10 Reasons Why The Clippers were the best in the west through 10 games

1. Blake Griffin. Four years ago the Clippers decided the make Blake Griffin the center of the franchise so number one has to be his continued all-star play this season. Griffin's stats such as points and rebounds per game are slightly down, but that is mostly due to not needing to play as much. His field goal and free throw percentages are both up which has made his play more efficient and as his jump shot keeps improving his numbers will continue to increase.
2. Deandre Jordan. I have bashed Deandre Jordan a lot the last couple of years, but he is finally starting to show some actual skill. His confidence and shooting game have improved greatly. His improvement has been a great help to the Clippers, not only on offense, but his blocked shots and rebounding has improved as well. However, I will keep criticizing Jordan until he learns how to make a free throw.
3. Jamal Crawford. The best signing the Clippers made this offseason was bringing in Jamal Crawford. He has energized the Clippers and been a scoring machine. He not only leads them in points per game, but he has taken the burden off of Paul and Griffin. His high field goal percentage may not remain throughout the season, but if he continues averaging nearly as many points as he has so far, the Clippers will go far.
4. Matt Barnes. Another energy guy off the bench for the Clippers has been Matt Barnes. I have always thought he was a big jerk and was not sure how to feel when the Clippers brought him back, but so far I am happy they did. He has continued what he was doing for the Lakers, by providing tough defense and seeming to always be in the right place at the right time. There is no way he loses major playing time as the season progresses even when Grant Hill returns to the court.
5. Eric Bledsoe is said by many to be the most underrated point guard in the league. His quickness, jumping and ball handling has improved this season. He could easily be a starter on many other teams right now (lakers perhaps?) and has shown that he could very well be an all star in this league. It probably did not hurt that he has had Chris Paul and Chauncy Billups to help him develop the last year and a half.
6. Chris Paul. That's about all I need to say. Not only does the guy know how to rack up assists, but he is one of the best at making big shots at the end of games. Already won a couple this year because of that and should have won the Warriors game, but due to a bad call it's one of the Clippers' two losses.
7. The big back ups. I'm talking about Ryan Hollins, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf. They have done pretty well so far this year, but that's not the biggest reason the Clippers are the best. After all Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin did a pretty good job last year. The potential for this year's backup bigs though is much larger considering Lamar Odom could return to sixth man form. If that happens Clippers will clinch the west. I would bet on that if Odom averages more than 10 points in the second half of the season the Clippers will win the west.
8. Vinny Del Negro. His improved coaching is possibly due to not worrying about getting fired, but more likely due to the familiarity of being with Griffin and Paul. The Clippers have looked much better this year and it would be wrong to not give some credit to the coach. He might not be hall of fame coach material, but his coaching is more than sufficient.
9. Chauncy Billups hasnt even played yet this season, but he has acted as another coach to the Clippers. Every game you can see him on the sideline giving direction to the team and has been a big cheerleader from the bench. Once he returns, the Clippers become the best team in the NBA. His return will benefit just about everyone around him on the court as well. (except Willie Green, who probably will become a benchwarmer).
10. Clipper fans!!  To those of us who have not given up hope over the years, it is hard to believe there is finally a Clippers team that we can believe in. Every game is sold out and the hope has never been higher. If what they say is true, the Clippers try to win every game for their fans and if so the fans have helped the Clippers win many games this year already. The home court advantage has helped the Clippers greatly this year.

What Happened to America?

