For most teams there would be little excitement down the stretch, for most teams it would have been a pleasant malaise as they watched their home team run the Bobcats off the floor. I’m not saying it wasn’t a welcome surprise to watch the Clippers hold the Bobs to 40 percent shooting and 23 percent from three while only turning the ball over 6 times overall (twice in the first half). Those were all great things, but for the normal team, that would result in the lackadaisical fourth quarters when no one cares about the rest of the game. But not the Clippers, because they have Blake Griffin.

You could look at the box score and see Blake’s dominance. He had 19 points on 9 for 18 shooting, 8 rebounds, two assists and a steal in the first half alone (finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds and three assists). But what the box score didn’t show were his highlights, and man these were some beauties.

Remember those almost full court lobs Baron was throwing Blake a couple weeks ago? Randy Foye decided to give that one a try in the second quarter, heaving one from the opposite three point line right to Blake as he beat everyone down the court, leapt and flushed it down. Blake likes to get out, sometimes cherry picking (he did this earlier in the game), but what you should watch in the video is where he starts when the rebound comes down. He is underneath the rim. Not at the free throw line, not at the three point line, not half court, Blake beats every single player down the court in the same amount of time it took DeAndre to secure the ball, pass it to Randy Foye and Randy to make a couple dribbles and launch it. Watch the video, he even beats the camera man out of the picture.

And it didn’t stop there, he had another dunk off a Randy Foye lob, a dunk after Gerald Wallace block on Cookie, one while he cherry picked and the topper, his Oklahoma Tornado where he spun off of his defender on the baseline only to get another defender to commit and he spun again to lay it in. And get the foul. Blake is undoubtedly one of the most amazing talents I’ve ever seen.

The opposing defense can’t even come close to stopping him on nights like these, to start out the third he had two men on him when he drop stepped and muscled his way into a layup and the foul. Blake customarily calmed down in the third, but back in the fourth there was a play where Blake beat Derrick Brown for the alley-oop, only Baron didn’t want to throw the lob from near half court with Shaun Livingston on him. Recalibrating, Blake sets back up in the post only to then again go for the alley-oop, when the level of surprise was basically non-existant and he caught the pass and laid the ball in without much problem. He is just that good, he can call his shots.

Even his almost dunk was amazing. His failed dunk in the fourth quarter, when he leapt high, double clutched the pass (it was a great pass) to get more power and then attempted to dunk the ball by means of crushing the entire rim. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, but I’m waiting for Blake to be the first dunker to break a rim.

While there have been a lot of spectacular nights for Blake, this has to be one of his best highlight nights. Every basket astonished the crowd.

But we can’t forget the rest of the team. Even though the Clippers lost Eric Gordon, Randy Foye has jumped in admirably. First game without Gordon, 15 points on 5 for 9 shooting with 4 assists. Second game he had 20 points on 7 for 17 shooting. Had he not missed shots in the fourth in Houston like the entire Clipper team, he would have had not just a good night, but a great night. And then tonight he had 21 points on 6 for 15 shooting (like Houston, another inefficient fourth), 4 for 10 from three, four assists. Those fill-in games average out to 18.7 points on 44 percent shooting, 100 percent from the line, 3 assists and 1.7 steals. That’s a pretty good three game stretch for a guy who is accustomed to coming off the bench. And his defense has been great too. Foye held DJ Augustin to 13 points and 4 assists on 4 for 12 shooting and 3 turnovers after holding Kevin Martin of the Rockets to 8 points on 3 for 11 shooting.

You’d think that Baron would take on DJ but with the size and strength advantage for Stephen Jackson at the two guard, the Clippers needed a stronger perimeter player on Captain Jack. Jackson was the reason that the Bobcats remained in the game in the first half, his behind the head shot is almost uncontestable for anyone, let alone Baron who gives up 6 inches to Captain Jack. That said, the Clippers and Baron played Jack really well in the second half, holding him scoreless after he went for 14 in the first half. That back and forth in effectiveness was emblematic of Baron’s game tonight. Not only did he switch it up on Stephen Jackson but he reverted between (mostly) Good Baron and Bad Baron for stretches of the night. When he came off a screen and shot an contested three without getting anyone else involved in the play, but then he would go back to Good Baron for large swathes of the game, handing out 11 assists. He’s so integral to the team, particularly wit Eric Gordon out because Baron is the one that controls the flow of the game, getting even Ryan Gomes involved (17 points!) in an offense that clearly needs everyone to pitch in to make up for EJ’s absence.

There were even productive minutes from Ike and Cookie. Sure Ike struggled with the quickness and height of the Bobcats and Cookie was brutally blocked twice by Gerald Wallace (Cook, never the most explosive, looked even less so on his tender ankle), but they contributed where they should. Ike snatched 6 rebounds and scored 10 points in 18 minutes and Cook made two of his three shots from beyond the parabola.

