Denver Post says Clips will make playoffs

Enthusiasm for our team has now swept to Colorado where Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post writes:

as the upcoming NBA season peeks its head around the corner, may I make a potentially preposterous proclamation? The Clips could crack the playoffs this year.

He praises Blake Griffin & Eric Gordon, but he believes:

it all comes down to point guard Baron Davis, who shoots too much and doesn’t pass enough.

He quotes Kevin Arnovitz (who writes the great ClipperBlog) as saying the key is:

Davis’ willingness to stop shooting off the dribble, where he’s one of the league’s three least efficient scorers, and accepting that he’s now a third offensive option. If Baron can tap his inner Jason Kidd and approach the offense with restraint, the Clippers immediately become a decidedly better offensive squad.

I love Arnovitz’s work, and the fact that the Clips are getting press in Denver makes me happy as a toddler watching “Blue’s Clues.”  However, I think the good Baron gets too much blame for last year’s mess.  Watching last year I felt Baron approached the offense with TOO much restraint.  As I often say, there were games where he was forced to be so non-dynamic that he could’ve been a Steve Blake or Derek Fisher who just passes the ball away & lets other folks set up the offense.  It was his injuries last year, not him being a ball hog, that made him… well, let’s just say it, suck.