The NBA FanHouse team has been posting previews for all 30 teams prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Along with each preview they examine a player to watch. In the case of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tom Ziller examined Eric Gordon. In keeping up with the theme, I decided to highlight a bench player on the Clippers who might turn into an impact fantasy player this season.
From a fantasy perspective the Clippers are an interesting team. On paper they have one of the more fantasy-friendly rotations with six players currently being drafted in the top 125 picks, according to Mock Draft Central -- Marcus Camby (ADP: 40.12), Baron Davis (ADP: 46.64), Eric Gordon (ADP: 79.41), Blake Griffin (ADP: 81.82), Chris Kaman (ADP: 97.18) and Al Thornton (ADP: 126.26).
Sometimes, we take landing for granted. The jumping seems like the hard part, the landing should come easy. Sometimes it is, sometimes it can go horribly wrong. For Shaun Livingston last night on this fast break against the Bobcats, it went terribly, terribly, wrong.
Amazingly, it's just been diagnoses as a dislocation. Not that a dislocation isn't serious, but you see something like that, and you're thinking about the unholy triad of the ACL, MCL, and Medial Meniscus.
Eight weeks, five teams, two playoff seeds up for grabs. Today I'll arbitrarily lay odds on the teams with the best chance of locking up the seventh and eighth Western Conference playoff spots:
New Orleans/OKC Hornets, 3:1 The Hornets have their two stars back (Paul and D. West); Tyson Chandler has turned into a machine (12.7 ppg and 16.9 rpg in February); and there's even talk of Peja Stojakovic making an April return from lower back surgery. I know it's a cliché saying, but I definitely wouldn't want to play this re-energized team in the first round of the playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers, 5:1 According to Bill Simmons, the Clippers are unhappy, pointing fingers and have quit on coach Dunleavy. With that said, I fail to believe a team with this much talent and experience can't pull it together and play two solid months of ball. With five of their next six against borderline-sub-.500 teams, now is the perfect time to get it going. Denver Nuggets, 6:1 Why are the Nuggets only 12-19 since acquiring Iverson and 2-7 with Iverson and Carmelo Anthony in the lineup together? I have no idea. Why do I feel the Nuggets have a better shot at making the playoffs than the Warriors or Wolves? I have no idea. You probably should've skipped this one.
Golden State Warriors, 12:1 Sad, but true, part 1: this Warriors team would be a 60-win team if they never had to leave the comfy confines of Oracle Arena. Unfortunately, they have 16 games left as visitors, with an abysmal road record of 6-20. Sad, but true, part 2: it's been 12 years since the Warriors have made the playoffs, and it's about to be 13. Sorry, GSoM faithful, you truly deserve better. Minnesota Timberwolves, 25:1 Please. The Wolves only chance of getting Garnett back to the dance depends on whether Ricky Davis, Mark Blount and Randy Foye can consistently start carrying the load. So, yeah... their season lies in the hands of a streaky shooter, an outside big man and a rookie point guard. Doesn't look good.
A quick look back at Tuesday night in The Association ...
Once Again Back Is The Incredible. No, not me. Two-time MVP Steve Nash had 13 points and 12 dimes in his first game back from a shoulder injury to help lead the Suns to a 115-90 rout over the Clips. Shawn Marion had 31 points, Pat Burke -- excuse me!? -- grabbed 10 boards and Phoenix snapped their three-game losing streak. But it wasn't all diamonds and sunshine and copious vats of free beer. Nash appeared to re-aggravate his injury while taking a charge in the second half. He sat out the entire fourth quarter.
It's The Return Of The ... AI and Redd. (Once again!). Allen Iverson scored nine points for the Nuggets in a 95-80 loss at San Antonio. Iverson had missed nine of the Nuggets' last 10 and Sunday's ASG with a right ankle sprain. Meanwhile, Michael Redd returned to score 17 points for the Bucks in a 84-83 home loss to the 'Stons. Redd has been sidelined for nearly 1 1/2 months with a messed up left knee. Mark Morrison -- aka the "Mack" -- also returned (once again!), but saw limited time in the Knicks 100-94 win over the Magic. He finished with a couple of rebounds.
