Even the collapse at the end kind of played out like a script written just for the snubbed Al Thornton, because that block might have been his best play all night.  He got all of it.  But he made one play after another--the dunk with Josh Smith flying at the ball was pretty sweet, especially in X-mo, and then there was that crazy baseline move.

After one of his highlights Ralph said something like "the crowd is standing, the owner is standing, the players are standing..."  Last night must have confirmed some of DTS' notions about Thornton, whatever those are worth.

Then there's Tim Thomas.  For a player I find so deeply troubling, for some reason he's a pretty big asset when the wheels come off.  I've made it clear from the beginning that I've disliked him as a PF starter in Brand's absence, that he could have stayed in his best role coming off the bench and playing plenty of minutes.  He played a great game coming off the bench after his brief injury layoff (and Thornton grabbed extra minutes and stepped up when he was injured).  Then his 3-point shot disappeared and he started playing better because he was going to the basket and hitting short jumpers (Q Ross is apparently doing something similar now, a junior version).  Now Kaman gets hurt/sick, and Thomas is rebounding and doing all kinds of good stuff.  It should be interesting to see what his game is like when Kaman and then Brand come back.

Lastly, Sam Cassell.  It's just unbelievably helpful to the Clippers when Sam Cassell hits some shots and gets into his 15-25 point range.  It keeps everything else going on offense and has a major effect.  The crazy thing is not that Sam does it, but that he had those 3 games after coming back from his extended injury leave where he didn't make anything.   Even though he was coming back from sitting out, those 1-10 and 0-8 games, or whatever it was, were just death, in games the Clips could have won.  Then he willed himself into top form somehow and beat Phoenix.  Oh well.  It's fun to see him do what he does, for as long as it lasts.

And how would you like to be Dan Dickau, unable to get into the JV game with 9 guys even after Brevin Knight gets knocked out, playing behind the old guy?