Caron Butler joins the Clippers

In need of a small forward who could score, the Los Angeles Clippers handed Caron butler a 3 year/$24 million deal Thursday. Debating between LA, Chicago, San Antonio, and New Jersey, Butler decided that playing with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon was the most enticing option. Butler only played in 29 games last season with the champion Mavericks before rupturing his patellar tendon but Caron feels that his knee is back to 100% and is ready to help the Clippers reach the playoffs in 2012.

Blake Griffin wins NBA Rookie of the Year

May 4th, 2011 will always be a special day for Clipper Nation as Clippers Power Forward Blake Griffin was named the NBA Rookie of the Year. After posting 22.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 3.8 APG while playing in all 82 games, Griffin was not only a huge highlight reel, but also one of the hardest workers in the league. Griffin became the 1st player in league history to compete in all three days of All-Star weekend and finished fourth in the league in rebounds. Is an MVP award in Griffin’s future? It’s highly possible, especially if he continues to improve his game.

Darren

Blake Griffin wins 2011 Slam Dunk Contest; Joins Barry

Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers lived up to the hype Saturday night at the Staples Center. After earning a bid in the final round after a nice 360 two hand finish and an alley oop finish from Baron Davis, Griffin squared off with the Washington Wizards’ Javale McGee. Griffin first went Vince Carter on us and put his arm in the rim with ease. Then after McGee would answer with a “rock the cradle,” Griffin would wheel out a Kia, have teammate Baron Davis pop out the sun roof and toss him a lob. Griffin sailed over the hood of the car and finished with ease. McGee had no answer for it and Griffin was crowned champion.

In winning this years dunk contest, Blake Griffin joined Brent Barry as the only Clippers to win the dunk contest. Brent Barry famously won it in 1996 after defeating Michael Finley in the final. The only other Clipper to compete in the contest was Corey Maggette who finished last in 2001. After what e did this year, many of us hope Blake will return next year and defend his title. Can he top what he did? I dont know but I sure would love to find out.

Darren

Clippers beat the Heat!

Last night at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Clippers came out on fire and were able to beat the Miami Heat 111-105. After scorching the Heat for 44 points in the first half, the Clippers held off a couple Heat surges to pick up their 8th win in their last 11 contests. Eric Gordon led the Clippers with 26 points while Baron Davis added 20 and Blake Griffin tallied his 24th straight double double by posting 24 points along with 14 rebounds. This win snapped the Heat’s 13 game road winning streak and Lebron James sprained an ankle in the loss to boot. Hopefully the Clippers can keep this play up and keeping posting wins.

Darren

I won an autographed Clipper jersey

I got the call from a LA Clipper rep and was notified that I won an autographed jersey from playing the Clippers “Stat of the Game”.  I had to chose between Baron Davis, Blake Griffin, and Eric Gordon. I went with Gordon and the home jersey. Im extactic and will be framing it and putting it up on my wall as soon as I get it in the mail.

Darren

Clippers shed payroll to take shot at King James

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clippers-fyi19-2010feb19,0,3141139.story?track=rss

In the offseason the Clippers will be on a mission to lure Lebron James or Dwayne Wade to LA to play alongside Baron Davis,Blake Griffin and co. The Clippers will have the money and the “LA factor” but will they be able to pull off a deal. I think the Clippers will be in those guys top 5 teams to go to but its all about the pitch to the stars. As a Clipper die-hard, I would really love to see Wade before James but would take either one on my team. I think Wade would fit in very well as well as adding depth to the bench with Gordon being the 6th man. If James heads west, then Butler would be the 3-pt specialist off the bench as well bolster the Clipps lack of strength at the 3. Only time will tell on what the Clippers,Lebron Jame,Dwayne Wade and the rest of the NBA will do come summer time.

Darren

Clippers remove Dunleavy from coach spot

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=4887981

Well we all saw this one coming. The Clippers are 12th place in the West and have a shot to make the playoffs so making a change in coaches will more than likely benefit the Clips.

Darren

The LA Clippers through 40 games

Currently standing at 18-22, the Los Angeles Clippers are 12th in the Western Conference, 4.5 games out of the 8th slot. The Clippers have had some solid performances this season (wins over the Lakers and Celtics), but still have the problem of finishing games. Not finishing the Cavs and Grizzlies of late were tough Ls to swallow for the team and their fans but many of us see good things in the near future. Baron Davis is finally healthy and is playing great basketball and if he can stay healthy the team will stay competitve. Chris Kaman is playing like an All-Star and SHOULD make the team. I think Steve Novak will be a key player down the stretch because of his clutch shooting. The Clipps need to make big shots late in games and coach Dunleavey should go to him more in the 4th quarter of games. Hopefully the Clippers can keep chipping away at the deficit in the standings and slide in the playoffs and make some noise. Fans like myself really wanna see it and im sure the team wants to get in the playoffs as well.

Darren

2010 NBA Dunk Contest thoughts

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2010/news/story?id=4836464

Well once again Lebron James declines to participate in the dunk contest. Why? Nobody really knows but in my opinion I think he feels like he wouldnt win the title. Lebron does some amazing things on the court, but I have noticed a lack of creativity with his dunks. He could have went in and pulled off something suprising but for some reason he wont. Nate Robinson will be back to go for his 3rd title. We know it will pry take him 8-10 attempts to complete a dunk but he will get brownie points for only standing 5’9. Gerald Wallace once competed in 2002 (coming up short to Jason Richardson), and can jump out the gym. Shannon Brown is an icredible leaper and everyone in LA wanted him in and they got their wish. Shannon can throw it down and hopefully he’s creative with what he does. Eric Gordon and Demar DeRozan will have a dunk-in at halftime during the Rookie/Sophomore game. I love Eric Gordon as a player and he can dunk but he’s never really done anything spectacular to warrant being in the competition. DeRozan on the other hand is a sleeper and also my pick to win. He can do some amazing things and should show off his leaping ability. With this being said I wish the dunk contest had these contestants; Robinson (returning champ), Dwight Howard,Andre Iguodala, and either Lebron or Rudy Fernandez because he was ripped off last year. Hopefully these guys come up with something fresh and entertain the world with their dunking abilities.

Darren

NBA draft thoughts

-Blake Griffin going #1 to my Clippers was a great thing to see. Blake will be solid off the bench and now with Camby,Kaman and Randolph already on the roster, the Clipps arguably have the deepest frontcourt when healthy. Be prepared for a playoff run for the Clippers in 2010.

-What were the T’Wolves thinking yesterday? Sure you only had 2 guards on your roster coming in, but did you really have to draft 4 point guards (trading two) and another guard in only 6 picks? drafting like that tells me two things…1) You were drafting to trade and 2) You think you got the pieces to make your team a playoff caliber squad. Well the later is out of the question becuase the T’Wolves are the seconds worst team in the NBA so obviously they were doing what we all expected and drafting to trade. Problem is, if nobody wants to deal with you then what? You have to draft smart. Taking a bunch of guards and then turning around and saying, “Who wants to trade?” is not a smart war plan. Expect the T’Wolves to be back in the lottery for the next 2-4 years.

-The 2nd rd of the draft disgusted me more than anything. Not only were guys like Dionte Chistmas,Jeff Adrien,AJ Abrams and Dar Tucker undrafted, but so many off-brnd players were taken. Congo? Holland? Ukraine? Are we really drafting from those basketball powerhouse countries? Please enter Charlie Brown’s famous line, “Dont you know saracasm when you hear it?” I dont mind euro players being drafted but when you know they will have the impact of Saer Sene or Zhi Zhi Wang why do you continue to draft them? Why not get a guy like Christmas who can shoot the 3,get to the basket, play above average defense and who could potentially make a BIG impact on your team? Normally I dont criticise NBA GMs like I do baseball ones, but last night showed that 80% of NBA GMs arent very smart when it comes to running a squad.

Darren