Clippers Basketball | Love The Game

[James2Stapleton]

lol
randolph want pizza

[SuperNova854]

Haha, hopefully more updates soon.

[SuperNova854]

Baron Davis Q&A



Baron recently had a roundtable discussioin with Dena, Ramona Shelburne and Mark Medina. Here are a few questions that were asked.

MM: What do you think of the offseason acquisitions?

BD: I think it makes us faster and I think it makes us scrappier. When you look at a team like the Denver Nuggets and the success that they had or a team like Orlando, they were scrappy. This is a league now where people are playing fast-paced basketball, and I think that last year we didn't play at the same pace. We played slow, we were very methodical, we played predictable and we didn't create any points off the hustle or off of steals. You can't look and place the blame on one person. Coach and I talked and he was definitely not happy with the job that we did or how we performed. We both take the blame for that: him as the leader of the team and right behind him is me.

DBK: What are Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan doing to improve?

BD: Eric is great. I got a chance to player-coach him at Tim Grgurich's basketball camp in Vegas last week. Eric looks good. His game has gotten better. Eric and DJ are young. There are a lot of things that they still have to learn, and it's funny for me to say that. I've been here 11 years, and I'm sure there was a lot I had to learn my first and second years in the league. Basically they're young and there's a lot they have to learn. The main thing is they have to work and they're putting in that work. That's the most important thing.

DBK: Can you talk about what somebody like Blake Griffin brings to the team?

BD: I love Blake. I love him. The one thing I love the most about him is his personality. I like people who have fun. He's fun to be around. I think we have a team of great personalities and I think he's going to bring a lot of that. You can tell he just has a natural leadership and it's going to be great to be a positive light in his career. He's the kind of guy who I can talk to about all of the things that I did right and all of the things that I did wrong to prepare him to walk into this greatness.

RS: The team is really young this year. You just turned 30. Is it weird to think of yourself as one of the older guys?

BD: Outside of Marcus (Camby) and Ricky (Davis), yeah. And I consider myself to be very young. I just think that it's a new wave of young guys coming into the league, and I'm not that far removed from what they're going through. I'm in my prime. We're all in a good position. We're a young team. Turning 30 was a little difficult for me. Looking at where I was in life and where I was in my career, and for me, growing up I never thought I'd be alive at 30. I've been smiling ever since I turned 30. I've been smiling. I realized that there are things that I can't do at 30. It's a lot different, even just with the preparation. This summer I started working out a lot earlier and just make sure that I get more rest. It's important that I not go out and play pick-up games all of the time or try to play five-on-five. That's the whole reason why I'm going back to the basics and back to fundamentals; it's recognizing the things that you need as you get older that's going to keep you fresh and give you a leg up on the younger guys that are coming in. I think from doing everything from coaching that I could capitalize on all of that. The young guys will figure it out when they're turning 30.

[Macken]

great write up and very in-depth

[SuperNova854]

Baron Ready To Move On From 'Bad Dream'



Baron Davis didn't enjoy a successful first season playing for the Clippers in his hometown.

He struggled with injuries, showed frustration and his team limped to one of the worst records in the NBA.

"It was like a bad dream," Davis said, according to the Los Angeles Daily News. "I don't know who that was last year. It was like a bad dream that you wake up from and you can't really remember, but you're like, 'Damn, I hope that never happens to me again.'

"Once the season was over, that was the last I was going to think of it. I mean, I can't even tell you where or how, or at what point (it all went wrong), it was just like a bad dream."

In addition to putting in a lot of work at the gym, Davis has worked to repair his relationship with Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy.

"We watched a lot of tape. You know, just kind of getting in his brain. Things that he went through as a player, players that he played with," Davis said. "Just getting a better construction of who he is. I don't think that we gave ourselves an opportunity last year to really know each other. We were trying to make it up on the fly, which is tough.

"Neither one of us really got to know each other. But I think all that is behind us now. And it feels good. It feels good."

[SuperNova854]

You are so cool

[SuperNova854]

Blasphemy! I didn't say that

[SuperNova854]

Clippers Waive Mark Madsen


Madsen Won't Be Making Any Passes This Season.

The Los Angeles Clippers today waived forward Mark Madsen.

Madsen was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 22nd along with Sebastian Telfair and Craig Smith in exchange for Quentin Richardson.

The Clippers’ roster currently stands at 12 players.

[James2Stapleton]

Not mark Madsen!

[mfbmike]

rofl uhhh who would honestly pick that guy up

[SuperNova854]

I would, best cheerleader ever

[SuperNova854]

Sessions Could Still Be An Option For Clippers



The release of Mark Madsen is just another move in what has been an unpredictably busy offseason for the Clippers. Madsen was scheduled to make 2.8 million dollars this year, but his release will save the Clippers an unspecified amount off that figure. This move was not made for monetary reasons however, regardless of the actual dollar amount that the Clippers saved. The motivation behind releasing Madsen is that it creates another open roster space, bringing the Clippers roster down to 12 players. That leaves 2 open spots for Dunleavy, who typically enters the season with a 14 man roster.

Regarded as one of the league’s nicest guys, Madsen undoubtedly would have had a positive influence on the Clippers locker room. However, without a clear path to playing time in the crowded frontcourt, the probability of Madsen making an actual impact with his play was highly unlikely. The Clippers simply have too many needs to justify holding onto a backup who wasn’t slated to play any minutes, even if said backup could have helped positively alter team chemistry. Remember, the Clippers could really use another backup point guard, and a shooter off the bench, and Madsen is neither of those things.

