The Clippers have won two games in a row! Nothing like a couple of wins to make you wake up refreshed–but let’s have a cup of Coffey anyway.

1/26 Results

• Clippers 111, Magic 102: LAC climbed back to .500 with a win against the league’s worst team.
• Nuggets 124, Nets 118: If Philly is helping the Clippers all week, the Nets have been working against them, losing lots of key games to other Western teams.
• Grizzlies 118, San Antonio 110: Memphis is now 8 losses ahead of LAC while San Antonio is 6 losses back. Both of those margins should be safe.
• Mavericks 132, Trail Blazers 112: We’ll call this a “win either way” result for the Clippers. Dallas maintains a healthy 3.5 game lead over the Clippers, but LAC’s win coupled with this Portland loss puts the Blazers 4 full games back of the good guys.

• Cavaliers 115, Bucks 99: Don’t look now, but the Cavs (!!) are in a homecourt position in the Eastern Conference, and the Bucks are not.
• Hornets 158, Pacers 126: The Clippers play these two teams back-to-back on Sunday and Monday to finish up their road trip. With how Indiana is defending, you just hope that LAC has enough gas left in the tank to take advantage.
• Hawks 121, Kings 104: Somehow, Sacramento is so bad that a 17-point loss feels like a moral victory.
• Heat 110, Knicks 96: The Knicks are probably just not a good team. The Heat probably are.
• Bulls 111, Raptors 105: Toronto has bounced back from a bad start to the year to be a respectable play-in team, despite this loss to the East’s 2-seed.
• Suns 105, Jazz 97: Credit Utah for competitiveness against an elite team while severely shorthanded, but that will do little to lessen the sting of going 2-9 in their last 11.

Clips Wish List, 1/27

• Sixers over Lakers: Philly has done the Clippers a lot of favors this week. What’s one more? Both LA teams are currently .500, so the Lakers losing would give the Clippers a narrow edge.
• Warriors over Timberwolves: Minnesota has played well lately and Golden State has struggled with Draymond Green out of the lineup, but you really hope the Warriors win at home in this one. A loss would drop Minnesota to .500 and, coupled with a Lakers loss earlier in the night, move the Clippers up to 7th place.

Other 1/27 Contests

• None!

NBA (and non-NBA) Musings

• CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying is back, and the USMNT is playing El Salvador Thursday night at 7:00 Eastern. That’s what I’ll be watching and tweeting about Thursday evening.
• NBA veteran Aron Baynes has been out of the public eye since a dangerous fall in the Olympics last summer and vague rumors that he was temporarily/partially paralyzed. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst details the complete story publicly for the first time, from the mystery surrounding his injury to the harrowing journey of his recovery.
• Plugging again because it’s super fun and you’ll enjoy it if you either haven’t subscribed yet, or are a subscriber who hasn’t listened yet: Dr. Shap, Robert Flom, and myself recorded the January bonus podcast for paying subscribers to 213Hoops’ Patreon. For over an hour, we went through the roster and stats of the 2019 Clippers and 2022 Clippers, comparing the talent position-by-position on the two starless Clipper rosters. It was an absolute blast, and subscriptions that provide access to the bonus eps start at $1!

Have a good Thursday everyone!

Thursday Morning Cup of Coffey, 1/27/22
Lucas Hann

For those few of you who are early readers of this new daily little blog I’m doing, I’m going to let you in on a secret: for me, this is not my morning cup of Coffey. I do most-or-all of it before bed, since I’m on the East coast, only sometimes putting the finishing touches on in the morning before you all can wake up and enjoy it in the Pacific time zone.

That’s a long way of saying: the Clippers had the best comeback in NBA history last night, and I am still somewhat inebriated late on a Tuesday night as I write the following notes for you.

