In Search of Glee: The Woeful Clippers' Climb To Greatness

[blazertaz13]

Thanks. Almost gives you flashbacks to Denver doesn't it?

Have you had any luck winning a title with Portland yet?

Not yet. I started over and we are 19-12 (or close to it) at the end of December. Started the season strong, but we have been playing .500 lately. We are top half of the Western Conference, but still not a championship contender yet. I have only made on trade to obtain a PG of the future, but it cost me some depth up front. I will have to see what happens come the trade deadline.

If I ever have any success, I might try and write up a dynasty. I am still learning the game though and seeing if my philosophies work or not. :-)

[Tim Moungey]

It's nice to have home court advantage, especially since, as I said, we tend to struggle on the road.

Point Guard
John Wall vs. Andre Miller
We'll give this to Wall: He's a warrior. The second year player is insisting on playing despite back spasms, taking a cortisone injection to stay in the game. That's the kind of toughness that draws the love of a fanbase. He averaged 15.6 points, 7.3 assists, and 1.1 steals between Washington and the Clippers and is one of the best young point guards in the game.

Miller is the complete opposite end of the age spectrum. 10.5 points and 6.3 assists during the regular season. Unlike Wall, he's just a respectable fifth starter, although his defense will be key to trying to contain the Clippers' hot up and coming star.

Advantage: Clippers

Shooting Guard
Eutor Taffarel vs. Brandon Roy
The 15th overall pick is a tall glass of water at SG at 6'7, 211 but he needs to improve his shot selection (38.3%). On the other hand, he shows signs of becoming a quality 3 point shooter (34.3% from long range) and the rookie's shown the occasional scoring burst. Also a defensive sieve. Averaged 9.5 points

Roy is a big SG himself, averaging 25 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in the regular season, shooting 51.3%. He's a two time All-Star and was a 2nd Team All-NBA selection last year. He's salivating over the prospect of facing Taffarel's matador fee.

Advantage: Trailblazers

Small Forward
Timofey Mozgov/Nicolas Batum vs. Al-Farouq Aminu
We're really hoping to see Batum and Aminu face off in this series after being traded for each other in GM Jestor's first trade. But for right now Jeff Van Gundy sees fit to put the 7'1, 250 lb Russian Mozgov at SF Either way, Aminu is going to have to fight off a massive opponent, or an extremely skilled defender in Batum. Batum also was third in scoring at 10.2 points, despite the split-time duty, and frequently had 20 point games off the bench.

6.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals for Aminu reveal what the second year forward's role is turning into, that of a rebounding wing and defender, although not on Batum's level. Still, he's disciplined and knows his role.

Advantage: Clippers

Power Forward
Tiago Splitter vs. LaMarcus Aldridge
Splitter led the Clippers in scoring at 17.8 points a game. He also pulled in 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks a game. An excellent defender with superlative intangibles, last season's Rookie of the Year is growing into the role of a #1 option on a quality team and, along with Wall, is a cornerstone of the Clippers' future.

Aldridge has developed into a quality second option, putting up 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in the regular season. He offers better rebounding than Splitter, but the Clippers' Brazilian is a more accurate shooter, so it all balances out.

Advantage: Draw

Center
Brad Jones vs Al Horford
9.7 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks for the UNLV Runnin' Rebel in his rookie season. Although many considered him overdrafted at the 6th overall pick, he's fit quite well into the Clippers' lineup since coming over in the deadline deal with Wall. He won't score a ton, but he'll be accurate when he does shoot.

Portland's trade for Horford looks fantastic right about now. After Greg Oden went down with a broken elbow, the 24 year old stepped up and concluded the regular season with 12.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and a block per game. He's simply better and more developed than the rookie.

Advantage: Blazers

Bench
Either Batum or Mozgov is a good starting point for the Clippers' bench. Eric Bledsoe's 9.6 points and steal per game have impressed and while Jose Calderon's 9.5 points and 6 assists have been largely as a starter, his 7.2 A/TO ratio has been nothing short of breathtaking. Ryan Gomes also provides scoring pop at 7.2 points a game. But Mozgov in the lineup means a weak post bench situation.

Nevada-Reno rival alum Luke Babbitt serves as the Blazers' answer to Batum and Mario Chalmers' 6.4 points and 4.1 assists is less impressive than his deadly defense, a theme of Portland's reserves. But there's no bench bigs worth mentioning here, either.

Advantage: Clippers

Overall Thoughts
A 4 vs 5 seed is always a close matchup. The Clippers do have home field advantage, but Wall is hurt and that means one of their key weapons is going to be hampered. Portland should be able to control the paint and they actually have veterans, unlike the young L.A. team. Blazers for the win.
Prediction: Portland in 6

We'll see about that.

Game One
An amped up crowd here in the Staples Center for the early game, the Lakers getting higher billing of course. Brandon Roy comes out firing for 26 points, Al Horford just ridiculous with 13 points, 25 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and Al-Farouq Aminu is inspired to double for 10 points, 11 rebounds. Tiago Splitter responds with one of the most all-around great games ever - 23 points, 8 rebounds, 7 blocks and 3 steals. Nicolas Batum chimes in with 13 bench points and we hold Portland to 30.9% shooting for a surprisingly easy win.
Final - Blazers 74 Clippers 88

Game Two
Getting that Game 1 win is a huge confidence boost for our young team. Eutor Taffarel scores 22 points, Tiago Splitter does it again with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and Jose Calderon scores 10 bench points. But Brandon Roy got pissed off after the opening loss and scores 39, Al Horford continues to dominate our rookie with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists, LaMarcus Aldridge gets 12 points and 11 rebounds, and, in the final insult, that asshole Wolfpack Luke Babbitt scores 11 bench points. Bye-bye to home court advantage.
Final - Blazers 108 Clippers 90

Game Three
And so up north we fly to Portland. Unfortunately, there's just no stopping Brandon Roy, who scores 29. Or Al Horford, who gets 16 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks and holds Brad Jones to 0 points. Mario Chalmers pounds us some more with 19 bench points. Hard to get excited about Tiago Splitter's 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals or Eric Bledsoe and Nicolas Batu's 12 and 11 bench points.
Final - Clippers 95 Blazers 108

Game Four
We need to be able to steal this one to have a hope of winning this series. That's not going to have when all five Portland starters score 10+ points, LaMarcus Aldridge's 32 points, 15 rebounds and Al Horford's 10 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks the leaders. Nicolas Batum is our only noteworthy player with 11 bench points. Now down 3-1 and we're pretty much done.
Final - Clippers 79 Blazers 98

Game Five
Just don't let us lose the series at home. That's all I ask. John Wall wakes up and scores 25 and Tiago Splitter adds 23 points. But Al Horford power his way to 23 points, 23 rebounds, and 5 assists, Brandon Roy fires off 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists, and ****ing Luke Babbitt scores 10 bench points.
Final - Blazers 104 Clippers 94

Needless to say, we are going to have big changes this offseason. Really big changes. Only John Wall and Tiago Splitter are safe.

I'm so annoyed I can't even feel glee over Chicago's sweep of Miami. Lakers win in 5, Mavericks pull off the upset in 5. Hawks win in 6, and Orlando, Boston, and Utah all win in 7.

Lakers and Mavericks make it to the West Finals where Dallas wins in 6 and it's Chicago and Orlando in the East, where Da Bulls sweep the Magic. Chicago goes on to win the championship for the first time since the Jordan years, beating Dirk's Mavs in six games.

Lottery
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. New Jersey Nets
12. Denver Nuggets
11. New York Knicks
10. Golden State Warriors
9. Sacramento Kings
8. Cleveland Cavaliers
7. Detroit Pistons
6. Toronto Raptors (-1)
5. Phoenix Suns (-1)
4. Indiana Pacers (-2)
3. Memphis Grizzlies (+3)
2. Charlotte Bobcats (+1)
1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2011 NBA Awards
MVP
Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets - 23.7 PPG 10.3 APG 4.4 RPG 2.0 SPG
Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic - 23.5 PPG 13.9 RPG 3.4 BPG
6th Man of the Year
Samuel Dalembert - Boston Celtics - 7.6 PPG 7.3 RPG 1.8 BPG
Rookie of the Year
Brad Jones - Los Angeles Clippers - 9.7 PPG 9.1 RPG 2.2 BPG
Coach of the Year
Monty Williams - New Orleans Hornets

Cool to see my fellow Runnin' Rebel win Rookie of the Year, but I don't think he really deserved it.

All-NBA 1st Team
PG Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets
SG Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
SF Lebron James - Miami Heat
PF Pau Gasol - Los Angeles Lakers
C Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic

All-NBA 2nd Team
PG Deron Williams - Utah Jazz
SG Brandon Roy - Portland Trailblazers
SF Kevin Durant - Oklahoma City Thunder
PF Carlos Boozer - Chicago Bulls
C Andrew Bogut - Milwaukee Bucks

All-NBA 3rd Team
PG Stephen Curry - San Antonio Spurs
SG Joe Johnson - Atlanta Hawks
SF Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets
PF Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas Mavericks
C Yao Ming - Houston Rockets

Watch me not care that Curry made an All-NBA team. Notice there's no Marc Gasol here. No Clippers, either, but there was no one worthy.

All-Defense 1st Team
PG Chris Paul - New Orleans Hornets
SG Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers
SF Lebron James - Miami Heat
PF Josh Smith - Atlanta Hawks
C Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic

All-Defense 2nd Team
PG Rajon Rondo - Boston Celtics
SG Monta Ellis - Golden State Warriors
SF Gerald Wallace - Charlotte Bobcats
PF Pau Gasol - Los Angeles Lakers
C Andrew Bogut - Milwaukee Bucks

All-Rookie 1st Team
PG Mills Jolly - Memphis Grizzlies
SG Andrew Kirtz - Milwaukee Bucks
SF Eutor Taffarel - Los Angeles Clippers
PF Clay Minahan - Charlotte Bobcats
C Brad Jones - Los Angeles Clippers

Shocking to see Taffarel on the 1st Team. I'd have given Rookie of the Year to either Kirtz or Jolly.

All-Rookie 2nd Team
PG Ricky Rubio - Minnesota Timberwolves
SG Derrick Cockle - Oklahoma City Thunder
SF Da'Sean Butler - Charlotte Bobcats
PF Germayne Postell - Toronto Raptors
C Paulo Prestes - Memphis Grizzlies

Postell got robbed. He should have been 1st Team.

[blazertaz13]

Tough series loss (feelings for Blazers aside). Looking forward to your off season as you have been giving me ideas for future moves as well.

[Tim Moungey]

The more dynasties the merrier, IMO. And I think part of the fine is figuring things out and the like through writing dynasties.

I have to say, Brandon Roy is a damn beast in this universe.

[K.J.]

Watch me not care that Curry made an All-NBA team. Notice there's no Marc Gasol here.

I wonder what are the criteria used to determine the all-NBA teams?

[Tim Moungey]

Donald Sterling is happy with me. He's even happier when I tell him I'll manage to keep it under the cap for next season. Probably shouldn't have done that while also guaranteeing a playoff spot, but whatever.

Coach Hiring
Mike Fratello - Minnesota Timberwolves

Mock Draft
By my lights, SG Jacque Mason of UCLA, mocked to go 4th to the Indiana Pacers, is probably the best player in this draft. UNLV's PG John Miller looks exactly like the type of pass-first PG I like and the mock has him going #9 to the Kings. Tulane's SF Renaldo Groves is mocked to go 1st overall.

Lot of players in this draft knocked for their poor handling. The mock has us taking 6'8, 220 lb SG Jamaal Preston from Vermont. Don't really see that happening, but who knows?