Was The Highlight Factory Closed For Renovations?Mutoni was all over this, but it bears repeating: Chicago held Atlanta without a field goal in the third quarter in a 106-81 win. Yes, zero. The Hawks, outscored 28-8 in the third, went 0-16 from the field, marking the first time in franchise history the Bulls held a team without a field goal in a quarter. According to my good friend Elias, who has a car and drives me places, it was the first time a NBA team went without a field goal in a quarter since Feb. 3, 2006 when Sacramento shot 0-for-20 in the fourth against Utah.
Patiently Waiting For Wizznutzz's New Screen Saver. Washington's DeShawn Stevenson on Arenas: "He's 'Hibachi,' but I'm 'Mr. Fifty.' Put that in the newspaper so he'll get mad." Um, I'll do you one better and put it in the Morning Hardwood! Stevenson, who also liked the idea of the nickname "Inspector Fifty," -- where do they come up with this stuff? -- scored a season-high 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting in a 112-100 win over the Wolves. His field goal percentage is now 50.1 percent. Agent Zero's? 42.
With the NBA trade deadline looming, the FanHouse looks at potential trades out there that would make the NBA a better, brighter, place.
Word on the street is that Donald Sterling is the only person in the Clippers organization that wants to keep Maggette around. The other players are tired of his complaining, the coaches don't particularly like his attitude, and he can't grab spot in the starting line-up. Said Maggette recently about his lack of playing time:
"I don't get it, I really don't. It's crazy. I put in work. I deserve to play. It's totally mind-boggling to me. [It's] unbelievable that I couldn't help this team tonight. Why? Why?"
The Clippers even signed Doug Christie recently. Doug Christie. Cut him loose, Clippers. Maggette has a skill set that could be used somewhere else.
Namely, with the San Antonio Spurs. San Antone could use an upgrade in athleticism, and it would be nice to have someone who could come off the bench and score quickly in a variety of ways. Maggette's rebounding ability would also help the Spurs fill a need.
It's true that Maggette's not much of a defender, and it's true that he's got a reputation as a bit of a knucklehead. But it's impossible to act a fool in San Antonio. Greg Popovich won't allow it, neither will the team's leadership. His defense would improve simply by virtue of being a Spur, and if you need a stopper on the floor, then hey, that's what Bruce Bowen's for.
Brent Barry along with one or more from the group of Matt Bonner, Jackie Bulter, Francisco Elson, Fabricio Oberto, Beno Udrih, Jacques Vaughn, and James White, and draft picks could work under the cap.
A quick look (way) back at Sunday's pre-Super Bowl games...
Reserving Playoff Tickets ... Now. There is nothing better than waking up Sunday morning, tired and hung-over from a late night of debauchery, and watching your hometown team absolutely shoot the lights out. Chris Bosh had 27 points, and five other Raptor bodies reached double figures, in a 122-110 win over the Clippers. The Raps haven't been .500 this late in the season since 2001-02.
Birds Of Pray. Tyronn Lue's deep jumper at the buzzer lifted the Hawks -- CAW! CAW! -- to a 101-99 overtime victory against the Nets. The win was the fifth in seven games for the Hawks, which puts them 3 1/2 games behind Miami for the final playoff spot. (Yes, your NBA Eastern Conference, ladies and gentlemen....) The Armadillo Cowboy scored 37 for Atlanta.
Play On Playa. This AP report had me on the floor: Rasheed Wallace stepped out of the shower area and reset the track on the portable stereo in Detroit's locker room. Seconds later, he swayed to the booming beat and began to rap. "Afraid of none of you cowards," he shouted, spitting out lyrics along with hip-hop star Nas. Brilliant. And oh, Detroit over Cleveland, 90-78. The Cavs are a horrible, horrible basketball team.
Last time we heard from the Christies, Jackie was crackin' the whip, letting us and Doug know that he was making a comeback, with hopes of returning to the Raptors. Well, apparently she wasn't picky.
According to a player agent, Doug Christie has signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers.
So while Doug won't be playing for Toronto any time soon; he will be playing in Toronto when the Clips meet the Raps at the Air Canada Centre this Sunday. Unfortunately:
Raptors fans had been looking forward to the possibility of seeing Alvin Williams in a Clippers uniform, after the team had signed the former Raptors guard to a 10-day deal. However, it wasn't to be for Williams as that contract has expired and Los Angeles elected not to re-sign him to a second one.