1/25 Results

• Nuggets 110, Pistons 105: It was close on both occasions, but Denver got two expected wins in their home-and-home series against the lowly Pistons. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that they could fall out of the top 6.
• Raptors 125, Hornets 113: Toronto is starting to look like a legitimate playoff team in the East, securing this statement win without Fred Vanvleet to move to 8th place and tie Charlotte, who they beat, in the loss column.
• Clippers 116, Wizards 115: I just really don’t know what to say, but the good news for all of you is that 213Hoops.com is the only outlet in existence that provides coverage of every Clippers game brought to you by Clippers lifers (a mission you can support on Patreon, starting at just $1 a month), and longtime contributor Niels Pineda serendipitously returned from hiatus to sign up for a truly once-in-a-lifetime double-comeback from the Clippers that saw them not only overcome a 35-point deficit, but also steal the victory from the jaws of defeat behind a 7-points-in-9-seconds heroic finish by Luke Kennard. Coverage from Niels is here, and Joseph Raya-Ward joined Dr. Shap and myself to discuss the game on The Lob, The Jam, The Pod here.
• Sixers 117, Pelicans 110: Philly won a battle of extremely shorthanded teams, but I’m not complaining–New Orleans is one of a few teams creeping on the periphery of the Western play-in picture.
• Celtics 128, Kings 75: Yeah, I’m taking the Kings off the Clips Wish List portion of this newsletter until they prove they’re a serious NBA organization. They’re cooked.
• Lakers 106, Nets 96: The Lakers got Anthony Davis back, while Brooklyn was without Kevin Durant (injured) and Kyrie Irving (stupid), so LAL had the star power advantage and the Nets failed to do LAC a favor.
• Spurs 134, Rockets 104: I haven’t looked it up, but I would bet it’s pretty rare that a losing team goes down by a 30-point margin, scores 100+, and no player on the winning team breaks 20 points. Anyway, LAC has three games against Houston in February, and it’ll be rough if they don’t get three wins.
• Warriors 130, Mavericks 92: I didn’t get to watch this game because of concurrent Clipper excitement, but the Steph only had 18 and Dallas lost by nearly 40? To add insult to injury, the Mavericks lost Tim Hardaway Jr. to a fractured foot that could cost him months (timeline TBD). The Clippers’ odds of passing Dallas are still very long, but Tuesday’s combination of results keeps the door ajar for a few days longer.
• Timberwolves 109, Trail Blazers 107: The Wolves (barely) held off the Blazers, so the Clippers are stuck in 9th place despite their amazing comeback victory because Minnesota and the Lakers both won as well. Fortunately, they at least created some breathing room between themselves and 10th-place Minnesota.

Clips Wish List, 1/26

• Clippers over Magic: LAC faces the worst team in the league, hunting for a bonus win after their miraculous comeback on Tuesday night
• Nets over Nuggets: Brooklyn let the Clippers down by losing to the Lakers on Tuesday, and now they’ll have a home game (meaning they’re without unvaccinated guard Kyrie Irving) against the Nuggets.
• Grizzlies over Spurs: Memphis is 8 losses ahead of the Clippers, San Antonio is just 5 behind. I’d sleep better if the Spurs fell off and LAC’s play-in spot was secured.
• Mavericks over Trail Blazers: While it isn’t impossible for LAC to pass Dallas, I’d much rather get some breathing room between the Clippers and Portland, who are a close 10th place.

Other 1/26 Contests

• Bucks @ Cavaliers: The defending champs have mostly coasted this year, and Cleveland is the league’s foremost surprise up-and-cover. In a tightly-packed top 5 out East, this game could be pretty meaningful.
• Hornets @ Pacers: Charlotte would regret missing this chance for a free win against Indiana’s backups and G-Leaguers.
• Kings @ Hawks: Technically an Atlanta win would both help the Clippers and Clipper legend Lou Williams, but I do not respect the Kings enough to put them on the Wish List right now.
• Knicks @ Heat: New York is trying to make sure they get to the playoffs again. Miami is holding on to a razor-thin advantage for the 1-seed. Both teams have a lot to play for.
• Raptors @ Bulls: Same scenario as above, except Toronto is probably better positioned to be competitive than the Knicks are.
• Suns @ Jazz: Utah is still 7 losses ahead of the Clippers, so their fall doesn’t affect LAC, but at 2-8 in their last 10 and with another shorthanded loss likely in this one, they’re quickly sliding down the Western Conference standings.

NBA (and non-NBA) Musings

• The Clippers are on a back-to-back! I linked to our coverage of the Wizards win above–make sure to check out 213Hoops today for coverage of tonight’s game against the Magic.
• Plugging again because it’s super fun and you’ll enjoy it if you either haven’t subscribed yet, or are a subscriber who hasn’t listened yet: Dr. Shap, Robert Flom, and myself recorded the January bonus podcast for paying subscribers to 213Hoops’ Patreon. For over an hour, we went through the roster and stats of the 2019 Clippers and 2022 Clippers, comparing the talent position-by-position on the two starless Clipper rosters. It was an absolute blast, and subscriptions that provide access to the bonus eps start at $1!

Have a good Wednesday everyone! It’s hump day!

