2009/2010 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
27-45		20-52
Staples Center
March 28th, 2010, 6:30 PM
FSN Prime Ticket, 980 AM
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Monta Ellis
Eric Gordon	SG	Stephen Curry
Rasual Butler	SF	Anthony Morrow
Drew Gooden	PF	Corey Maggette
Chris Kaman	C	Ronny Turiaf

The Back Story:

• November 6th, 2009 in Oakland, Clippers 118 Golden State 90  - Recap  Box Score
• February 10th, 2010 in Oakland, Golden State 132 Clippers 102  - Recap  Box Score

This game is going about how you would expect it to.  The Clippers are absolutely beasting the Warriors on the boards and in the paint.  Drew Gooden has 11 first quarter points and Chris Kaman has 6 first quarter rebounds, and the Warriors just don't have the size to deal with them.  Kaman has missed a some easy shots, but he's made the moves to free himself up, and Gooden has subsequently been left alone to clean up the miss and get an easy tip in.

But even so, the Clippers managed to give back six points of a 13 point lead at the end of the quarter.  The Warriors are certainly capable of making shots, and they've done some of that.  Steph Curry has 8 points on 4 for 6 shooting, and none of the shots have been what you would call easy.

Late in the first quarter, Steve Blake turned his ankle and had to come out.  No idea at this point how bad it might be.  I did not see the play.

Second Quarter Notes:

The second unit that starts the second quarter (Bobby Brown in the absence of Blake, Rasual Butler, Travis Outlaw, Craig Smith and DeAndre Jordan) looks terrible.  Just terrible.  After giving back some of the lead at the end of the first, the complete the job and more just five minutes into the second quarter.  Golden State uses 16 to 4 run at the start of the quarter to take a five point lead.  Along with the six straight that closed the first, it's a 22-4 run.  Here we go.

Hughes comes back with the starters at the 7:16 mark.  But is the damage already done?  Are the Warriors smelling blood while the Clippers are feeling defeated?  The first play, CJ Watson picks Gordon clean for a layup.  24-4.  The next play Gordon misses inside (he was fouled) and the Warriors get a dunk in the half court.  26-4.

It takes a left-handed circus shot from Baron to get the Clippers on the goard again.  But the Warriors get another dunk and it's 28-6 run.  This looks like it's going to get ugly.  A Steph Curry three - 31-6.

What is it about the Clippers that causes severely undermanned teams to play basketball like NBA champs?  The Warriors have eight players in uniform.  Three of them spent significant time in the D-League this season.  They have no right to be in this game.  They really don't - no matter how good Steph Curry is.   But right now they are destroying the Clippers.  Partly because they seem to care.  (Which is ironic, since the Bay Area beat writers accused them of quitting against Dallas last night.)

Steph Curry is an unbelievably entertaining scorer.  He's got a great handle, he's quick as a cat, he's got an incredible feel, and he can bloody shoot the ball.  He made a play with Ronny Turiaf that pretty much undressed Chris Kaman - poor Kaman had no idea where the ball was by the time Turiaf was dunking it.

One thing that the Warriors (especially Turiaf and Chris Hunter) are doing is challenging shots inside.  Many, many times when it appeared that a Clipper would have an easy bucket, they've gotten a strip or a block or enough of a challenge to thwart the shot.

By the time Baron air balls a three early in the shot clock in the final two minutes of the half, the Clippers are down by 16 and have been outscored by 29 in a little over 12 minutes.  It's embarrassing.  I'm embarrassed.

The thing is, Hughes is running out of people to put in the game.  He should probably give Novak and Collins some burn, since they're the two who haven't played, and the other 10 have looked terrible - each and every one of them. 

The second quarter ends as a 40-14 advantage for the Warriors.  That's a 40 point quarter, given up to an undermanned team, on our home court.  While scoring only 14 against the second worst defense in the NBA.  Counting the 6-0 run at the end of the first, it makes a 46-14 run - more than three Warriors points for every one Clipper point in the past 13 minutes of basketball. 

With this game and another one against the Clippers left on their schedule, maybe we Don Nelson has a better chance at that all time win record than we thought.  The Clippers could personally deliver the record for the guy.  That would be a nice thing to do.