2011/2012 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
17-9		7-22
STAPLES Center
February 15th, 2012, 7:30 PM
FS West, KFWB 980 AM
Probable starters:
Chris Paul	PG	John Wall
Randy Foye	SG	Nick Young
Caron Butler	SF	Chris Singleton
Blake Griffin	PF	Trevor Booker
DeAndre Jordan	C	JaVale McGee

The Back Story:

• February 4, 2012 in Washington, D.C. - Clippers 108, Wizards 81 - Recap Box Score

The Big Picture:

The Clippers played the Wizards 11 days ago at the outset of their Grammy trip and got exactly the start they were looking for -- a blowout win against an overmatched opponent. And that was in Washington. With that exceedingly easy victory still fresh in mind, it's hard to imagine a rematch in LA being the least bit competitive. But the Clippers would be wise to remember two things: (1) Cleveland February 8 and (2) Portland February 14. The Clippers got complacent against the Cavs last week, especially upon learning at the last moment that Kyrie Irving would not play, and ended up losing a game they should have won. And last night in Portland, Washington put up 124 points in beating the Trail Blazers. So take the game seriously. The Clippers haven't lost consecutive games since 2011, and a loss in Dallas in game they could have won will probably help focus the team as well. Blake Griffin has owned the Wizards in his young NBA career -- he posted his first career triple double against them late last season, and likely would have posted his third had his presence been required for more than 32 minutes in the first meeting this season. He finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. The Wizards haven't found anyone who can come close to defending Blake in two seasons, so I would expect more of the same tonight.

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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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As of this morning (Tuesday, Feb 14) the Los Angeles Clippers are 17-9. That's 17 out of 26 for a winning percentage of a little over 65%. If the Clips keep winning at the same rate they'll win around 43 games, equivalent to around 53 games in an 82 game season. I worked out these numbers a few minutes ago and it made me feel good. If anyone told me the Clips would do that well at the beginning of the season, I'd have taken it.

But then I made a mistake and I happened to glance at the Clipper's schedule for March and April. Make the jump for the bad news.

Here's the Clipper's schedule in Google Calendar. You're in February, but tap the blue right arrow at the top to jump ahead to March...

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As has been widely reported for awhile now, Chris Paul is actively trying to recruit his former teammate, free agent J.R. Smith, to join the Los Angeles Clippers. Smith is currently playing his final game in China any minute now, and will apparently be back in the US some time Wednesday. Presumably he would be deciding between offers from the Clippers and the New York Knicks and other suitors shortly thereafter.

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The Hornets announced today that Eric Gordon, acquired from the Clippers as the key piece in the trade that brought Chris Paul to LA, needs arthroscopic surgery on the right knee that has already kept him out of all but two games this season. If his post surgery recovery goes has planned, Gordon could be back on the court for the final 20 games of the season.

You have to feel sorry for Gordon here. He's in the final year of his rookie contract, and was unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the Hornets. Three other members from his draft class, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love have signed massive extensions with their clubs. Gordon was teammates with those three on the Team USA that won a Gold Medal in the World Championships in Turkey in 2010, but he's still waiting for his next NBA contract -- and missing games could very well be costing him money. He'll be an unrestricted restricted free agent in July and may yet get a big offer sheet from a team like Indiana, but it's also possible that teams will be hesitant to spend big money on a player that just missed most of the season with knee trouble.

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More terrific statistical work from Citizen BelgianClipper, who apparently has a little too much time on his hands and some truly mad Excel skillz. Dude, step away from the keyboard. Maybe go see the sights. I hear the canals in Bruges are nice. Steve

Fellow citizens,

This is a follow-up fanpost on this fanshot which Steve so graciously promoted to the front page (thanks) - (you're welcome).

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In spite of not playing particularly well, the Clippers almost stole this game from the Mavericks. Here is the box score for anyone who missed it. Full recap after the jump.

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Use this thread for comments during the second half of Clippers-Mavs.