The 2012-13 season was, in many ways, the best in the history of the Los Angeles Clippers.

However, it also feels like a massive missed opportunity, and it may be remembered as just that.

They finished the regular season with a record of 56-26; by far the best in franchise history. The next-best record they’ve posted was a 49-33 mark during the ’74-’75 season, when they were known as the Buffalo Braves.

They jumped out to a promising 2-0 lead over Memphis in the first round of the playoffs, only to falter miserably and lose the next four. Now, they’re sitting at home wondering what could have been.

With the season-ending injury to OKC’s Russell Westbrook, and the Spurs having to slug it out against the Warriors, the Western Conference is absolutely wide-open. Had they advanced past the Grizzlies, L.A. would’ve had a very realistic chance at making a Finals appearance. Alas.

So, where can they go from here, in what is likely the most important offseason in team history?

The savior, the guy that nearly single-handedly made the Los Angeles Clippers relevant, is an unrestricted free agent. Chris Paul, of course.

He’ll undoubtedly be the most sought-after player available on the open market, and, despite the disappointing playoff ouster, the Clippers should still be considered the odds-on favorite to land him. This is due in no small part to the fact that they can offer him one more year and nearly $20M more than any other team in the league.

The Clippers also still have a very young nucleus of solid talent around which to build. Unlike the Lakers’ relatively unenviable core of aging, expensive stars on the downsides of their respective careers.

All that said, Paul has not given any indication regarding whether he’ll actually remain in Los Angeles. As is his right, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him accept meetings with a few other potential suitors, such as Dallas, Atlanta and Houston.

If Paul were to move, the Clippers are instantly back to where they were in 2010, the year before he arrived. It would be a devastating blow to the franchise, and, while they still may have enough talent to eke out one of the last few playoff spots in the West, their window as a legitimate title contender is nearly certainly slammed shut.

So, retaining Chris Paul is clearly priority No. 1.

Another area of concern is the head coach. Vinny Del Negro, despite two playoff appearances in three years at the helm, isn’t under contract for next season, and it seems more likely than not that he won’t be on the Clipper bench for the 2013-14 season.

Del Negro also isn’t really helped by the fact that there are severable desirable names on the free agent coaching front. If L.A. were to part ways with VDN, expect names like Stan/Jeff Van Gundy, Nate McMillan and…Phil Jackson? Phil reportedly isn’t interested in returning to be the coach of any team, but just throwing it out there, ya never know.

So, let’s say the Clippers are able to bring back CP3 and part ways with Vinny. What about the rest of the roster? Outside of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford, each of whom are under contract for the next couple of years, there’s big potential for turnover here. Lamar Odom, Chauncey Billups, Matt Barnes, Ronny Turiaf and Ryan Hollins are all unrestricted free agents.

Paul has publicly declared on numerous occasions his love for playing alongside Billups. Billups, following game six against the Grizz, stated that he’d love to return for another season. Sorry, guys. This is something that needs to not happen.

For as great as his leadership and locker room presence may be, Billups doesn’t appear to have much left in terms of actual playing ability. After rupturing his Achilles 20 games into last season, Billups battled several other injuries throughout the 2012-13 season, and wound up playing in just 22 games during the regular year.

And, in those games, he was pretty unremarkable. In the playoffs, it got even worse, as he shot just 30 percent from the field in about 19 ineffective minutes per game. Unless he’s willing to accept a bargain basement salary and a significantly reduced role next season, the Clippers would be wise to move in another direction here.

The same goes for Lamar Odom, the guy who curiously seems to have had all of his basketball talent immediately vanish over the course of two years. He’s like a player in Space Jam that had his ability sucked out of him by the MonStars. Quite bizarre, indeed.

Since winning the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award as a Laker in 2011, Odom has been one of the most useless players in the league. In the two seasons since, one with Dallas, one with the Clippers, Odom is averaging about five points and five rebounds per game while playing about 20 minutes per.

He’s come into camp out-of-shape in each of the last two years, and doesn’t exactly seem emotionally invested in much of anything, save for maybe candy. He played in all 82 games for the Clippers this past season and scored in double-figures three times. Oh, and he also made over $8M. See you at the crossroads, Lamar.

