Man, it's quiet around here.  Probably just as well.  But I was catching up with a buddy last night, a Phoenix Suns fan, and he asked me to describe the general feeling about the Clippers.  The only thing I could think of is that, you know, it's pretty quiet.  Too many new faces, nobody really knows what's going to happen.  The "New Lakers," in such a different place than where they were a year ago, are casting a very dark shadow over both of our teams, the Clippers and the Suns.

He said, yeah, you're still traumatized by losing FElton.  That's why nobody knows what to think or say.  It's too soon, it's too raw.  That guy was basically your team, your identity. 

I refused to accept this, whether or not there's some truth to it.  I don't know that that's true, I said.  I think we all (that's you guys, agreeing with me--well, maybe everybody except Jax) think that getting Baron Davis is a much bigger deal than losing Brand.  Of course, if the Clips hadn't gotten Camby it would be a very different story, but Brand's defection meant that they had a bunch of open capspace, and Camby is a more than adequate replacement in terms of defense and rebounding.

Yeah, he said, distracted for a second and thinking about himself and his team.  You know, if we had gotten Camby instead of Shaq we would have won the championship last year.  He's a really good guy to have on your team.  Plays well with others.

I know.  So that's why we think that it's really about getting Baron Davis.  He signed to play in LA, to play for the Clippers.  He knows what this means.  It's a big deal.  That's the main thing.

It's kind of like when Nash signed with us, he said, thinking about himself again.  Having that big impact point guard can change everything.  I get it.

Yeah, I said.  And you know that he just wants to knock down the Lakers so badly. 

Exactly.  You think that we want to beat them:  imagine if you're Baron Davis and you're on the Clippers.  If he beats the Lakers, and he's on the Clippers, that's a lot bigger than stunning Dallas when he was on Golden State.  That would be huge.

The Lakers are good.

Yeah, but they're lame, still all showtimey and 80s and 90s.  Nobody likes them except lame Laker fans.  Nobody likes Boston either, but you know that a lot of people were really happy to see them blow out the Lakers in that massacre game.

Like a stake in the heart.  But now Kobe's all happy and jiggy--lame!--with his gold medal and Andrew Bynum coming back. 

He was spitting on Bynum last September.  Worst teammate ever.  The thing is, even if he doesn't beat the Lakers, Baron Davis is still much cooler.  It makes the Clippers much cooler. 

Brand was really solid, but he wasn't cool, not like Baron Davis.  He's going to have a lot of fans.

The funny thing would be if Kobe starts growing the beard.  That would be great.  It could happen.