When will Vinny Del Negro learn that his job is on the line? When will Clippers management decide that  riding out the remainder of the season will crush this team? When will Larry Brown decide that he needs to return to the head coaching helm and actually coach this multifaceted squad to a potential championship? I sure hope and believe it should be next season. The Clippers have enough talent to make the postseason this year, however they will be a quick out because of their lack of execution. They have been figured out and Vinny has yet to make the necessary adjustments needed for a contender to continue to compete.

Leading by 9 at the break, playing great defense to hold the Celtics to only 39 points, the Clippers entered the second half making absolutely no adjustments. You are playing the best defensive team in the league. You know Doc Rivers is telling his team the X’s and O’s. What happens in the Clippers locker room at the half? Chilling? Laughing? If you cannot command the attention of your squad you do not deserve to coach them. When you defer to your players you are not doing your job. When you pretend to draw up plays on your white board, you’re not doing your job.

Caron Butler continued his shooting woes shooting 3-13 on the night. Chris Paul didn’t show up the entire night. And that was it. The loss of Chauncey Billups will continue to dominate the storyline, however, his presence was not the difference. They began the season with a spaced out schedule, allowing for rest, practice time and a chance to become familiar with each other. Now that they have limited practice time, the Clippers have no in-game coaching. No in-game adjustments. And that allows for every team to defend the simple Clippers offense. Their home court advantage has essentially disappeared. And that is not good news as they have 3 games in the next 4 days. Beginning their home trip 0-2 speaks volumes on their coaching staff. Neil Olshey, you have done a tremendous job putting this team together this offseason, it is time to inject something into the coaching staff – tell them that their contracts are not guaranteed unless they devise some sort of offensive game plan that doesn’t not involve dribbling at the top of the key until the shot clock reads 5 and a desperation heave becomes their play. The funny thing is that the Clippers went 18-21 from the free throw line tonight, however, they shot 37% from the field – due to ineffective offensive sets, not due to the roster.

I’ve said it before, and I will continue to say it: If the Clippers do not begin to run offensive sets that speak to the talent they have on the roster, they will crumble and stumble to the finish line. They may be lucky to secure a 7th or 8th seed in the West the way they currently execute on both ends of the floor. FIRE VINNY. HIRE LARRY BROWN. You will see drastic improvement in the teams’ play on both ends of the court. I’m done. Clippers are shooting themselves in the foot. Over and over and over and over and over………

The only reason LA had a chance at narrowing the gap with the Warriors was because of the inspired and terrific defensive effort from Eric Bledsoe (4 steals) as well as the energy, hustle and rebounding of Reggie Evans (11 points, 12 rebounds, 7 offensive). But as a head coach of a very talented team in the NBA, you must know when to bring back your superstar point guard. You know, the one who has proved time and time again to be clutch in these situations? When you leave the energy group in too long it backfires, as evidenced by tonight’s coaching miscues by Vinny Del Negro. Bledsoe was spent. He was panting, breathing so heavily from the incredible effort he showed and needed to take a seat. Instead, Vinny leaves him in with the score tied at 83 and they soon find themselves looking up at a 89-84 deficit with under a minute to play.

97-93. The Clippers are 1-2 against the Warriors. A team trailing them in the Western conference by 5 1/2 games. A team that should not have a chance to win more than one out of four has now taken 2 out of three. Noticing a trend? The Clippers are also 0-3 against Minnesota. They have not won back-to-back games within their last 11 games. They are rapidly declining because they are easy to defend. Lame screens on their only offensive set, the pick-and-roll, doesn’t even allow Chris Paul to work because the screener never truly puts a body on the defender he is attempting to pick.

If the Clippers do not shore up on their offensive execution, free throw percentage (which is at 68%, good enough for 26th in the NBA) and start to run a consistent offensive set, they will dip into the low seeds of the West and there will only be one person to blame: Vinny Del Negro. If you do not have the wherewithal to coach talent, then speak up, because you are doing an awful job thus far of it. If the FIRE VINNY chants do not begin soon, this team may lose control. If Blake Griffin can’t start hitting free throws, this team will crumble. If Deandre Jordan can’t be as enthusiastic as Reggie Evans is when he takes his minutes, the Clippers will in turn have no one to protect the rim on the defensive end. If Caron Butler does not find his way out of this black hole of a shooting slump, the Clippers will soon be starting Bobby SImmons at the three spot.

That’s a hell of a lot of IF’s for a team who had thought they turned another cheek a few weeks back. And IF they do not find the necessary change, there will be more ANDS and BUTS and the entire team will unravel.