“The team hasn’t made sufficient progress in the 7 years Mike Dunleavy has been General Manager and the Clippers want to win now!”

That screams “The Clippers are serious about getting 1 or 2 top free agents this summer and are willing to clean house starting at the top”.

Assistant GM Neil Olshey will replace Dunleavy on an interim basis.

So now the Clippers have an interim coach… interim GM… a lottery pick… and a ton of cash under the salary cap.

At least Clipper fans have something to look forward to this summer.

CLIPPERS        32     18     22     13           85

JAZZ                  26     25     32     24         107

Back on the road the Clippers had a nice start and once again flamed out in the 2nd half.

Mehmet Okur torched the Clippers with 27 points while the dynamic duo of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams worked in double-doubles. Williams had 10 points and 10 assists while Boozer played 17 again with matching points and rebounds.

The Bookur (Boozer/Okur) tandem finally got going in the 2nd half and the Jazz outscored the Clippers 56-35.

The Jazz forced 19 Clipper turnovers for 28 points and only Drew Gooden scored more than 12 points. Gooden chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Kaman, Baron Davis and Eric Gordon all had sub-par games again combining for 34 points on 13 of 42 shooting. Yikes.

The Clippers are now 25-38 and are slipping lower in the Western Conference. Can you feel the number of ping-pong balls growing?

THUNDER          31     22     25     26          104

CLIPPERS            21     25     23     18           87

Special… Kevin Durant and the Thunder are having a break-thru season and they showed why they are competing for not only their first appearance in the playoffs but also for possible home court advantage in the first round.

The Thunder started off strong and more importantly finished strong.

Continuing his amazing year of offense, Durant scored 32 points and tied the team record held by Spencer Haywood of scoring at least 30 points in 35 games. With 21 games left Durant will no doubt smash that record. The Durantula also has a chance to be the first player Seattle/Oklahoma City player in 43 years to win a scoring title. Durant and LeBron James have been trading places and are percentage points per game apart. Great drama till the end of the season.

James Harden chipped in 17 points and former UCLA Bruin Russell Westbrook had a great all-around game with 15 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 7 steals and 7 turnovers.

The Clippers didn’t have much scoring punch (or the Thunder actually play defense as well) as they only had 3 players in double figures. Charles Smith and Chris Kaman scored 19 points each and Rasual Butler chipped in 17. Although outrebouded 53-47, Kaman pulled down 15 boards and Drew Gooden had 13 rebounds.

Not sure why the Clipper’s backcourt of Baron Davis and Eric Gordon only combined for 13 points on 5-22 shooting combined. With the season lost and the greenlight to run the offense these two should be taking and making at least 45% of the team’s offense.

Look at that hungry young team… that could be the blueprint to re-building the Clippers.

SUNS                30     27     39     31          127

CLIPPERS        26     32     18     25         101

Sweep, sweep, sweep the season series against the Suns. Sweep it away… for the second season in a row…

The high-octane Suns proved once again if you don’t stall their engine they will sprint away and leave you in the dust. No matter how hard the Clippers tried to keep up they were only able to beat the Suns in the 2nd quarter. They were down by as much as 9 but were able to close out the first half leading by 1.

Then the 3rd quarter started and the hare took off… Zip… Zoom… Gone…

The Suns scored 39 points in the 3rd and the Clippers just couldn’t keep up. After every turnover and rebound off went the Suns scoring on almost every possession in around 4 secs each play. It would have been nice to see some bodies flying to the ground instead of to the hoop but the Suns were cleared for takeoff and the Clippers couldn’t or didn’t do anything to stop them.

Led by Amar’e Stoudemire’s 30 points and 14 rebounds, the Suns shot 55.6% and went to the free throw line 31 times compared to the Clippers 17 attempts.

The Clippers were also killed on the boards 50-30 and the Suns dished out more assists (36-26). Even with the fast pace the Suns turned the ball over less (12 to the Clippers 13 TO’s).

Steve Nash had a quiet scoring game with only 2 points but handed out 13 assists. Channing Frye chipped in 23 points and Jason Richardson put down 22.

The Clippers were led by Chris Kaman with 24 points and Eric Gordon with 21. Baron Davis had another cathartic offensive output with only 6 points but had 11 assists. Backup Steve Blake tried to make up Davis’ scoring slump putting in 14 points hitting 4-5 three pointers.

It doesn’t get any easier as the Clippers next face two more playoff bound teams looking to solidify their spots… the Thunder and the Jazz.

At least they don’t have to face the Suns again until next season.

