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As DeAndre Jordan sneaked inside the Memphis Grizzlies’ defense and tipped in a Chris Paul miss, it was clear the momentum in Game 5 was shifting in the Los Angeles Clippers’ favor.

Jordan’s basket cut the Grizzlies’ lead to four points, 77-73, and with 9:26 remaining in the game, it seemed the Clippers had plenty of time to overcome the minor deficit.

Except, like their Game 3 and 4 victories in Memphis, the Grizzlies had an emphatic answer for every Clippers run, ultimately prevailing for a 103-93 win to take a 3-2 lead in the series.

On the next possession, Mike Conley ran a pick-and-roll on the left side of the floor with Zach Randolph and broke free of Eric Bledsoe, slashing his way to the rim. Jordan, Randolph’s defender, rotated over to Conley and contested his shot, forcing him to arc his layup too high and to the right.

Yet as a few Clippers stood under the basket, waiting for what seemed like an uncontested defensive rebound, Tony Allen came along the right baseline and soared into the paint for one of his five offensive boards, gently laying the ball in.

Paul, who was responsible for defending Allen on the play, stared as the shot went up and didn’t box him or anyone else out.

It was symbolic of the difference between the two teams during these last three games: the Clippers waiting for opportunities as the Grizzlies actively sought them out.

“I am disappointed with myself,” Paul said. “I have to contain the ball. … During the fourth quarter, I lost track of Tony [Allen] and he got a big offensive rebound. It starts with me.”

Scoring was often a chore for the Clippers. Only Paul (35 points) and Jamal Crawford (15 points) scored in double figures, and no one else had more than seven points. The Grizzlies made the offensive end look effortless, merely entering the ball into one of their big men on the block and watching them toy with the Clippers’ helpless post defenders.

As a result of Griffin’s high right ankle sprain, the Clippers elected to switch him onto Marc Gasol and Jordan onto Randolph for most of the game -- theoretically allowing Jordan to use his length to bother Randolph and preventing Griffin’s lack of mobility from being exposed inside -- but the defensive adjustment didn’t affect the production of either player.

Randolph had 25 points and 11 rebounds, bulldozing any defender within arm’s reach, and Gasol had 21 points and eight rebounds to go with his always superb defense. Their output (46 points, 19 rebounds) far exceeded that of all five Clippers big men combined (22 points, 19 rebounds).

In a sense, the Grizzlies’ offensive schemes are simple and somewhat predictable, yet they’ve executed them beautifully in this series, patiently finding ways to score even when the Clippers know the exact set they’re running.

“They really execute their plays,” Chauncey Billups said. “We pretty much know where they’re going. After the play is over, they dump it down. They’re a really disciplined team.”

And even if the Grizzlies missed a shot, they usually got a second chance. They grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, their second most of the series, and have had double-digit efforts on the offensive glass in all three wins.

Allen, in particular, has used his size advantage and athleticism against Paul, Crawford and Billups to attack the offensive glass. After not grabbing any rebounds in Game 1, Allen has had eight or more rebounds in three of the four contests.

His offensive rebound putback was just one of a few backbreaking plays from the Grizzlies.

Whenever their sense of control over the game dwindled, the Grizzlies responded convincingly -- Jerryd Bayless’ coast-to-coast buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter, Tayshaun Prince’s 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining and Gasol’s hook shot with 48 seconds left to all but seal the game.

Since the trip to Memphis, the Clippers simply haven’t been able to stymie Gasol and Randolph, and it has affected their entire defensive system, creating leaks and holes where there shouldn’t be any. They’ve tried playing the big men one-on-one, doubling them, fronting them and even aggressively helping off spot-up shooters, among other tactics, but nothing has worked for more than a few possessions.

The result has been three straight losses, all by double digits, and an uphill fight in Friday’s Game 6 in Memphis.

Stats used are from ESPN.com and MySynergySports.com.

LOS ANGELES—The Clippers spent the regular season rewriting the franchise record books. Now they are in danger of making a different kind of history in the postseason.

The Clippers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 103-93 Tuesday night at Staples Center and face the daunting task of having to go on the road to win a playoff game to keep their season alive. Not only that, the Clippers are looking at playing with a less-than-100 percent Blake Griffin, who sprained his ankle Monday in practice and couldn’t finish Tuesday’s game.

The loss Tuesday was the third consecutive in the series for L.A., which is trying to avoid becoming only the 16th team in NBA playoff history to lose a series after taking a 2-0 lead.

“We’ve got to be desperate,” said Chris Paul, who scored 35 points Tuesday. “They say the playoffs don’t start 'til somebody loses at home, so I guess ours started.”

A loss would be a serious blow to a franchise that is trying to turn a corner and become a respected team after years as an NBA also-ran. The Clippers seemed to be headed in that direction this season when they set a franchise record for wins, won a division title for the first time, and swept the season series from the Lakers for the first time since moving to L.A.

A first-round playoff exit would almost certainly rekindle whispers of “the same old Clippers” and would put the Clippers in the same first-round loser’s boat as the Lakers. A win Friday and another one Sunday to take the series would help the franchise edge out of mediocrity and offer some hope that the recent renaissance is for real.

“None of that means anything,” Paul said. “The division, who we beat during the season -- none of that means anything. … For me, all I’m focused on is Game 6.”

Winning at Memphis will be difficult. The Clippers have lost the last two games there by 12 and 21 points. The Grizzlies are rolling now, having won the last three games by an average of 14.3 points. But the Clippers have won in Memphis in must-win situations before.

Last year, the Clippers won Game 7 of their first-round series at FedEx Forum. Just a couple of weeks ago, L.A. defeated the Grizzlies in Memphis with home-court advantage in this series on the line. Even in the two lopsided losses last week, the Clippers were within single digits at the end of three quarters.

“We know we have to play better, regroup and see how healthy we can get between now and then,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “We’re not going to lay down. We're going to never give up, we’re going to play hard, play together and do what we can to make it work.”

