Larry Brown Sports

After the way the postseason went last year, it’s only appropriate that the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies would square off again this season in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs. When those two teams get together, things have a tendency to get chippy.

Despite the fact that Blake Griffin and Zach Randolph have a history of beating up on each other when their teams get together, Griffin insists there is no bad blood between the Grizzlies and the Clippers. Here’s what he told Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina, who was celebrating the sixth anniversary of Hot Clicks on Tuesday (congrats to Jimmy on the well-deserved milestone).

“Not hatred. We have a mutual respect for each other with the battles we’ve had going back to last year in the regular season,” Griffin explained. “Like you said, the seven-game series was a battle. It’s become one of these well-known physical games where everyone’s taking the hits. It’s actually a lot of fun. There isn’t hate, though. On the court, there’s animosity. But off the court, everyone’s cool.”

You certainly could have fooled us. If you need several examples of Randolph and Griffin not playing nice with one another, we have them for you here. Perhaps Griffin has no hatred toward Memphis because his team has dominated the Grizzlies as of late and holds a 2-0 series lead over them already. If Randolph was asked about his feelings toward the Clippers, he might give a different answer.

The Los Angeles Clippers have one of the best records in the NBA, but they have not played particularly well over the past month or so. At one point, LA ripped off a string of 17 straight victories in the month of December and looked like an early-season title contender. Since March began, the Clippers have been unable to win back-to-back games.

On Sunday, LA put a fairly convincing 93-80 beating on the New York Knicks. However, former Clipper and current Knick Kenyon Martin was not concerned about the loss because he believes Chris Paul and company are destined to fail in the postseason.

“They can’t do it in the playoffs, so it doesn’t matter,” Martin said, via ESPNLosAngeles.com. “Regular season, it’s all up-and-down. We know how the game goes in the regular season.

“I don’t care what they do, to be honest with you. I hope they lose every game.”

As Pro Basketball Talk pointed out, the Clippers last four losses have come against the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder. All four of those teams will be in the playoffs, so Vinny Del Negro is going to have to find a way to get his team to play consistently against quality opponents if LA is going to make a deep run.

Having said that, Martin is clearly biased toward his former team. The Clippers didn’t want to keep him around, so it’s only natural for him to want them to fail. As we have learned in the past, talk is cheap when it comes to the playoffs. LA could turn it on as soon as the postseason begins, or they could bow out and prove Martin right. Only time will tell.

The Los Angeles Clippers connected for one of the fiercest alley-oops of the season on Sunday night, and Blake Griffin wasn’t even on the floor. This particular lob came from Chris Paul and was deposited by DeAndre Jordan. Unfortunately for Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Knight, it was done so at his expense.

You have to give Knight credit. There aren’t many situations where a 6-foot-3 guard is going to be able to defend a 6-foot-11 center, but he gave it a try. Knight put himself in a position to be placed on a poster, and he even had a good sense of humor about it after the game.

It wasn’t in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol

— Brandon E Knight (@BrandonKnight07) March 11, 2013

We know that’s a lie. Just last week we saw Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin hook up for one of the sickest alley-oops we’ve ever seen during an actual game. Griffin wasn’t this excited when the team traded for CP3 for no reason. Knight knew what he was getting himself into and he didn’t back down. That’s more than you can see for some players who tower over him.

The Los Angeles Lakers were hoping to bring back “Showtime” this season, but, ironically, it’s the other team in town that’s replicated the feel of the ’80s Lakers.

The LA Clippers have won a franchise record 14 games in a row and now lead the NBA with a 22-6 record. They put on a show during the second quarter of their win against the Denver Nuggets on Christmas by scoring 42 points thanks to several highlight-reel plays. The outburst prompted ESPN NBA analyst Magic Johnson to praise them during halftime.

“I thought I would never, ever see Showtime again. And I was the architect of Showtime. The Clippers? That’s Showtime,” Magic said on ESPN.

After his team’s 112-100 win, Chris Paul responded to Magic’s praise.

