Just one opportunity remains for the Clippers to avoid getting swept on their four-game road trip. It concludes with a visit to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
So far, the trade that brought forward Zach Randolph and guard Mardy Collins to the Clippers from the New York Knicks has had mixed results. Collins plays sparingly off the bench and has not been a major contributor. Randolph, who left the Knicks averaging 20.5 points, is scoring 20 or more points regularly since being acquired. However, the Clippers have not been any more successful than the team was before forward Tim Thomas and guard Cuttino Mobley were traded to the New York Knicks in exchange for Randolph and Collins.
The Clippers' 3-16 start is by far their worst since a woeful 1-18 start to the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.
Scouts who have been to Staples Center leave the arena shaking their head in wonderment at the Clippers' futility.
One scout uttered aloud that he did not know why the Clippers are losing with such regularity, when they have more than decent talent on the team, especially in the starting unit.
Yet the Clippers have lost nine of their past 11 games, and if they are not able to beat the Timberwolves, a light and heavy schedule awaits.
It will be light in the sense that the Clippers only will have three games in a stretch of eight days. But it will be heavy, too, because those opponents will be the Orlando Magic, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets. All are teams with winning records. In fact, Houston and Orlando lead their respective divisions.
So, what will the Clippers do to break out of their losing funk? Is another trade on the horizon? The rumors surrounding center Chris Kaman are simmering. But it is difficult to imagine that the Clippers would trade a seven-foot center, when players like that are a rare commodity.
MEMPHIS 93, CLIPPERS 81: Memphis forward Rudy Gay was unmanageable for the Clippers' defense in the second half, as the Grizzlies did plenty of damage against the Clippers in the second and third quarters. The Clippers were annihilated on the boards, as they were out-rebounded 40-25.
