News, information and tickets for the LA Clippers
Just like the Los Angeles Lakers learned the hard way that the Oklahoma City Thunder aren’t the Denver Nuggets, the L.A. Clippers soon came to the realization that the San Antonio Spurs aren’t the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Spurs picked apart the Clippers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at the AT&T Center, ultimately leading to a decisive 108-92 victory.
After failing to finish off the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 6 at Staples Center, most counted out the Los Angeles Clippers having to go back to the Grindhouse for a deciding Game 7.
It didn’t help matters that the Clips’ two best players—Chris Paul (strained hip flexor) and Blake Griffin (knee)—were thoroughly banged up.
Yet despite being forced to fly back to Memphis, the Clippers, led by CP3′s 19 points, came up with the 82-72 win, giving them just their third playoff series win in 41 years.
If you’re like me, there’s a good chance that if you tuned into Game 1 of the opening-round series between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies Sunday night, you probably either resorted to channel surfing or went to bed. The last image that came across my screen was a dejected Blake Griffin, towel drooped over head and slouched shoulders, sitting on the bench next to an equally despondent Chris Paul.
The first playoff game in six years for the franchise did not start at all how they would have envisioned it. But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and the Clippers are the talk of the sports world Monday after their incredible comeback.
The first week of the hectic 2012 NBA Playoffs are in the books and already there are plenty of story lines and drama that will likely ensure to become a very entertaining 40 nights to decide a champion. From the match ups to the injuries and records being broken, every game this weekend had worth watching and plenty of things to discuss: The Magic and Clippers are up 1-0, Derrick Rose is out and the Spurs and Heat look like the best teams in the postseason. Highlights from Weekend 1 include:
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The last meeting between the Kings and Clippers was dubbed the “Throw down Showdown” which should have highlighted the dunking prowess of Blake Griffin against DeMarcus Cousins and Donte Greene. This really didn’t live up to the intended hype. Instead, the “Throw down Showdown” was more fitting as a wrestling match than a basketball game. Price of entry, at least for Cousins, $25,000.
Cousins was fined on April 6 by the NBA for his public criticism of the officials after Thursday night’s loss to the Clippers. He had this to say about Blake Griffin and the officials:
Just like what happened the last time these two teams met in Portland, All-Star point guard Chris Paul switched from distributor to deadly scorer in the fourth quarter, with the Clippers (30-21) down by one after a tough make by Jamal Crawford on the other end. Paul drives inside and gets a lay up that passes three Blazers to give Los Angeles the lead and eventually the win despite one of the most entertaining games the Portland Trail Blazers (24-28) have put up all season.
The last four games for the Blazers have given Blazer fans a few things to celebrate, a few hard realities to confront, and a future to contemplate. Winning a couple of games in the Rose Garden is a great reason to celebrate and so is the maturing dynamic of Aldridge and Batum as the one two offensive punch. The hard realities come from the fact that the two home wins came against some of the worst teams in the league. The first a three point win against the Warriors and a six point win against the Hornets. Both games could’ve gotten away from the Blazers but they hung tough and got the wins. The future looks bright because there has been one constant in these last four games for the Blazers: J.J. Hickson came to play.
With Samuel L. Jackson following Will Ferrell in announcing the starting lineups, he announced that Chris Paul was still “Number 1 in our hearts.”
Then, during a first quarter time-out, the Hornets played a video tribute on the scoreboard dedicated to Chris Paul’s tenure in New Orleans. Paul had become a staple in the community since he first arrived in New Orleans.
That was the start of what should have been a night to honor Chris Paul. Instead, it was tarnished by the display of poor sportsmanship from New Orleans Hornets’ forward/center Jason Smith. Smith has become a regular contributor for the woeful Hornets, and had a nice night yesterday with 17 points and 8 rebounds, but displayed antics that have no place on the professional level.
Things have gotten so bad for the Los Angeles Clippers that even their mothers are sick of watching their lackluster play. With head coach Vinney Del Negro apparently unable to get his squad out of their losing ways, Kimberly Jordan, mother of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, took it upon herself to light a fire under her son and his teammates via Twitter.
The Kings have just faced one of the top contenders in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers. This was a huge test for our club; it was a typical youth vs. experience game.
Isaiah Thomas was put to the test, he had to guard and defend arguably the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul. Many were waiting to see how Thomas responded.
Even though the Clippers won 108-100, this game showed that experience has a huge advantage over youth; but its games like these were many young teams learn a lot.
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