I guess The View, The Late Show, and The Daily Show were not enough for Obama. he was a guest on each of these shows within the last few weeks, (as well as many others). Last night, he appeared on the Tonight Show which helped me confirm my thoughts about what this election has turned into. Not only was Obama on the show three times as long as any other guest usually gets, but Jay Leno kept feeding him easy questions in which he could use to make himself and his record look better. There were two questions particularly which stick to my mind. Sadly these two questions were probably the toughest Obama had to answer. The first tough question Leno asked was who does Obama think will win the World Series. After mentioning multiple times how both teams are so great and deserve to be there (since Obama does not want to offend any fans), he said that the Tigers are his favorite to win it all, considering they beat his White Sox (for the pennant?, thats what he said, but they beat the White Sox in the Division). However, seconds later he revealed while he really picked them when he said that he has to go with the Tigers, considering he saved Detroit from bankruptcy. This made it obvious he picked Detroit only because he wanted to say he saved the entire city, (cocky much?/ and he really didnt even save them). I guess the Giants didn't stand much of a chance to be picked considering the Tigers play in a state in which is not certain Obama will win, while California is easily going to go in his favor. Obama is very lucky the Miami Marlins were not playing the Cleveland Indians in the World Series because Obama needs those two states and he would not be able choose one of those teams knowing it could lose some votes in the state in which the other team plays.
A few minutes later Leno asked Obama what is going on with him and Donald Trump. Trump made an announcement earlier that day that if Obama released his college transcripts and applications, as well as his passport records then Trump would give a 5 million dollar check to a charity of Obama's choice, immediately. Leno didn't ask him however if he would take the deal and didn't even mention the offer Trump put out there, probably because that would put Obama on the spot and make him look bad any way he answered it. Anways Obama answered the question comically saying that they grew up together in Kenya and Obama was better at soccer then Trump.
Overall, this interview made me realize that a major part of this presidential race has turned into who can resemble a celebrity better. Obama wins that and it was easy to tell last night. He made sure to say things to get the audience to applaud, brag about stuff that he has not even really done, and act like he is coming out with a new movie. If Obama likes the spotlight so much why doesn't he just become an actor. The president's job is not supposed to be taking spotlight, it is supposed to be making sure the country is on the right track and he ain't doing that real well. So an actor would be he best option for Obama at this point; oh wait I forgot. He already is.

What is Success?

It was made public news today that Facebook CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg got married to his longtime girlfriend he met while at Harvard. It sounds pretty prestigious for a billionaire to get married and it seems like he now has everything he could ever want. However, I would not consider him a success. He made a big mistake in my mind and it was because of who he married, not because I think she is a bad person of any sort, but because she is not Jewish. This is an example of the terrible problem of intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews in America. Zuckerberg's children will not be Jewish possibly ending the Jewish line his family has been a part of since perhaps the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which we reenact this upcoming weekend. So no matter how much money he ends up making or how he helps save the world; to me, a Jew that marriages a fellow Jew, and tries to keep the traditions our people have been following for thousands of years is more successful. Success is not measured by wealth, but rather by observance of the Torah and love of G-d.

From One Jordan to Another

Michael Jordan is easily one of the best basketball players ever. Current Clipper center DeAndre Jordan is far from it. DeAndre was drafted in the second round a few years ago and supposedly did not prove he could be a steady NBA player until this year. However, after seeing him play last night, I believe he does not deserve to be in the NBA. He is the prime example of someone who has made the NBA because of his size and not skill. The Clippers were down 98-94 with about two minutes left in the game when DeAndre was fouled on two consecutive possessions and was clutch enough to miss all four of his free throws and help the Clippers lose the game in the end to the lowly Sacramento Kings. The guy's free throw percentage is close to 40% and it is a rarity where he makes a basket outside of the paint. Put this together and no matter how hard he works and how much better his dunks have looked, he does not deserve a spot in the NBA especially not in the starting lineup of one. Sure other guys like Shaq and Dwight Howard can not shoot free throws, but they both still have higher career percentages than Jordan and they have a lot more game then Jordan will ever have. So when Deandre's contract runs out at the end of the year and he becomes a restricted free agent, I hope he does not return to the Clippers, because they have plenty of money to spend on a big time center, and they also have a former all start already on their team in Chris Kaman. Who would not want to come to the Clippers next year when they see they have Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, Mo Williams, and even Kaman and Eric Bledsoe? I hope for once the Clippers make a good choice and decide to let Jordan go ruin another team's chances of winning close games, by making a shot less often than a majority of amateur high school players.

NBA Trade Deadline Analysis

Wow, it was looking to be a very dry trading week until the mega deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York. By the deadline today, it seemed like half the league had been traded. Here is my analysis on each trade from this week and what it might mean for each team.

