Obviously I would want the Clips to finish atop the Western Conference provided the Lakers lose their next three remaining games (but Lakers are looking good so far). The schedule do favor the Clips though so its totally doable for the Clips to win the next three and the Lakers to lose the next three.

But, assuming Memphis finishes 5th and Dallas finishes 6th, that means the winner of the division would face Dallas. Memphis looks very formidable and the Clips have had a hard time with them. Then again, Dallas are still the defending champs and you never want to count out Dirk and Terry and Kidd on a 7 game series ...

So I'm curious ... who would you rather face?

That of course is tongue-in-cheek ... shame to all you Clipper fans who lost faith in this team simply because they were playing .500 ball a couple of weeks ago .... As I mentioned before, this team needs to come together and gel ... and I"m sure they're not a complete finished product yet .... let's just root for this team as the year closes, no matter how they're performing or not! Go Clips!

Okay, I'm being sarcastic....OF COURSE I DON'T WANT HIM FIRED but I just want to caution all the impatient clip fans out there whosoever thinks that making a change now will make the team better...ala trade Kaman, trade Baron, fire Del Negro, etc.  I said this before last season and I'll try to say it again...even though I wasn't a big Dunleavy fan, fans who were clamoring to get rid of Dunleavy thinking that will fix this team and will make the team better are all dreaming.  The problem is not the coaching staff, nor even the players (although I put the blame more on the players than coaches...players who get paid so many millions of dollars to bring in their A game night in and night out).  I think the blame is on the CLIPPER CULTURE itself...that goes with the player AND fans!  A revolving door of changes is not gonna solve the problem but commit the team to a winning mentality, not a rebuilding mentality, a thought process of working hard, play defense, sharing the ball, transition basketball and definitely some consistency.  Frankly the statistic that this franchise has gone through 20+ coaches in 25 or some odd years (whatever Hubie Brown mentioned during the opening night in ESPN) is appalling...no wonder this team can never win because they never ever have established some consistency or stability.  OH well...maybe I"m ranting.....

But this team has a good nucleus and I hope that despite a not so good of a start, we fans continue to stand by them and not jump to conclusions about trading this and that or making changes here and there...

What do you guys think of Del Negro as a potential coach for the Clippers?  Word today that the Bulls just fired him.  I think he'll be a great fit given most of our personnel are still considered young and Del Negro in my opinion did a'ight with the Bulls with also their young personnel.  I think their management just strung him along and probably don't deserve the way he's treated there.  Plus he'll be a cheaper option at coaching and we can spend the rest of the money on players.  What do you guys think?  Any reservations against him?

Why...why...why....Clippers entered the season with so much promise....a motivated Baron Davis, a healthy Kaman and Gordon, and up-and-coming rookie in Griffin, exciting preseason plays from Deandre...this team is looking into getting into the playoffs, even if its just the 7th or 8th seed...

But alas, it ain't gonna happen this season.  Instead it looks like the BOBCATS AND DEFINITELY THE THUNDER have a shot of making the playoffs, and it wasn't that long ago when these two teams are considered one of the worst teams in the league and no one really cares about them...

what the heck happened?!?!?!  Yah yah, there are injuries, blah blah....but every team has injuries.  BD let us down...he's supposed to be the superstar that will be our go-to-guy for this season.  Alas, he's not the answer....

A thought just occurred to me while I was going through the Conference standings.  As of 02/15/10, the Clippers are 21-31, about 9-10 games out of the 8th seed, in other words out of the playoffs which was one of the major goals of the Clips coming into the season.  The Clippers have one of the best PGs in the league in Baron (at least when we signed him), a pretty darn good center in Chris Kaman, a pretty good wingman in Eric Gordon, one of the best rebounder in the game in Camby, and I would think a pretty solid bench on paper at least in Thornton, Craig Smith, Ricky Davis, etc...

Yet, the CHARLOTTE BOBCATS AND OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER HAVE A BETTER RECORD THAN THE CLIPPERS?  How can that freakin' be?  Aside from Kevin Durant, who does the Thunder have?  And who the heck plays in the Bobcats?  I'm sure there's great players there, but really, better players than what the Clips have?  I honestly don't even know.  And I was thinking who the coach is for the Thunder and I don't even know, so I googled it, and its a coach by the name of Scott Brooks (Scott who???)

So explain: Why are they playing better than the Clippers?  I thought the Clippers have chemistry?  Is it the coaching personnel?  Maybe...but Dunleavy is now gone, and so far we are 0-4 under the new coach.  I think we are a pretty young team, yet somehow we can't put it together.  I hope these players can figure it out.  People may say its the coaching personnel, but cmon....really, Scott Brooks?  With all due respect but someone enlighten me who this guy is, and how can he bring out the best out of his players who two or three years ago are one of the worst teams on the league!

Okay, I know we have two players with expiring contracts: Camby and Rasual.  I'm pretty sure there are teams out there that would want to get Camby definitely, so here's my question:  If we do trade our players with expiring contracts, wouldn't that be bad come off-season for the Clippers when they need cap space to go for a big time FA?  Or does it matter.  How does it work?  I know that the player we trade must at least have matching salaries or something like that, so if try to trade Camby, it has to be for a set of players that would be close to his contract, correct?

So, in looking at the long-term solution for the Clippers, wouldn't it be better to hang on to these players, let their contracts expire, and allow the Clippers with plenty of cap-space?  (unless they do a Cassell-like option to Camby so he can at least finish his career to a contender, maybe trade him back to the Nuggets?)

Granted, Dunleavy wasn't fired...he resigned.  But to all those who emphatically wants a coaching change, those who continue to appear in home games yelling "Fire Dunleavy", those who wants to have a change, well now you've got it and you've just seen a preview with the Spurs.  Okay, sure, the Spurs have our number, but the Clips played the same energy (or lack thereof) and same pride (or lack thereof) as if Dunleavy was still coaching the team.  And now with a new coach, a new voice, it doesn't necessarily mean a new brand of energy or style.  This team will need to adjust, and you saw how its played today...looking all confused, and down by 20 before the 2nd quarter even starts.  I think the Clips could've played a lot better than the old and sagging Spurs, but clearly this is the same ole Clips and perhaps we might see even similar games likes these in the next 5 or 10 games as the players learn to adjust with the new coach, learn a new system, etc.  Maybe Dunleavy realized this is a lost season already and might as well step aside and have someone take over and put some sense into these players.

Well, what's done is done.  I hope Kim Hughes can at least motivate the team to play better, to play with pride and hopefully equal the same success as Larry Brown did when he coached the Clips the first time joining them midseason, and not turn into a Jim Todd who took over Alvin Gentry and pretty much lost almost all the games he coached.

Oh, and I've lifted my boycott because I knew that this season is pretty much lost and they'll never get over .500 now.  I might as well watch and see if I find any sense of improvements from this team.  Hard being a Clipper fan, haha!

I made an empathic prediction this year that the Los Angeles Clippers will make the playoffs in the 2009-2010 season before the season started, but obviously that was before the Blake Griffin incident.  I still believe in this team! We are flirting on .500 without Blake and there is no reason for this team to eek into the 8th seed.  Please please, let's root on this team!  Lets not be down and channel the negative energy because Griff will be out of the season....

.....well, if Hobbit or Caveman goes down for any extended period, then I will have to eat crow and give up on the season :)  Davis too if he goes out.

I hope not since our team is starting to finally gel and get it.  Everyone is getting healthy and the team is performing to their capabilities as Dunleavy said once they are healthy.  I won't be surprised if Griffin comes back that there'll be a momentary lapse or mediocrity play since the chemistry will be a bit disrupted and Griffin being able to find his niche, but that is no reason to immediately conclude that "look, Griffin is back and Clips are losing, we should fire him now!" 

Those who CONTINUE to call for his firing are living in the Clippers 90s mentality where there is always a revolving door of coaches and not surprisingly, a string of losing years for the Clips.  Any team needs consistency and as much as you hate Dunleavy, he has been the most successful coach of this franchise, and no matter what happens this year, I vote for keeping him through the rest of the season and reevaluate once in the offseason.

Someone explain to me how an initial projection of Griffin's injury to be "six weeks" turn into "two months" and now basically will turn into missing half the season?  People can argue it is what it is, blah blah, but haven't we heard this lame broken record before?  Remember Kaman last year?  How about Baron's "minor" injuries last year?  How often does this Clippers strength/conditioning/training staff swing and miss?  I don't know the extent of Griffin's injury, but isn't it kind of overkill?  First its the whatchamacallit plasma infusion, then anti-gravity treadmill, etc etc.  I'm no doctor  but someone shed some light if this is the NORM on trying to treat stress fractures!  They say this plasma infusion crap will speed up healing....well WTF its almost January and they just CLEARED him to resume basketball-type activities?  GEEEEZ!!!!

I think people should stop chanting "Fire Dunleavy" and instead shout "Fire the freakin' conditioning staff!"

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/11/clippers-nba-baron-davis-ralph-lawler.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LAT_Sports_Blog+%28The+Fabulous+Forum%29

Does anyone know any details?  What comment did they make about the Grizzlies player?  Wow, so does this mean Lawler's streak of telecasting Clipper games has been broken or what?  Anyway, if anyone knows any more details I want to hear....

argh trying to get to the seventy five word limit again, I don't know much more to say...