It stands a better chance of working well if Griffin can play. The All-Star forward was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder in the regular season. He landed on teammate Lamar Odom’s foot during practice Monday and tried to play through the pain Tuesday, but had to come out near the end of the third quarter.

“When I feel like I can’t really do what I need to do to help our team, I don’t want to put our team at risk and make it worse,” Griffin said.

It’s still too early to determine Griffin’s status for Friday’s game. And even with a healthy Griffin, it won’t be easy for the Clippers to keep this series alive.

“It’s a challenge,” Griffin said. “They’re tough at home, but we’ve gotten tough wins at their place before so you can’t really rule anything out. Obviously, this is it. Our backs are against the wall. We have to play with a sense of urgency or obviously everybody knows what happens.”

Here are three ways the Clippers can bounce back in Game 5:

Lean on their stars more

It’s not uncommon to see superstars play 40-plus minutes a night in the playoffs, as most teams don’t have enough depth to remain viable with their bench players on the floor.

The Clippers clearly don’t have that problem, as they have arguably the best bench in the league, but their depth has actually worked against them this postseason: It has prevented them from playing their stars, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, as much as they probably should play them.

Currently, 13 players are averaging 40 or more minutes per game (MPG) this postseason. In the regular season, no one averaged more than 38.7 MPG, implying a considerable uptick for more than a dozen players.

On that list you’ll find Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who has averaged 40.8 minutes per game despite the fact that the Grizzlies have backup big men Darrell Arthur and Ed Davis, who would start on a lot of teams. Mike Conley, Paul’s counterpart, isn’t far behind Gasol, having already logged 37-plus minutes in three of the four games.

Meanwhile, Paul and Blake Griffin are averaging 35 and 31 minutes per game, respectively. Paul has yet to play more than 36 minutes, and Griffin has yet to log more than 34.

While foul trouble has certainly hampered Griffin’s minutes, he actually played more in Game 3 (33 minutes), when he had five fouls, than in Game 4 (32 minutes), when he had only three. In comparison, Zach Randolph, who also battled foul trouble in Games 1 and 2, played 37 minutes in both Games 3 and 4.

There are unforeseen issues, such as injuries or foul trouble, which can inhibit a star from playing 40 minutes. But those factors notwithstanding, the Clippers can afford to lean on Paul and Griffin more and reap the benefits.

Help off non-shooters more aggressively

In Games 1 and 2, the Clippers thwarted the Grizzlies’ post-ups and high-low action by largely ignoring Memphis’ wings spotting up. Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince aren’t 3-point-shooting threats, so the Clippers were able to help off of them and either hedge or double-team down low.

Not only did their aggressive approach halt the Grizzlies’ big men from gaining extra ground on the block -- by making them pick their dribble up or stop short at times -- but it also put them in better rebounding position.

In Games 3 and 4, however, the Clipper wings were more conservative in their defensive approach, rarely helping off their man and often leaving Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to try to defend Gasol and Randolph one-on-one. As the rebounding margin and points in the paint show, the results were disastrous.

Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins elected to play Quincy Pondexter, a 39.5 percent 3-point shooter this season, more minutes in Memphis, resulting in a slight increase in the Grizzlies’ 3-point attempts from 11.5 on the road to 14.0 at home (although the shots still weren’t falling). This adjustment stretched out the Clippers’ defense and allowed the Grizzlies to put a larger, longer defender on Paul.

Regardless of the lineups they deploy, the Grizzlies have yet to make more than five 3-pointers in a game this series and are shooting a paltry 29.4 percent beyond the arc. During the regular season, the Grizzlies weren’t much better, making 4.2 3-pointers per game on 32.6 percent shooting; both figures ranked in the bottom five of the league.

By any measure, the Grizzlies are subpar 3-shooting team. Until they win a game by burning the Clippers from deep, L.A. needs to regain its focus on limiting Randolph and Gasol in the paint.

Stagger the starting lineups’ minutes

Throughout these playoffs, the Clippers have constantly shuffled their lineups, with only three five-man units logging 15 or more minutes. As such, it’s difficult to glean much from the lineup data. However, this much is clear: The starting lineup has struggled immensely against the Grizzlies.

In 59 minutes (the most by any lineup), the group has mustered a 96.8 offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions), which would rank lower than the Washington Wizards’ 97.8 last-place rating, and a defensive rating of 117.3 (points allowed per 100 possessions), significantly lower than the Charlotte Bobcat’s 108.9 last-place mark.

Overall, the lineup has a net rating of minus-20.5 (net differential per 100 possessions).

Conversely, the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, which has played 66 minutes, has a 110.5 offensive rating and a 90.8 defensive rating (both figures would lead the league) and an impressive +19.7 net rating.

Since Paul and Griffin should already be playing more, the changes will have to come from the three players around them.

Billups appears to be the weakest link, as he’s been a nonfactor offensively in two games already (30 percent shooting overall) and hasn’t been able to defend Allen in the open court -- he’s shooting 52.2 percent with Billups on the floor and 44.4 percent with Billups on the bench.

Whether it’s tweaking the starting lineup by inserting the energy of Matt Barnes or Eric Bledsoe, or just playing those two a little earlier in the game, the Clippers have to figure out a way to have more success in the beginning of games.

Stats used in this post are from ESPN Stats & Information and NBA.com/Stats.

As the Los Angeles Clippers celebrated their blowout win in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, there was a simple message written on the dry-erase board in the locker room:

"9 min. left 77-76. End game on 35-15 run!"

It was the kind of closeout effort that championship teams need in the playoffs. Since that game, however, the Clippers have not done a good job of closing out games at all.

The Grizzlies have outscored the Clippers in the fourth quarter of every game since then, and Saturday’s 104-83 loss was the worst performance yet. The game was tied 62-62 with 3:20 left in the third quarter before the Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 42-21 the rest of the way. The Grizzlies outscored the Clippers 33-16 in the fourth quarter and over the past three games have outscored the Clippers 77-54 in the final period.

