The Clippers could use some help from Utah Wednesday night in Memphis, but they’re not counting on it.
“I expect Memphis at home,” Del Negro said. “I focus in on us (Tuesday) and tomorrow night. Both games we have to have our mindset right, take care of our business and everything else falls into place.”
The Clippers close the season in Sacramento.
By Phil Collin
Staff Writer
It’s scramble time for the Clippers, who can still move up to a more advantageous position for the postseason as they head into their final two games of the regular season.
It starts tonight at Staples Center against Portland (Prime Ticket, TNT), which brings an 11-game losing streak into the game. The Clippers can win twice and earn the third seed in the Western Conference playoff picture, but they at least want to earn home-court advantage for the first round in any case.
“I focus in on us tonight and tomorrow night,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “Both games, we have to have our mindset right, take care of our business and everything else falls into place.”
The Clippers are coming off a road win over Memphis, which could be their first-round opponent. That gave the Clippers a 3-1 series win for the season over the Grizzlies.
“You gain confidence by winning,” Del Negro said. “We had slipped up a few times against some of the top teams in the West since the All-Star break. We lost tough on the road to Dallas, tough on the road to San Antonio but you’ve got to finish those games out. We weren’t able to do that.
The Clippers will start Chauncey Billups at guard. Billups has been inactive for each of the past eight games with a strained groin. In addition, forward Caron Butler, fighting a sore right knee, is also in the starting lineup.
By Vincent Bonsignore
Vincent.bonsignore@dailynews.com
The last straw for the Clippers came in a home loss to Indiana nine days ago. April Fool’s, to be exact.
It was the Clippers third straight loss to finish a near month-long stretch in which they had muddled about no better than a .500 team.
Everything they’d built during the best regular-season in club history was on the verge of collapse. Home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, any sort of momentum heading in the postseason – all of it was slipping right through their fingers.
Worse, there was speculation their best two players – Blake Griffin and Chris Paul – were at odds.
It was a crossroads, to be sure.
And Paul and Griffin both sensed it, which is why they decided to sit down and talk to each other.
The gist of the conversation being the Clippers fate rested on their shoulders, and that their actions from that point on would set the tone for the entire team.
“We talked about how we always need to be on the same page. We always need to be communicating,” Griffin said. “Even if we might not have a good offensive game we can still contribute defensively and by passing the ball and in how we talk and how we lead during timeouts. Things like that, we can always do well. We always have control over those things.”
Paul agreed.
“It definitely starts with me and Blake,” Paul said “On the offensive end and the defensive end. When me and him are on the same page everyone else has no choice but to fall in line. Me and Blake realize we have to bring the energy every night and everyone else will feed off on it.”
The Clippers have won three straight games since the meeting, their defense picking up and their offense playing smoother and at a more up tempo pace in the process.
And at the perfect time, with four games remaining and a chance to grab home-court advantage from the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.
“We said enough is enough,” Paul said. “We were tired of losing and we didn’t want to back into the playoffs and we realized we controlled that. Not the coaches, not the media not anyone else. And we decided to pick it up.”
The key being, win or lose the Clippers want it to be on their terms.
“If we lose it can never be for a lack of effort,” Griffin said. “It has to be because the other team played better than us and that has to be our focus. To play with a lot of intensity and pace.”
The Clippers have done that the last three games.
Now they hope it continues.
By Vincent Bonsignore
Vincent.Bonsignore@dailynews.com
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 critical 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 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.”
But until he’s certain he won’t aggravate the injury again and jeopardize his availability for the postseason, Billups won’t push it.
“We’re just taking it day by day, testing it, pushing it,” said Billups, who missed his sixth straight game.
That said, Billups practiced Tuesday with his teammates and continues to ratchet up his activity. His groin withstood the added work load, which included light scrimmaging, and he reported no issues by Wednesday evening.
The goal now is to carry that comfort level through another workout and another day of assessment.
At that point, a return is likely.
Ryan Hollins put Goran Dragic in an extended headlock and was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and the automatic ejection in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t want to discuss the incident until I speak to the NBA,” HOllins said. “I definitely didn’t have intent to hurt, and I don’t think (Dragic) did either.”
The Clippers domianted the Phoenix Suns, 126-101, as they should’ve and set a franchise record with their 50th victory.
No mention of it on the video board, no streamers, no 50 cake, nada! Guess they’re trying to act like they’ve been there, done that, even though they haven’t.