Clippers vs. Philadelphia - Game Recap and Open Thread

Note that from Dec. 28 through Jan. 4, ClipperSteve is enjoying the Holidays with his family and away from his computer.  As such, this preview does not go into much detail.  Please add pertinent information in the comments for your fellow Citizens.

2008/2009 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
Staples Center
December 31st, 2008, 6:30 PM
FSN Prime Ticket
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Andre Miller
Eric Gordon	SG	Willie Green
Al Thornton	SF	Andre Iguodala
Zach Randolph	PF	Thaddeus Young
Marcus Camby	C	Samuel Dalembert

The Back Story:

• November 21, 2008 in LA:  Philadelphia 89 - Clippers 88  Box Score  Recap

The Big Picture:

It's safe to say that neither the Clippers nor the Sixers got what they were hoping for in their big free agent signings this summer.  Baron Davis has not produced many wins in LA, and has been something of a hep peg in MDsr's square offense.  But the Clippers at least have the excuse of having had to scramble to plans B and C when Elton Brand left town.  Philly on the other hand was executing plan A - they needed a power forward to join their up and coming playoff team, and they got the one they wanted.  But the team underperformed, again perhaps because of a bad fit, as the plodding Brand slowed down the Sixers frenetic style.  (The irony of course is that Baron Davis might be a very good fit in the Sixers system, while we know that Brand was a good fit with MDsr.)  It cost Maurice Cheeks his job, but it seems unlikely that this was a coaching problem.  The Sixers are in the midst of finding out what life without Brand is like (again), as he's out of the lineup with a dislocated shoulder.  For the Clippers, that may be bad news - they almost won the game in Philly in November with Brand playing, while the Brand-less Sixers dominated them twice last season.  For Clipper fans, they miss out on a chance to boo the player they once trusted above all others, who betrayed their trust this summer.  Remember to wear those modified Brand jerseys tonight!  One note that I find interesting, if no one else - we were more than a tad embarrassed that the Clippers needed double OT to beat the short-handed Pacers last week - well, the Sixers lost to that same short-handed team a couple days later - in Philadelphia.  Now that's embarrassing.

By the way, Happy New Year.

• Get the Sixers perspective at Liberty Ballers and at Sixers4Guidos.