The Clippers played hard tonight but they ran out of gas in the 4th quarter when the Jazz outscored them 28-14. The offense was led by the trio of Eric Gordon, Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. Gordon led the team with 22 points. He also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Baron Davis was also very effective with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Chris Kaman had another really good game finishing with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocked shots. The Clippers are now 0-3 on the season.

The Clippers lost a heartbreaker earlier tonight in the home opener. Steve Nash hit a layup with under six seconds left in the game to give them the winning margin. Marcus Camby really stuffed the stat sheet in this game with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocked shots. Chris Kaman had his second outstanding game of the year for the Clippers with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Rasual Butler was solid off the bench with 19 points and 4 assists in this game. The Clippers are now 0-2 on the season.

Eric Gordon proved last year that all the hype surrounding him in high school and college was deserved, as the shooting guard averaged 16.1 pts, 2.8 ast, 2.6 reb, 1.o stl, while shooting 46%, 85% from the line, and 39% behind the arc last year as a rookie.  He led the Clippers in scoring last night against the Lakers, getting 21 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds.  He went 7-14 from the field, 5-6 from the charity stripe, and 2-5 on threes.  These stats are pretty impressive considering Kobe Bryant was guarding him most of the game.  The 20-year-old Gordon is a true professional and will be the Clippers number one offensive option this year.  Gordon is a pretty strong defender too, and is off to a great start to what should be a long and successful NBA career.  With he and Baron Davis in the backcourt, the Clippers could be a dangerous team this year.

The Clippers fought hard with the Lakers last night before falling again to them. 2nd year shooting guard Eric Gordon led the way for the Clippers last night with 21 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Chris Kaman had a monster game around the basket as he finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 2 steals. Marcus Camby was also very effective in his 21 minutes on the floor as he finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. The Clippers are now 0-1 to the start the season.

Rookie power forward Blake Griffin will miss the first six weeks of the NBA season due to a stress fracture in his left kneecap. This is a huge blow to the Clippers who were depending on Griffin to be a force from day #1. Marcus Camby will be put back into the starting lineup until Griffin is ready to return. Craig Smith will also see a bump in playing time as he is a very, very underrated player. If anything were to happen to Camby or starting center Chris Kaman then Smith would finally get a chance to show what he can do as a starter. DeAndre Jordan will also see a increase in playing time as he will now be the #2 center behind Kaman until Griffin is ready to return. He has a nice upside too.

This is the team to bet on to win a lot of cash this season as the Clippers are loaded with quality depth up and down the roster. The only thing that could derail this team this season is a big rash of injuries. I look for the Clippers to be over .500 this season and not only make it to the playoffs but he a threat to win a series in the first round. Put your money down on the Clippers to easily win more than 36 games this season.

First round pick Blake Griffin showed a lot of potential in the pre-season for the Clippers. He played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Clippers this pre-season and he averaged 28.0 minutes, 13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also shot 56.9% which is outstanding for a rookie getting his first taste of the NBA. The Clippers are hoping that Blake Griffin lives up to comparisons that people are making with Karl Malone.

The Clippers failed miserably despite having a pretty big payroll last year limping to a 19-63 record (22.2%). If that happens again then Mike Dunleavy will be looking for a new job. The Clippers have hopes of getting to the playoffs this season and they have definately upgraded the roster more than enough to do so. Dunleavy has a record with the Clippers of 194-298 (39.4%) during the regular season and he is 7-5 (58.3%) in the post season. Dunleavy’s career numbers are a little bit better as a NBA head coach as he is 592-688 (46.3%) during the regular season and he is 38-33 (53.5%) in the post season. The Clippers hope he can add some wins to that post season record of his.

The Clippers have a couple of injury prone players at center but they are very good ones. 27-year old Chris Kaman will be the starter for the Clippers in the pivot this season. He played in 31 games for the Clippers last season and he averaged 29.7 minutes, 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. 35-year old Marcus Camby will back up Kaman at center this season. He played in 62 games for the Clippers last season and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.1 blocked shots. Camby’s playing time will drop some this season so it will be interesting to see how well he handles being a bench player. 21-year old DeAndre Jordan will be #3 in line for minutes at center for the Clippers this season. He played in 53 games for the Clippers last year and he averaged 14.5 minutes, 4.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game. He has a bright future for the Clippers.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A-

The Clippers got lucky in the draft lottery last June and it allowed them to draft Blake Griffin. Griffin will start at power forward for the Clippers this season and the player he is most compared to is Karl Malone. If the 20-year old Griffin winds up being in Malone’s class the Clippers have a chance to go deep into the playoffs this season and beyond. 25-year old Craig Smith will be the back up at power forward for the Clippers this season. He played in 74 games for the T-Wolves last season and he averaged 19.7 minutes, 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Smith is a very underrated player who could thrive in the City of Lights. 33-year old Brian Skinner is back as the #3 power forward for the Clippers. He played in 53 games for the Clippers last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 4.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Skinner will provide excellent depth for the Clippers as he brings defense and rebounding to the court every single game he plays in.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B