Wednesday Morning Cup of Coffey, 1/26/22
Lucas Hann

Good morning Clipper nation! Let’s take a glimpse at the results from Monday night and preview Tuesday’s slate of games:

1/24 Results

• Pacers 113, Pelicans 117: It wasn’t pretty, but New Orleans is now just 3 losses behind the Clippers.
• Knicks 93, Cavaliers 95: Cleveland escaped despite a rough offensive fourth quarter, in large part because Kevin Love, who is still in the NBA, made six threes in this game. He’s having a renaissance year and would be a candidate to go to a playoff team at the deadline… if he wasn’t an important part of the rotation for a team that’s just 2 losses out of 1st in the East.
• Bulls 111, Thunder 110: LaVine and Gilgeous-Alexander were both back in the lineup for their respective teams, and SGA had a shot to force OT but missed as Chicago escaped with a road win.
• Jazz 109, Suns 115: It’s a little weird that this game was as close as it was, since Utah rested basically their entire core (though lots of those guys were only partially “resting” as they are also recovering from injuries). Utah is now 2-8 in their last 10, though this one shouldn’t be held against them.

Clips Wish List, 1/25

• Pistons over Nuggets: Detroit gave Denver a run for their money on Sunday and will get another shot at the upset in a rematch tonight, as the Nuggets look to continue pulling away from LAC.
• Clippers over Wizards: LAC faces a slumping Washington group in game 4 of their 8-game trip.
• Sixers over Pelicans: New Orleans lingers 3 games back of the Clippers–far enough that there’s no need to panic, but close enough that a bad week could put you in panic territory. Doc Rivers’ Sixers squad lost to the Clippers last week before beating the Spurs over the weekend; they can keep handling LA’s business with another win here.
• Celtics over Kings: Sacramento is on the cusp of falling off the wish list, as they’re 5 losses behind LAC and playing pretty poorly, but for now they still get to hang around as the Clippers face a murderer’s row–a road 5-in-7 beginning tonight followed by a bunch of really good teams to open February.
• Nets over Lakers: Brooklyn has been extremely inconsistent this year (something LAC was able to capitalize on in December), but it would be best if their good version could show up tonight to set back the Lakers, who already enter this game under .500 and enter the night a half game ahead of the Clippers.
• Rockets over Spurs: Like Sacramento, the Spurs are on the verge of falling off our radar here, but I still find myself preferring that they lose. It is a wish list, after all.
• Warriors over Mavericks: If we’re including teams that are 5.5 games back of LAC, I suppose we can root for losses by a team 4.5 games ahead of them–but realistically, I’ve given up on finishing ahead of Dallas. The two upcoming head-to-head contests in February keep the door just ajar, but if the Clippers don’t win both then the chase is over.
• Trail Blazers over Timberwolves: Portland is hot on the Clippers’ tail, just 1 loss back (though with 3 fewer wins as well), but the Clippers have already cliched the tiebreaker and are so narrowly behind Minnesota that the right combination of results (Clippers win, Lakers loss, Wolves loss) could put LAC into 7th place at the end of Tuesday night’s action.

Other 1/25 Contests

• Hornets @ Raptors: The Raptors have put themselves back in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and now have a big chance to continue their climb against 7th-place Charlotte.

NBA (and non-NBA) Musings

• A rumored John Wall – Russell Westbrook swap is hilarious at first glance, but could make some sense for both teams. Houston is saddled with the same enormous contract either way, so getting a Lakers pick for free is a no-brainer, and under salary-matching rules (which allow a team to bring back 125% of their outgoing salary), the Lakers can use the massive swap ($44M for $44M) to add more salary from a third team if they find someone they like on the trade market. The bonus 25% in the Westbrook matching is worth $11M alone, plus they could add more salary (Horton-Tucker’s $9.5M, Nunn’s $5M, and/or Jordan’s $2.6M) to increase that extra salary slot created. The issue is going to be one of assets–if their only tradeable future 1st is going to Houston, it seems unlikely that they’ll have enough sweetener to get a third team to play ball on a serious big-time acquisition.
• Last night, Dr. Shap, Robert Flom, and myself recorded the January bonus podcast for paying subscribers to 213Hoops’ Patreon. For over an hour, we went through the roster and stats of the 2019 Clippers and 2022 Clippers, comparing the talent position-by-position on the two starless Clipper rosters. It was an absolute blast, and subscriptions that provide access to the bonus eps start at $1!

Have a good Tuesday everyone!

