Okay. So I was incredibly pissed after the end of Game 6. It was to the point where I wanted to punch something. So, I did the next best thing and drove to a bar and drank 5 shots of tequila. The thing is, I didn't even know who to be angry at. The refs were terrible, but they've been terrible all series and this was probably one of their better officiated games. Blake Griffin and CP3 didn't look so hot, but they were also injured. The bench looked damn good, so they were hard to blame. All that's left for me to blame was VDN... I'm not sure what it was he did wrong but I decided he would be the the scapegoat.

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• Mo should be starting. He complements CP3's game really well as a spot up shooter that can play off the ball better than Chauncey can. I would have Chauncey come of the bench (when he's healthy) with Foye that way he can bring much needed bench support and it would give the bench a true point guard who doesn't just jack up contested jumpers.
• I don't think the bench really played much last night against Portland. The only bench player that contributed significant minutes were Mo Williams, Cookie and Gomes and the last two only played 12 minutes each. The starters are getting heavy minutes, which worries me for when our schedule get more intense.
• The problem with the Clipper D is that they are trying to be too flashy. They go for steals and blocks instead of staying on their man. They double team carelessly and often leave perimeter players wide open (Kyle Korver should not be as open as he was during the Chicago game!). I know blocks and steals make great Sportcenter highlights and lead to fastbreak opportunities, but I think we should show our flash on the offense and tighten down on fundamentals on the defensive end. ("hand down, man down"... where's Marc Jackson when you need him). I think a big priority for us is to get a defensive SG that can guard taller players because we get torched by lengthy SGs.
• Lastly, my favorite player acquisition this year has not been CP3 or Billups but Butler. He has made some great veteran moves on and off the court (DJ and Blake trade reaction video is an example). I think he has recovered very well from his injury.

It was the best of times it was the worst of times. A year and a half ago LeBron James made the decision to take his talents to South Beach in pursuit of a championship ring. For Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and the citizens of Miami it was a moment of celebration and at that moment the rest of the league found their public enemy number one.

When comparing the free agency of James to the trade that led Chris Paul to the Clippers you see a distinct difference in the attitudes of both players. To start, LeBron in his press conference said the following:

I feel like it’s going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular seasons or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championship.

Dissecting this quote will reveal to you a few of James glaring character flaws.

Ungrateful:

James throws a veiled insult at his former team the Cavs. When he says, "and not only just win in the regular seasons or just to win five games…" he is clearly taking a jab at his former team. In contrast, Chris Paul opens up his press conference by thanking his former team, the Hornets, and thanking the city of New Orleans for their support. Prior to the interview Paul tweeted the following:

THANK YOU NEW ORLEANS for 6 of the BEST years of my life...to the organization, my teammates, coaches, and the fans you will always be my family and have a special place in my heart!!!

If I were a Hornets fan, I could be moved to tears.

Egotistical:

LeBron James is all about making himself better. The self-proclaimed King constantly refers to his wants and his desires. I want to be able to win a championship. I will be taking my talents to South Beach. I feel like… I want… me… me… me…

Chris Paul when interviewed his first time as a Clipper approaches the situation completely differently. Paul elegantly defers praise to the franchise and his future teammates. A growing area of concern in the media was how Paul and Billups could coexist considering they play the same position. Paul, perhaps already aware of the conflict, humbly diffuses the situation by letting the media know that Billups was an older brother to him. Now that is some major class.

Entitled:

Often players talk about wanting to bring a championship to a city. Kobe wants to bring another championship to LA, Dirk wants to bring a championship to Dallas, Duncan to San Antonio. LeBron wants a championship for himself. For the King, this is his destiny.

Paul’s mission is not only to get himself a ring, but to bring the Clippers, a frontrunner for worst sports franchise in history, a title. Paul talks about being competitive and making his teammates better. He is driven and he will work hard to meet his goal.

The Future:

How much success Paul will have with the Clippers and whether James gets his championship ring rests with the fates; however, one thing is for certain, Paul will garner the respect and praise of a lot more fans than James will. Whereas James and the Heat became the villains of the NBA, Paul and the Clippers look to be the Cinderella story of this season. If the basketball gods are listening, there would be nothing more fitting that having these two teams face off next June.

Dear Laker Fans,

This may be a shocking time for all of you. It is tough to root for a losing team and it appears the Lakers may be headed that way soon. Us Clipper fans have been doing it for years now so we definitely understand your pain, we just ask that you do stay calm and resist the urge to do any rioting... again.

Now as I understand it many of you are switching teams and rooting for the Clippers now that we have CP3 (regarding that it may seem like we stole him from you, but direct all complaints to the office of David Stern... we aren't too thrilled with him either) and possibly one of the best starting lineups in the NBA. We Clipper fans are an accepting bunch and we will gladly have you in our wagon. There are, however, differences in Laker and Clipper culture so to avoid confusion and any embarrassing faux pas here's a list of thing you should know and a few rules you should follow.

