Here at Sparty and Friends, we have reached NBA preview (again). There will be one team per work day leading up to the season opener (Celts vs. Cavs, October 27th at 7:30pm on TNT). The teams are ordered by record starting with last place and going up through the non-playoff teams, followed by the playoff teams in order of elimination (or lack there of in the Lakers’ case). We’ve already grabbed a Sac(To) lunch, we went off to see the Wizards, and now we turn to JP and the Clips…

The Los Angeles Clippers have been the most moribund franchise in professional sports over the past few years. With all the negative karma and bad vibes surrounding the franchise, it has not been surprising that they have spent the past 25 seasons hiding beneath the Lakers’ shadow. After the jump, there will be stats to support this.

Let’s go to the stat sheet…

Last Year’s Record: 19-63 (Last in Pacific Division, 2th to last in Western Conference, tied for 2th to last in the NBA)

Last Year’s Prediction (GITC): 47-52 wins, 7-10 in the Western Conference

Coach: Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Expected Starting Lineup: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thornton, Blake Griffin, Chris Kaman

Expected Bench Contributors: Rasual Butler, Ricky Davis, Marcus Camby

How bad were they last season? The team shot 44.1% the whole season, which is tied with Minnesota for worst in the league. They made the second fewest free throws from the third fewest free throw attempts, with a percentage that is the second worst. Scoring was an issue with only 95pts per game, 4th worst. And their defense, even with Marcus Camby around, was not up to par. Their defense was one of the worst in almost all categories. We are not even putting into consideration the games they missed due to injury or otherwise. Baron Davis only played 65 games. Kaman in 31. Camby in 62.

Since moving to LA from San Diego, they have 22 seasons finishing below .500, with a downward trend over the last four seasons, finishing with only 19 wins just last season. The lottery nabbed them the top overall pick in the draft, which they used on consensus All-American and winner of the Wooden and Naismith Awards, Blake Griffin. We all know about the open letter Simmons wrote to Blake Griffin warning him and their top pick last year, Eric Gordon.

The Clippers were one of the busy teams in the offseason, getting themselves involved in three trades, in addition to drafting Griffin. They parlayed Zach Randolph (via Quentin Richardson) into Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Mark Madsen (who was later waived). They also acquired Rasual Butler from the Hornets in exchange for a future second-round draft pick. Coach / GM Mike Dunleavy also managed to retain Steve Novak, who was responsible for a couple of those 19 wins. They also have the cap space to lure a top-tier free agent in 2010. Mike Taylor, the erratic back-up PG, and Sparty alumnus Paul Davis were released, while Fred Jones and Alex Acker decided to ply their trade in Italy.

Looking at the roster, you can see a potential to be a lower-tier playoff team. A young nucleus centering on 4 good pieces in Gordon, Griffin, Thornton and Kaman. Guided offensively by Baron and defensively by Marcus. Surrounded by a couple of shooters. Add the fact that Zach Randolph is no longer with the team, and the possible cap windfall that management can parlay this season or next season, and things are looking bright.

Video of the Day time! This is a clip about Blake Griffin’s training regimen. It’s really weird.

Best Comment From Last Season’s Preview of This Team time! This award goes to Knightswhosayni for this inaccurate gem…

Trust me, I’m a big 10 guy, and Purdue specifically. I know all about Indiana players and Eric Gordon SUCKSSSSSS. He’s soooooo bad. Every time he was on the floor he made Indiana worse because he makes bad decisions all the time. The Clip notes version: he’s a perfect match for the Clippers.

Turns out Air Gordon is pretty good. Kind of.

All that is needed is to not implode and stay healthy and voila! Then again, there is also the potential for it to be a 30-win season as well. This is, after all, your Los Angeles Clippers you are talking about.

Prediction: 37-42 wins, 7th -10th in the Western Conference

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