But the Clippers have already proven that they can win at home, when they have the comfort of the positive crowd. What they haven’t shown is the ability to do it on the road. It may be too late for this season, but as tonight proved, even meaningless minutes or games will be exciting with Blake on the team.

Before the 2006-2007 season, the Clippers were reeling from their only playoff series victory in franchise history and, at the time, felt confident in their plan for the future. Sam Cassell would tutor the young point guard, the one that drew comparisons of his court vision to the elite point guard, and the Clippers would be ready for the long haul. What Cassell started, Livingston would surely finish.

Cassell only played two and a half years for the Clippers but even still, he goes down as one of the favorite Clippers ever. Even when Cassell came over, for Marko Jaric and a first rounder*, the Clippers knew that there wasn’t much left in the tank with him. He was 36 but his charismatic leadership and cojones made up for the step that he’d lost years before. The big ball dance was a favorite of many. But Cassell’s ability to tutor Livingston and build him up to be ready for that imminent take-over, that’s what made him even more admired. He was the perfect teammate. Not only was he raising the Clippers and making them great, but he was also planning his own transparency. His legacy would be the beginning of the ascension for the Clippers, for his gutsy moments and his tutelage of Livingston, the first great Clipper point guard.

But that’s not how it happened. To this day, there is no more gruesome injury footage than to see Livingston land and rupture all of his ‘CLs, and to see his knees snap back like he was an alien creature in The Arrival. You could actually hear the new foundation of the Clippers break. Livingston was out for at least a year and a half and it was thought that his career was over. The team that hovered around .500 continued to hover around .500, but the energy and the hope was gone.

Cassell may be the one that everyone loved, still loves, but the hopes were all on Livingston and his cornrows. I looked back on his career with the Clippers and expected to see statistics more commensurate with the talent that everyone saw. Instead I see the career highs of 9.3 points and 5.1 assists in almost 30 minutes a game and wonder if his potential was a hallucination all along. I guess it doesn’t matter.

Frankly, it’s a small miracle that he’s back out on the court. On top of the remaining games in 2007, Livingston missed all of the next season before signing with the Miami Heat in a small bench role. Traded to Oklahoma City after less than half of a season, he didn’t gain much traction there either. He had a stretch of strong play the last season after being traded to the Wizards, which is probably what earned Livingston the backup guard spot in Charlotte. Raymond Felton departed for the riches of New York City and the Bobcats needed a back up.

When he returns to Staples tonight you’ll recognize him, still skinny but his hair is cropped close. He has earned 17 minutes of play and scores 5 points and hands out 2 assists a game, and he’ll never again show the potential that he had with the Clippers, but at least he’s back out there on the court. He has played every game this season.

(Some great Clipper related stuff at the Daily Dime)

Keys to the Game:

- Plan for DJ Augustin. I wouldn’t have said that as recently as a year ago, but DJ has been the guy to make things work for the Bobcats, using his speed, creativity and his passing ability. He’s the focal point of the offense now that Paul Silas is in town and the Bobcats are better for it. They’re 11-6 after starting 9-19 and are in the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

- Blake Griffin v. Kwame Brown. This doesn’t sound right, does it? But Kwame has been averaging 10.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in the last 8 games under Silas and has the physical strength to bother Blake.

Injury Report:

- Eric Gordon: wrist/back, out
- Chris Kaman: left ankle, out
- Craig Smith: herniated disc, out

- Tyrus Thomas: knee, out
- Desagana Diop: ruptured achilles, out

From NBA.com:

From DailyThunder.com, via press release:

Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has acquired guard Eric Maynor from the Utah Jazz in exchange for the draft rights to Peter Fehse. To consummate the transaction the Thunder also assumes the contract of forward Matt Harpring. Harpring will not report to Oklahoma City. “We are pleased to add Eric Maynor to our organization,” said Presti. “Eric possesses a work ethic and team first mentality that we feel will help us in our continued growth.”  More...

From Clipperblog, February 27, 2007:

Whatever approximation a Clipper fan might have of Corey Maggette’s Basketball I.Q., or Mike Dunleavy’s competence, or the precise effect of Quinton Ross’ presence on the court, there’s virtual unanimity among the Naçion about one thing:  The team’s fortunes in the foreseeable future will rise and fall with Shaun Livingston’s development.  It’s the one irrefutable truism, no matter where you stand on the other big questions.

So when Shaun’s patella pops out and he crumples to the floor in the opening minutes of the game, there’s more at stake than the “Jeez, I hope he’s okay” that usually punctuates a moment like this.  Apart from anything he may or may not embody to a fan or spectator, Shaun is a 21-year-old kid who must be terrified beyond delirium when he feels his leg snap like a toothpick.  He deserves the compassion of every basketball well-wisher.

