[Calder]

What is going on with the Los Angeles Clippers as of late? Losers of 7 of their last 10 games, Mike Dunleavy's team appears to have hit some sort of wall this late in the season. At 33-25, a playoff spot looks all but assured, but a chance at the Pacific Division title is now a distant memory with Phonexix winning their last 11 games.

The good news for the Clippers is that on Friday night they got Corey Maggette back into the lineup for the first time since December. That gives them a little under two months to get him into playing shape again, and to figure out what to do with him now that Cuttino Mobley is playing so well. Should be interesting.

[cjg11582]

They needed that division title to avoid playing either The Spurs or The Mavs in the first round with the 4-5 match up. Now instead of landing the two seed, where they would most likely play either the Hornets (as it stands now), Lakers, Kings, Rockets or Grizzlies. They will play in the first round one of the three best teams in The NBA and if they can somehow perform a miracle and win that series, it is the western conference regular season champion that would most likely be the subsequent match-up.
Come to think of it, maybe The Clippers are intentionally losing these games. If they slip one more spot to #6, they will most likely play The Nuggets in the first round, a team that is not exactly intimidating. So instead of winning their way into a favorable match-up they will lose their way into one. It maybe immoral but it is practical.