In the first six games of the season, the Los Angeles Clippers were outrebounded five times and never once outrebounded their opponent (they were even once). After two weeks, the Clippers were dead last in the NBA in rebounding, and being dismissed as a legitimate contender in the Western Conference in large part because of that anemic rebounding.
In 24 games since, they've outrebounded their opponents in 19 of them. Where they were once the worst rebounding team in the league, they're now among the best, tied for third in rebound differential and total rebound percentage.
My kids have their birthdays within five days of each other in February. Invariably, we end up with two parties on the one weekend between their actual birthdays, and that happened to be this weekend. They're a little older now, and so that parties have changed some, but in the end, ClipperZoe had a party and sleepover on Friday, and then I took ClipperMax and his friends to his first rock (Cake at the Palladium -- very cool) on Saturday night, followed by another sleepover of course. Sunday was spent recovering.
So if I seemed a little absent over the weekend, that's why.
Mike Prada of SBNation takes an in-depth look at whether or not the Clippers are contenders this season. He goes through a litany of issues, in a good news/bad news sort of approach. He asks some good questions -- raises some good points.
There are some misunderstandings out there that continue to irk me. You've all heard me complain about the 'point differential' argument before. I like stats as much as the next guy, and I know that point differential is a consistent predictor of playoff success. But that's at the conclusion of a regular season, when the schedules have balanced out. Less than half way through, when the Clippers have played a lot of good teams and very few patsies, it's wildly misleading to point to point differential -- at least without making some mention of strength of schedule.
I'm trying to do more of these Q&A sessions with other team bloggers. I find it incredibly helpful to get this in depth information from the guys that know the team best. I hope you agree.
To that end I sat down with Dave from Blazersedge (well, I virtually sat down with him; we weren't like at my dining table or anything, but I was sitting as I wrote emails and I assume he was sitting as well). In case you are not aware, Blazersedge is one of the most popular NBA blogs on the entire interwebs; it's the blog Clips Nation wants to be when it grows up. So Dave must know something, right? Turns out he knows a lot. I asked him five questions, then tossed him a sixth when LaMarcus Aldridge twisted his ankle. He asked me some questions as well, the answers to which you can read over there.
Chauncey Billups of the Los Angeles Clippers, who tore his left Achilles tendon February 6 against the Magic, underwent successful surgery today. The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Clanton at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado. They know a lot about fixing up legs in Vail, what with all the skiing and all. The Clippers' press release is here.
Billups will remain in Colorado to recover for about four weeks, after which he'll return to LA to start his rehab.
Watching Caron Butler get his championship ring in Dallas on Monday night (in a very touching ceremony, I thought) I couldn't help thinking about Billups possibly being this year's Butler. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle had many flattering things to say about Butler's presence on the team even after his injury last year -- about how he encouraged his teammates, how he set a good example working hard on his rehab, about his positive attitude. I can certainly envision a similarly positive role for Chauncey in the Clippers' locker, on the bench, and at the practice facility.
Here's hoping that Chauncey has a smooth recovery and rehab, and fulfills his promise to play NBA basketball again. I'm looking forward to seeing Billups back with the team, even in a suit.
Tickets are still available for Clips Nation Night 2012, March 11 at 6:30 PM, to watch the Los Angeles Clippers take on the Golden State Warriors. It's just three weeks from Sunday, believe it or not. Also, if you look at the schedule, this is the first home game in March, following a six game road trip. It will be the Clippers first home game in almost two weeks, so you know you'll be starving for some live CP3-to-Blake by then.
The Saturday matinee game between the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs is sold out at TicketMaster, but TiqIq consolidates all the best secondary market options for you if you are still interested in going.
The Spurs are one of only two teams in the Western Conference with a better record than the Clippers, but the Clippers can change that with a win Saturday -- not to mention that they'll be trying to avenge a bad loss from the second game of the season. The average cost of tickets for this matchup is $178 but you can get an upper level seat for only $35. Visit http://tickets.clipsnation.
Dont miss your chance to see Blake, CP3 and the Clippers battle Parker, Duncan and the Spurs in this matinee game.
I have a confession to make. I was a terrible free throw shooter in High School. Actually, I'm still a terrible free throw shooter, but it doesn't come up as much playing pick up ball twice a week.
I played two years of varsity basketball back in the day. I was the team captain and starting point guard my senior year. And I couldn't make free throws. My misses at the line cost my team at least two games my senior year. One was particularly painful, where we lost a lead in the final minutes as the opposition fouled me over and over and I went 1 for 6 from the line.
This was in the days of the 1-and-1, before there was any such thing as the double bonus. You missed the first free throw, and you didn't get another one.
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