Instead, the Clippers enlisted the services of Christie, who remains the Raptors' franchise leader in steals with 664.
Oh, I can't wait to welcome back the NBA's most committed power couple! I'll have to look under the bed, but I may have even kept my "Doug Christie: 1, A.C. Green: 0" sign from last time.
Bonus: A very special Christies' song after the jump.
The Rock Remix. Even though the Bulls blew an early 17-point lead, the Mavericks forgot how to shoot the basketball just long enough to lose, 96-85 in Chicago. Mavs' superstars Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard combined to shoot -- you ready for this? -- 11-for-42 from the floor. Yeah, that's like, 2%. Ben Gordon scored 30 points for Chicago and Luol Deng added 21. With the loss, the Mavericks record now falls to a very mediocre 35-9. I can hear the ping-pong balls now!
What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted? I'm not sure, but keep an eye on the New Jersey Nets. Cuttino Mobley nailed a hard, masculine 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 102-101 victory over New Jersey last night. The loss was the Nets third straight one-point defeat this week. On Monday, they lost at Sacramento thanks to a Mike Bibby late game jumper, and on Wednesday, they lost at the buzzer to a 17-footer by Golden State's Monta Ellis. Rough stretch. Vince Carter scored 33 points despite rolling his left ankle in the third. For more on this game and an excellent discussion about intelligent NBA'ers, check out MJD and Shoals' live-blog.
Adding Insult To (Near) Injury. Gilbert Arenas blew by Vince in the final days of All-Star voting to claim the second Eastern Conference guard spot yesterday. Arenas was 214,460 votes behind Carter two weeks ago, but finished with 1,454,166 to Carter's 1,451,156 -- the fourth-closest margin for a starting spot in history. As for the rest of the starters...
If You Start Them Up...Out East, Arenas will be joined by Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Shaq Daddy. While out West, Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, Garnett and Yao get the love. Of course, Yao, still recovering from a broken leg, said he'll miss the game, so I'm hoping hard West coach Mike D'Antoni starts Nash at center.
MJD: Shoals is expected to join me soon, but I think he's having some internet connection problems. But that's OK, because Hassan Adams is in the house for New Jersey.
MJD: Vince Carter is gimping around the court with some kind of an ankle thing ... he's playing through it, though. I'd have expected him to just lay down on the court and sob for a little while. Nice little one-hander by Chris Kaman to make it 6-6.
MJD: The frontcourt combination of Hassan Adams, Jason Collins, and Mikki Moore ... well, it's hard to believe this is the NBA.
MJD: Sam Cassell steps back and sticks a three to make it 15-10, Clippers, and Lawrence Frank, who still has a job, calls timeout. I haven't seen much of the Clippers this year, and I know that Sam's not playing quite as well as he could be ... but man, I like watching him play.
MJD: I don't know what happened to Shoals. He left me. I feel like a jilted lover.
MJD: Some pretty efficient shooting here by both teams ... Vince Carter hit a couple to pull the Nets to within one, before Elton Brand answered with a soft J. 19-16, Clip Joint.
The NBA FanHouse team has been posting previews for all 30 teams prior to the start of the 2009-10 season. Along with each preview they examine a player to watch. In the case of the Los Angeles Clippers, Tom Ziller examined Eric Gordon. In keeping up with the theme, I decided to highlight a bench player on the Clippers who might turn into an impact fantasy player this season.
Eight weeks, five teams, two playoff seeds up for grabs. Today I'll arbitrarily lay odds on the teams with the best chance of locking up the seventh and eighth Western Conference playoff spots: 
A quick look back at Tuesday night in The Association ...
With the NBA trade deadline looming, the FanHouse looks at potential trades out there that would make the NBA a better, brighter, place.
A quick look (way) back at Sunday's pre-Super Bowl games... 
A quick look back at Thursday night's action... 
MJD: Shoals is expected to join me soon, but I think he's having some internet connection problems. But that's OK, because Hassan Adams is in the house for New Jersey.