Whether it’s fair or not, Shaun also embodies something larger.  Shaun has been carrying around the hopes of the Naçion since he was drafted in 2004.  On Saturday, he put together what might be the most professional game of his career – a 14 point, 14 assist effort against Golden State.  Following the game, Mike Dunleavy said, “Until I tell him to pull back, I want him to push the ball every time and I want him to explore. I want him to use his abilities. That’s what could take us to another level.”  And that’s exactly what Shaun is doing in the first quarter when he picks up a steal at the other end and initiates the break with Raymond Felton in pursuit.   Four seconds later, Shaun is on the hardwood.

It’s been a while since I thought about Shaun Livingston in any meaningful context w/r/t the Clippers. His injury was painful to witness.  As a result, most of us made him a human interest story.  It seemed too crass to consider Shaun’s recovery in terms of its effect on the franchise’s fortunes, so we focused — rightly so — on the part of the story that was about a shy kid with natural talent trying to make it all the way back from a catastrophic injury.

With the benefit of hindsight, we can now mark February 26, 2007 as the date the state of the franchise turned.  True, things were already sour that season. The Clippers were 26-29; Chris Kaman had regressed; the playoffs were increasingly unlikely.  But the significance of the moment isn’t chronological as much as it is psychogenic.  Shaun did embody something larger, even though it’s possible he never would’ve put the package together.  His departure from the Clippers’ active roster left a spiritual vacuum that’s been filled with waste.

Tonight, Shaun starts at point guard for the Thunder wearing number 14.  He goes [2-5 FG, 2-2 FT, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers]. He wears a brace on his left knee.

Some impressions:

• [1st, 11:40] One area where Shaun was fluent from day one was execution on the break. He hasn’t lost that. Nenad Krstic strips the ball away from Baron Davis and gets the outlet to Livingston at the time line.  Russell Westbrook fills the lane to Shaun’s left.  Shaun shuttles a pass to Westbrook, who streaks in for an easy lay-in.
• [1st, 10:11] Early offense as Livingston rushes it up court.  The Clippers do a decent job of getting back. Baron plays in front of Livingston, who crosses from his right to his left, then backs Baron in at the elbow. Baron gives up a step, but not more.  Shaun stops, pivots on his right, then takes an awkward rising jumper off his back leg.  The shot is long.
  
  Shaun never perfected his shooting mechanics in Los Angeles, which was one part of his development that was lagging at the time of the injury. His frame isn’t squared when he releases the ball. There’s too much arm and not enough leg in his shot. He still needs a little work.
• [1st, 5:02] Shaun spots up to the right of Durant on a controlled break. He’s wide open from 15, but the shot clanks high off the front of the rim. See above.
• [2nd, 7:58] Shaun has checked in for Kevin Durant at the 3 spot for the Thunder, with Earl Watson running point. On the defensive end, Shaun is assigned to Baron Davis, then later, Fred Jones. Kaman and Baron run a high S/R at the top of the circle. Livingston and DJ White — Eric Gordon’s classmate — trap. Baron swings the ball across his body to hit Kaman with a pass, but Livingston leaps backward and gets his fingertips in the passing lane. Jeff Green collects the ball and the Thunder get out on the break.
• [2nd, 5:42] Off DJ White’s block of Chris Kaman’s layup attempt, the Thunder go the other way. Watson pushes it up. Livingston runs the left sideline. As he glides over the arc, he signals to Watson. Livingston runs a basket cut simultaneous to Watson’s perfect lob pass. Livingston leaps, clears the rim by a good foot, and slams the ball down through the iron.
  
  By any player in any circumstance, it’s a highlight dunk. For Shaun, I imagine it’s also an anthem.
• [3rd, 9:11] Shaun parks himself in the right corner. The ball works its way counterclockwise around the arc. When the pass arrives, Shaun has plenty of time to catch, turn, set, square his shoulders and release. The combination of Mike Taylor’s height [he gives up at least seven inches to Shaun], and the distance Taylor has to cover on the close-out gives Shaun plenty of time to nail the 20-footer.

Shaun plays solid defense on Baron, but the Clippers never ask to be challenged, so it’s hard to gauge how Shaun is using his length and what was once great lateral quickness, on the defensive end of the floor. Physically, he looks filled out. Based on what we know about his regimen during his recovery, it’s no surprise.

Shaun is the only person who truly understands his physical limitations, and it’s likely he doesn’t completely trust his impressions of what he can and can’t do. Whether he can become an impact NBA player is uncertain. The irony is that Shaun appeared more confident on the floor tonight than he did during most of his tenure as a teenager in Los Angeles.