positive Clippers references in Simmons' preview

[cinnamon]

a few snippets from a very long 2-part column:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ortCat=nba

1.
22. Baron Davis
Easiest prediction of the year: a big comeback season for Davis. He's in awesome shape. Awesome. Looks like a skinny, motivated, chiseled Kimbo Slice. I barely recognized him. He looks fantastic. Pencil it in: comeback. I will even type it for you. C-O-M-E-B-A-C-K.
(Of course, the fact that Davis looks like a skinny, motivated, chiseled Kimbo Slice made every Clips season-ticket holder or fan realize he looked like a heavy, lethargic, big-assed Kimbo Slice last season. Whatever. It's over. You can't expect someone to stay in shape EVERY season after he signs a five-year, $65 million deal, right? Oh, wait, you can. Let's just move on.)

2.
And by the way, every NBA season includes …
The "Nobody Thought They'd Be Ready This Soon" Team
(This year: the Clippers.)
The "Nobody Believed In Us!" Team
(This year: The Rockets.)
The "Last Season Everything Went Right; This Season Everything Went Wrong" Team
(Impossible to predict, but I'd guess the Nuggets here. Everything went right for them last year. That never happens twice.)
The "You Thought We'd Take Another Leap, But Instead We Went Backward Because Expectations Were Too High, We Tinkered With Our Chemistry And Our Young Guys Tuned Out Their Coach" Team
(Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009-10 Portland Trail Blazers!)

3.
GREAT CALL OF THE WEEK
It's time for the Miller Lite Call of The Week, where I either praise a call I loved or defend a call thought to be previously indefensible.

This week, I'm doing the unthinkable: praising my nemesis Mike Dunleavy. For the past two years, the squinty, shifty, Tony Soprano-lookalike actually has been a pretty good GM. He nailed the '08 draft: future All-Star Eric Gordon in Round 1, sleeper center DeAndre Jordan in Round 2. He coached the 2009 team so horrendously that it ended up with Blake Griffin (backhanded compliment, but still). He made a sneaky trade for Rasual Butler, a superb shooter who stretches defenses and fits in nicely with the Baron/Griffin/Gordon/Kaman nucleus. He somehow convinced Memphis to trade him Quentin Richardson's expiring contract for Zach Randolph, a salary albatross who would have blocked Griffin's minutes, then turned Q into two capable bench players (Bassy Telfair and Craig Smith).
By the way? I love Craig Smith. He's my favorite undersized power forward other than Paul Millsap. Total banger, plays hard, good guy, swings quarters coming off the bench, causes real problems for certain teams. Smith and Butler are the luxury role players GOOD teams have, which brings me to my point: The Clippers are going to be good. The parts fit. They have size, shooting and rebounding. They can play fast or slow. Their best player (Baron Davis) is motivated again. They have the Gordon/Griffin combo, only the NBA's best young inside/outside combo. They have a bench. They have cap flexibility (only $36 million committed next season). This is a playoff team. I'm telling you. And as I've written many times, Clipperland remains the most logical 2010 LeBron destination on paper. It's true.
In a perfect world, savvy GM Dunleavy would fire inept/bumbling coach Dunleavy. Sadly, this is an imperfect world. But let's give GM Dunleavy some praise for building the smartest Clippers roster ever. Anyway, I have two predictions. First, Dunleavy will win the 2010 NBA Executive of the Year Award. Second, when that happens, I will try to skin myself with an apple peeler. That's my great call of the week.

4. 10. Blake Griffin
Flicking channels earlier this week, I stumbled across a Clips preseason game and ended up watching the first half for my first taste of the Griffin Era. You know what? Blake Griffin is just good. It's one thing to talk about it, think about it, sketch out the fake lineups … but you can't really know until you watch a blue-chip rookie play with NBA guys for the first time. Even if it's the preseason. It's a series of tiny checkmarks on an unofficial mental list.
Does he look like he belongs? Do things come easy for him? Does he have the right level of confidence? Athletically, can you see that elite DNA at all times? Does he have an innate feel for the game? Could you see him becoming a star? Is he compelling to watch? Does he seem like a good guy? Does he know how to rotate on D? Does he help instinctively when his teammate gets beat? Does he look like an professional out there?
Griffin nailed every checkmark for me. All of them. He's just good. He's a pro. You know it when you see it. You would want to play with Blake Griffin.
(Note: Please don't e-mail this paragraph to me in three weeks if Blake is rolling around on the floor holding his right ankle. Thank you.)

[PlinkingPanda]

I don't read his stuff much.. or at all, but it's surprising to hear so many good things coming from him when I hear people say he's always pulling jokes.

[cinnamon]

Well, the guy is outrageously frank with his opinions, as columnists are supposed to be.
His opinions of the Clippers have been steeped in, and tarnished by, his frustrations in the past few seasons as a Clippers seasons ticket holder.
This year, apparently, he thinks this team is turning around, and even going somewhere.
I'd like to think so too.

[Tucker74]

One more from the column - (Speaking of McHale, do you know that the Clippers own Minnesota's unprotected 2011 No. 1 pick thanks to Kevin McHale's Sam Cassell/Marko Jaric swap? It's true. Every T-Wolves fan who didn't know this is making the Betty Draper "I Just Opened the Dick Whitman Box" face. But it's true. Yet another reason why LeBron should sign with the Clips in nine months. Hey, speaking of the Clips …)

[thanumba2clippersfan]

I didn't forget that we own the Twolves pick, I'm just hoping that it turns out to be a high pick

[clipperdrew]

You know we're doing big things when the Bill Simmons is giving us praise. From my time as a Clippers fan I haven never heard/read anything positive about our team from his mouth. He's even saying that LeBron should come to LA next year and play for us.