Don't care if its on ESPN tonight....

I will stand by my words...

I will not watch ANOTHER clipper game until they go 1 game over .500.  I'm sick and tired of their lackadaisical effort and no respect in playing the game the way it ought to be played.

Who's with me on this?

Am I at seventy five words yet am I really am I now?  cmon almost there one more....yes

What more can I say?  The basketball season started so high for me, I was in fact so excited to get to see the new look Clippers and hopefully prove to the league how talented they are after what happened last season...

Alas...it is not meant to be.  By the time Sir Griff and the Hobbit comes back, we'll probably be so deep in the hole that we'll be talking about "see you next year" again and instead talk about trade talks of moving our players around...

Definitely some blame can be put on the coach and his staff, but the blame is not entirely on him.  I blame the players too, for showing lackluster performance.  I blame everyone...heck even some fans who are so disrespectful to our OWN team it doesn't help them really fire them up but instead bring them down....

Anyway, as we are losing to a 2-8 Grizzlies (soon to be 3-8), I will go on record right now that I'm boycotting my Clippers until they string together some good competitive games that they are worth watching.....like 4-5 game winning streak...or a 5 out of 7 winning string.  In the meantime.....I'm going off the bandwagon.  I'm really tired of watching them lose year in and year out....

ok, ok, I'm sure that we've all put the FElton saga to past, and I'm also pretty sure we all don't care anymore, so I apologize for posting this.  But, maybe its just me but isn't it SWEEEET to hear FElton is not having fun in Philly?

http://blogs.delawareonline.com/76ers/2009/11/09/blotted-out-by-the-suns-more-on-brand/

I still think that him leaving is probably the best thing that's ever happened for the Clips.  Sure, we endured probably one of the worst seasons after his departure, but we gained a Griffin, a star in the making in Gordon, etc.  You think Dunleavy or the Clips would've made all those moves and transactions if FElton stayed?

Hey FElton, Karma sucks doesn't it?

I knew it!!!  When I saw that monster dunk on the last game and it appeared that Griffin grabbed his knee, I knew something was wrong.  Then on the next play, he had a turnover, seeming like he wasn't right.  Then he didn't come out on the last 4 minutes of the game I believe.  Oh man oh man, I hope this is nothing serious!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/10/clipper-update-griffin-injured.html

I don't even know why I'm saying this as I'm sure much of you have already forgotten but...

What if FElton DID resign with the Clippers last year.....?

Sure, he probably could've led us to the playoffs....probably.....probably not....

In any case, we lose a PF, but yet we gain one...and a young PF at that...

I am assuming of course we draft Griffin and don't screw this one up

So my point is.....everything worked out as planned :)

Wow, I'm surprised no one has posted it yet cause I want to hear some of your comments on this article.  Anyway, I'll post it here

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3928400

Very interesting, especially the Brand comment.  But for what its worth, I don't feel sorry for Davis, I don't know why.  I guess my opinion is he should be professional and go to the game each day playing hard rather than going through the motions doing a silent protest.  Anyway, I'll stop babbling cause I want to hear some of the die-hard fans your comments.

Okay, now that we've all accepted the Clips aren't making the playoffs this year and possibly finish with the worst record of the season, its highly probable that the Clips may end up with the top 5 (heck, top 3) pick in the 09 draft, barring any other curse or bad luck to come to them.  I haven't been following college hoops or potential draftees, so maybe one of you can help me fill in.

What's the hype this time for the 09 draft?  Do we see any good or potential star-in-the-making underclassmen to enter the draft this year? 

What position is the Clips greatest need now if we consider they finish with the top 3 pick?  Who's the best player in the draft at any position?

I know its probably early to talk about this, but hey, with how the Clip season is doing, I want to talk about how the future will shape up for this team.  I think the Clips should draft a strong front-court player (PF or C) and maybe move Kaman to another team?  What do you think?

Its getting ridiculous.....this team is in fact cursed with injuries, and I'm not just talking about this season and the last (and add Fred Jones to the list), but even back in the days.....Danny Manning and Ron Harper were the notable ones that comes to mind.....etc.

Time for a change in ownership, team name, location....SOMETHING!  Changing coach is not gonna break it (we've done that before and it hasn't helped!)

Watched another frustrating game, and now the Clippers are 8-23.  I think its safe to say that this season, which started with good promise, is now a lost season.  So now what?  How do we move forward from here.

I'm almost sure that 80-90 percent of you will disagree with me here, as you will automatically say to can Dunleavy.  I'm a supporter of Dunleavy and here's why:

- I think we already have good players on hand, they just haven't had time to build chemistry and get to know each other.  Remember Davis was injured much of preseason, and he and Dunleavy are still clashing.  I think they still need more time to gel and build that chemistry.