How it happened: Much like in Game 3, the Grizzlies' big man tandem of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol was just too much for the Clippers. Randolph had 24 points and nine rebounds while Gasol, the defensive player of the year, had 24 points and 13 rebounds. The tandem’s combined 48 points and 22 rebounds were greater than the Clippers’ starters combined (40 points, 17 rebounds). In fact, Randolph and Gasol almost had as many rebounds as the entire Clippers team (28).

What it means: Despite playing a close game through three quarters, the final box score ended up looking as lopsided as the final score. The Grizzlies outrebounded the Clippers (45 to 28), had more points in the paint (46 to 38), had more second-chance points (22 to 2) and shot more free throws (29 to 17). The lopsided numbers were almost identical to the Game 3 numbers, which has to be cause for concern for L.A. after the team spent the past two days working to reverse these trends. The most glaring similarities were rebounding (45 to 33 in Game 3) and second-chance points (22 to 2 in Game 3). If the Clippers can’t change this in Los Angeles, it’s going to be hard to change the final score.

Hits: If the Clippers can hang their hat on one thing, it’s that Chris Paul responded to one of his worst playoff games ever with a solid performance. He had 19 points, six assists and just one turnover after having just eight points and five turnovers in Game 3. The problem is Paul had 14 points and five assists in the first half, which means he didn’t do much in the second half. Paul had just one point, one assist and one turnover in the fourth quarter before being taken out with the game out of hand.

Misses: Every one of the Grizzlies’ starters scored double-digit points, with two having 15 points and two more having 24 points. On the flip side, two of the Clippers’ starters went scoreless (Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler), while another (DeAndre Jordan) had only two points. It’s going to be hard for the Clippers to win many games -- on the road no less -- when three of their five starters are combing for two points, five rebounds and one assist.

Stat of the game: There are plenty of stats that Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro will circle on his final box score with a red pen, but the two big ones will be the discrepancies in rebounding and second-chance points. The Clippers don’t have a chance if those two numbers continue to be that lopsided.

Up next: The goal for the Clippers coming into these two games in Memphis was stealing one game and putting themselves in position to close the series out in Game 5 in Los Angeles. After losing back-to-back games for the first time since March, the Clippers now need to win Game 5 at Staples Center to avoid giving the Grizzlies an opportunity to close the series out in Memphis in Game 6.

Nothing went right for the Clippers in Game 3.

They lost the rebounding battle (45 to 33), turned the ball over 18 times, were outscored in the paint (40-26), and had their worst shooting performance -- 38.8 percent -- since Feb. 1 in Toronto.

The most telling stat, however, was this: Chris Paul had more turnovers (5) than assists (4) or made field goals (4).

After failing to properly execute their pick-and-roll defense against Paul in Games 1 and 2, the Grizzlies made a concerted effort to restrict his space and force him to the left sideline in Game 3, instead of letting him to go to the middle of the floor.

The main adjustment came from the Grizzlies’ big men, who dropped back and station themselves at the free-throw line, preventing Paul from penetrating but also not giving him enough room to get a clean shot off.

With 5:40 remaining in the game, and the Clippers trailing 81-71, Paul dribbled up the left sideline while being hounded by defensive ace Tony Allen, and stopped at the left wing to initiate a side pick-and-roll with Blake Griffin.

As Zach Randolph came up to trap him, Paul split the two defenders and darted towards the paint. He then crossed over from left to right, but didn’t get far, as Allen quickly swiped the ball away from behind. Marc Gasol recovered the loose ball, and the Grizzlies went on an 8-2 run, effectively putting the game out of reach at 89-73.

The sight of Paul being stripped in a crucial juncture, as uncommon as it is, was typical of his performance on the night. He simply had no answer for the Grizzlies’ defense down the stretch. His next two pick-and-roll possessions resulted in an airball 3-pointer and an offensive foul. Four of Paul’s five turnovers came out of pick-and-roll plays.

“We made a big point of emphasis on the pick-and-roll and how our bigs were down low,” Allen told the Memphis Flyer after the game. “They had their antennas on when he was coming off of it. We tried not to let him go to the right as much as he wanted to. That's his strong hand. He does a lot of damage that way.”

In Game 3, the Clippers averaged .53 points per play (PPP) when they ran a pick-and-roll in which the ball-handler scored, got fouled or turned the ball over. For comparison, they scored 1.45 PPP in Game 1 and 1.13 PPP in Game 2 on the same possessions. During the regular season they averaged .83 PPP in those situations, which ranked third in the NBA.

Paul has had off shooting nights before, but he rarely fails to approach double-digit assists, and his four assists tied the fewest he’s had all season when playing at least 30 minutes in a game.

“It's uncharacteristic of us, especially me,” Paul told reporters after the game.

The Grizzlies found a defensive strategy that worked against Paul in Game 3. But seven-game series are all about game-to-game adjustments, so now it’s up to the Clippers to figure out with ways to free up Paul so he can become effective again.

Statistics used in this post are from ESPN.com, NBA.com/Stats and MySynergySports.com.

The Los Angeles Clippers hold a 2-0 series lead over the Memphis Grizzlies in their first-round playoff showdown. As the series shifts to Memphis for Game 3 in the best-of-seven series, here are a few takeaways from Games 1 and 2 in Los Angeles:

No answer for Paul or Griffin

Despite the Grizzlies' defensive acumen, they have shown no signs through two games that they can stop Chris Paul, who’s averaging 23.5 points, eight assists and one turnover while shooting 59.3 percent (16-of-27 FGs).

While his buzzer-beater got most of the attention Monday night, Paul’s shots before it were even more impressive. He went one-on-one out of pick-and-rolls against Tony Allen and Marc Gasol, getting the shots he wanted and making them.

“That’s what he does, he closes games,” Allen said.

Griffin, meanwhile, battled foul trouble in Game 1 and never got into rhythm offensively (10 points, 3-of-9 FGs). Still, he was active around the rim, missing a few easy baskets but drawing fouls on Zach Randolph.

