Because really, every other team in the west right now has a legitimate reason (ones even better than the Clippers' reasons) to believe that they will make the playoffs next year,

Of course there's the top 8 that made the playoffs this year that would all be elite teams if they were in the east. The Lakers still reign as the NBA's best. Dallas and Denver are right behind the Lakers. Phoenix, Utah, and San Antonio are still steady franchises that only know how to win and have the ability to be surprise teams in the playoffs. And Oklahoma City and Portland are solid playoff teams that still have so much potenital as they both mature.

Then there are the dreamers, like us, that believe that next year will be their year. Houston, despite having Yao out, while losing McGrady and Artest, still managed to finish with a winning record and will only get better with Aaron Brook's improvement and the return of Yao. New Orleans found two studs in Collison and Marcus Thornton,  while getting a healthy Chris Paul back with them next season. And had they had Chris Paul this whole season, they're probably still in the playoff picture like every other season. Memphis of course is the youngest team in the NBA that was one game short of finishing with a winning record. They are Oklahoma City, only one year behind. Sacramento has a sure superstar in their hands that kept them in the playoffs for a good part of the season before just wearing down. They're going to get another high draft pick, another year of experience for their young players, and most likely will fully adjust to the Landry trade. With Golden State, they are getting a high draft pick and there were a jillion games missed by their players, and from that, they are in great shape for next season. They found keepers in the D league (like always) in Reggie Williams and Anthony Tolliver and they have another sure star in Curry. Not to mention that they still have premier scorers in Monta Ellis and Cory Maggette (maybe not premier, but they do score effectively). They also have young talent with a lot of potential in Anthony Randolph and Brandan Wright. So the Warriors have a lot to look forward to.

We're getting Blake Griffin back, the improvement (hopefully) in Eric Gordon, and those are pretty much the only things that are a guarantee for us. Free agent? Maybe, maybe not. John Wall or Evan Turner? Highly unlikely.

The Wolves are the only team I see that we are clearly in better shape than, but I could change my mind if they land Wall or Turner given that they have the second best chance to get them. But all the other teams are pretty much in the exact same boat as us.

So honestly, is there really a good chance that we can overtake the teams ahead of us that didn't make the playoffs, and go even further by overtaking one of the top 8 teams that are all still as solid as ever? I pray to God we do, but realistically, the chances are slim.

What are your predictions and goals for us next season? I just hope to be a respectable team that shows improvement because playoffs could be asking for too much.

Since this season is pretty much done, might as well play the video game where the Clips are good. Sooooo anybody got 2k10 on xbox live? my gamer tag is jmac951.

(for the 75 word count)

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

lebron to the clips

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnGJYJ10mLTZWGJBTRHhNDK8vLYF?slug=ys-paulsurgery013110&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Chris Paul is gonna miss the all star game and will need a replacement. I personally don't think Kaman deserves to be an all star, but  I would want him to be there in the All Star game just for the sake of having someone who represents the Clips. The competition for that last spot would most likely be Billups, but Billups has missed a good amount of games this season and isn't really putting up "mind blowing" numbers. And just because its a point guard who gets injured, doesn't mean that it has to be a point guard replacement. Mo Williams replaced Chris Bosh last year. And Nash, Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy are all guards who can play point for the all star team. So this also helps Kamans case.

So hopefully this little hope can motivate Kaman to play through these little injuries and be at the top of his game to help his case.

is the sorriest, slowest, laziest center in the league. (yeah I'm including you Eddie Curry). Usually Kaman's ineffectiveness is covered by the stellar play of another player on this team, but tonights loss fully exposed Kaman of why he SHOULD NOT be an allstar. He's a fat lazy turd who doesn't play defense, has the lowest IQ of any player in the league, and chucks up the stupidest shots in the world just so he can score. He's totally disinterested in everything else BUT scoring. Empty stats! More than Z-Bo because at least Z-Bo was a good offensive rebounder and gave his all every game despite being limited from his lack of athleticism.

Back to Kaman, there were two plays that stood out to me tonight that shows Kaman's...uuuuhhh....whats the word I'm looking for? Stupidness! okay

-Here he is standing under the basket, NO ONE in arms distance of him, and what does he do? Oh, just throw up an ugly ass over the head brick shot.

-The other play, Terrence Williams drives to the basket (oh okay our big men have our back and will stall the shot so that the guards can recov-) oh wait! Kaman is too busy admiring Williams drive and just stands there in awe. How about you get your fat lazy ass and contest the damn shot! And the play ends in a total momentum shifting dunk by Terrence.

Kaman, you DO NOT deserve to be an all star! If Pau played in only 10 games this season, he would still be more deserving than your fat, chucking, empty statted ass!

Oh by the way, Kaman, you might want to make a layup once in a while and THINK before you pass out of the double team. Kaman, never trust your first instict! ALWAYS second guess yourself. okay I'm done.

On to the next game in Minny and hopefully Kaman's slowness will make him miss the flight there.

http://twitter.com/STEIN_LINE_HQ/status/8218877866

Good pickup in my opinion. He'll be like Craig Smith. Unknown around the league but really affective. He's got game. I remember a few games when he was with Sacramento last year and he did pretty well. This will probably mean the end for Jameson Curry since Mardy looks like he can be a decent point guard afterall these past few games, Bobby Brown, who can be an affective backup is coming here, and Telfair will be returning in a couple of weeks. I kind of wanted to see what Jameson got considering he was supposed to be a shooter, something we definitely need, but with Brown coming over and Jameson's reputation for being a problem child, I'm fine with not keeping him for another 10-day contract and just letting Brown and Mardy hold down the backup PG spot for now until Telfair comes back. hell, Brown might even give Bassy some competition for that backup roll.

Thoughts?