You want the good news first? The retooled Clippers are showing themselves to be a reasonably effective offensive squad.   They’re working themselves a lot of high-percentage shots inside of 15 feet, even against a good interior defensive team like Houston.  You see it at the outset of the 2nd[...]

For about 42 minutes, the Clippers choreograph a perfect evening of basketball. There’s an exquisite two man game [2nd, 2:34] with the young guys, Eric Gordon and Al Thornton where Al uses his muscle to seal off Jason Kidd for an easy layup.  There’s Baron Davis [2nd, 1:20] masterfully s[...]

Familiarity is one of the true pleasures of following a pro sports team.  It’s the same comfort you derive from turning on a really good TV series and knowing all the character attributes of Detective Jimmy McNulty, or Coach Eric Taylor, or Don and Betty Draper.  The Clippers team of recent ye[...]

Meet the new Zach, same as the old Zach. Zach Randolph and I have a troubled history together. I first became aware of him when I caught a bit of the 2000 McDonald’s All-America Game on TV. I remember thinking as I watched him dominate the paint (he went on to win MVP), “This guy is big,[...]

Even though the Clips can’t get the Hornets’ lead down to much closer than five points for most of the second half, this isn’t a painful game to watch.  Most of the Clippers’ problems stem from their inability to finish around the basket.  Mike Taylor misses three FGAs from 0[...]

It’s another transitional game for the Clippers, but one in which their defensive liabilities are on full display. The Clippers surrender 11 3PMs, and give up even more open looks than that from beyond the arc. For all of Marcus Camby’s prowess as a help defender, he’s a liability [...]

The way things unravel in the closing minutes should, by all traditional standards of sports fandom, make this a tough loss to swallow.  But with Zach Randolph in the mail, you have to view it through an entirely different prism.  This is a transitional game for the Clippers, one in which they play [...]

Fans  — particularly those jonesing for a win — are often inclined to overvalue a W against an inferior opponent. But sometimes there’s a counter-tendency among cynics to discount the victory because it’s a cheap win.   Yes, OKC is a sloppy team, but the Clips make some real [...]