Randy Foye struggling. It’ll be interesting to see if the Clippers use Gordon as more of a primary ball handler next year, as he’s much more effective with the ball in his hands.
• Aminu played slightly better in his 24 minutes. He still had a couple dumb turnovers. Let’s face it, if Marc Gasol is getting his feet set on a guy like Aminu, Aminu is probably not doing it right. He’s so quick and agile that he should never have to worry about being called for a charge by running into a guy like Gasol. It’s not like Gasol sneaks up on anyone.
• Blake had an amazing amount of dunks tonight. I posted some of the clips, but I couldn’t find the fast break double clutch that was so awesome. In that vein, Eric Bledsoe also had some ridiculous jams.
• Leon Powe was tossed first, then Craig Smith later, and the game saw a handful of technical fouls over the course of the game. This is not unusual for the Clippers, as they have found a way to get under other teams’ skins. This can be used for a lot of good.
• Foye and Williams played terribly, almost like they were on the last day of work before the vacation. Oh, wait, that’s exactly what it was.

The Clippers finish up their 2010-2011 season against the Grizzlies in what should be an underwhelming affair. While the two teams have played some very close games (the 85-84 loss in Staples in December and 82-81 win with the double foul only weeks ago), the season is all wrapped up. The Grizzlies will dance again in the playoffs and the Clippers will get a head start on their vacations and practice.

The strange thing about this year, and I’ll go more into this in posts after the season, is that so few questions were answered. Big questions, like “How good is Blake?” and “Can Eric make the jump?”, were answered, but so many team-related questions remain. In the post-Dunleavy era, can the team play defense? Can Vinny get better as a coach? Can the offense run coherently? Will Sterling spend the money to get the players? How will the young players like Bledsoe and Aminu develop? How will Ryan Gomes fit into this team of youngsters and can he be an efficient starting small forward? Will Kaman stay healthy?

We might lean one way or another, but we don’t actually know what will happen. The Clippers improved slightly in the win column, they have won more games this year, and yet the question marks remain. So much work is left to be done.

Even standard, “Will the Sun come up?” type questions are unanswered. When will this next season start? What will the CBA and the contracts given out to free agents be like? There is so much uncertainty that only one immediate solution exists: watch the game, even if it’ll probably be sloppy. Enjoy Blake’s dunks live. It may be while before you see them live again.

Keys to the Game

- Energy. The Grizzlies already rested Randolph and Allen and have hinted that the core of Randolph, Allen, Conley and Gasol will rest in the final game of the regular season, which means their level of play might not be as high as one would hope. The Clippers, even without the debacle of Houston, are notorious for playing to the level of their opponents (in both the good and bad sense) and this game would be easy to fall into that trap. However, if the Clippers come out and just play hard, that might be enough to beat the resting Grizzlies.

- FREEDOM. No Tony Allen? No Mike Conley? Great. Now, Mo Williams and Eric Gordon are going to have the space to confidently run the offense.

- Go inside, Blake. Without Gasol and Zach Randolph, the Grizzlies interior presence is quicker, but not nearly as formidable. If Blake wants to max out his efficiency, he would be best to try to work on the block on the smaller Darrell Arthur (6’9”, 235) and Leon Powe (a generous 6’8”, 240).

Injury Report

Chris Kaman: knee, game time decision
Ryan Gomes: knee, game time decision
Eric Bledsoe: left ankle (?), questionable

Rudy Gay: Left shoulder, out
Xavier Henry: right knee, out
Jason Williams: sore lower back, questionable

In a battle of which team could care less, the Clippers clearly won. Or lost. Or whatever. The game had a depressing concessionary feel with the Rockets officially out of the playoffs, sitting Kyle Lowry, and the Clippers struggling in the absence of Chris Kaman and the after-effects of Eric Bledsoe’s suspension.

No exact word on why Bledsoe was suspended, other than the standard violation of team policy (Bledsoe was sent home on a commercial flight), but a intently lethargic play overtook the Clippers. While this could be expected of any team, the Clippers lone strategic/tactical strength this season was to play hard. They didn’t ever have a decently run offense (even with Baron a team needs more than PnR-rinse-repeat), their defense only played well when their energy overwhelmed, one player had a monster defensive effort or they surprised a team for a few minutes with zone defense, but their energy, aside from a few games on their 11 game road trip, rarely faltered.

But tonight the Clippers looked beyond lackadaisical and exhausted. They looked like they had planned out their vacation schedule. The Clippers had a small run to start out the game, 6-0 on two Gordon free throws, a Blake slam and a DeAndre layup, but the effectiveness was more due to the sloppiness of the game than the efficacy of the Clipper offense. And then the Clippers decided to give in after Goran Dragic scored a layup, and then Dragic, after being the last player to start back, chased down Mo Williams, completely picked Mo’s pocket and then assisted Kevin Martin’s transition three. The Clipper offense completely faltered, even Blake Griffin missed two dunks and shot 6 for 18 on a smattering of missed dunks, lazy fadeaways, impossible layups and well-contested short shots from Chuck Hayes. It should be mentioned that Eric Gordon played hard and well, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and finishing with 19, but his good play was little more than a backhanded complement, like being called the fastest sloth in the world.