The Carmelo Anthony Deal-The Nuggets had to part with their superstar and it seems the part everyone is sadder about is that he had to take Chauncey Billups with him to the Knicks. Coming in return to Denver are Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, and a couple other players. All the Timberwolves got in the deal was what seems like a perfect backup center to Darko Milicic in Eddy Curry. Curry has not played in a game in over a year, but the best thing is that his contract expires after this year. Both the Knicks and Nuggets rosters completely changed from this deal so it will be interesting to see where they both end up at the end of the season. The Nuggets are 2-0 already without Carmelo so it may be a bright future.

The Troy Murphy Deal-The Nets traded Troy Murphy to the Warriors for a couple of no name backups. This deal was made so Murphy's contract could be bought out and he could go sign with a contender for the title.

The Carl Landry Deal-The Kings traded Landry to the Hornets for Marcus Thornton in a good deal for New Orleans. Landry is a big defensive presence with an ability to score when relied upon. This will definitely help the Hornets when it comes to playoff time.

The Deron Williams Deal-The surprise of the week was when everyone turned their tvs on and saw Williams was headed to New Jersey. After the Nets missed acquiring Carmelo, they went for the next best thing. And it did not even cost them that much. They are sure to be much improved with Devin Harris for at least the next year and a half, or even more if he decides he likes where the franchise is heading.

The Hinrich/Bibby Deal-The Hawks acquired Kirk Hinrich in order to upgrade their point guard position, but Mike Bibby is a veteran who has had a nice career. True he is getting old, but he has proven he can be clutch during playoff time.The Hawks also lose Maurice Evans in the deal, so it doesnt seem like it will turn out to be so great for the Hawks this year unless I am wrong and Hinrich plays at an all star level for them.

The Baron Davis Deal-It must be tough to be traded in the middle of a season. Especially when you are first starting to enjoy the game in a few years like Baron Davis. However, who knows how he feels after being traded to the worst team in the league. The Clippers meanwhile get a former all star guard in Mo Williams and a good backup in Jamario Moon. This saves the Clippers money and if it was any other team, would mean they could easily have enough money to make a big signing in the offseason.

The Kendrick Perkins Deal-The Celtics are in first in the East so it was not expected they would be doing much this week. However, they decided to make the deals of the day and change half of their roster. The first move they made was trade their center Perkins to the Thunder for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. Both are good players, but it doesnt make sense why they would make this trade while both their other centers/Oneals are hurt. Green isnt a center and thats a lot of weight on Krstic to play well/Shaq to play.

The Gerald Wallace Deal-My favorite Bobcats has left Charlotte once again and this one is headed to Portland. The Cats get a couple decent backup centers in return, but the main thing is they will save money and continue their rebuilding project without Wallace who was their last original player on the roster.

The Nazr Mohammed Deal-The bobcats then traded Mohammed to the Thunder for a couple of backups to once again continue rebuilding. The Thunder got another guy to be an inside presence and replace Krstic.

The Marquis Daniels Deal-The Celtics traded Daniels to Sacramento for a draft pick which is maybe the weirdest trade because Daniels is not expected to return this season especially since now he is on a team with no chance of making the playoffs. This is remarkably similar to the Sam Cassell trade a couple of years ago. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3913518

The Cavs-Celtics Deal-The Celtics traded away more players, this time to the Cavs for a draft pick. Both rookies Semih Erden and Luke Harangody are headed from the best in the east to the worst.

The Aaron Brooks Deal-The Rockets traded their unhappy backup point guard to Phoenix where it doesnt sound like he will be able to start either, since there is a guy named Steve Nash starting. The Rockets in return get Goran Dragic who has potential and could be a great backup point guard.

The Shane Battier Deal-The Rockets then sent forward Battier to Memphis where he came from before Houston in return for young center Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet hasnt worked out since being the number two pick in the draft a couple of years ago. Battier should definitely help the Grizzlies in their quest to make the playoffs. If Thabeet reaches his potential the Rockets will have a center to replace Yao next year.

Those are all the trades that happend this week other than the Bulls sending James Johnson to the Raptors which might be considered the least significant deal of the decade. While some teams such as the Celtics and Thunder completely changed their rosters for the playoffs, other teams such as the Lakers, Spurs, Heat, Mavericks and Magic did nothing to try and improve their rosters. The Cavs now have half a team of rookies and a nice handful of draft picks, but none of their rookies look like all stars of the future and net years draft does not have anyone even close to the talent level of Lebron James.

