Clippers have decision to make on coach Vinny Del Negro

Vinny Del Negro

Los Angeles Clippers general manager Gary Sacks wasn’t in a mood to say much about any of the major decisions hanging over the franchise this summer in the first few moments after the Memphis Grizzlies knocked the Clippers out of the playoffs with a 118-105 win in Game 6 Friday night.

“We just lost the game. We’re going to let the dust settle a little bit and then evaluate everything,” a clearly disappointed Sacks told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “Our coaches and players did a good job this year. But right after the game, I can’t really comment on it.”

“It” would be the future of head coach Vinny Del Negro, whose contract expires at the end of June. According to a source, the Clippers had preliminary discussions with Del Negro about an extension to his contract before the season, but tabled them indefinitely, effectively putting Del Negro in a make-good situation.

“That’s what it was last year, too,” Del Negro said after the game. The Clippers had a team option on him after last season as well.

“So I just go about my business. I think my staff has done a fantastic job. I give them a ton of credit. Players. You’ve got to deal with a lot of things when you’re in this position, but I enjoy it.

“It’s something that I want to do, not something I have to do. I enjoy it, I enjoy the competition, I enjoy seeing guys develop and come together as a team. A lot of things are thrown at you, that’s for sure, but I love the challenge of it.”

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles

Grizzlies beat Clippers 118-105, advance to second round of NBA playoffs

mike conley

The Grizzlies won an old-time Memphis wrestling match Friday night, and now they’re headed back to the Western Conference semifinals for the second time in three seasons after getting the final takedown.

Mike Conley and Zach Randolph scored 23 points each, and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-105 on Friday night to take the first-round series 4-2.

The Grizzlies had never won four straight postseason games before this series, and they became only the 10th team in NBA history to win four straight after trailing 0-2. They will open the second round at Oklahoma City on Sunday in a rematch of the franchise’s only other Western semifinal that the Thunder won in seven in 2011.

Memphis finished with seven players in double figures. Tony Allen had a postseason-best 19 points, and Jerryd Bayless had 16.

Reserve Matt Barnes scored a career playoff-best 30 points for Los Angeles. Chris Paul had 28 points before being ejected with 2:29 left for crashing into Marc Gasol off a missed free throw, though he shook hands with several Grizzlies before going to the locker room. Blake Griffin didn’t start because of his sprained right ankle, and he scored nine points in 13:56. Caron Butler added 14…

Having the commissioner on hand didn’t slow anyone down in a game featuring lots of headlocks and knockdowns with the only thing missing a steel cage as they combined for seven technicals. Even Grant Hill had three fouls in 3 minutes himself in the first half, and Chauncey Billups got a flagrant-1.

Randolph was ejected, too, with 1:57 remaining. He tossed his headband toward the stands and celebrated as he walked to the locker room…

Los Angeles led only once – at 45-44 on Barnes’ fourth 3-pointer with 5:08 left in the second quarter. The teams had four more ties before Quincy Pondexter hit a 3 with 2:02 left putting the Grizzlies ahead to stay at 54-51.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Zach Randolph scores 27, Grizzlies beat Clippers 94-82 in Game 3

zach randolph

Zach Randolph’s fast start helped the Memphis Grizzlies return to their inside dominance.

Randolph had 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter, and he finished with 11 rebounds and the Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Clippers 94-82 on Thursday night to pull within 2-1 in this first-round series.

”Zach was huge,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. ”He got started quickly. He had 18 at halftime, and that got us going and everyone else just flowed into that. I thought our defense, for the most part, was solid.”

