The Clippers are expecting Steve Blake, Drew Gooden and Travis Outlaw to give them good minutes the rest of the year. Blake has played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Clippers so far this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. His problem has been his shooting so far as he is only hitting 35.7% of his shots from the floor for the Clippers. Drew Gooden made his Clippers’ debut last night working 28 minutes in which he scored 10 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and he stole the ball once. Travis Outlaw also made his debut last night for the Clippers as he played 16 minutes in which he scored 10 points and grabbed 1 rebound. Gooden & Outlaw helped the Clippers beat the Bobcats last night.

DeAndre Jordan and Craig Smith will likely see nice bumps in playing time due to the trade of Marcus Camby to the Blazers. Jordan has played in 40 games (6 starts) for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 12.4 minutes, 3.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He will likely be a better rebounder and defensive player than Craig Smith. Smith however is a much better offensive player than Jordan at this point in his career. Smith has played in 50 games (0 starts) for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 16.0 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

Last season Al Thornton looked like a player on the rise. He played in 71 games (67 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 37.4 minutes, 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. The Clippers brought in Rasual Butler over the summer in a trade with the Hornets and he has cut into Thornton’s playing time. Thornton has played in 50 games (30 starts) this season for the Clippers and he is averaging 27.7 minutes, 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Unless Butler gets traded next week look for Thornton to continue to see less minutes then he got last year.

SG/SF Ricky Davis just isn’t helping the Clippers too much this season. He has played in 32 games (2 starts) for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 14.3 minutes, 4.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. It almost seems that Davis is going through the motions as he is a more talented player than he is showing. Remember, this is a guy who once shot at his own basket to get his 10th rebound to secure a triple-double that the league disallowed. He is not a team player.

Baron Davis needs to become more of a pass first point guard due to his shooting woes. Davis is only hitting 39.2% of his shots from the floor and 29.3% of his shots from three point range and that’s why he should be passing more. He has played in 27 games (26 starts) for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 33.7 minutes, 16.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The Clippers will be a better team if Davis’ shot selection just gets a little bit better.