Disappointing Clippers

john1981cr · Joined: 16 Aug 2006 Posts: 111

By Marty Gitlin
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

There have been a smattering of disappointing teams this season in the NBA. New Jersey and Memphis certainly come to mind.

But neither has proven a bigger letdown than the Los Angeles Clippers. Last year’s Cinderella story has taken a depressing turn.

The Clippers reached the Western Conference semifinals a year ago, finally outdistancing the cross-town Lakers. But as Christmas rolls around in 2006, they are 11-15 and entrenched in the Pacific Division cellar. In fact, only Memphis and Seattle own worse records in the conference.

What’s happened? Most critically, power forward and 2005-06 Most Valuable Player candidate Elton Brand simply hasn’t played as well this season. His exhausting summer that included time with the U.S. National Team has been blamed for his slow start. He is averaging 18.9 points a game compared to 24.7 a year ago. His numbers have also decreased in rebounds, blocks and shooting percentage.

Brand is not alone. Chris Kaman, who emerged as one of the better centers in the NBA last year, is down significantly in scoring (11.9-10.1), rebounding (9.6-7.7) and blocks (1.4-1.1) this season. He hit 52 percent of his shots a year ago to just 42 percent this year.

Point guard Sam Cassell? His average of 13.3 points and 4.6 assists a game this year compares unfavorably to his 17.2 points and 6.3 assists a game in 2005-06. Ominously, he has also been slowed by a heel injury that might sideline him for a while. Cassell has played more than 25 minutes only once in the last eight games.

HOLIDAY SPECIAL: OK, so Miami center Shaquille O’Neal is out. And so is Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom.

That doesn’t means Monday's game between those two high-profile teams won’t spice up Christmas afternoon.

Anytime Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Lakers counterpart Kobe Bryant grace the same hardwood, folks tune it to watch. The Lakers appeared to be in for tough times when they began a long stretch of primarily road games. But they have won three of their last four away from home, including victories in Houston, Minnesota and New Jersey.

According to WagerWeb.com, the Lakers are 1.5-point favorites against the Heat.

DRIBBLES: The Hawks have lost eight of their last nine, greatly due to injuries. Forward Josh Smith has been out with a hernia problem that will require surgery. He will miss at least four weeks. Also sidelined for Saturday night’s loss in Detroit were center Zaza Pachulia (sprained elbow), backup point guard Tyronn Lue (groin injury), reserve swingman Josh Childress (foot) and starting point guard Speedy Claxton (back spasms). … Golden State high-scoring guard Monta Ellis will miss Tuesday night’s home game against Philadelphia after being hurt in a loss Saturday night at Miami. He injured his shoulder in a fall and will be evaluated on Tuesday.

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