NBA Opening Night: Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers
The poor Clippers, they just never seem to catch a break.
The 2009-10 season actually had some promise for this team, and maybe it still does.
But L.A.’s other team was hoping to unveil No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin tonight against the world champion Lakers, but this being the Clippers, that won’t happen.
Griffin, the huge WagerWeb.com favorite in Rookie of the Year odds, has a stress fracture of the left patella, or kneecap, and could miss as much as six weeks, which would be about 20 games. Tests on Monday revealed the fracture and a second opinion later in the day backed up the conclusion of the first doctor.
He aggravated the injured knee in the team’s final preseason game against New Orleans on Friday, wincing after he came down on a dunk. Griffin averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game during the preseason and the Clippers finished the preseason 6-2. To a man, returning players and coaches beamed about the change in mood around the team. And then this happens.
The Lakers are the WagerWeb.com odds-on favorites to repeat this year. Kobe Bryant, who averaged 26.8 points during the regular season and earned Finals MVP honors, won his fourth title and first without Shaquille O’Neal. It was also coach Phil Jackson’s fourth with Los Angeles and record-10th overall. The team is mostly back intact, although L.A. lost Trevor Ariza to Houston but brought in Ron Artest. He averaged 17.1 points and 5.2 rebounds in 69 games last season for the Rockets, joins Andrew Bynum (14.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg), Pau Gasol (18.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 3.5 apg) and Lamar Odom (11.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg) to provide support for Bryant.
Gasol might not play tonight. He missed the last six exhibition games recovering from a strained right hamstring and is officially questionable. Andrew Bynum, who missed the last two exhibition games with a right rotor cuff injury, said he will play against the Clippers.
The Lakers will unveil their championship banner and get their rings before the game. Besides the 12 returning players from last season’s championship team, one player from each of the Lakers’ previous nine championship teams in Los Angeles will also participate in the ceremony, part of the celebration of the team’s 50th season in Los Angeles.
The past players set to participate are Jerry West (1971-72); Norm Nixon (1979-80); Jamaal Wilkes (1981-82); James Worthy (1984-85); Michael Cooper (1986-87); Magic Johnson (1987-88); A.C. Green (1999-2000); Rick Fox (2000- 2001); and Robert Horry (2001-2002).
The Lakers have lost two of the last three times on the night of a ring ceremony and have a 5-4 all-time record in home openers in Los Angeles after winning championships.
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