This is where Ramon Sessions comes back into the picture. We’ve speculated all summer long about Sessions, but Madsen’s release appears to be another fallen domino. You have to imagine that this will intensify talks if nothing else; it’s unlikely that management would waive Madsen if they didn’t have a plan for his roster spot. After all, when is the last time Clippers management paid someone not to play for them? For a historically frugal franchise, this move signals a step in the right direction. Madsen’s value was unlikely to manifest itself in terms of on-court production, so the Clippers released him to bring in someone who has a better chance at producing and helping the team on the floor. That makes sense, and it’s hard to argue that Mark Madsen, even with his expiring contract as a trade chip, is more valuable than a Ramon Sessions or Steve Novak.

That’s not to say Madsen’s release doesn’t raise some interesting questions. For example, why was Mark Madsen released instead of Ricky Davis? Davis has a 2.4 million deal that expires this year, so both players have very similar contracts. Ricky Davis doesn’t exactly carry the reputation of being a guy good chemistry guy like Madsen does, although Ricky is unquestionably more talented. But if you had the choice for a 12th man who will rarely see the floor, it’s a pretty easy decision, right? You pick the energetic, encouraging, towel waving goofball. Madsen has to be an easier expiring contract to trade as well – Ricky Davis is about as popular as the plague amongst NBA GM’s. I may be jumping to conclusions, but releasing Madsen instead of Davis tells me that Dunleavy plans on giving Ricky a nice chunk of playing time, health permitting. It’s the only conclusion that really makes any sense. Why else would you let Ricky Davis hang around your basketball team?

Even if they may have targeted the wrong player, releasing Madsen was probably the right thing to do. Steve Novak is likely headed back to Los Angeles now, and an additional mystery player will be joining him. Sessions seems like the obvious candidate for the spot, but it is possible he still has little interest in fighting for a second string spot with Sebastian Telfair. Some of the additional free agents we previously listed have now headed off to Europe, such as Maurice Ager and Von Wafer. One player who hasn’t gone to Europe is Allen Iverson, and the possibility of him becoming a Clipper still looms. Perhaps a more realistic scenario would be the Clippers bringing back Mike Taylor. He knows the players, coach, and system, and is still young. He’s obviously not option number one, but don’t rule him out if Sessions happens to become unavailable.

By waiving Madsen, the Clippers lose a great character guy and a trading chip, but they gain valuable roster flexibility and something all good GM’s crave: Options.

By D.J. Foster, of Clipperblog.com

[SuperNova854]

Clippers Recently Talked Sessions Trade With Bucks



The Clippers and Bucks recently engaged in sign-and-trade discussions involving Ramon Sessions, according to a source.

The Clippers, however, realized a sign-and-trade is unnecessary since the Bucks aren't in a financial position to match nearly any offer sheet Sessions signs. This in turn means that Sessions' most likely destination is with the Clippers.

[SuperNova854]

Five shooting guards to watch for 2009-10



Jason Richardson — In his first full season in Phoenix, with the Suns fully committed to running the kind of system in which he was born to run, J-Rich should see a marked improvement over last year’s numbers (16.8 ppg). While he might seem older than his 28 years, he’s still got enough bounce to pull off (or at least try) 360 dunks in games, and isn’t shy at all about launching a ton of threes. Something else to consider: J-Rich had has his best seasons on bad teams, and the Suns are slipping.

Eric Gordon — Overlooked in Rookie of the Year talk, Gordon (16.1 ppg) has been a beast this summer, spending extensive time working out with Kobe and D-Wade, and attending the Team USA mini-camp in July. Having Blake Griffin around only makes EJ’s life easier, and if Baron Davis delivers on his promise to be more of a leader in L.A., Gordon will be one of the main benefactors.

Andre Iguodala — One of the most versatile wings in the League, A.I.2 has improved every season of his career, and is on the verge of a 20-5-5-2 campaign after averaging 18.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.3 apg and 1.6 spg last year. New Sixers coach Eddie Jordan’s system is being crafted to get Iguodala Gilbert Arenas-style buckets, but Iguodala needs to do his part by stepping up his long-range game (30.7% 3PA).

Manu Ginobili — In a recent interview, Gregg Popovich said he expects Manu to start next season out of shape, but at least he’ll be healthy. Pop will bring him along slowly, and eventually Manu will get back to his usual self, where he’s simply one of the best two-guards in the world and one of the NBA’s coldest closers. San Antonio’s offseason activity was designed to make one more push (or two) while Tim Duncan is still playing at an All-NBA level, and Manu knows he’s a vital part of that. All he’s done throughout his career is respond in big moments, and this should be no different.

Xavier Henry — After a year of reloading/rebuilding following the ‘08 national championship, Kansas is expected to be back among the NCAA’s top dogs. While point guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich are the headliners and veteran leaders, Bill Self needs somebody to step into that pure scorer Brandon Rush-type role, and Henry is the front-runner. The most pro-ready player in the high school class of ‘09, Henry is a bullish 6-6 lefty with three-point range and a strong off-the-dribble game. After a drawn-out recruiting process, he finally settled on Kansas, and the program will do whatever it can to keep him happy.

[SuperNova854]

Blake Griffin: Narrow World of Sports

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8_OjY4SKXE"]YouTube - Blake Griffin: Narrow World of Sports[/ame]