2012 NBA Draft First Round
1. C Richie Walker - Minnesota Timberwolves

So the T-Wolves opt to go with Walker, a huge 7', 300 lb 19 year old out of Georgia Tech #1 overall. I can see why they went this route, although I think there's better players out there.

Interesting offer for Brad Jones from the New Jersey Nets. They're suggesting Johan Petro and his scrubby $3.5 million expiring self along with the #13 pick. That's actually pretty good value and I'm pissed I can't find a center who does anything in the playoffs, so I take it, school loyalty be damned.

2. PG Anthony Lee - Charlotte Bobcats

Stunned John Miller wasn't the first PG taken. He had a phenomenal workout.

Trade offer for Eutor Taffarel, but it sucks.

3. C Frank Kidd - Memphis Grizzlies

I though this kid was the safer center pick than Walker, so I really like this pick. But why are all the best guys in this class dropping?

4. SG Jacque Mason - Indiana Pacers

I tried like crazy to move up and get this guy, but the Pacers just weren't having it. Great pick for Indiana here.

5. C Ray Dixon - Phoenix Suns
6. SF Renaldo Groves - Toronto Raptors

ARGH! Tried to move up to get Groves, too, who never should have fallen out of the Top 5. An absolute steal by Toronto here.

7. PG Claudio Montella - Detroit Pistons

The Italian product is a fantastic point guard option as well. Really deep draft for players at the one, and Miller is still on the board.

8. PF Chezley Hunter - Cleveland Cavaliers
9. PG John Miller - Sacramento Kings

So the mocks were right. There's one guy left on my board, which is quickly gone to pieces, so I send #13 and #36 to Golden State to move up 3 spots.

10. SF Mark Carter - Los Angeles Clippers

It's a split opinion pick, but the UT-Chattanooga star had excellent all-around game for the Mocs - 25 points, 9.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 2.5 blocks, 2.4 steals... I'm actually excited to get him.

11. PF Leandro Ramos - New York Knicks
12. SG Justin Bayyan - Denver Nuggets
13. PG Jay Rucker - Golden State Warriors
14. PG Ben Carrawell - Oklahoma City Thunder
15. PF Stevie Cundiff - Washington Wizards
16. PF Alex McDermott - Minnesota Timberwolves

Good value for Minnesota here. Walker and McDermott will be an intriguing frontline to watch for the Timberwolves.

17. C Steve Lilly - Chicago Bulls
18. SG Charles Delea - Utah Jazz
19. C Jason Robinson - Atlanta Hawks
20. SF Tayshaun Odom - Dallas Mavericks
21. C Marcelle Wingfield - Philadelphia 76ers
22. C Brian Day - Milwaukee Bucks

He's short at 6'9, but holy hell did the Bucks get a steal here. Day at PF, Andrew Bogut at C... that's a nightmareish frontcourt at the Bradley Center. This dude should have been a lottery pick.

23. C Brian Hunter - Boston Celtics
24. PG Josh Lee - Orlando Magic

We really need a center, but all our targets just went off the board in the last few picks. What's left is complete crap. Fortunately, the Bucks are looking to add more picks, so they shop us the draft rights to Brian Day for #25 and #55.

25. PF Rob Black - Milwaukee Bucks

Great pick. He could have gone higher even, so this makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee. And they get pick 55 out of it, too.

26. SG Nick Kickert - San Antonio Spurs
27. PG Michael Edward - Miami Heat

Surprising trade for the Bucks, but I'll cover it later.

28. PG Rory Howell - Atlanta Hawks
29. PG Brandt Capel - New Orleans Hornets
30. PG John Gervin - Los Angeles Lakers

Our first look at our rookies post-camp says Day was indeed a freaking steal if he pans out to his potential. I'm really excited about him, even given he's 6'9, but his 284 lbs *is* impressive. Carter looks better all-around than Taffarel, so we'll see how it works out.

Nicolas Batum is tagged with the qualifying offer to keep him a RFA, everyone else is renounced.

