Clippers to participate in charity event in South Central L.A.

The Los Angeles Clippers Foundation will partner with Feed the Children to distribute boxes of food, personal care items, school uniforms and shoes to 1,600 families on Saturday at Salvation Army Siemon Family Youth & Community Center in South Central Los Angeles.

Clippers players and coach Doc Rivers will begin food distribution at 11 a.m. Members of the U.S. Army as well as Clippers season-ticket holders will participate as well.

Blake Griffin investigated for allegedly slapping man in Vegas nightclub

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Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

TMZ reported today (Wednesday) that Blake Griffin is being investigated for alleged battery on a man at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday. The Clippers played the Denver Nuggets at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Saturday.

According to the report, Griffin allegedly took the man’s cell phone from him when the man was using a flash from it to take pictures inside the Tao nightclub. Eventually, the story says, Griffin allegedly slapped the man.

Jesse Roybal, public information officer at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said Wednesday afternoon that as far as he knows there have been no charges filed at this point. Roybal also told this newspaper that the investigation remains open.

The Clippers said they expect  Griffin will put out a statement shortly

Five things to take from Clippers’ 125-107 loss at Golden State

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Matt Barnes

Matt Barnes/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

– Forward Matt Barnes went 1-for-7 from the field. That makes his 3-for-31 during the exhibition season. That equates to 9.3 percent.

– The Warriors shot 59 percent overall from the field, 59.1 percent (13 of 22) from 3-point range. That is the third time in six exhibition games a team has shot better than 45 percent from beyond the arc against the Clippers. Portland shot 68 percent (17 of 25) on Oct. 12. The next day the Utah Jazz shot 46.7 (14 of 30).

– The Clippers shot just 38.6 percent from the field. It was the second consecutive game in which they have shot under 40 percent. Their highest shooting percentage came this past Friday when they shot 44.6 percent in their only exhibition victory – 101-97 over Utah.

– While it’s true the Clippers rested Blake Griffin and Chris Paul in this one, they were still within just two points at halftime. They were then outscored by 16 in the second half. They scored 47 points in the second half after scoring 60 in the first.

– There was some good news. The Clippers, who have struggled from the free-throw line, shot 80.5 percent (33 of 41). That’s their highest percentage during the exhibition season; they have twice shot under 60 percent. Spencer Hawes (3-for-3), Chris Douglas-Roberts (4-for-4) and Jamal Crawford (5-for-5) were perfect. J.J. Redick was 6 of 7. DeAndre Jordan was 3 of 6.

Clippers are drawing solid interest from road fans

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Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin is certainly one reason why road crowds come to see the Clippers/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Secondary ticket marketplace Vivid Seats has released its annual home and road NBA ticket price report, and it shows the Clippers drawing plenty of road interest.

The Clippers have the eighth-highest median ticket price in the league at $115. On the road, the Clippers are the fifth-most coveted team, increasing median ticket prices by 31.6 percent as the visiting team.

The Lakers come in second in both categories with a median ticket price of $165 and road value of plus-60.1 percent.

The Cleveland Cavaliers – with LeBron James again in the fold, as well as newly acquired Kevin Love – are first. They have a median ticket price of $216 and a road value of plus-138.6 percent.

Jamal Crawford likes harmony he shares with Spencer Hawes

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Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

We wrote Monday about how newly acquired backup post Spencer Hawes likes playing alongside fellow Seattle native and sixth-man Jamal Crawford.

Safe to say, the feeling is mutual.

“I’ve know Spence since he was 17,” Crawford said. “Every summer, when we play pick-up, we play together. We’ve always been on the same team, even when he was with Philadelphia and I was with New York. For us, we have a great synergy. But we’re just trying to complement the guys that are out there.”

Crawford is 34, Hawes 26.

Crawford is averaging 21.3 points through five exhibition games. Only teammate Blake Griffin and Golden State’s Klay Thompson are averaging more and they are both at 21.6 points per game. Crawford is shooting 60.7 (17 of 28) percent from 3-point range.

 

 

Spencer Hawes stoked about playing alongside Jamal Crawford

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Spencer Hawes

Spencer Hawes/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Even though newly acquired backup post Spencer Hawes and sixth-man Jamal Crawford are eight years apart – Hawes is 26, Crawford 34 – they are both from Seattle, so they know each other well.

Hawes believes that is helping him get acclimated to his new team.

“I’m becoming more comfortable with the first unit, more comfortable with the second unit,” Hawes said. “It’s fun playing with Jamal. We’ve been playing every summer for the last decade, and now I’m finally on his actual team. So it’s fun developing that chemistry and actually getting to put it to use in real games.

“It makes you more comfortable all-around coming to a new situation, on the court, off the court. (Jamal) is a guy that’s been one of my mentors and looked out for me since I was in high school. So it definitely makes things easier.”

Hawes is averaging 12 points and 5.6 rebounds off the bench in five exhibition games He has a high point total of 24 and a high in rebounds of eight.