NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

It is the Clippers.

It is the Clippers, still.

Yes, Baron Davis, one of my favorite players to watch has come to town, but it is still the Clippers.

Baron Davis shooting over Andrew Bynum of the Lakers

Image details: Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

Clippers fans have to be bumming. They lost Elton Brand to the 76ers, because the Clippers upset his manager, David Falk. They lost Corey Maggette to the Golden State Warriors, can’t remember why. Maybe money.

Anyway, even with the signing of Baron Davis the Clippers will suck. Baron cannot carry them on his back all by himself.

It sucks to be a Clippers fan when the Lakers are just across town. Just off the top of my head the Lakers in my lifetime have had Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant.

The Clippers in my lifetime have had…the Clippers have had…well, uhh..oh..Elgin Baylor! Not as a player, though, but it still counts doesn’t it? Elgin is vice-president of basketball operations and very good at his job.

NBA Elgin Baylor factoid - From the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, Baylor averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, respectively. His 38.3 point per game season average is the highest for any player other than Wilt Chamberlain. Baylor, a United States Army Reservist, was called to active duty during that season, and being stationed in Washington state, he could play for the Lakers only when on a weekend pass. However, despite playing only 48 games on the season, he still managed to score over 1,800 points.

The 71 points Baylor scored on November 15, 1960 was a record at the time. The 61 points he scored in game 5 of the NBA Finals in 1962 is still an NBA Finals record. An underrated rebounder, Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game during his career, including a remarkable 19.8 rebounds per game during the 1960-61 season — a season average exceeded by only five other players in NBA history. Baylor was a 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and went to the NBA All-Star Game 11 times.source

Baron Davis

Baron is one of the great penetrating guards of today. Somehow he can muscle inside or move fluidly inside for easy baskets, but he will miss big Elton Brand.

“Before you ask, there was never an underground handshake with Baron Davis,” Brand said Wednesday, addressing speculation that he’d given Davis some kind of commitment to return to the Clippers.

Today, we’ll find out if Davis feels the same way.

Davis is a two-time NBA All-Star (2002 and 2004). He averaged 21.8 points (12th in the NBA), 7.6 assists (6th in the NBA), 4.7 rebounds and 2.33 steals (3rd in the NBA) while playing in all 82 games for the Golden State Warriors during the 2007-08 season. Davis was just one of four players in the league last season to average 20+ points and seven+ assists (Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Chris Paul) per game.

Entering his tenth NBA season, Davis brings career averages of 17.1 points, 7.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.95 steals and 35.5 minutes per game.

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NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Legendary Jerry West and Kobe Bryant celebrate winning the Western Conference title

Image details: San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers, Game 5 served by picapp.com

The Lakers defeated the Spurs and earned a trip to the NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 100-92 on Thursday night and win the conference finals in five games.

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Stern rejoices

Commissioner David Stern could get his dream matchup of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Boston Celtics after all. Two big money cities, one from each coast, filled with championship lore, fighting it out for the NBA Title. What more could Stern even dream of? Well, how about the series goes 7 games?

The matchup he feared was the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Detroit Pistons. That series would feature a lot of defense and low TV ratings. Sorry, but when one team has a player known as the Big Fundamental and the other team features no one, it is hard to market to the world.

Consider that in Detroit the Hockey games have been drawing better than the Basketball games.

Pittsburgh’s 3-2 win on Wednesday night earned a 2.8 national rating and an 18.2 rating in Detroit, beating out the 15.9 rating for the Pistons’ matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Game 5 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals drew a 5.3 national rating.
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How can your host city be beaten by Hockey? You remember that sport, the one with the puck? Hockey and the Red Wings are huge in Detroit.

One final note and it is not even close, Boston and LA have been to more finals individually in Basketball than any other teams. Just look at all the titles that Red Auerbach won with Boston.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson has won nine championships, tied for the NBA record with former Boston coach Red Auerbach.

Lakers fired up!

The Lakers could not contain their excitement. The Western Conference had so many teams that finished with close records that to finally win a trip to the finals was just too much to handle. It is a good thing the Lakers had home court advantage.

The Lakers are 12-3 in the playoffs, including 8-0 at Staples Center, where they haven’t lost in two months. They have won 14 straight home games and 21 of their last 24 postseason games at home.

“My heart’s still pumping, that adrenaline is still running from the game,” said Lamar Odom, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “Maybe when I sit down and have something to eat, I’ll realize what just happened.

“We came out here, played our game, and won. It’s satisfying, but one more step.”

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The NBA Finals start next Thursday.

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