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

When: Wednesday, March 3 @ 7:30 pm

TV: Prime Ticket / Radio: KFWB980AM

Suns: 1-game winning streak, 2nd Pacific Division, 5th Western Conference

Clippers: 1-game winning streak, 3rd Pacific Division, 12th Western Conference

Four straight home wins is a good confidence booster as the Clippers face the Suns for the final time this season. They are looking to avoid getting swept by the Suns for the second year in a row.

Although the Suns are known as the high-octane offensive machine led by the incredible Steve Nash, they have been playing better defense lately holding opponents to 97 PPG (9 under their average). This is a bad sign for the Clippers who only score 95.9 PPG.

If the Clippers can’t keep up with the offensive juggernaut their only hope is to play good defense and not turn the ball over.

In their last match-up the Suns won 125-112 when Robin Lopez had a career high 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Clipper’s Chris Kaman was having  a solid game until he got ejected early in the 3rd quarter and drew two technical fouls.

The Clippers kept it close until Kaman got ejected and they couldn’t match what Lopez was doing to the rim and the backboard.

Nash leads the league in assists at 11.2 per game. Amar’e Stoudemire leads the team in points (21.7) and rebounds (8.7) per game.

Kamanleads the Clippers with 19.5 PPG and9.3 RPG. The beard Baron Davis leads the Clippers in assists with 7.9 a game.

The Clippers did play well enough to beat the Jazz in their last game but had turnover issues that almost led to the Jazz coming back from a 17 point deficit in the final quarter. Eric Gordon scored 13 of his 24 points in that period.

It’s been almost 3 weeks since all the trades happened so the new guys should be starting to get comfortable with the Clippers system. The Suns are a team you can’t even take a quick rest on as the score can go from being up 3 to down 10 in a heartbeat.

Can the Clippers extend their 4-game home winning streak?

JAZZ               19     24     27     34          104

CLIPPERS     29     24     29     26          108

Playing inspired defense in the first half the Clippers held the Jazz to under 38% shooting and no one hit double-figures.

Of course the Jazz would chip away and remind the Clippers that in their last victory they came from behind and outscored the Clippers 25-18 to win the game. They almost did the same thing tonight as they outscored the Clippers 34-26.

The first quarter lead seemed to hold up and Eric Gordon scored 13 of his 24 points in the final period to hold on for the 4 point win. Baron Davis and Drew Gooden chipped in 19 points each. Davis almost had a triple-double the wrong way as he handed out 12 assists and had 9 turnovers. Gooden had another double-double with 11 rebounds. Chris Kaman had a solid game with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Carlos Boozer started off slow but finished with 20 points. Deron Williams had 13 points and 13 assists. Although no Jazz player had more than 10 points in the first half they ended strong with 6 players in double-figures.

All Clipper starters hit double-figures by the end of the 3rd. The Clippers led by as much as 17 with 6:30 to go before the Jazz made their furious comeback putting in a 14-2 run to cut it to 101-98.

The Jazz bench killed the Clippers bench 39-15.

The only glaring stat the Clippers won was hitting more 3’s as they outscored the Jazz from behind the arc 30-12.

A good solid win over a good solid team. Four wins in a row at home is sweet music for the Clippers. They can extend this streak against the Suns on Wednesday.

Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles

When: Monday, March 1 @ 7:30 pm

TV: Prime Ticket / Radio: KFWB980AM

Jazz: 1-game winning streak, 2nd Northwest Division, 4th Western Conference

Clippers: 2-game losing streak, 3rd Pacific Division, 12th Western Conference

The Jazz are one of the hotter teams in the NBA going 10-3 in February including 6 straight road victories. The Jazz have dominated the Clippers winning the past 6 and 20 of the last 24 games.

The Clippers have lost 2 straight on the road but have been playing better. They lost in the 2nd half to the Suns after Chris Kaman was ejected at the start of the 3rd quarter. They lost last night to the Kings due to a poor 1st quarter. The Clippers actually out played the Kings the rest of the way but could not make up the sloppy start.

The Jazz are not the kind of team you can make mistakes on. The Jazz can hurt you by not making too many mistakes or turnovers, they can play a slow or fast tempo game, and they rebound well. All-stars Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer lead the way as Boozer scores 19.6 PPG and pulls down 11.2 RPG. Williams hands out 10.1 APG and has a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. After a shocking loss to the Kings, the Jazz bounced back trouncing the Houston Rockets where Williams scored 35 points, handed out 13 assists and had 7 boards. The Jazz also shot 67%.

The Clipper guards have to step it up a notch on offense as Baron Davis and Eric Gordon have not shot at a high clip in recent games. The duo only shot 30% in the last game against the Kings.

Hopefully the Clippers can extend their current 3 game home winning streak. It doesn’t get any easier after this as the host the Suns on Wednesday night.