Game 2 was a different story. Griffin was dominant from the get-go, blowing by Randolph and using a slew of post moves to erase any confidence the Grizzlies had that they could defend him one-on-one. He had 13 first-quarter points, and 21 overall.

The rule of thumb in the playoffs is the team with the best player in the series generally wins. Paul is undoubtedly the best player on either squad, but if Griffin can assert himself as the second-best player in the series, the Grizzlies will have almost no chance at mounting a serious comeback.

Bench is dominating again

Two games (96 minutes) is a small sample size, but the Clippers' bench lineup of Ronny Turiaf, Lamar Odom, Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford and Eric Bledsoe has outplayed the Los Angeles Clippers' starting lineup and dominated the Grizzlies’ bench.

In the 16 minutes the group has logged together, it has outscored the Grizzlies by 33.9 points per 100 possessions.

The bench’s 104.7 offensive rating is below-average (the Clippers have a 115 offensive rating in the playoffs), but the bench has been suffocating defensively, registering a 70.9 defensive rating and thwarting any offense the Grizzlies’ second unit has tried to muster.

With the exception of Odom (minus-8.9), each bench player has a positive net rating, led by Bledsoe (plus-32.7). By comparison, every Grizzlies player has a negative net rating, and only one bench player, Quincy Pondexter, has a single-digit negative rating (minus-6.2).

In the regular season, the Clippers’ bench lineup outscored opponents by 11.0 points per 100 possessions. However, they were much better at home (plus-18.3) than on the road (minus-0.6). It’ll be interesting to see if the bench can have a similar impact in Memphis, because if not, coach Vinny Del Negro will have to play the starters extended minutes.

Winning the 50-50 battle

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LOS ANGELES — The first game was a blowout and the second was won on a buzzer-beater, but both were wins for the Los Angeles Clippers, and that means they hold a 2-0 series advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Western Conference NBA playoffs.

It’s a good omen for the Clippers, who have been up 2-0 in a playoff series only one other time in franchise history. That time, in 2006, they went on to defeat the Denver Nuggets 4-1. A 2-0 series lead also holds a historical advantage: In NBA playoff history, a team has lost a series only 15 times after winning the first two.

Those things mean little to the Clippers, however. Nobody in their locker room was satisfied after Chris Paul’s buzzer-beating bank shot gave L.A. a 93-91 victory in Game 2 at Staples Center.

“All we did was protect our home court,” Vinny Del Negro said. “You have to win four games. We did what we were supposed to do. We know we’re going to have to play better in Memphis.”

It would be difficult to play better than Paul did down the stretch. He scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and was the only Clippers player to score in the final 3:46 of the game. The Clippers held a 12-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play and let the Grizzlies get back in to tie the game. L.A. was able to get away with that at home, but trying that on the road would be playing with fire.

“Each game is a game in itself,” Paul said. “You don’t carry over points, possessions, foul trouble or anything like that. We know that they’ll be at home in front of their fans with a lot of energy and they feel like they need to win two games at home now.”

The Clippers don’t need to look too far in the past to know how important it is to protect home-court advantage. Last year, Memphis had home-court advantage against the Clippers, but L.A. won Game 1 in Memphis and eventually won the series in seven games -- with Game 7 also in Memphis.

Those aren’t the only good memories the Clippers have of Memphis, either. Less than two weeks ago, the Clippers went into FedEx Forum with home-court advantage in this series on the line and won 91-87.

“I have complete confidence with our team on the road, especially,” Del Negro said. “We know what we’re in for, but that’s what it’s all about. The best part is the competition and challenging yourself to be better. I’m going to challenge this group to prepare the right way and have the right mindset going in.”

Lately, the Clippers have had a pretty good mindset. The win Monday was their ninth in a row overall, going back to the regular season. A streak like that only serves to boost the confidence level for the players. They showed that Saturday in their 112-91 dismantling of the Grizzlies, and Paul’s game-winner Monday was another shot in the arm.

“Every game in the playoffs is must-win,” forward Lamar Odom said. “It’s all about finishing the season strong. You can only do that with wins. It’s all about doing whatever it takes. We got another game, another inch, took another step toward our goal.”

Going up 2-0 in the series will make the plane ride across the country a much better one for the Clippers.

“In the playoffs it’s very important,” Odom said. “Mentally, it takes a little pressure off you, but at the same time we don’t want to go back there and just -- we want to push them to the limit and even play better than we played tonight.”

Odom has been around long enough to know that the series is far from over. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins can only hope so. He was preaching optimism despite the deficit his team is facing as it heads back home.

“We’ve got to go home and hold serve,” Hollins said. “That’s what they did. We almost got one here. It’s not doom and gloom. It was just a tough, hard-fought battle, and we’ve got to go home, and there are going to be two hard-fought battles there. And we’ve got to come away with two of them.”

Grizzlies guard Mike Conley expects the Memphis crowd to come out in full force. The fact that the team is down 2-0 is enough of a rallying cry, but it means even more that the Clippers are coming to town because of all the big wins L.A. has had in Memphis over the past year.

“When the Clippers come to town it’s obviously a different type of crowd because we have a history with them,” Conley said. “We’ve played a bunch of good games with them. We expect it to be loud and crazy and hopefully we can take care of that business at home.”

The Clippers aren’t exactly in a must-win situation on the road. They can merely win all of their home games and still win the series, but that’s not a thought that is crossing their heads as they head to Memphis.

“We’ve got to go down to Memphis and try to steal a game,” Paul said. “We’ve got to be greedy.”

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin knows what to expect from Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph when the two see each other on Sunday for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

The two power forwards got into it on several occasions during last year’s grueling seven-game, first-round playoff series and again when the Clippers and Grizzlies played each other four times this season. Griffin said Randolph has made it a point of trying to get under his skin early and often, but the Clippers star isn't biting.

“That’s his whole M.O. It’s to frustrate guys,” Griffin said. “He does his thing under the basket and plays a physical game, but I like playing physical too, so we’ll see.”