Summer League
PG John Wall
SG Eric Bledsoe
SF Eutor Taffarel
SF Mark Carter
PF Tiago Splitter
C Timofey Mozgov
C Dexter Pittman
C Brian Day

Yeah. Basically our entire projected starting lineup is still young enough to qualify for the summer league. That's just crazy, man. So basically, if we don't go undefeated, there's going to be problems.

101-83 win over Cleveland on July 4th. 25 points, 3 blocks Tiago Splitter. 13 bench points for Dexter Pittman.

110-78 win over Boston. Great showings from the second team. Eric Bledsoe scores 19, Mark Carter 13 with 5 assists. But the performance that draws the biggest buzz is Brian Day, who explodes for 10 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

That game also ends up starting a cult phenomenon. Some diehard Miami (OH) Redhawks fan, in the midst of a hyper drunken delirium, spends five hours on an Internet message board writing a monolithic monologue thread in which he sings the praises of Brian "The Sun God" Day, talking about how Day should have gone #1 overall and how Day is going to shatter the Jestorball law of no centers allowed shorter than 6'10, bringing the dawning light of a new era for the Clippers, a championship era. As luck would have it, the thing ends up going viral and our rookie immediately takes to the nickname.

John Wall scores 28 in our 114-87 rout of the Magic. Mark Carter adds 15 bench points, Eric Bledsoe 11. The Sun God isn't as impressive this game, but 7 points, 11 rebounds, and I gotta say, the dude can rebound.

We head back home after those two road games and the whole damn arena has people holding up signs with giant suns on them and other related phenomena. 12 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks off the bench for Brian "The Sun God" Day, invitee Nick Calathes adding 12 bench points in our defensive 96-73 ripping of the Rockets.

Mark Carter explodes for 21 points in our narrower than expected 90-85 win in Portland. Eric Bledsoe chips in 10 bench points and Brian Day just misses the bench double with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

Free Agency
We have just over $18 million in cap space and 11 players signed, so we're set to make a splash.

Marquee Players
Carmelo Anthony
Derrick Rose (RFA)
Chris Kaman
Jamal Crawford
Eric Gordon (RFA)
Russell Westbrook (RFA)
Kevin Love (RFA)
Jason Kidd (Strictly as a pass-first PG)

So a pretty weak crop overall.

Carmelo Anthony is the first free agent to sign, a 5 year, $91.6 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.

And we make the second big splash in free agency, signing Derrick Rose to a 5 year, $79.7 mil. max contract offer that the Bulls refuse to match! Say hello to the Wall of Roses backcourt!

Kevin Love accepts a 1 year tender from the Minnesota Timberwolves, so he'll be an unrestricted free agent next year. Tyson Chandler got a two year, $4.2 million re-signing from the 76ers. Good for him.

We receive news that Nicolas Batum has a 1 year, $5.9 million offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks. That'll put us over the cap, which isn't good. On the other hand, I've been trying to trade Timofey Mozgov, which I'll do after free agency if I can.

After hemming and hawing, I match the offer sheet. Batum really is one of my fave players. Roy Hibbert, Eric Gordon, and Courtney Lee sign 4 year, $23.6 million contracts with Golden State, Houston, and Orlando respectively, all with team options.

Andrei Kirilenko gets a 5 year, $37.5 million contract to stay with the Hawks. Smart move by Atlanta, as he was the big reason why the Hawks went from middling playoff team to elite East team.

Miami makes a great signing, getting Chris Kaman for 5 years, $29.5 million. He's going to be huge in the post for the Heat, which lacked that big time presence down low. Maybe now the Big Three will finally win that title they long for.

Gerald Wallace waits a long time, but goes to the Lakers for 5 years, $29.5 million, too. Irritating to see our archrivals get such a great player for a comparatively cheap price.

Jared Dudley got a nice 2 year, $10.2 million contract from Denver. I have no idea who he is, though.

I trade Timofey Mozgov to the Charlotte Bobcats for their 2014 and 2015 2nd round picks. The move puts us $3.4 million under the cap.

Against my better judgment, I sign Eutor Taffarel's third year option.