Tuesday Morning Cup of Coffey, 1/25/22
Lucas Hann

With the entire league past the halfway point of the 2021-22 NBA season, let’s take a glimpse at the results from Sunday night and Monday’s slate of games:

1/23 Results

• Knicks 110, Clippers 102: A hard-fought loss for a Clippers crew that, despite the result, is starting to look like a more cohesive, resilient bunch. Full coverage on 213Hoops from Michelle Uzeta.
• Celtics 116, Wizards 87: Jayson Tatum broke out of his slump with a monster 51/10/7 line, while the Wizards are now losers of 3 in a row and 4 of 5 heading into their game vs LAC on Tuesday.
• Heat 113, Lakers 107: The other LA team almost came storming back, but fell just short. Miami moves to 1st in the East while the Lakers fall back below .500.
• Magic 114, Bulls 95: Chicago’s form has dropped as they struggle with Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, and now Alex Caruso all sidelined for extended periods. Orlando grabs a rare win with Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back.
• Trail Blazers 114, Raptors 105: Toronto made this a game again after trailing by 30, but Portland did enough to hold on. The Blazers are now winners of 6 of 8 and sit just one loss behind the Clippers for 9th.
• Hawks 113, Hornets 91: The Hawks have followed 5 straight losses with 4 straight wins. Are last year’s Eastern Conference Finalists finally getting into a rhythm this season after severe COVID issues derailed the first half of the year?
• 76ers 115, Spurs 109: Doc Rivers almost went and did it again as a 15-point lead became a tight game down the stretch, but Joel Embiid continues his spectacular play and the Spurs are now 2-8 in their last 10 and well back of the Western Conference play-in.
• Mavericks 104, Grizzlies 91: Dallas took care of business, but this game doesn’t tell us much about either team as Memphis was playing without most of their rotation. Overall, though, the Mavs have pulled 7 games above .500 and currently look clearly established over the struggling middle of the pack in the West.
• Timberwolves 136, Nets 125: Brooklyn obviously has a lot of talent, but the on-court chemistry and defensive issues still have me feeling like they haven’t proven themselves as contenders yet. The Wolves clawed back to .500 and are now in 7th in the ever-shifting Western Conference standings.
• Nuggets 117, Pistons 111: Denver nearly let this one slip away from them, but it turns out having the best player in the world helps you squeak out wins, especially when the opposing team doesn’t have a star who can counter Jokic with offensive production on the other end.
• Warriors 94, Jazz 92: Two of the best teams in the West overall, both struggling to play good basketball recently, partially (but only partially) due to injuries. This turned into a rock fight late and neither really impressed.

Clips Wish List, 1/24

• Pacers over Pelicans: Not a big one here, but there’s probably no bottom-6 team the Clippers would like to avoid in a potential play-in game more than New Orleans.

Other 1/24 Contests

• Knicks @ Cavaliers: Watching Evan Mobley on League Pass can only turn out well.
• Bulls @ Thunder: OKC is off the wish list after dropping 10 of their last 11 to fall far out of the play-in conversation.
• Jazz @ Suns: This would-be marquee matchup feels like it could turn into a blowout with Utah beat up, slumping, and on the second night of a back-to-back as the Suns crush everything in their path.

NBA (and non-NBA) Musings

• Grayson Allen received a one-game suspension following this Flagrant II foul on Alex Caruso that will cause the Bulls guard to miss 6-8 weeks with a wrist fracture. The one-game suspension is probably a fair application of precedent considering the league has gone light on recent suspensions, but I wouldn’t mind seeing plays like this–and Nikola Jokic’s dead ball hit on Markieff Morris–get longer suspensions. Deterring reckless actions that unnecessarily pose injury risks should be the goal here moreso than “punishing” individual perpetrators.
• NFL Overtime is the worst thing ever. I mean, Bills-Chiefs was a fucking amazing football game (three touchdowns in the final 2 minutes, plus a 50-yard drive in 13 seconds to set up the FG that sent it to OT!), and while I was happy for OT because I didn’t want it to end, I would have rather it ended with a winner in regulation than be decided by a coin flip. I get excited when basketball games go to OT, when college football games go to OT, when baseball games go to extra innings, even when soccer games go to penalties. NFL overtime somehow makes games less exciting and intense.
• Free COVID Tests are available from the US Government, if you are someone who would be interested in that and haven’t heard about it yet. You can get 4 per household at this link.
• A Winter Storm left a few inches of snow in my yard in North Carolina on Friday night, and the rarity of the occassion has stretched local resources enough that I don’t have to go in to work Monday morning. Two thoughts: first, it’s a little bit different here than the time I spent living in Syracuse, and second, it gave me time to write this little blog post since I can sleep in tomorrow.

Have a good Monday everyone!

Monday Morning Cup of Coffey
Lucas Hann