Griffin, who has been known to lose his temper on the court, has been surprisingly calm in the past when Randolph has gotten in Griffin’s face, either after a hard foul or what he believes was a flop.

“I don’t think I’ve really lost my cool playing against him yet," Griffin said. "It’s not something that I go into each game and have to concentrate on. It’s one of those things where I know it’s coming and I just have to deal with it.”

Griffin had to play through a sprained left knee during the playoffs last year but said he is healthy going into the playoffs this season despite dealing with back spasms in the Clippers’ regular-season finale at Sacramento on Wednesday. He said he did not have any more spasms on Thursday or Friday and got treatment on his back both days, and he went through practice Friday without any limitations.

“It’s all right. It should be fine,” Griffin said. “It’s still a little tender, for lack of a better word, but not as bad as it was the other night. This isn’t really comparable to last year. Last year was a lot different. I’m happy to be mostly healthy going into this playoff run.”

One of the biggest differences between this year and last year for Griffin, aside from his injuries, is actually having some playoff experience. Last year was the first postseason run for Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Eric Bledsoe, and those players say they are more prepared this time around for the physicality that comes with the postseason.

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LOS ANGELES—And so one game remains in the record-setting season of the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers have accomplished so much already this season, but so much is still to be decided Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Clippers, on a seven-game win streak, are already a lock for the playoffs so Wednesday’s game isn’t exactly for all the marbles, but there are some pretty big ones still rolling around out there.

A victory Wednesday night at Sacramento would clinch home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the Clippers and they still have an outside shot of moving up to the No. 3 seed and an easier first-round matchup.

Securing home court and moving up to the No. 3 seed depends on one thing, however: The Clippers have to win.

“You can speculate and think about this and the other thing, but at the end of the day you have to go out and you have to earn it,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “No one is going to give it to you. If they do, we’ll take it, but right now our mindset is we’re going to go earn it and it’s not going to be an easy game.”

The scenarios for the Clippers (55-26) on the last day of the regular season are three-fold:

1. If the Clippers win and the Denver Nuggets (56-25) lose to the Phoenix Suns (25-56), the Clippers would tie the Nuggets, earn the No. 3 spot because they are the Pacific Division champions and get home court in the first round against the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets.

2. If the Clippers lose and the Memphis Grizzlies (55-26) win against the Utah Jazz (43-38), the Clippers would play the Grizzlies and Memphis would have home court advantage.

3. If the Clippers and Memphis both lose, the two would meet in the first round of the playoffs with the Clippers holding home court advantage.

“We’re not set in stone in one seed,” Chris Paul said. “All the previous 81 games led up to [Wednesday] so [Wednesday] is another big game for us.”

The Nuggets and the Grizzlies both play early enough Wednesday that the Clippers will have an idea of the situation by the time they tip off at 7:30 p.m. in Sacramento. Surely they will be scoreboard watching but they say they must prepare as if Memphis and Denver will both win.

“We have to take care of our business and that’s all we can do,” Matt Barnes said. “There are some other games that have an effect on what we do, but if we go out and take care of our business, nothing too bad will happen to us.”

The odds are against the Clippers moving up to the No. 3 seed. The Nuggets and Phoenix are playing in Denver, where the Nuggets boast an NBA-best 37-3 home record. Phoenix, meanwhile is at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and is tied with Sacramento for fewest road wins in the conference.

Memphis is also at home for its game against the Jazz. The Grizzlies are 31-9 at home this season while Utah is 13-27 on the road. One thing going in the Clippers favor is that Utah is playing for its playoff life. The Jazz must win and hope the Lakers lose in order to make the post season.

One thing working against the Clippers is the situation in Sacramento. The Kings (28-53) are among the bottom three teams in the Western Conference and a pedestrian 20-20 at home this season, but the fans will surely be out in full force Wednesday because it could be the last game for the Kings in Sacramento. The team is contemplating a move to Seattle so the game will carry some emotion.

The Clippers embrace that.

“I hope it’s going to be crazy,” said Barnes, who played for the Kings in 2004-05. “I hope the fans really come out and support that team. It’ll be a hostile environment similar to the playoffs so we’ve got to go in there and keep our composure and play good basketball.”

The only thing that really matters to the Clippers, however, is getting a win.

“It’s not about the environment,” Del Negro said. “It’s about us locking in and executing and slowing them down in areas and transition defense. We’ve got to go in with the right mindset, the right level of intensity that needs to be executed and if we do that we’ll have more opportunity.”

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Before the playoffs began last season, Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said that many of his players had no idea what was in store.

“They think they know,” Del Negro said then. “But they won’t until they actually go through it.”

The Clippers got a crash course in playoff experience when they made NBA history by coming back from a 24-point deficit with less than eight minutes left in Game 1 at Memphis, then closed out their first-round series against the Grizzlies on the road with the franchise’s first-ever Game 7 win.

The Clippers eventually got swept in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs, but they believe that playoff run will pay big dividends this season.

“Last year I had no idea really what to expect,” Blake Griffin said. “Everybody talks about it but you really don’t know until you’ve played in it, and with Memphis it’s even on another level just because of the style of basketball they play. Having that experience and knowing what that’s about will serve us well.”

When the season was over, Del Negro made a list of players he wanted to go after, with the playoffs in mind. Chris Paul had some players in mind as well.

That’s a big reason why the Clippers targeted and eventually acquired Jamal Crawford, Lamar Odom, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Ronny Turiaf, Willie Green and Ryan Hollins. Each has been to the playoffs on multiple occasions, with Odom and Turiaf winning championships.

“It’s very important to have that experience,” said Odom, who has back-to-back titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in three straight NBA Finals. “I think the most important part of the playoffs is the mindset and being able to stay poised in the moment.”

Although Chauncey Billups was on the team last season, he was sidelined after tearing his left Achilles tendon last February. He was largely brought to the team for his playoff experience after winning an NBA Finals MVP, playing in back-to-back NBA Finals and leading his teams to seven straight conference finals.

“In my eyes, this is all just the preseason," Billups said. "The real season is coming up and I'm hoping to be ready."