Training Camp/u]
Very disappointing from Mark Carter, who crashes and burns. Brian "The Sun God" Day still looks the real deal.

Jeff Van Gundy wants to start Derrick Rose at PG and have John Wall come off the bench. I fire his bald ass and hire myself on a one year deal. Time to do this right.*

* - Note: I randomized attributes at the beginning of the game, to make it more challenging. Thus, you won't see the full extent of the Jestorball philosophy at work in this universe.

East
1. Miami Heat
2. Milwaukee Bucks
3. New Jersey Nets

West
1. Sacramento Kings
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Oklahoma City Thunder

The Heat are clearly #1 and after them, the East looks really, really bad. Lakers look great, Thunder and Kings very good, though Sacramento have bad point guard play.

We're picked for 12th, probably because the game reset my depth chart

Ben Wallace is an 11th hour signing to beef up our big man depth.

[u]Los Angeles Clippers 2012 Opening Night Lineup
PG John Wall
SG Derrick Rose
SF Nicolas Batum
PF Tiago Splitter
C Brian Day
6th Jose Calderon (PG/SG)
7th Eric Bledsoe (PG/SG)
8th Eutor Taffarel (SG/SF)
9th Mark Carter (SF)
10th Ben Wallace (PF/C)
11th Dexter Pittman (PF/C)
12th Ryan Gomes (SF/PF)
-------------------------
13th Johan Petro

[Tim Moungey]

It always happens. I have things I need to get done, but the temptation to see how this shiny new team does is too strong.

One hell of a scorefest against the preseason favorite Kings. We win 113-107 on balanced offense (four of five starters scored 15+ points), including Brian "The Sun God" Day's rocking 19 points and 9 rebounds in his first game, Ben Wallace's 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, and Eutor Taffarel's 14 bench points.

125-81 Timberwolves trouncing is sparked by Derrick Rose's 30 points, and Ben Wallace, Eutor Taffarel, and Jose Calderon doing it good for the second team with 13, 12, and 10 points each.

The next night's a kinda embarassing 94-84 road loss to the Jazz. Deron Williams triple-doubles 23 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists to make mincemeat of Derrick Rose's 21 points, Ben Wallace's 11 points, and Jose Calderon's 10 points.

Derrick Rose pays the Jazz back with 35 points in our 114-96 skinning. All five of our starters score 11+ points, and besides Rose, Tiago Splitter gets 18 points, 14 rebounds, and John Wall doubles as well, for 14 points and 13 assists.

Sacramento's now 1-3 after we beat them 100-90 at their place. All five starters with 10+ points, led by Derrick Rose's 24 points and Brian Day's 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Wallace just misses the bench double with 8 points and 13 rebounds.

Fun game in destroying Houston 125-88. Ben Wallace's old man legs put up 22 points and 8 rebounds for Game MVP, while Nicolas Batum scores 24 and Tiago Splitter hauls down 14 points and 10 rebounds.

We don't do our draft pick any favors in losing 112-102 to Dallas. Too bad, with Derrick Rose's 28 points, John Wall's 15 points and 11 assists, and Eutor Taffarel's 12 bench points. I underestimated Dirk Nowitzki's ability to stay in tip-top form.

John Wall highlights our 102-91 win over Golden State with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. His main co-conspirator was Tiago Splitter with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Happy days are here with our 104-89 besting of the Lakers. Jose Calderon and Eutor Taffarel typecast our balanced effort with 10 bench points each.

Boo. 118-107 loss to the Spurs. Ruination of all five starters with 11+ points, including John Wall's 12 points and 15 assists (O TO BTW), Tiago Splitter's 17 points and 10 rebounds, and 14 bench points each from Ben Wallace and Eutor Taffarel. That's what happens when the Spurs get 30 and 39 points from Manu Ginobli and Stephen Curry in the backcourt.

Our Big Three leads us to a narrow 106-101 road win over the Thunder. Derrick Rose scores 30, John Wall has 20 points, 15 assists, 4 steals and 0 turnovers, and Tiago Splitter scores 20 of his own.

