Category — Blake Griffin

Floyd Mayweather Jr. tops Sports Illustrated’s list of the athletes who have bagged the most coin over the past year. And Mayweather has earned his estimated $90 million without a single commercial endorsement.
SI.com

We wonderful folks in the L.A. area are blessed with the endless number of ads featuring the voice of Chris Paul saying “Clipper Nation…Represent.” Cough, cough.
Matt Barnes has a better take on things saying the Clip Joint got “punked” in Memphis in Game 4. DeAndre Jordan disagreed but apparently he didn’t get the memo. Actually, it’s the most resistance we’ve seen from Jordan the entire series.
Game 5? Well the Clippers can cry about injuries to Blake Griffin (how the hell does he sprain an ankle in practice this late in the season? they’re actually practicing this late in the season?) and Chris Paul, but they can kiss their fair-weather asses goodbye with another lame effort in Game 6 in Memphis on Friday.
Yep, Clipper Nation bragged about owning L.A. this season (and we all know that wasn’t saying shit), but the playoffs are another rerun of what the franchise has always stood for: chokes and jinxes.
The Grizzlies are just smacking the Clippers like a bad habit right now. And if the Clippers are eliminated in Game 6, Vinny Del Negro is no longer a dead man walking, he’s a dead man.
Represent.

Like the NCAA Tournament, some NBA player makes a name for himself during the playoffs. Stephen Curry, 1 of the best shooters we’ve ever watched and 1 who almost helped the Warriors stun the Nuggets today in Denver, could be 1 of those players. Writer Shaun Powell compiles a good list of some who might emerge. Another name we would add to it is San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard. He isn’t spectacular at anything but good at plenty of things.
Sports On Earth

The Heat are the overwhelming favorites to win the NBA title again, and why shouldn’t they be? We’re hard-headed though. Actually, we’re sticking with our betting slip.
Eastern Conference
Heat over Bucks in 5; Nets over Bulls in 7; Pacers over Hawks in 5; Knicks over Celtics in 6.
Heat over Nets in 5; Pacers over Knicks in 6.
Heat over Pacers in 6.
Western Conference
Thunder over Rockets in 6; Clippers over Grizzlies in 7 (the Charles Barkley factor); Nuggets over Warriors in 7; Spurs over Lakers in 5.
Thunder over Clippers in 6; Spurs over Nuggets in 5.
Spurs over Thunder in 6.
Championship: Spurs over Heat in 7.

We knew Laker fans would lower themselves to such things, but are you kidding us?
Although Laker fans are all giddy (hmmm, last time that’s happened?) with the No. 7 seed, do they really believe this squad is actually capable of anything in the NBA playoffs? Forgive us. I lost $5 to my old lady cuz I bet the Lakers wouldn’t make it, so maybe I’m a little bitter. And I surely forgot how the NBA sometimes figures into these things.
They don’t want to face my homies and the OKC Thunder. They want no part of that can of whip ass. Russell Westbrook again? Oh no, let’s take Timmy Duncan and his choir boy friends. Is that you T-Mac?
Some folks believe the Lakers are better off (is that you Magic Johnson?) making the playoffs instead of tanking for the lottery, like many of us dreamers gamble on everyday. But Dwight and the boys failing Kobe on the final night of the regulation…well the suicide hotline would have been working overtime.
The Lakers are 200-1 to win it all. Your point is?
We’re also pissed seeing the Spurs getting 8-1 since we bet them at 4-1. Someone trying to tell us something? Didn’t think so.
VegasInsider.com

We said months ago the Lakers wouldn’t make the playoffs. Ain’t no reason for us to punk out now. But does that mean Mike D’Antoni retuns as coach? Unfortunately, probably. Would the Lakers be on the hook for 2 ex-coaches? That plus a luxury tax? Probably not.
For Laker fans, that’s not a good thing.
Neither was that beatdown the Clip Joint gave the Lakers. With the win the Clippers clinch the Pacific Division.

Not all is right in the Clippers’ clubhouse. DeAndre Jordan is pissed Vinny Del Negro has seriously cut his playing time and the frequent barking by Chris Paul at his teammates has also grown old. And, to make matters worst, the Clippers have stumbled down the stretch heading toward the NBA playoffs.
The timing obviously couldn’t be worst.
If they fall apart in the playoffs, does Paul, who will be a free agent, take his talents elsewhere? Some have speculated him going to the Lakers despite his recent comments he wanted to play for the Clip Joint all along (we’ll have some of what he’s smoking). But that’s hard to imagine with the serious cap hit the Lakers would take, particularly after they re-sign Dwight Howard.
Regardless, this season probably will be the end for Del Negro. Someone’s got to take the hit.
L.A. Times

Where’s Arte Moreno? Magic Johnson?
The usual suspects such as Roger Goodell, David Stern and Bud Selig are among a list of the 50 most powerful people (only 3 women) in sports. But Ed O’Bannon? That’s right. The former UCLA star could change the landscape of college sports with his suit against the NCAA.
SI.com

We’re trolling around in our 2nd home, the always entertaining Las Vegas. Hit the over (202.5) for the Spurs-Clips blowout, but due to a brief case of blindness at the betting window, we bet the Clips instead of the Spurs. And the old lady wondered why I was cussing?
Anyway…
Your favorites for the NBA championship? The Heat (+165) and the Thunder (+280) are the picks now, but we all know how quickly that can change. The rest: Spurs (5-1); Clippers (6-1); Lakers (13-1); Knicks (12-1); Bulls (14-1); Warriors (16-1); Pacers (25-1); Celtics and Nuggets (35-1); and Rockets (60-1).
Us? We like the Spurs. That could change too. If we’re wrong, we’ll plead another case of blindness. Seriously.

Add another gem to Blake Griffin’s extensive collection.