CLIPPERS     18     24     26     24          92

KINGS            32     24     20     21          97

Not to be mistaken for road warriors, if the Clippers could have started better they may have had a chance to win on the road. Against a team not known for defense, the Kings (or Suns-lite) held the Clippers to 18 points in the 1st quarter and never trailed after. This was their best defensive output as 92 points is a season low to score against the Kings.

The Clippers have now lost five straight road games and haven’t won since beating the Bulls in Chicago on February 2nd.

Chris Kaman managed to not get thrown out this time and led the team with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Although the Clippers did have 6 players score in double-figures only Drew Gooden contributed and real help to Kaman scoring 17 points and pulling down 8 boards. Starting guards for the Clippers struggled mightily against Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih. Eric Gordon and Baron Davis both struggled putting in 13 points each shooting a combined 9-30.

The Clippers actually outplayed the Kings after the 1st quarter outscoring them 74-65. But that terrible 1st quarter and shooting only 37% was too much to overcome.

The Kings were led by  Evan’s 22 points. Kings big men did well as newly acquired Carl Landry chipped in 18 points and 8 boards and center Spencer Hawes scored 16 points and pulled down 9 rebounds.

The Clippers are now 3-7 under interim coach Kim Hughes and must regroup to face the Utah Jazz Monday night at Staples Center.

Where: Arco Arena, Sacramento

When: Sunday, February 28 @ 6:00 pm

TV: Prime Ticket / Radio: KFWB980AM

Clippers: 1-game losing streak, 3rd Pacific Division, 12th Western Conference

Kings: 1-game winning streak, 4th Pacific Division, 13th Western Conference

Although the Clippers just ended their 3 game winning streak against the Suns, they are playing the team they started the streak against. The Kings were the cure the Clippers needed as the ended a 6-game losing streak on February 20 when the beat the Kings at Staples Center, 99-89.

The Kings are a little tougher to beat in their Cow Palace (14-14) and they are coming off a big win over the Utah Jazz. Like the Clippers, the Kings were busy in the trade market. The Kings traded oft-injured scorer Kevin Martin to the Houston Rockets for hard-nosed banger Carl Landry. Landry will help toughen up their interior defense and provide a good scorer to compliment rookie of the year front runner Tyreke Evans.

The key for the Clippers will be their bench play. The Kings starting five of Tyreke Evans (PG), Beno Udrih (SG), Omri Casspi (SF), Carl Landry (PF) and Spencer Hawes (C) can all put pressure on the Clippers defense but their bench is highly suspect.

Clippers will start Baron Davis (PG), Eric Gordon (SG), Rasual Butler (SF), Drew Gooden (PF) and Chris Kaman (C).

Chris Kaman and Baron Davis has to produce against their counter-parts. Newly acquired Drew Gooden, Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake should provide the punch needed to beat the Kings. This should be the Clippers first road win since February 2nd at Chicago. Would be nice to book-end the month of February with a pair of road wins.

CLIPPERS     28     21     27     26          112

SUNS               36     27     33     29         125

1… 2… 3… 4… oh well.

Say goodbye to the streak. The Clippers didn’t play bad enough to lose but they didn’t play good enough to win. The Suns are a team you don’t worry about defending as they have the premiere point guard and leader they don’t worry about scoring.

The big problem in guarding the Suns is you don’t know who to focus on defense.

Normally you can focus on stopping all-star Amar’e Stoudamire (who had a decent game with 20 points) but he was not who killed the Clippers.

Robin Lopez had the game of his life making bucket after bucket off his hustle and just be wide open. I guess the scouting report said to leave Lopez alone as he wasn’t boxed out for him to score on put backs… or guarded under the basket for Nash to zip the ball to…

Lopez finished with a career high 30 points on 13-16 shooting and pulled down 13 boards. The only bad thing for Lopez was missing 4-8 free throws. Making those would have broke his twin brother’s career high of 32 points. His twin brother Brooke plays for the hapless New Jersey Nets.

The high-octane Suns had 6 players in double-figures except for Nash who had 8 points and 11 assists.

Chris Kaman was on his way to another solid game with 12 points and 5 rebounds at half-time. Only problem was Kaman said the wrong thing to refs… then muttered something again and was tossed seconds into the 3rd quarter.

Only down by 4 at half-time the Clippers kept fighting for points but just couldn’t keep up with the Kardash… I mean Suns. It seemed like they were trading baskets but the Clippers scored 2 points for every 3 the Suns put in. The Suns shot 57% from the field and out rebounded the Clippers 40-34.

Eric Gordon led the Clippers with 25 points. Baron Davis only chipped in 13 points against guards that can’t guard him Davis has got to pick up the scoring load and shoot better as he only shot 5-13 from the floor.

Its sad the 3-game win streak is over but it’s always better to end a win streak than talk about a losing one… Up next the Sacramento Kings.