CLIPPER WATCH: February 1st

The first installment of my new feature, CLIPPER WATCH:

With their victory over Milwaukee on Monday night, the Clippers are now:
19-28
Games out of playoffs:
6
(8th place: Portland 25-22)
Record since 1-13 start:
18-15


Why do we care? Because the world is a better place with the Clippers and Blake Griffin in the playoffs. Who cares if Portland gets in the playoffs? Let's go Clips!

Greg Oden out for the year -- AGAIN

A ligament in Greg Oden's left knee was found on Wednesday to be damaged enough to require season-ending surgery.  You might call it the Sam Bowie curse.  They did, after all, draft Oden over one Kevin Durant.  It's almost sad that Portland has replicated such an infamous draft decision almost to a T. They also drafted Brandon Roy, whose knees, one doctor said, would only last 5-7 years in the NBA before breaking down.  Roy is in year 6 and is still struggling with knee problems this season.

When all is said and done, Oden might only be known (besides the guy drafted ahead of Durant) as the guy who was famous enough that his dong picture ending up on the internet was an event that mattered at one time.

Suns drop 22 three-pointers to beat Lakers

The Suns did cast up 40 three-pointers, but they made 22 of them, an uncannily high percentage from behind the arc.  The last one says it all: after Turkoglu drains it, someone (I can't tell who) on the Lakers bench covers his head with both arms while shaking his head.  Over on the Suns bench, Thunder Dan Majerle, known in his day to frustrate opponents with sharpshooting skills of his own, comes off the bench giving Hedo the "that's filthy" head shake and "ooooh."

The video is here: (Blogger wouldn't embed the youtube code. Sorry). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyXT7C3kBi0

Whole Lotta Love: T-Wolf posts 31 and 31

In forty one minutes of play, Minnesota's Kevin Love scored 31 points and nabbed 31 rebounds to help the Timberwolves overcome a 14-point halftime deficit to beat the New York Knicks.

Love became the first person in 28 years to post a 30-30.  The last man to do so was Moses Malone in 1982.

Too bad the T-Wolves are still only 3-7.

Jazz fight for W in ATL, continue comeback streak

For the fourth straight game, the Utah Jazz overcame a second-half deficit of 10 points or more on their way to a 90-86 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

In what is becoming a scary trend, Deron Williams stunk in the first half yet again, but came out blazing in the second half to finish with 24 points and 10 assists, including one stretch in the 3rd quarter where he scored 11 points in a row.

This comeback was different in that the Jazz didn't face a huge hole at halftime, but offensive struggles in the 3rd quarter helped the Hawks stretch their lead to 11.

It's hard to know what to think of the comeback streak.

How 4 Words Could Have Forever Changed The Legacy of LeBron James

ESPN's recent series on the fallout of LeBron's "The Decision" showed fans across Cleveland saying "F*** you, LeBron," "Never come back to Ohio," "We're better without you."

LeBron and his right-hand man Maverick Carter said they set up The Decision to raise money.  But fans across America saw something else.  They saw Brett Favre, waffling, holding a franchise hostage, (or in this case, a few franchises), becoming a media spectacle.  Ultimately, they saw all things come together to make LeBron what Americans despise about celebrities: egotistical, self-serving, and a sell out.

Am I saying LeBron is these things? No. Public opinion seems to voice it, though.  However, LeBron's legacy (as unwritten and unfinished as it is) could at this very moment sit polar opposite where it does now with just four words:

I'm staying in Cleveland.

Sloan Speak: "Jackpotting Around" gets official recognition

Jerry Sloan's now ubiquitous term "jackpotting around" received official recognition by one of the most prestigious online dictionaries available (click on the pic for a better view):

The coach was not available for comment on the momentous occasion.

***UPDATE***
Former Jazz beat writer Ross Siler weighs in with more clarification: