Clippers-Warriors Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Dec 24 2011 7:04PM

After making the league's biggest offseason splash in acquiring superstar point guard Chris Paul, things may finally be looking up for the Los Angeles Clippers.

With a palpable level of excitement surrounding the team for the first time in a long while, the visiting Clippers open the lockout-shortened season against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas night.

Los Angeles, which has just one winning season and two playoff appearances over the last 18 years, enters 2011-12 with plenty to be excited about thanks to Paul's arrival. After a deal that would have sent Paul to the crosstown Lakers was rejected by the league, the Clippers acquired the four-time All-Star from New Orleans for guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and a 2012 first-round draft pick.

Though Paul certainly didn't come cheap, the opportunity to pair him with reigning Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin was too good to pass up.

"We're not getting caught up in the hype. We can't control what happens in the media and what people say, but we can control what happens in this locker room," Paul said. "We still have to go out there and continue to get better and compete. We're just making sure guys stay focused and understand that it's a long season.

"One thing that can't be measured in the box score is how hard you play. And as long as we do that every night, we have enough talent that we're going to give ourselves an opportunity to win."

Griffin averaged 22.5 points and 12.1 rebounds to rank 12th and fourth in the league, respectively. While he stands to become all the more dominant with Paul running the show, he's trying to keep an even keel.

"Our goal is the playoffs, obviously, but I'm not going to sit here and promise that we're going to win this amount of games, or that we're going to go this far in the playoffs, win 60 games and guarantee championships," Griffin said. "There's going to be none of that."

Besides welcoming Paul, the Clippers signed two-time All-Star Caron Butler and agreed to terms with five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups.

With its impressive offseason, Los Angeles seems all but certain to improve upon the 32-50 record it posted last season.

"We all know what we can do with this team. And with the new guys, I just think it's going to take us to another level," said big man DeAndre Jordan, who remained with the club after the Clippers matched the offer sheet he got from Golden State.

"We're going to try to make a run at the postseason. With the moves that we've made, you can tell that we're committed to winning this year and for years to come. I'm happy about the direction we're going in."

While the Warriors didn't make nearly as much offseason noise, they're counting on new coach Mark Jackson to help turn things around.

Golden State, which finished 36-46 in 2010-11, has missed the playoffs in all but one of the previous 17 seasons.

"We're not going to be an excuse team," he said. "We're going to find a way to go get it done. We will be a playoff basketball team.

"... I'm here with a group of guys that I believe in. I'm here with a new ownership team. I'm here with a new management team, and it's an exciting time. I really am not just hoping, I'm believing, I'm anticipating big things."

The Warriors feature one of the more potent backcourts in the league with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. Ellis ranked eighth in the NBA last season with an average of 24.1 points and Curry posted 18.6 per game.

Neither Ellis nor Curry, however, are opening this campaign as they would have hoped. While Ellis was accused of sexual harassment Wednesday in a lawsuit by a former team employee, Curry is listed as day-to-day with a sprained right ankle and his status for Sunday is uncertain.

Small forward Dorell Wright, who broke out last season with a career-best 16.4 scoring average, gives the team a formidable third scoring option while big men David Lee and Andris Biedrins look to control the glass.

These teams split four meetings last season, but Golden State has taken 10 of 11 at home against the Clippers, including three straight by 19.3 points per contest.

Chris Paul, Clips beat Warriors 105-86 in opener

By JANIE McCAULEY
Posted Dec 26 2011 2:28AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Chris Paul could nitpick everything the Clippers didn't do in his much-hyped debut - and he boldly referred to the rebounding as "horrendous."

Los Angeles' prize acquisition would rather envision how special his team might be once everybody's clicking and has more than 10 days together.

Paul had 20 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 22 points and seven rebounds and Los Angeles beat the Golden State Warriors 105-86 on Sunday night to spoil Mark Jackson's opener as a first-time coach.

"While we try to figure each other out and learn guys' hot spots and stuff like that, we want to win at the same time," Paul said. "We just keep talking about `We've just got to find a way to win, regardless of how it looks, how ugly the game is, we've got to find ways to win."'

Monta Ellis had 15 points and eight assists after his grandmother's death earlier in the day in Mississippi, and David Lee added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Warriors, who cut the Clippers' lead to a point at 78-77 with 9:35 left on Brandon Rush's 3-pointer before Los Angeles pulled away.

It was hardly a spectacular opener for CP3 and Co., though coach Vinny Del Negro certainly will take methodical any day. These new-look Clippers hope to shine as Los Angeles' other NBA team, perhaps no longer the Lakers' stepchild.

"We grinded it out defensively when we needed to," Del Negro said. "We controlled the tempo in the fourth quarter. I just know we can play better."

Paul - who nearly wound up with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers before the NBA nixed the trade - teamed with Chauncey Billups and Griffin for the first time since joining the Clippers in a Dec. 14 trade from New Orleans.

Billups scored 21 points and hit a key 3-pointer late for Los Angeles, which plays at San Antonio on Wednesday night before returning for four in a row and seven of eight at Staples Center.

Paul had a quiet first half: seven points on 1-for-6 shooting in 19 minutes. But he came on with several clutch baskets in the waning minutes to finish 7 for 12.

"Just try to manage the game. It's not my first rodeo, it's seven years," Paul said. "This is the first year I think I've had as many options as I do."

Each time the Warriors got close, Los Angeles found an answer.

Andris Biedrins scored on a running hook with 6:51 left to cut the Clippers' lead to a point again at 82-81, then Mo Williams came through moments later. Caron Butler's 3-pointer with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter gave the Clippers the first double-digit lead at 63-53.

Many fans among the sellout crowd of 19,596 at revamped Oracle Arena wore Warriors Santa hats, while the Clippers got into the holiday spirit with bright green socks to go with their bright red uniforms. Billups added matching green shoes to his game ensemble.

Jackson, who hadn't coached at any level after a successful playing career, appreciated longtime friends Chris Mullin, Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen handling the broadcast for the final opener on Christmas.

Van Gundy and Breen pulled off a remarkable double dip after beginning their day in Dallas calling the Heat's 105-94 win over the Mavericks before hopping a charter flight to the Bay Area for the nightcap.

Jackson, with his defense-focused approach, guaranteed the Warriors will be a playoff team after making the postseason just once since 1994. Golden State has been building around the theme "Big Things are Coming," and turned that to "Big Things are Here" for the long-awaited, lockout-delayed opener.

"We are a team right now that plays in spurts. The great teams don't do that, it gets you in trouble," Jackson said. "There are times we look like we really understand what we're trying to accomplish and then there are times ... we look like a lost basketball team."

Jackson's Warriors face a quick turnaround with Chicago in town Monday night.

Point guard Stephen Curry started for Golden State despite being questionable after he sprained his surgically repaired right ankle in an exhibition game at Sacramento last Tuesday night. Curry - who warmed up extensively on the ankle and wore a special padded sleeve and brace - was 2 for 12 for four points.

"We understand this is the night when the lights turned on, it didn't feel like we were unprepared or anything, we just didn't have our best performance in the fourth quarter," Curry said.

Biedrins, bulked up by 15 pounds to 256 and determined for a comeback season, had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Warriors held a 48-43 advantage on the boards.

"I think the biggest thing that killed us was our rebounding," Paul said. "Our rebounding was horrendous. Our defense wasn't as nice as we'd have liked it to be. We were good in spurts. It's a tough environment."

Klay Thompson, the Warriors' rookie first-round pick, scored seven points in 19 minutes off the bench in his first game with Golden State. Owner Joe Lacob predicted Thompson will be in the running for Rookie of the Year.

Dorell Wright's 3-pointer 4:36 before halftime pulled Golden State within 36-35, then Ellis scored on a driving fast-break layin the next time down to give his team the lead and cap a 9-0 run. The Warriors led 43-41 at halftime after closing with a 15-5 run. They went 2 for 10 from long range to the Clippers' 3 for 12.

"A win like that, we'll take it, especially the first one," Griffin said. "We've had practice for about a week now together. It's going to take some time."