The effort in the game was so bad that even the eternal cheerleader Mike Smith and his partner Ralph Lawler were calling out the players by the end of the second quarter and were thoroughly disappointed by the third. The effort was so bad that the Clippers players cleared out for an isolation play for Jamario Moon early in the third quarter. Is there a worse player on the team in isolation than Jamario?

The game began to take on the machinations of a protest game. I don’t know exactly what Eric Bledsoe did, because there was the report in last night’s game that Bledsoe had turned an ankle and had an MRI. I don’t know why they couldn’t just acknowledge the infraction, if there was one, but covering the truth won’t sit well. This loss to the Rockets could still be an end of season flop, but there was nothing leading up to this game that would rationalize the Clippers play in this game. They have been out of the playoffs, and they haven’t mattered for months. Who knows if the play was just an outlier of laziness or whether Bledsoe’s suspension was a galvanizing event, but the Clipper players appeared more than just tired, but purposefully disinterested. Like they were playing the easiest they could without being accused of outright tanking the game. At no point was there any urgency. And now, this begs the question as to whether Vinny will even be around to see a second season.

Vinny was brought in under the pretenses that he could play the young guys and, outside of starting Ryan Gomes the whole year, he has. But there really hasn’t been much development with Aminu or Bledsoe and Bledsoe’s suspension makes the case that Vinny is even further from reaching Bledsoe and, more importantly, the team.

If there has been one thing in the last few weeks that Vinny has consistently harped on, it has been the effort and consistency of his young guys, which isn’t that difficult of a code for Aminu and Bledsoe (Blake is so far ahead of the rest of the team that he can’t even be considered a rookie). They were challenges to respond. And not only did the rookies respond, but the whole team did. In the worst way possible. I don’t know what will happen in the last game on Wednesday against the Grizzlies, but if I were Vinny, I’d be worried.

Ah, Houston. Last road game of the season, but I hope that Blake and DeAndre return to visit you soon. If I had it my way, you’d be this year’s summer home for the two young Clipper Bigs. No, your humidity isn’t that alluring, nor the location by the Gulf. It’s something else. Houston, you’re the home of the legendary center, Hakeem Olajuwon.

For some, Hakeem is just a name, even if it’s a great name, so please check out some of his videos. Even if you remember Hakeem, watching him again is a treat.

Here’s Hakeem explaining his legendary “Dream Shake.” Imagine if Blake had this in his repertoire.

And Hakeem was amazing on defense.

Didn’t matter if it was weakside or man on man, Hakeem had that unique ability to get his hand on the ball. And when he did block the shot, rarely was the ball batted out of bounds to be given back to the team.

The Olajuwon renaissance can be credited to Kobe Bryant, who, recognizing his declining athleticism, developed a supremely deft post game to allow him to age gracefully. Bryant, despite playing in his fifteenth season, is posting season averages right in line with his career averages.

But Bryant’s ability to adapt isn’t so much a surprise as manifest destiny. If Olajuwon wasn’t there, Bryant would have found someone else. What has been even more impressive has been the staggering offensive improvement of Dwight Howard. After relying on little more than dunks and a mediocre lefty hook for years, Howard made a significant offensive leap this year.

Dwight is averaging 23.1 points per game, the most he has averaged in his career by 2.5 points, and he has still maintained his efficiency. He still shoots around 60 percent from the field on 13.5 touches per game. Astonishing numbers.

Here’s Olajuwon teaching Dwight Howard. Dwight might be a bit goofy, the whole asian-voiced sensei bit seems slightly contrived, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that Hakeem is, still, a master of post moves.

Book those tickets back to Houston, Blake and DeAndre, because that’s where you should study in the summer.

Keys to the Game

- DeAndre’s home cooking. In three games against his hometown team, DeAndre Jordan has averaged 10 points, 13.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. That’s a huge improvement over his season averages of 6.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. Another one of DeAndre’s big nights and the Clippers will have a better chance to beat the Rockets.

- The quick-witted Blake Griffin. Just like he has done against Tyson Chandler, Blake Griffin has improved his play against Chuck Hayes. In the last matchup, Griffin went for 20 points on 7 for 12 shooting with 14 rebounds and 5 assists, playing a lot out of the high post, which allowed him to get easy shots in the 6-13 foot range, as well as dish out assists at will. Chuck Hayes is a great defender, but with the adaptive abilities of Blake Griffin, especially his new up and under move, it could mean a win for the Clippers.

- Perimeter defense and rotations. The Rockets have two very good perimeter players in Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry. Since the All Star Break (which approximately coincided with the Aaron Brooks trade), Lowry has been averaging 16.8 points and 7.3 assists for the Rockets. Kevin Martin is just as wily as ever. Both players thrive on contact too (Martin averages 8.4 free throw attempts per game, Lowry 3.3) so the Clippers will have to show on screens well in order to stop them from penetrating and disrupting the Clips’ defense.

Injury Report

Ryan Gomes: right knee, questionable

Yao Ming: stress fracture in left ankle
Terrence Williams: lower abdominal surgery, out indefinitely

Not that the Clippers were going to win, but after Blake Griffin banked in a shot to bring down the 102-93 and then the Clippers forced a turnover, Mo Williams tried to rush the inbounds pass and spark a comeback. Only Mo was inbounding to DeAndre Jordan and Corey Brewer jumped all over the pass, which led to an easy Dirk layup. A silly play after a couple smart plays epitomized the Clippers night.  More...