1.Chances are good that the Clippers will be making the playoffs this year, and I know Laker fans generally like to show their joy of making playoffs by putting flags on their vehicles. We beg of you, please resist the urge! No Clipper flags!

2. When you are at a Clipper game you may notice that it is a little brighter in the arena. This is because the Clippers do not turn their lights of during the game. It may take a little while for your eyes to adjust but you'll be good by the 2nd quarter--promise! You may notice other areas where we aren’t as flashy as our co-tenants, but it’s okay, our cheerleaders are hotter.

3. If you are going to Clipper games then you may at first be confused by a gentlemen in a red and blue suit (he has a matching car as well). This man is Clipper Darrell. He is basically our Jack Nicholson and could be considered an unofficial mascot. He will yell very loudly (which could at first be off-putting if he sits in your row) and he may at some point start the wave.

4. Laker fans were lucky to have Chick Hearn as the commentator for their games. His passing was a great loss to the franchise and his replacements, to be honest, are terrible. Well now that you are Clipper fans, you will have the pleasure of listening to the greatest broadcasting duo in the NBA: Ralph Lawler and Mike Smith. Now Ralph Lawler is the one who really carries this team, but Mike Smith ain't too bad. Here are some Ralph Lawler-isms you should familiarize yourself with:

• Oh-me-oh-my (said on an exciting plays such as fast-breaks and dunks)
• BINGO! (said after 3 pointers)
• Lawler's Law (first to 100 points wins)
• Fasten your seat belts gang, it's down to the wire

5. Please watch the game when you are at the game. We old-school Clipper fans used to have the option to attend pretty much any Clipper game for like $10. With all these new fans those prices are sure to be gone, so if you are going to fill up a seat at Staples please actually watch the game instead of using it as some kind of show of status. After the game ends please peacefully drive home and stay there for the rest of the night. Resist any urge to light things on fire.

6. Laker fans have a tendency to overrate their players. Sit down when I tell you this, but, Kobe is not the greatest player to ever play the game, and he may not be the greatest player playing now… are you still there? Now us Clipper fans have much love for our savior, Blake Griffin, and I would very much give up a kidney for him; however, in rating him (and our other players) we have to stay objective. As a corollary to this please doesn’t suggest absurd trade scenarios ("Luke Walton for D. Rose is a great deal!")… actually... please refrain from all trade speculation.

7. The following former players are personae non gratae in Clipper Nation: Lamar Odom, Andre Miller, Elton Brand, Danny Ferry.

8. We don't get tacos so don't boo if we don't get a 100 points.

9. Your probably used to lines of celebrities filling the seats at Staples (by the way, we play there too... so don't get lost getting to the game) so far we have Frankie Munoz (who is no longer living in LA, but still sends twitter love to the nation), Penny Marshall, Billy Crystal, and that dad from That's So Raven. They don't attend as religiously as Jack so you may not see them as often.

10. We may be down by two points, up by thirty points, or down by twenty... It doesn't matter, unless you wife's in labor or you kids are burning down your house... You stay till the end of the game!

This should tide you new fans over for now. Welcome to Clipper Nation! Enjoy an exciting season of basketball!

Sincerely,

A Veteran Fan

So our bench is thin at SG at C. How about trading Williams or Bledsoe for a backup SG (I had OJ Mayo in mind if he's still available. Any other possibilities? Or would you keep the team as is? So far OJ is the only other player that I can think of that would be available to us. There was a time that he was considered a better player than EJ (Maybe he still could be playing as a pure SG instead of a PG)

Being Clipper fans we all love rooting for the underdog. So anyone else rooting for the Grizzlies? I'm watching them playing game 5 right now and they are looking really good (up by 5 in the fourth). I love seeing Zbo out there doing well cause I always did like him as a Clipper. I think they go against the Thunder if they beat the Spurs which will be tough for them but I think they are a lot better than their 8th seed and it should be competitive. 

After checking the stats it seems as if Blake has the highest assist average of any PF in the league now. Among all forwards he is in the top 10 for his assist averages. I think that is pretty impressive and the stat should only improve as he gets better at passing out of double and triple teams. Also if we got better shooters to put around Blake there should be a huge improvement in his assist totals as well.

I think this is one facet of Blake's game that is overlooked by the media. A lot of people think that he can only dunk and rebound, but the numbers show that Blake is an excellent passer for his position and he continues to get better. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=Assepi9_iW4nwTrCmgP0c2.QvLYF?gid=2009022021

They were beat by a margin of 32.  Clippers lost by 40 and 23, which averages out to 31.5... maybe this is just a new trend we're seeing from Phoenix?  The way we lost to the Suns is still not acceptable but this does make me feel a bit better about the losses.  I can't wait to see the Suns face a more formidable opponent (read, as a team that acutally defends) to see how their high powered offense stacks up.