“The thing about Showtime, they won championships,” said Paul, who had 14 points and eight assists. “So that’s what we’re trying to aspire to. We appreciate Magic — he’s the best to ever do it.”

The praise from Magic is nice and all, but let’s keep things in perspective. Magic is legendary for getting caught up in the moment and overreacting as an analyst. Had Ty Lawson had a big first half for Denver, you probably would have heard Magic calling him a top-five point guard.

The truth of the matter is the Clippers are an exciting team led by an MVP-caliber point guard. They have many players who can score and make highlight-worthy plays, but they’re not a championship team. They have a lot more depth since last season when they got swept by the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs, but I don’t see them getting past Oklahoma City in the postseason.

Like Paul said, the Clippers need to win championships to be compared to the Showtime Lakers. Somebody remind Magic of that.

The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the top teams in the NBA, and if the shirt above is any indication, they also have some of the best team morale.

According to ESPN LA’s Arash Markazi, the Clippers will be debuting these “A Tribe Called Bench” shirts on Christmas Day. The shirt’s slogan is a play on the name of the famous hip-hop group “A Tribe Called Quest” (LB’s favorite group of all time), which has become the nickname for the team’s second unit.

The shirt features the mugs of the team’s bench players. From top-to-bottom, left-to-right, pictured are: Lamar Odom, Ryan Hollins, Grant Hill, Trey Thompkins, Ronny Turiaf, Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Willie Green, and Matt Barnes.

Markazi wrote an article on Dec. 9 explaining how the “A Tribe Called Bench” nickname came about. The short version is people decided the bench needed a nickname, and someone on Twitter suggested that one.

We’ve actually been down this road many times before. Almost every time a team’s bench unit begins playing well, it acquires the nickname “The Bench Mob.” The Basketball Jones had a rundown on this tired trend. Last season, the Knicks’ bench was named “Mobb Deep.” At least this Clippers’ nickname is original.

The best part about the shirt is that Phife Dawg, one of the group’s rappers, told Markazi he wanted one of the shirts. I’ve got an idea for a trade, Phife: Clippers give you a box of shirts, and you come to LA and perform for all the Tribe fans at Staples Center. Deal?

Photo credit: Arash Markazi

There are certain players in the NBA who you don’t want to fall asleep around unless you expect the entire Twitter universe to see you. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are two of those people. They proved that on Sunday afternoon when Clippers teammate DeAndre Jordan fell asleep on the plane and was given the old “here, have some food” treatment.

Much like the Timberwolves when Kevin Love is around to post photos like this one from the London Olympics, you either need to stay awake on the plane or steal everyone’s cell phone before taking a nap if you’re a member of the Clippers.

Photo via Blake Griffin’s Twitter

By turning down the three-year, $60 million offer the Clippers extended to him over the weekend, Chris Paul has given L.A. fans a reason to worry. Things are finally starting to look up for their franchise, but what would happen if one of the most important pieces of their future decides to leave town? According to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld, it doesn’t appear that Clippers fans have to be concerned about that.

It is believed that Paul simply turned down the $60 million offer because he will be eligible for a five-year, $110 million extension after next season. Some people feel as though Paul is looking to see what Dwight Howard does so he can team up with him in 2013, but Kennedy said Paul has spent the past several days “aggressively recruiting for the Clippers.” He has reportedly spoken to a number of free agents in an attempt to sell them on the promising direction the Clippers are headed.

Not only that, but Paul has also been training with and spending down time with the younger players on the team like Eric Bledsoe, Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins. Paul even reportedly flew Leslie and Thompkins to Las Vegas last weekend for a few parties he was hosting.

It seems to make the most sense for Paul to stay in L.A. rather than continue to bounce around. In Paul’s first season with the team, the Clippers had a winning record and qualified for the playoffs — feats they have accomplished only twice in the past 15 years. With co-stars like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, Paul has himself in position to be a part of one of the better teams in the West for years to come. From the sound of it, that’s something he fully understands.

Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE