Category — Clip Joint

Clippers 99, Grizzlies 98.
Not to burst Dick Stockton’s bubble, but we’ve seen better comebacks with more on the line. Stockton, who worked the game with Chris Webber, said he had never seen a comeback in the NBA playoffs like the 1 the Clippers mounted against the Grizzlies Sunday night in Memphis. Webber never said anything, but he surely had to be thinking about how the Lakers rallied from 24 down to beat his Kings as Robert Horry nailed a his famous 3-pointer at the buzzer in the 2002 Western Conference finals. The Kings haven’t been the same since.
In this classic, the Clip Joint rallied from 27 back as the Grizzlies were giving a clinic. They led by as much as 24 with 8 minutes left before the bottom fell out. Nick Young’s 3-pointers down the stretch inflicted the most damage.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Memphis.

We said it back in December, when the NBA season tipped off. Everyone and their mother picked the Heat, the favorite to win it all, while idiots like us took the Thunder.
The smart money says the Heat, and we get that. But for credibility sakes, we can’t change horses in the middle of the street. Can’t do it.
Our only reservation about the Thunder is Kendrick Perkins (and Russell Westbrook not getting out of hand and shooting them out of a contest) matching up with some of the big men in the Western Conference. Against the Heat, though, it’s even money since they don’t have a significant presence inside either.
So here’s how we see the playoffs playing out. Happy trails.
East
Bulls over 76ers in 6; Heat over Knicks in 5; Pacers over Magic in 5; Hawks over Celtics in 7.
Semis: Bulls over Hawks in 5; Heat over Pacers in 7.
Final: Heat over Bulls in 7.
West
Spurs over Jazz in 5; Thunder over Mavs in 6; Lakers over Nuggets in 7; Grizzlies over Clippers in 6.
Semis: Spurs over Grizzlies in 7; Thunder over Lakers in 5.
Final: Thunder over Spurs in 7.
For all the marbles: Thunder over Heat in 6.

With the NBA playoffs tipping off Saturday, the Heat remain the favorites to capture the title. The Bulls are the No. 2 pick at 3-1 odds, while the Thunder come in at 4-1. The Thunder are tabbed as the favorites to claim the Western Conference title, meaning they will meet the Heat in the final.
Vegas Insider

Maybe Chris Paul got a dose of the medicine he was prescribing for Derek Fisher. Paul was 1 of the backstabbers trying to oust Fisher as president of the players union. Now, as each day passes, it appears Billy Hunter sold him and the executive committee a bunch of wolf tickets.
Which brings us to Wednesday’s 99-93 loss by the Clippers to the Knicks. If the Grizzlies beat the Magic tonight, they earn the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference and home-court advantage against the Clippers in the playoffs. Good luck with that Chris.

A quick hitter and late night version of our daily thread.
Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combined for 70 points, but they lost to the Hawks tonight, meaning the Lakers clinched the Pacific Division title. Good luck with Memphis.
NBA.com

Price is too high for Angels: David Price of the Rays blanked them in a 5-0 victory. Albert Pujols went 0-4 and is hitless in his last 16 at-bats. We’re sure they’re still saying it’s early in Anaheim, but there has to be some concern, no?
O.C. Register
40 tastes good: Chipper Jones homered on his birthday as the Braves knocked off the Dodgers tonight.
MLB.com
Music to their ears: The Jazz nailed down a playoff spot by hammering the Suns. Their reward? They’ll get either the Spurs or the Thunder in the opening round.
Salt Lake Tribune

Billy Hunter is making the NBA players executive committee look like buffoons, particularly Mo Evans. Evans, once a teammate with Derek Fisher with the Lakers, has been the most vocal committee member about forcing Fisher out as president despite the union paying almost $5 million to Hunter’s family for union-related “work.” Please.
The committee went as far as dropping the name of Chris Paul, who also is a member of the committee and voted for Fisher’s ouster, as a possible successor to Fisher. Wonder where that came from?
Seriously, the stench is becoming unbearable.
Rick Fox was a guest on the “Petros & Money” show this afternoon on Fox Radio in L.A. Fox said the wackiness is just beginning. And though he didn’t elaborate, it’s a good guess more skeletons will be falling out of Hunter’s closet.
Bloomberg

A week ago, I listened to an outrageous sports-talk radio host rage about the greed of Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen for barking about playing in the Olympics for free. Worst, the radio host started comparing playing in the Olympics as an honor of serving your country just like fighting in a war. Stupid doesn’t begin to describe the latter. There isn’t ANYTHING that compares to war.
Mark Cuban has vehemently complained about this issue before. He’s right. And if it were up to Cuban, NBA players wouldn’t even be in the games. We find nothing wrong with that either.
Corporate America, the networks, Nike and many others rake in millions for serving their country (cough, cough), but the NBA players are expected to give away their services for free?
ESPN Dallas

How big is this? For starters, the Thunder can sweep the season series, but more importantly, they can keep pace with the Spurs for the top seed in the West.
For the Lakers, it’s a bigger deal. A loss and they could be looking up at the Clip Joint, which hosts the Hornets Sunday night. The Grizzlies, who have won 4 straight, also are lurking only a game back. They’re off Sunday, but host the Cavs on Monday night.
If the Lakers fall to the No. 5 spot and get the Grizzlies in the 1st round, we’re betting the farm Memphis prevails. The Clippers in the No. 4 spot is the ideal situation for Laker fans because Lob City isn’t as tough a customer as the Grizzlies.

Spurs 121, Lakers 97.
Kobe Bryant returned, but it made little difference as San Antonio pounded the Lakers for the 2nd time in 3 meetings.
The Clip Joint, which we can only assume is celebrating 420 day, is excited with the result. The loss left the Lakers, who visit the Thunder in a Sunday showdown, just 1/2 game ahead of the Clippers for the No. 3 spot.
ESPN LA

Is that you Barry?
It’s been only 5 years since my daughter had to explain to me what 420 meant. “Seriously Dad? You don’t know?” I can still hearing her saying.
Lots of athletes will be celebrating today. We hate to bust anyone, but 1 of our favorite stories is a bud of ours sitting in a Mercedes and smoking a fatty back in the day with Chili Davis.
We’ll just indulge in a glass or 2 of wine to celebrate.
Cheers!