Billups, 36, has played just 20 games this season, averaging 8.2 points and 2.2 assists while battling through a variety of injuries. He practiced with the team Thursday and is hoping to be back on the court for the Clippers’ critical game Saturday against the Grizzlies in Memphis.

“Having guys like Chauncey and myself who have been in big playoff games and Game 7s and so on is very important,” Odom said.

Odom said he will take a more vocal role once the playoffs start, as his former teammate Derek Fisher did with the Lakers. Odom has often leaned on Fisher for advice and has tried to take a similar leadership role on the Clippers.

“This is where you give it your all,” Odom said. “Winning playoff games isn’t just physical and mental, they’re also spiritual as well.”

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers dug deep last week, pulled themselves out of a near tailspin and seemingly have things headed in the right direction with a three-game win streak.

Now comes the hard part.

Their dominant 111-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night at Staples Center capped a three-game run in which the Clippers defeated the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Timberwolves by an average margin of 18.3 points.

Those victories all came at home, however, and now the Clippers end the season with three of four on the road. At stake is home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“We have to lock in as much as possible," coach Vinny Del Negro said. “We want to give ourselves the best opportunity to finish as high as possible. We’re trying to get home court in the first round, and the only way we’re going to do that is winning these games.”

As of now, the Clippers (52-26) are the No. 4-seeded team in the Western Conference and would be face the Memphis Grizzlies (53-25) in the first round of the playoffs. Despite being seeded higher, however, the Clippers would start the series on the road because home-court advantage goes to the team with the better overall record.

In order to earn the home-court advantage, the Clippers must prove themselves as road warriors. They play Friday at New Orleans (27-51) and then have a critical game Saturday at Memphis, which could decide which team has the home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

"It’s a big game that we need,” forward Blake Griffin said of the game at Memphis. “We should compete the same way every single time, but we’ll know what’s at stake, so it’ll be a big game.”

If they play the way they have the last three games, it shouldn’t be a problem. Before the current win streak, the Clippers had lost three in a row and four of five. After losing to the Indiana Pacers on April 1, the team leaders made it a point to raise the focus and energy level of the team.

"If we lose, it can never be because of lack of effort," Griffin said. "It has to be because a team played better than us. I think that's been our main focus the past three games. We played with a lot of intensity, a lot of pace.”

Doing that at home with the crowd behind you is one thing. On the road, you don’t get to feed off of that energy, so these next two games will be a big test to show if the Clippers are, indeed, back to the level they were during their 17-game win streak in December.

"[The energy] has to be just as good, if not better, on the road," Griffin said. "There’s a lot at stake there, so I think we’re looking forward to that challenge as a team and giving ourselves kind of a measuring stick, especially after these last three games."

The Clippers are 21-17 on the road this season, which is the fourth-best road record in the Western Conference, but are a meager 11-13 in road games in 2013. They were 24-19 from January through March, but a meeting of the minds between Griffin and Chris Paul seems to have turned things back toward a playoff run.

“It definitely starts with me and Blake on the offensive and the defensive end,” Paul said. “When me and him are on the same page, everyone else has no choice but to fall in line, so me and Blake realize that we have to bring the energy every night and everyone else will feed off of it.”

The Clippers will be playing road games on back-to-back nights this trip and need to win both. The last time they swept road games on back-to-back nights was Jan. 14-15 at Memphis and Houston.

Center DeAndre Jordan said improved team chemistry would help as they head out for these important road games.

“When you go on the road, it feels like you’re playing against everybody,” Jordan said. “It’s really us against the fans, the other team, everything gets involved. So as long as our core is tight and everyone is linked together and there is no real splinter, we can win a lot of games on the road.”

Not only are they finishing with three of four games away from home, their last four games also come in the form of a pair of games on back-to-back nights.

After returning from Memphis, the Clippers face the Portland Trail Blazers at home on April 16 then go to Sacramento for the regular-season finale April 17 against the Kings. It could be the final game for the Kings in Sacramento, so there figures to be some added emotion.

Still, Paul said, if the Clippers want to prove themselves as a championship-caliber team, they will have to win these important games under difficult circumstances.

“I say this every game, but we just have to make sure we’re playing the right way,” Paul said. “Regardless of who we play against or where we’re playing at, as long as we’re playing the right way, we control our own destiny."

LOS ANGELES -- The red shirts rested on every chair in the Los Angeles Clippers' locker room after the game.

The Pacific Division championship shirts read “Can’t Stop Los Angeles” in big bold letters and in small print on the left read, “2013 Division Champions Los Angeles Clippers.”

You almost had to squint to read that one line that had been 43 years in the making.

The Clippers franchise had never before in its star-crossed history won a division title. Not in Buffalo. Not in San Diego. And certainly not in Los Angeles, where the Clippers have been in the same division as the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won 16 NBA titles and 23 Pacific Division titles.

On Sunday, the Clippers not only won the division but did so by blowing out those Lakers, 109-95, at Staples Center on national television. It was technically a Clippers home game, but as has been the case ever since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles in 1984, it was a largely Lakers crowd that exploded every time Kobe Bryant did anything remotely positive.

The noise from the Lakers fans, however, was drowned out in the fourth quarter as the Clippers pulled away from the Lakers, leading by as many 16 points in the final period. Not only did the Clippers sweep the series against the Lakers, winning all four games for the first time since they were the Buffalo Braves in 1975, but they won each game by an average margin of over 13 points.

The Clippers were the best team in Los Angeles this season -- and it wasn’t really close.

Time will tell how far this Clippers team actually goes in the postseason, but being the best team in Los Angeles this season is no small building block to be overlooked and marginalized. This wasn’t an afterthought Lakers team that the Clippers blew out of the water time and time again this season. This was a Lakers team that, with Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, was considered the preseason favorite to win it all.

While the Lakers have played well below expectations this season, the Clippers have played above the expectations of some, but certainly not of themselves.

That’s largely why there were no big celebrations after the biggest regular-season win in Clippers' franchise history. None of the players wore the shirts that were placed on their chairs, and many of them actually left them behind as they exited the locker room.

Chris Paul quickly took a picture with the shirt when asked but immediately handed off the shirt as soon as the photo was taken.

It was a stark difference from the way Paul reacted to winning the Southwest Division title in 2008 with the New Orleans Hornets. Back then, Paul and all of his teammates wore championship shirts and hats and gathered on the floor to watch a championship video of the season to that point after beating, coincidentally enough, the Clippers.

“This is only my second time winning the division in the NBA,” Paul said. “I felt like I was in the toughest division in professional sports when I was in New Orleans with Dallas and San Antonio. I remember when we won the division in New Orleans. I remember it was a home game and we celebrated and put T-shirts on. It was crazy. It was very emotional because our team had never won a division. It’s just a different feeling now. Now we feel like it’s something we’re supposed to do.”

Blake Griffin, who put the finishing touches on his first division title by hitting a fourth-quarter 3-pointer that elicited a standing ovation from the crowd and the Clippers' bench, wanted no part of the division championship shirts, and also said he hopes the Clippers don’t hang a division championship banner.

“It means something to me but we had the mindset that this is something that we’re supposed to do,” Griffin said. “We want something more than that.”

It’s understandable for the Clippers to want more. And it’s probably unfair to ask them about the significance of winning the division and sweeping the season series against the Lakers when they still have their sights set on winning an NBA title.

But when the season is over, and if the Clippers fail to make it to the NBA Finals, the organization should not let what the Clippers did this season be forgotten and chalked up simply as a step in the right direction.

Most NBA teams not named the Lakers and Celtics hang banners commemorating division titles. The Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs have won a combined 10 NBA titles but have banners commemorating their division and conference titles.

There’s no reason for the Clippers to live up to the same standards as the Lakers and Celtics and higher standards than the Bulls and Spurs.

Paul said he wouldn’t mind the team hanging a division banner, while several team executives (when asked) said a banner would likely be put up at the practice facility, but not likely at Staples Center.

“It’s one of those things we can let our fans decide,” Paul said. “It’s that simple. That’s who we do it for. We do it for our fans and the people who have supported us all season long and have been here way before there was Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.”

Paul and Griffin have changed the face of the Clippers and have raised the expectations of this once-morbid franchise, but they shouldn’t let this season and everything they have accomplished be forgotten because of the shadow the Lakers cast on them.

There’s no shame in measuring yourself against one of the premier teams in sports, but it would be a shame if the Clippers diminished this season by comparing it to what the Lakers have done.

“It means a lot,” Paul conceded. “It means we’re headed in the right direction, but there was no cake and there was no champagne popping in the locker room. I think that says even more about our team. We’re not satisfied. We understand this is something small compared to the big picture.”

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- Blake Griffin wasn't sure whether to laugh or vent after practice on Friday as he discussed a report in the Los Angeles Times about his and DeAndre Jordan's immaturity.

It highlighted an incident in Sacramento where he and Jordan reportedly exchanged words on the bench after Griffin told Jordan never to stare him down again after Griffin missed hitting Jordan for a lob dunk.

“The Sacramento thing didn't even happen to be honest,” Griffin said. “If there are things in there that are true it doesn’t bother me because we messed up and we did, it but if it’s not true it does bother me a little bit.”

The report also touched on Griffin and Jordan being weary of Chris Paul and getting tired of hearing his voice on and off the court.

“That’s part of what makes him great and I’ve told him that,” Griffin said. “He’s always communicating and he’s always talking. We look to Chris to be that guy. He’s ultimately directing the game we want it to go. If he sees something he needs to say it and vice versa.”

Griffin also talked about the Clippers’ chemistry.

“Through the 17-game streak when our chemistry was at its height we had arguments in the huddles and guys would be like you need to do this and there would be heated exchanges,” Griffin said. “That’s what happens on teams. It’s a matter of where you go from there.”

Paul said Jordan and Griffin weren’t the only ones who needed to mature on the team.

“We all do,” Paul said. “We’re always trying to get better and understand the game more. It’s been an adjustment for all of us, especially those two guys, coming in in a different situation before guys like me, Chauncey [Billups] and Caron [Butler] got here. It’s been an adjustment period for all of us.”

Said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro: “There’s a lot of emotion involved. You’re trying to manage the personalities and put everybody in areas of strength. There’s going to be difficulties throughout a long season and Blake and DJ have a lot of responsibility for us. It’s nothing they can’t handle.”

The Clippers are struggling as the season draws to a close. Here are some adjustments they can make as they prepare for the postseason:

Sound defensive rotations

The Clippers’ Achilles heel this season has been their 3-point defense, which stems from poor defensive rotations. They’ve lost a handful of games to some of the worst teams in the league -- the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, New Orleans Hornets and Sacramento Kings – because of their inability to defend beyond the arc.

For the season, the Clippers rank 26th in opponent 3-point percentage and 24th in opponent 3-point makes per game. Despite their ninth-ranked overall defense, the Clippers rank just 22nd in opponent points-per-shot, which factors in the amount of 3-pointers they allow.

“We have to play with a little more sense of urgency on both ends of the floor. Our defensive percentages have gone up, which means we're not playing the defense we're capable of," shooting guard Willie Green said after practice last week.

This, in part, has to do with the Clippers’ pick-and-roll defense. While it’s much improved from last year, it’s still susceptible to breakdowns, especially if the ball-handler can get by the Clippers big man who’s hedging. If this happens, the Clippers are left playing three-on-four, which almost always results in an open 3-pointer or lay-up.

"Our bigs are getting stretched out a little bit," head coach Vinny Del Negro said after practice last week. "They have to have a little sense of urgency in closing out. Some guys can make that adjustment, and some guys are struggling with that but we drilled it again today. That's obviously an area of concern."

Since most NBA defenses focus on packing the paint and preventing lay-ups, the Clippers usually collapse toward the rim when they suffer a breakdown and leave shooters open all over the court. And, of course, there are certainly other reasons the Clippers’ defense slips up, whether it’s a guard getting blown by on the perimeter or weak-side defenders over-helping on a drive.