Randolph hadn’t scored more than 13 in each of the first two games and had only 12 rebounds combined in Los Angeles. He looked much more like the All Star who had 45 double-doubles this season, and he also had six offensive rebounds after leading the NBA with 310 in the regular season…

Marc Gasol accepted his trophy as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year before tipoff, then scored 16 points. Quincy Pondexter and Tony Allen had 13 each. Mike Conley was 1 of 9 but had 10 assists and no turnovers on a night where he was so sick he sipped on soda and didn’t talk much…

Blake Griffin scored 16 points for the Clippers. Matt Barnes had 12, Chauncey Billups 11 and Jamal Crawford and Caron Butler 10. Chris Paul had eight points on 4-of-11 shooting and added six assists…

Memphis outrebounded the Clippers 45-33, including 17-5 on the offensive boards. That gave the Grizzlies a 22-4 edge in second-chance points, which was similar to what the Clippers did to Memphis in Game 1 when they held a 25-5 advantage. The Grizzlies also outscored Los Angeles 40-26 in the paint and led by as much as 16.

— Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Battle will get tougher for Clippers in Memphis

The first game was a blowout and the second was a buzzer-beater, but both were wins for the Clippers and that means they hold a 2-0 advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs.

It’s a good omen for the Clippers, who have been up, 2-0, in a playoff series only one other time in franchise history. That time, in 2006, they went on to defeat the Denver nuggets, four games to one. It also holds an historical advantage as only 15 times in NBA playoff history has a team lost a series after winning the first two. 

Those things mean little to the Clippers, however. Nobody in their locker room was satisfied after Chris Paul’s buzzer-beating bank shot gave the Clippers a 93-91 victory in Game 2 at Staples Center. 

“All we did was protect our home court,” Vinny Del Negro said. “You have to win four games. We did what we were supposed to do. We know we’re going to have to play better in Memphis.” 

It would be difficult to play better than Paul did down the stretch. He scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and was the only Clippers’ player to score in the final 3:46 of the game. But the Clippers held a 12-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play and let the Grizzlies get back in to tie the game. They were able to get away with that at home, but trying that on the road would be playing with fire. 

— Reported by Peter Yoon of ESPN Los Angeles

Shabazz Muhammad declares for 2013 NBA Draft

UCLA men’s basketball freshman Shabazz Muhammad has elected to forego his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the 2013 NBA Draft. He is projected as a lottery pick by InsideHoops.com.

Muhammad led the Bruins with 17.9 points per game as a freshman in 2012-13, securing first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors in addition to being named Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Las Vegas helped lead UCLA to a 25-10 record, the Pac-12 regular-season title, a runner-up finish in the Pac-12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament berth.

“I am so thankful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at UCLA and will always be proud to be a Bruin,” Muhammad said. “From a young age, I have dreamed of playing in the NBA, and I believe that this is the right time for me to move to the next level.

“I have had an unbelievable experience at UCLA and am eternally grateful to my teammates, my coaches and the program’s support staff for helping me become a better person and basketball player during my time in Westwood. It has been an honor and a privilege to play for coach Ben Howland.”

Muhammad had a decorated freshman campaign, scoring in double figures in 31 of 32 games. He scored at least 20 points in 14 games, guiding UCLA to a 12-2 record in those contests. He was one of eight finalists for the Freshman of the Year Award presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers’ Association (Integris Wayman Tisdale Award) and secured USBWA Freshman All-America honors in addition to being named a first-team NABC All-District 20 selection.

On the court, Muhammad emerged as one of the Pac-12’s most talented three-point shooters, finishing the season ranked 12th in the conference in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in scoring (17.9 ppg). Muhammad and Travis Wear tied for second on the team in rebounds per game (5.2 rpg).

The 2013 NBA Draft will begin at 4 p.m. (PT) on June 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

— Via UCLA Bruins

Chauncey Billups still working to regain health

Chauncey Billups still working to regain health

No one needs to tell Chauncey Billups how important the next eight days are to the Clippers.

With five games to play in that span – including Wednesday’s home game against Minnesota – and the Clippers still in a fight with Memphis and Denver in the Western Conference playoff race they’ve reached a crucial stage of the regular season.

Billups knows that, and he understands the difference he can make when he’s on the floor with the Clippers.

On the other hand, the aggravated right groin strain he suffered March 27 against New Orleans still isn’t quite right, and with the Clippers eyeing a long playoff run he knows he needs to be as healthy as possible when the postseason opens in 10 days.

Which is why he reluctantly didn’t suit up against the Timberwolves on Wednesday and why he still won’t pinpoint a definite return, other than to say he’ll be ready when the Clippers open their first-round playoff series.

“Oh yeah,” Billups said. “I’ll be back before then.”

— Reported by Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News

Chauncey Billups has no retirement plans yet

Chauncey Billups has no retirement plans yet

Despite all of the injuries that have limited Chauncey Billups to 20 games this season, the Clippers starting guard said “no” when asked whether he had given thought to retiring after the season.

Billups sat out his eighth consecutive game because of a strained right groin, and he has no timetable for a return.

He sat out the first 14 games of the season recovering from left Achilles’ tendon surgery. Then Billups missed 34 games because of tendinitis in his left foot and one game because of a sore lower back.

“When I was trying to come back, they [the doctors] told me that this year would be tough,” Billups said. “I knew I would have a lot of knickknack injuries just so my body could recalibrate. And the following season, I could be 100% back to myself. So I was ready for the fight. That’s why these setbacks, these small ones, they don’t take the toll on me because I already had this set.”

— Reported by Broderick Turner Los Angeles Times

Clippers beat Lakers 109-95, win division title

Chris Paul

Chris Paul held up the red T-shirt reading ‘Can’t Stop Los Angeles’ for a quick postgame photo. He didn’t put it on, and neither did his Clippers teammates.

There was no celebrating on court or in the locker room after they beat the Lakers 109-95 on Sunday to clinch the Clippers’ first Pacific Division title in franchise history against a team that has long overshadowed them.

”It just feels like something we were supposed to do,” said Paul, who had 24 points and 12 assists. ”It means we’re headed in the right direction. We’re not satisfied. We understand this is something small compared to the big picture.”

Blake Griffin had 24 points and 12 rebounds as the playoff-bound Clippers swept the Lakers 4-0 for the first time since Donald Sterling bought the team in 1981.

The 1974-75 team, known as the Buffalo Braves, had the franchise’s only other sweep of the Lakers.

Fans chanted, ”Sweep! Sweep!” in the closing seconds.

Sterling accepted a congratulatory handshake from a fan after the game…

Jamal Crawford had 20 points off the bench, DeAndre Jordan had 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 14 points for the Clippers, who knew that even if they lost, they could have clinched later Sunday if Utah won at Golden State. Utah defeated the Warriors 97-90..

Dwight Howard scored 25 points, including 9 of 13 free throws, for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Steve Nash and Metta World Peace. Kobe Bryant added 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Pau Gasol had 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers’ three-game winning streak ended.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

DeAndre Jordan knows he is still improving

DeAndre Jordan

The evolution of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is ongoing — and whatever the final result is, the responsibility is in his hands.

Even Jordan recognizes that.

“Do any other basketball players stop growing as a person and as a player when they’re 24?” Jordan asked. “So, yes, I’m still growing and evolving — as a player and as a young man.”

As the starting center for the Clippers, there are high expectations for Jordan to be productive and mature on the court. And that has been a constant battle.

The yin and yang of Jordan’s play is evident — in his last two games.

On Monday, the Clippers lost to Indiana, 109-106, and Jordan was thoroughly outplayed by Pacers center Roy Hibbert (26 points and 10 rebounds). Midway through the third quarter, Jordan was benched and he didn’t return. His final stats: no points, five rebounds, in 16 minutes.

— Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Clippers sign DaJuan Summers for rest of season

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today that they have signed forward DaJuan Summers for the rest of the season.

Summers has appeared in two games for the Clippers, averaging 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds in 3.5 minutes of action.

The 26th D-League to NBA “Call-Up” of the 2012-13 season, Summers averaged 18.0 points and 7.6 rebounds in 33.1 minutes of action for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League this season over 29 games (16 starts).

The 6’8” Georgetown product was the 35th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft as an early entrant candidate. He appeared in 81 games (7 starts) for the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Hornets from 2009-2012, averaging 3.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes of action.