Kamenetzky: Cali Report – Lakers alive, Griffin AWOL, Curry balling, Downtown Sacramento

It is possible the Lakers might catch a few breaks, something this season hasn’t often featured. Manu Ginobili’s injury takes him out of San Antonio’s visit to Staples on April 14. If the Rockets are locked into the seventh seed, James Harden could sit when the teams meet in the regular season finale three nights later. They could be catching the slumping Clippers at a very good time Sunday afternoon. But they still have to play consistent ball, and more than anything have to show a little spine defensively.

Over their last seven quarters, the Lakers have managed to do it.

— Brian Kamenetzky

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (49-26)

That the Clippers have lost three consecutive games, four of their last five, and six of their last 10 games is concerning in and of itself. That they haven’t beaten a West team currently in the playoff picture since the Jazz on February 23? Also concerning. That Vinny Del Negro has recently questioned his team’s intensity? Worthy of a raised eyebrow.

But as the Clips attempt to navigate the recently choppy waters, an incident described by ESPNLA.com’s Arash Markazi after Monday’s loss to the Pacers has especially caught my attention:

Griffin wasn’t in the Clippers locker room. A couple of exasperated team employees said they had seen him moments earlier before he somehow vanished into thin air.

This was the second consecutive home game after which Griffin left the arena without addressing the media, instead letting Chris Paul answer the hard questions about a team that had lost three straight and four of its last five.

If the Clippers had won, Griffin would have been sitting next to Paul, jokingly opening a can of Red Bull strategically placed on the table after every game for the team’s sponsor. He would crack some jokes, make some faces at Paul’s son and show off the charm and personality that has made him one of the best pitchmen in sports.

But the Clippers lost, to the Indiana Pacers, so Griffin was nowhere to be found, which isn’t the worst thing in the world but definitely is a bad look for a player viewed as a team leader.

As Markazi correctly notes, it’s fairly inexcusable for a purported team leader to duck the media in theface of defeat. For consecutive games during a particularly rough stretch? Even more so.

Even if the Clips take cues first and foremost from Paul, he shouldn’t be charged with carrying the leadership burden alone. Griffin, considered a franchise pillar (and an expensive one at that), should be expected to provide leadership.

During turbulent periods, it’s imperative he does.

— Andy Kamenetzky

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (42-32)

February was a mite scary for the Dubs. Six consecutive losses marked the lowest point, and a month that began 12 games above .500 concluded with a seven-game cushion. Folks were understandably wondering if reality had caught up to a young squad playing well above expectations.

What a difference another 31 days makes. After dropping the first two games of March, the Warriors went 9-5 for the remainder, highlighted by a 108-78 thumping of the Rockets in Houston. While it obviously takes a village to regain team-wide form, it’s hard to look past Steph Curry’s production as a catalyst. Check out the sharpshooter’s numbers over the last 10 games:

26.4 ppg/.487 FG/.489 3-pt/4.8 rebounds/6.8 assists/1.3 steals

Farmer Hoggett approves.

It remains to be seen whether Curry can maintain this production over the remaining eight regular season games (much less beyond), but this is a potentially important development. Of the eight players currently in the rotation, only Bogut, Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry have tasted the playoffs.