In the 15 months since David Stern voided the trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, 
the balance of power in Tinseltown – a laughable phrase for decades – has been slowly shifting. Last season, the Lakers finished a scant one game better than the Clippers and remained alive in the playoffs a scant one day longer.
While the Lakers have fired coaches, the Clippers have shown stability. While the Lakers have soared past the supertax, the Clippers have remained fiscally responsible. While the Lakers have looked old, the Clippers are frighteningly young.
This season, the shift has continued. With 17 straight victories and three wins over the Lakers, the Clippers have become the glitzy tenants at Staples Center. You want drama? Read about the Lakers. You want glamour? Watch the Clippers.
Blake Griffin will get tackled in mid-air. Dwight Howard will match DeAndre Jordan for ugly free throws. Matt Barnes will start a war with Metta World Peace. Chris Paul and Steve Nash will duel in a pick-and-roll clinic. Jamal Crawford will score 20 points in five minutes. Kobe Bryant will make everything in the last two minutes. Vinny Del Negro and Mike D’Antoni will refuse to talk about their future.
Let’s make it a best-of-15. After all, neither team will have to travel.
TRIVIA: Who is the only player to lead his team in either points, rebounds or assists in every game this season? Answer below.
THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: The boys at Morgan School in Clinton, Conn. had a fine season, matching their win total from the last two seasons combined and winning a state tournament game for the first time in four years. As the JV coach, I can tell you that they play a lot better than they dance.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, telling the Journal-Sentinel whom he would like to play in the postseason:
“The two games that we played Miami so far, we matched up well against them. If you ask me, that’s who I would want to play first round, Miami.”
LINE OF THE WEEK: Deron Williams, Brooklyn vs. Washington, March 8: 38 minutes, 15-24 FGs, 11-16 3-pointers, 1-1 FTs, three rebounds, five assists, one steal, three turnovers, 42 points in a 95-78 win. Williams set an NBA record with nine 3-pointers in the first half and came up one shy of the all-time mark shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall. He made four 3-pointers before the Wizards even scored and rang up 18 points in a 3:20 span of the first quarter. He scored 33 points in the first half, matching washington’s total and becoming the first player since Orlando’s Tracy McGrady vs. Denver on March 9, 2003 to match or outscore the opposing team in the first half. “He was hot like fish grease,” teammate Reggie Evans said.