Notes: The Warriors paid tribute before tipoff to Ellis' grandmother, Mary Cole, who died Christmas morning at age 89. Last week, a sexual harassment lawsuit was filed against Ellis by a former Warriors employee. The team has said their relationship was consensual. ... Clippers C DeAndre Jordan might have wound up with the Warriors had Los Angeles not matched Golden State's four-year, $42.7 million offer earlier this month. "It would've been great to play with Monta and Stephen and those guys but the Clippers matched and I'm happy I'm here and I'll be grateful to those guys (Warriors front office) the rest of my career," said Jordan, who scored in the first quarter on a pretty alley-oop dunk off a pass from Butler. Jordan had eight blocks, six points and five rebounds. He was 4 of 12 from the free-throw line.

Clippers-Warriors notebook

By Geoff Lepper, for NBA.com
Posted Monday December 26, 2011 2:27AM

THE FACTS: Chris Paul scored 20 points, eight in the final four minutes, and dealt nine assists in his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers to propel them to a 105-86 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Blake Griffin added a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds to help ruin Mark Jackson's maiden voyage as the Warriors' head coach. Chauncey Billups, also playing his first game as a Clipper, collected 21 points despite missing 13 of 19 shots and DeAndre Jordan -- who signed an offer sheet with the Warriors earlier this month before having it matched by the Clippers -- swatted a career-best eight shots. David Lee led Golden State with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Everybody has their jobs. . . . It was a team effort tonight, but Chris took the game over when he had to."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

THE STAT: After a painfully off-kilter first half (33.3 percent shooting from the floor) dominated by Billups' gunning, the Clippers predominantly put the ball in Paul's hands after intermission. He responded with seven assists and Los Angeles went 23-for-39 (59 percent) in the second half.

TURNING POINT: The Warriors were continuing to hang around a game they had little business winning, trailing by seven points with 4 minutes to go, when Paul grabbed the spotlight and wouldn't let it go. The four-time All-Star drained jumpers on three straight possessions while Golden State's attack fumbled away any remaining chance they had. Paul's driving layup with 50.4 seconds remaining put the Clippers up by 19.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Mo Williams may be the odd man out in the Clippers' crowded backcourt, but he isn't going quietly. The former All-Star put together eight points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 22 minutes Sunday.

HOT: On a night where precious few players were finding the mark, Warriors center Andris Biedrins was a surprising force for Golden State, scoring 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds.

NOT: The Warriors chose to keep Stephen Curry rather than discuss including him as the centerpiece for a deal that would have netted them Chris Paul from New Orleans. It didn't look like the smart decision -- in the short term, at least -- when Curry, playing through a sprained right ankle, combined with backcourt mate Monta Ellis to go 8-for-31 from the floor. The pair created 12 assists against nine turnovers.

QUOTABLE II: "Not every game's going to be alley-oops left and right. If it's like this every game and we get a win? We'll take it."
-- Blake Griffin

ROOKIE WATCH: Warriors owner Joe Lacob is of the mind that Golden State guard Klay Thompson could win Rookie of the Year honors, but the former Washington State gunner didn't bolster his credentials Sunday, debuting with four straight misses before finally sinking a 3-pointer late in the third quarter. Thompson finished with seven points on 2-for-8 shooting with a pair of turnovers.

NOTABLE: Caron Butler, another new Clippers starter, produced 11 points, 10 boards, four assists and one stupendous highlight, swishing a high-arcing teardrop floater from behind the backboard after being hip-checked by Biedrins along the baseline. . . . Brandon Rush, traded from Indiana to Golden State last week, had 12 points and two blocks in 28 key minutes off the bench. . . . The Warriors are opening with a back-to-back set for the first time in a decade. They were swept in their last four such sets, so that doesn't bode well for their game Monday against the Bulls.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Monday vs. Chicago, Wednesday vs. New York, Saturday vs. Philadelphia. For the Clippers, Wednesday @ San Antonio, Friday vs. Chicago, Sunday vs. Portland

• Clippers: --
• Warriors: Wright

• Clippers: --
• Warriors: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #40 Leon Wood, #56 Mark Ayotte
• Attendance: 19596
• Duration: 2:33