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Originally Posted by mad brad turner, la times
It sure sounded like a team meeting, considering the emphatic and loud message Baron Davis delivered to his teammates after the Clippers were thoroughly embarrassed by the Lakers, 117-79, Wednesday night at Staples Center.
It sure smelled like a team meeting, considering how the Clippers' locker room was closed long after the game so Davis could light into his teammates after a 38-point loss to the Lakers.
When the locker room was opened, Davis was asked point-blank if he had called a team meeting.
"I mean, no, it was kind of a get-together," Davis said, fumbling out the words. "It wasn't really like no team meeting, nothing special like that. It was just an understanding that that's a winning team over there."
Though it was only their first game of the season, though the Clippers have 10 new players, though Marcus Camby didn't play (bruised right heel) and though Davis played despite a sprained left finger he had taped, he doesn't want this team to have a losing attitude.
Davis signed a five-year, $65-million deal to come back home to play for the Clippers, to play in front of family and friends who fondly remember him from his Santa Monica Crossroads High and UCLA days.
He didn't return for this kind of beating.
When asked if he was upset with how the Clippers played, Davis didn't hold back.
"Absolutely," he said. "I mean, weren't you upset watching? You had to watch it."
The Clippers shot 38.5% from the field.
They were outrebounded, 51-32. They turned the ball over 18 times.
Davis had 11 points on four-for-13 shooting, and seven assists.
But he was unable to stop his team from getting drop-kicked by the Lakers.
"All of the credit goes to them for smacking us upside the head that first game," Davis said. "In the end, we're going to be able to look back at this game and thank the Lakers for this."
Davis grew up in Los Angeles and was a Lakers fans.
His idol was Magic Johnson.
He's friends with Kobe Bryant, who once wanted Davis as a teammate.
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Re: OPENING NIGHT Game Thread: 10/29 v Lakers
