FanHouse Clippers

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Anyone who has watched the L.A. Clippers so far this season pretty much has the same question: what's up with Chris Kaman?

The guy's been playing some ball and doesn't seem to resemble the player of past years. But according to coach Mike Dunleavy, nothing at all is up.

"The only difference with him is he's shooting the ball," Dunleavy said before the Clippers dismantled the Warriors, 118-90, on Friday night. "And I mean literally shooting the ball. He's always been able to shoot the ball but always had this kind of mentality of 'I can't take too many shots,' or 'I need to get closer to the basket.' "

OutSports.com reported Tuesday that Drew Gooden made homophobic remarks to two hecklin' Clippers fans after the Mavericks' Saturday game in Los Angeles. One of the Clippers fans happened to be actor Chris Wylde (pictured, far right), who has -- no joke -- appearances on a show named Heckle U to his credit. (The plot of Heckle U, according to IMDB? Two dudes change the course of basketball games by heckling the opposing teams into submission.)

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reportedly emailed Wylde, saying the team would deal with Gooden. Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News reports that the NBA is currently investigating the matter, while ESPN's Tim MacMahon has an anonymous source who claims it wasn't Gooden who made the remark. (No word on whether that anonymous source is Gooden.)

The skeletons in Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's closet have been a poorly kept secret for years -- and now they're a matter of public record. According to the Los Angeles Times, Sterling and his wife have agreed to pay a whopping $2.725 million to make a federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination go away.

Although Sterling, who runs his real estate empire as competently as his NBA team, officially denies any wrongdoing, the fact remains that the settlement, once officially approved by a U.S. District judge, is projected to go down as the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case.

Even if Sterling is officially allowed to save face by calling the settlement a business decision (a "compromise of disputed claims," according to court documents obtained by the Times) instead of an admission of guilt, it's still a black stain on the NBA -- and one it needs to address.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Blake Griffin, the first overall draft pick, is staying strong after suffering a knee injury during a preseason game. In this FanHouse exclusive, he gives he gives us an update on his injury.

We also talk boxing with Griffin's teammates, as Marcus Camby, Rasual Butler and DeAndre Jordan make their picks in the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Halloween is one of those holiday that everyone loves ... including NBA players.

In this FanHouse exclusive, we catch up with NBA stars Amar'e Stoudemire, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Ron Artest, Kyrylo Fesenko, Channing Frye, Craig Smith, Goran Dragic and Lou Amundson.

Find out who is most likely to be Hugh Hefner, Magic Don Juan, a lumberjack, Frankenstein and an Army vet.

Check out the video after the jump.

LOS ANGELES -- Rebounding is all that Suns' head coach Alvin Gentry has been talking about during the preseason, and with his team being an undersized bunch who would rather try to run you off the floor than stand toe-to-toe and slug it out, that's completely understandable.

But the emphasis on taking care of the boards had its consequences in the team's season opener on Wednesday, as Phoenix -- yes, the extended remix of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns -- managed just two fast break points in their game against the Clippers.

The ultimate result, however, was a positive one. The Suns' focus on rebounding enabled them to hang with a big and talented Clippers' front line, and pull out a hard-fought, last-second 109-107 road victory in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES -- The Clippers held a seven-point lead over the Suns with about nine minutes remaining in their home opener, in a game that was the season opener for Phoenix.

But Steve Nash made sure that his Suns left with the victory, by scoring 15 of his team's 24 fourth quarter points, including the game-winner in a thrilling 109-107 contest at Staples Center.

If you've seen one NBA mixtape on YouTube, you've seen them all, right? Most of them are just flashy dunk highlights put to a profanity-laced rap beat. But Chris Kaman is a different kind of cat, both on the court and off, and in hindsight, it shouldn't have been a surprise to see that his YouTube channel doesn't feature any basketball at all.

What does it feature? Try a .50 caliber rifle and municipal-grade fireworks -- all being used in his backyard. No, really -- video evidence is after the jump, as well as his interview with Elie Seckbach in which he discusses his explosion-filled and bullet-riddled summer vacation.

Home sweet home. Well, for one night anyway. In front of a 42-inch big screen on opening night in the NBA. Let's go ahead and try to read too much into it ...

• You can't tell me the Cleveland Cavaliers aren't going to come knocking for Stephen Jackson at some point. Looks like LeBron James is going to need some more help.

Hard as this is to say, it doesn't seem like Shaquille O'Neal can even be your No. 2 option. Apparently, the Cavs are reluctant to give up Zydrunas Ilgauskas for Jackson because Cleveland doesn't want to get smaller.

LOS ANGELES -- An excited, capacity crowd anxiously awaited the final chance to celebrate last season's NBA Championship with its beloved Lakers. The team held a ring ceremony, before unveiling their 15th championship banner, which was hanging behind a black curtain high on the back wall of the Staples Center.

It was an exciting start to the night, but the excitement ended there, as the quality of the opening night opponent (or lack thereof) made it easy on the defending champs and a yawner for those in attendance. The result was a lackluster, comfortable 99-92 win for the Lakers in their first game of the 2009-10 NBA season.