Here's the problem with attending a bloggers convention in Las Vegas: no time for blogging. OK, obviously there are lots of other problems, not the least of which is the astounding lameness of the entire idea, but that's a story for another time.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure that it would be bad form for me to have my laptop open and typing away during Mark Cuban's keynote address, so I only have time for some quick notes here.
First of all... WHEEEE! This is fun! The Clippers are 4-0! Best record in the Western Conference!
Through the first three games when the Clippers were undefeated, almost everything seemed to be going as well as one could possibly hope. The new veterans had fit right in, Chris Kaman had stepped up to fill the void in the low post, Cat Mobley had reverted to his former scorer self, Tim Thomas was draining threes AND hustling after loose balls and Corey Maggette was playing smart. There was in fact only one potential problem: Sam Cassell had looked only OK. He wasn't shooting real well, and he had even griped a little about playing time. The 3-0 Clippers were fun and all, but let's face it - if they are going to have success this season, Sam Cassell has to play well. So I was a little worried about that.
Now what do I have to worry about?
On a night when Cat Mobley and Ruben Patterson were each limited to 5 minutes and Brevin Knight never took off the warm-ups, the Clippers just kept on rolling. Cassell scored 35 on the game - and he did it every which way. Cassell just loves playing against guys like Jamaal Tinsley. He was 13 for 20 from the field and had 8 assists. After playing no more than 22 minutes in the first 3 games, he came out and went 33 in the absence of Brevin Knight - on the second night of back-to-backs no less. See, Sam, that's why coach was holding you back before. He was saving you for this!
I guess I can worry about Cat's groin injury - those do tend to linger.
Chris Kaman is the leading rebounder in the NBA. You go to ESPN's stat page, and there's his 2006 hair cut mug staring at you. Bizarre.
This is the Clippers best start since 1985. How's that for surreal? Their best player and their most promising player are both hurt, expectations are at near all time lows, and they're 4-0. I can't wait to see Matt from Blog-a-Bull and gloat!
More in a bit.