The Clippers need to get on the same page defensively. The two teams they will likely have to defeat in order to make the NBA finals -- the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder -- are the third and fifth-best 3-point shooting teams in the league, respectively, so the Clippers will need to shore up their rotations and figure out a way to stop the bleeding.

(Read full post)

As the playoffs approach, the Clippers and Vinny Del Negro are faced with the dilemma of shortening the rotation and determining their most-efficient lineups.

The Clippers have given 13 different players rotation-level minutes at some point in the season. That number will shrink to nine or 10 guys, at the most, in the playoffs. Tough choices will be made and egos will be bruised.

“It really depends on who’s healthy and who can go. We really haven’t had that consistently. It’s been different lineups for just health reasons,” Del Negro said at practice last week. “Hopefully we can sew that up as we move forward at the end.”

Here are a few postseason lineup tweaks the Clippers probably should make:

The closing lineup

The Clippers best lineup this season, by far, has been DeAndre Jordan at center, Blake Griffin at power forward, Matt Barnes at small forward, Jamal Crawford at shooting guard and Chris Paul at point guard.

The lineup scores 118.4 points per 100 possessions and allows just 90.2 points per 100 possessions defensively (+28.2 net rating), figures that would rank as both the NBA’s top offense and defense by a considerable margin.

Thus far, the Clippers have mainly closed games with Griffin, Barnes, Crawford, Paul and Lamar Odom, not Jordan. The lineup has done very well, scoring 111.5 points per 100 possessions and allowing 103.1 points per 100 possessions (+8.4 net rating). It has been nowhere near as dominant as the lineup with Jordan in the middle, though.

Jordan’s inconsistencies on both ends of the floor, as well as his free-throw shooting woes, have made it difficult for Del Negro to fully trust Jordan with legitimate starter-level and closing-time minutes.

But the numbers say he should be out there.

“We need him big time,” Paul said of Jordan after last week’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. “I think he knows that and he needs to know that. With him in the game, he's a game-changer.”

With Jordan, the Clippers post a 57.0 rebounding percentage; replace him with Odom in that same lineup, and the figure drops to 49.8 percent. The same drop-off occurs offensively (60.4 true shooting percentage with Jordan; 54.6 percent with Odom).

Defensively, the Clippers see a significant boost in their 3-point defense with Jordan, allowing just 28.2 percent shooting on opposing 3-pointers, compared to 40.3 percent 3-point shooting with Odom.

It may run counter to Del Negro’s instincts, but Jordan should finish games.

The bench lineup

With Grant Hill constantly in and out of the lineup, and Eric Bledsoe’s recent injury, the bench has lacked the consistency and structure it had earlier in the season.

Since Jan. 1, the “Tribe Called Bench” lineup of Ronny Turiaf, Odom, Barnes, Crawford and Bledsoe has been outscored by 16.1 points per 100 possessions. But those numbers stem from a very small floor-time sample size (56 minutes).

To spark the struggling bench, Del Negro replaced Turiaf with Ryan Hollins in early February. The results have been abysmal.

Since Feb. 1, about the time Hollins took over as the bench’s center, the new lineup has been outscored by over 20 points per 100 possessions.

Neither Hollins (+0.5 points per 100 possessions) nor Turiaf (+3.8 points per 100 possessions) projects to play much in the postseason, but if one of them needs to be called off the bench, almost all signs point to Turiaf being the better choice.

Wildcard lineups

The wildcards of the Clippers season have been Billups and Hill. If healthy, both will play vital roles in a playoff run. If not, the Clippers will start Willie Green and be stretched thin with Barnes and Butler as their only wing players with size.

The small ball bench lineup with Hill as a big man instead of Turiaf or Hollins has only played 42 minutes, but has been dominated on the glass (47.1 rebound percentage), struggled offensively (87.7 offensive rating) and been outscored by 1.4 points per 100 possessions. Designed around versatility and speed, the lineup might fare well against a team like the Denver Nuggets.

Against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, the Clippers briefly went with a lineup of Griffin, Barnes, Butler, Crawford and Paul down the stretch. The Clippers’ defense struggled, and in 32 minutes overall, the lineup has been disastrous (-25.1 net rating). Replace Crawford with Jordan, though, and the results are much better (+23.5 net rating), indicating the duo of Barnes and Butler can coexist on the wings.

An intriguing lineup of Jordan, Griffin, Barnes, Bledsoe, and Paul has only played 21 minutes and been outscored by 4.4 points per 100 possessions, but has shot efficiently and dominated the boards (62.1 rebounding percentage). The lineup oozes elite defensive potential and off-ball movement, and could have value against a long, athletic team like the Oklahoma City Thunder.

A realistic possibility, depending on the situation, is for Del Negro to finish with Odom, Griffin, Barnes, Billups and Paul. Crawford is the Clippers’ second-best shot creator behind Paul, but Billups has a reputation for making big shots and would alleviate pressure on Paul with his sound decision-making, shooting and court vision. This lineup has only played seven minutes, so it’s impossible to glean anything from the data, but it’s the type of veteran-savvy lineup coaches prefer.

Conclusion

For most of the season, the Clippers’ starters and bench players have played almost entirely separately.

Four of L.A.’s nine lineups that have played at least 100 minutes are entirely compromised of either starting players or bench players. Two other lineups feature either four starters and one bench player or four bench players and one starter.

Therefore, there will be a lot of inexperienced lineups in the postseason, as lineups will be mashed and new player combinations will be tested in the name of defeating the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Luckily, Paul, Griffin and Crawford will be on the floor at almost all times, mitigating any potential lulls.

Deciding who should play, who shouldn’t and more importantly when they should play is a difficult and delicate task.

The Clippers’ best chance of playing into June hinges on the coaching staff’s ability to strike the right balance between managing egos and deploying the right combinations, that will be their playing in June.

Stats from nba.com/stats