----Below I have a list of this weeks winners and losers based on their trades/ lack of trades this week.

Winners-Clippers, Thunder, Nets, Nuggets, Spurs, Mavericks, Bobcats, Grizzlies, Rockets, Trail Blazers, Suns, Hornets, Timberwolves, Warriors.

Losers-Jazz, Cavaliers, Magic, Hawks, Kings, Wizards, Raptors, Bulls, Pacers, Bucks, Pistons.

Too Early to Tell-Knicks, Lakers, Celtics, Heat, 76ers.

With Williams and Anthony now on big market teams, all thats left is Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant to leave their teams and head for on of the top market teams before the NBA is down to only 8 legitimate teams.

NBA All-Star Weekend Recap

This was the weekend of Blake Griffin. He became the first player to compete in the Rookie Challenge, Slam Dunk Challenge and All Star Game. He is also the first one to have an awesome dunk in all three as well. Griffin shined most on Saturday night when he was in the spotlight during the slam dunk challenge. While his first round dunks showed how flexible and athletic his body is, his dunk in the final round which won it for him showed how creative he could be. Jumping over a car with a choir singing in the background is as awesome as it sounds if you haven't seen it. Javale McGee Demar Derozan and Serge Ibaka all showed their talents as well, but noone could outshine the future of the Clippers and the NBA, Blake Griffin.

Yesterday was the all star game and it was disappointing in my opinion. No, not because I did not want the west to win, but because Kobe Bryant was MVP. In my opinion, he was not, but he was definitely the MSP, Most Selfish Player. It was the first time I ever remember seeing someone in the all star game taking shots while being double teamed and taking 24 field goal attempts! I think it was obvious Kobe just wanted to be the MVP and did whatever he could to reach that goal while the rest of the team helped him. 37 points is great, but not when you take more shots then half of the rest of your team combined.

The real MVP in my opinion was Lebron. Its a shame the east did not win because he deserved MVP. It was only the second triple double in all star history and he had 29 points and 12 rebounds with 10 assists. He brought the east back in and did not take every possible shot throughout the game like Kobe. Today, people are talking about how Kobe still has it, well I think he still has something. His selfishness. He cannot be arguing that he only took so many shots because he did not have a good supporting cast, because if his teammates were not good enough for him, who is? Good luck Kobe in the second half, because if you keep on being so selfish, your Lakers will never reach the NBA finals.

Wednesday Sports Update

Last summer, something happened that had never happened before in sports. Lebron James showed how players have the power in sports today and held 'The Decision' to tell everyone he was headed for Miami. We all thought it would never happen again, but after today it looks like that may not be so. St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, Albert Pujols set a deadline on contract extensions which ended today, meaning he refuses to negotiate from now until the end of the season cause it might be a distraction. But the real distraction may be thinking about 9 months from now when he is on the podium, as a free agent and says he is not returning to the Cardinals. The only thing worse than that for Cardinal fans would be if he signed in chicago. Most people can only hope he decides to stay in St. Louis, but who knows, maybe he will end up somewhere else. Personally, Im hoping for LA, but the biggest story heading into spring training might be at a close.

Now to the NBA, Where amazing really does happen. Most people are probably in shock after hearing that the Lakers lost to the Cavaliers today. I am happiest that now no one can make fun of my Clippers for losing to them last week, especially when the clippers at least forced overtime. But its not looking good for the Lakers headed into the all-star break, nine games behind the Spurs.

I think the top news of the day though, other than the Clippers defeating the Twolves, was the return to the court by Chris Kaman. Kaman has been out almost all season due to various injuries and if he could even get close to the all star year he had last year, the Clippers front court would be amongst the top in the game. With Blake Griffin, Kaman, and the young and upcoming Deandre Jordan, not many teams would be able to compete with the clippers' front line. Also tonight the Heat defeated the Raptors in Chris Bosh's return to Toronto. I bet he felt a lot better being on the side he is on seeing the Heat are right there at the top of the eastern conference with the Celtics heading into All-Star weekend. It should be an interesting weekend not only with the festivities, but with union talks and Carmelo Anthony trade talks. Stay tuned for more updates.