- I may have given up on the season but I will not give up on this team.  I want to see how this team plays when everyone is healthy and then I can make my judgment.  I"m talking about Kaman, Zach, Camby on the frontcourt and BD running the plays.  There's actually a good chance this might not work out, but I will defer judgment until we see how it evolves.  It might translate to a few losses or so, but as long as I can see improvements or directions of improvement I will be content.

So in short, I'm pretty resigned to having a lost season for the Clippers, but am looking forward to a PRODUCTIVE season....this means the development of Thornton and Gordon, opportunities for PDavis and DJ, and once everyone is healthy, to see if or when the chemistry will develop.

Okay, seriously, why is this guy lobbying the lakers to sign Shaun Livingston?  I was going through some articles in espn when I saw this:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-236/First-Cup--Thursday.html

Then I see that the Warriors are interested in Livingston as well...Shaun can't even play 5-on-5 contact drills yet.  Does anyone know if he's physically ready?  Shaun is awesome I'd hate to see him come back early and screw up his knee again.... (and here's hoping clips can resign him next year!)

I think the Clippers signed all the Davis'es out there in the NBA.  Who's left?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3541639

Wow, so is ClipNation already gearing up for the season with the current roster that this news didn't make it before I posted it?  I think this news has been out for a bit while :)

Nothing to lose with this signing.  Sure hoped Livingston would've signed too, but oh well. 

It's interesting...I'm just skimming through mikey p's article on the media bashing the Clippers and how the Sixers are so successful in the free agent market for getting FElton, yet stating the fact that during FElton's time with the Clippers, he has never brought them to the playoffs except ONE.  The, with all the Olympics hoopla and reading through the history since the "Dream Team" of 92, something struck me (and I'm sure you guys have to if you haven't already...)

FElton is a LOSER!

Think about it....with the Clippers (how long was he there? 9 years?), he only led them to the playoffs once!  When he was drafted by the Bulls, they endured 3 straight losing seasons I believe, with one of them close to having the worst record in the NBA.  And then, FElton is also part of the 2002 and 2006 Team USA basketball that never finished with a medal.

FElton brings karma with him...and now he's going to the Sixers?  And Chris Ford is insinuating the Sixers are the winner for signing him?  Sure he posts up good numbers, but numbers don't mean anything if you can't win

http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/davis_hart_pc_080730.html

My question is....where is Mike Dunleavy Sr?  Is he out there somewhere trying to cook up another deal?  I'd like to get his comments or input on the acquisition of Ricky Davis.  I don't think he ever made one in some of the news feed I've been reading....

And I wonder who they're referring to as a defensive minded big man (see quote from Player Personel Neil Oshey)

I know at this point we Clipper fans need to move on, but I just needed to post this latest interview by Dunleavy from ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3484481&categoryId=2378529&n8pe6c=1

If you also got a chance to listen Brand's live interview at the Philly ESPN affliate, Brand said that during this whole process that Brand has been in contact with BD.  But you'll also hear on this post that Brand went "radio silence" since Dunleavy gave him the restructured contract, BD stating, at some separate article, when asked if Brand was gonna leave, BD saying "when he stopped responding to my text messages", to me only confirms that Brand has been lying through this whole ordeal.  Anyway, it maybe the case that Brand and BD did talk but AFTER Brand already made up his mind to go to Philly, possibly the morning AFTER Dunleavy gave the restructured contract.

Anyway, I apologize for relighting the fire out of all this, but yeah, it is time to move on.  I think we can still construct a pretty good team with the money we have.  Hopefully with Dunleavy on board and Sterling not handcuffing him this time that he'll be able to lure the right players here.

Funny how hearing both sides of the story pan out:

Earlier when I heard FElton give his interview at 570 KLAC, he sounded so sincere and pretty much believed his word.....knowing the class guy that he is...

So I thought....

When I listened through his words, things didn't add up....the logic didn't make sense...

Then I finally heard Dunleavy's side of the story in the Times and Daily News...

Keep in mind Dunleavy is NOT part of the Clippers of yore, where deals always get screwed up before.  Dunleavy is actually a guy that actually CARES about the Clippers being successful.  Keep in mind that before Dunleavy this franchise never bothered to fork over money to sign players like Kaman, Mobley, Thomas to big deals (we know Mob and Thomas aren't difference makers, but hey, would that have happened BEFORE Dunleavy came???)

So after hearing both sides of the story....I tend to believe...

Dunleavy!

I wish Dunleavy could post those text messages that was sent between FElton and him...but I know Dunleavy is a better class-act than FElton and we probably won't see those text messages again...

FElton, I hope you don't sleep peacefully at night and let the truth and guilt eat you up!!!!  Clip fans will NEVER forgive you!