Youth = 108-92 loss to the 76ers. But only Tiago Splitter's 20 points were noteworthy anyway.

Ah the resilience of youth, 129-113 win against the Cs in Beantown the next night. All five starters with 12+ points this time, including Derrick Rose's 30, John Wall's 23 points and 10 assists, Tiago Splitter's 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Big Ben Wallace's big 17 bench points.

We give the Hornets only their second loss of the year, 116-103 next time out. Derrick Rose pops off 33 points, Tiago Splitter 18 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks. 21 and 14 points from benchmen Ben Wallace and Eutor Taffarel.

Minnesota's been on a nice run, but we buzzkill them 121-100. Derrick Rose with 31 points, Tiago Splitter with 29 points and 13 rebounds. You think D-Rose is going for a scoring title?

So we're 11-4 after the first month of play, #2 in the West and a game in front of the Lakers. [b]Derrick Rose[/b is #7 in scoring at 24 points a game.

[Tim Moungey]

It's funny. We're doing well, having the most successful stint in Clippers history. I'm back in the coaching game in addition to the GM'ing game. ...And I don't care.

Maybe it's LA. Maybe it's the increased workload. Maybe it's our Scrooge owner. But I just don't care.

So I announce my resignation of head coach, sign Rudy Tomjanovich for 3 years, and just tune out until the All-Star Game.

Wouldn't you know it? Rudy T actually keeps the Wall of Roses backcourt going, although for some reason he likes Mark Carter a starter.

Ben Wallace hates Rudy T. Suck it up, Big Ben.

Heh. Wall of Roses backcourt only last a few games. Jose Calderon the starting SG. Yeah. Okay. Nicolas Batum's starting again and we're 39-14 at the break.

Andrew Kirtz, who the Bucks rather stupidly traded to the Thunder for Derrick Cockle, wins the Rookie/Sophs game MVP. I just now realized I never recapped the draft day trades. Oh well.

Derrick Rose is our only All-Star. The East wins 132-110 as our West players mail it in like I am.

So it's all with a detached air that I watch us roll to a 62-20 regular season, the best record in the entire league. It's Derrick Rose who's been electric, scoring 23.2 points a game, with Tiago Splitter our #2 option. Nicolas Batum locks down the starting SF spot, while Ben Wallace and Brian "The Sun God" Day end up splitting the C starting spot.

And of course, it's precisely when I stop caring that we sweep the Thunder in the opening round before losing in 6 to the hated Lakers. It's a good thing I don't give a rip or I would have been furious and upset over the loss.

The Miami Heat finally make it to the Finals, but Chris Paul's there for the Hornets to win the title in 5 games.

The Pacers jump three places in the lottery to get #3, but the Nuggets jump six to win #2. Charlotte stays #1.

Chris Paul wins his second straight MVP award, Dwight Howard his third straight Defensive Player of the Year nod.

John Wall wins 6th Man and Rudy T wins Coach of the Year. Jason Robinson, taken 19th by Atlanta, wins Rookie of the Year. Jacque Mason and Renaldo Groves got robbed.

No Clippers on the All-NBA teams again, not even D-Rose.

I resign. Donald Sterling is sad to see me go because I brought winning teams while staying under the cap. I'm not sorry to say goodbye to LA.

No general manager jobs open. I could go become the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats maybe. Me and my 11-4 career record. But we all know that's not going to work.

Every D-League team in the West wants me. But I'm tired of the desert and the West overall. So I apply to Erie, the East-most team. Let's see if a change of scenery and the helter-skelter of team-building in the minors can revive my passion.

[blazertaz13]

Shocked, absolutely shocked. I guess Donald Sterling can really drive people to quit. I hope that he paid the rest of your salary after quitting as coach. I hear that binding arbitration can help if he hasin't. :-)

Good luck on your next endeavor with Erie.

[K.J.]

Tim, I am sorry to learn that you have resigned. It appears that the ownership in your game is as bad as that of the real-life Clippers.