Matt Barnes was brought in as something of an afterthought last summer, but wound up being one of the team’s most consistent and useful contributors. He averaged a career-high in points and shot a respectable 34 percent from three, and also provided solid defense on the wing. He’ll turn 34 midway through next season, but it’s tough to predict what kind of money he’ll command on the open market. If they can swing it financially, the Clippers need to bring Barnes back.

Hollins and Turiaf didn’t have regular playing time, but they’re a couple of guys that can come in and bring energy in limited minutes. They’re both dirt cheap, so retaining them wouldn’t exactly be crippling.

If Billups and Odom walk, there’s a starting off-guard slot and a reserve big man spot suddenly both available. Willie Green will likely be back, and he was the primary starter whenever Billups was sidelined. However, when Billups would actually be in the lineup, Green often times wouldn’t even see the floor in a reserve role. Clearly, they’d ideally like to find someone that can come in and start deservedly at shooting guard.

L.A. doesn’t have much money with which to play under the salary cap, but they can offer a player a full mid-level exception, which comes out to about $5M a year.

So, if we’re scouring the market looking for a shooting guard that may be able to come in at a price of about $5M, a few names pop up.

Atlanta’s Kyle Korver is coming off of a strong season during which he shot an insane 45.7 percent from three-point range. The Clippers have a dearth of totally reliable spot-up shooters, and Korver is arguably the league’s premier sharpshooter. He’d be an absolutely perfect fit, and, yes, it shouldn’t take much more than $5M annually to get him.

Chicago’s Marco Belinelli, Dallas’ O.J. Mayo (L.A. native), Denver’s Corey Brewer and OKC’s Kevin Martin are another few names to keep an eye on. Tony Allen of the Grizzlies would be an incredible find, as he’s possibly the best perimeter defender in the league, but I’d imagine he’ll be slightly out of LAC’s price range.

If we’re looking for a backup big to take Lamar Odom’s minutes, there are also a few possibilities. Golden State’s Carl Landry and Dallas’ Brandan Wright jump out, as do San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter and Portland’s J.J. Hickson. However, I can’t imagine the Spurs letting Splitter leave, and Hickson may command more than the Clippers are able to spend.

Wright was productive for the Mavericks in somewhat limited minutes, and he’s a guy that hasn’t quite been able to carve out a niche in the league since being taken by the Warriors in the lottery a few years back. He’s incredibly long and athletic, and has shown the capability of scoring a bit from time to time. With the proper tutelage, he’s surely a useful part that could come fairly cheap, as he’s still relatively unproven.

Assuming Paul and Griffin are off the table from a trade standpoint, the only real assets the Clippers have are Jordan and Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe has one year remaining on his rookie deal, and, if he continues to improve next season, is likely in for a big pay day as someone’s starting point guard when he does hit the market after the 2014 season. In all likelihood, the Clippers are going to lose him after this coming season. If that’s the case, instead of losing him for nothing, they should explore the avenues of a trade.

We heard rumblings around the trade deadline regarding a rumor that involved Jordan and Bledsoe heading to Boston in exchange for Kevin Garnett, but, thankfully, nothing came of it. Not saying the Clippers wouldn’t love to have a player like KG, but it still seems like something better could be had for a package including a pair of useful young players.

Jordan’s contract is the only real hindrance here, as he’s still on the books for two more years at basically $11M per. He’s a capable defender and great shot-blocker, but still can’t hit a free throw to save his life, making him a very risky guy to play down-the-stretch of a close game. VDN often played Odom instead of Jordan in these situations, which, based on Odom’s general lack of production, obviously wasn’t a good thing for the Clippers.

The Clippers could also strike it lucky in the draft, but that doesn’t seem particularly likely. This year’s class is reportedly one of the weakest in years, and L.A. won’t have a pick until No. 25 rolls around. It’s always possible to get lucky with a sleeper, though. But don’t hold your breath.

As long as you have a core of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, you’re going to be in contention in the West. But the Clippers actually have expectations and aspirations now.

56 win seasons mean nothing if you’re going home after one round of the playoffs. You can make the case that the Clippers had a far more successful season than did the Lakers, but in the end, neither team advanced beyond round one. So, was it actually more successful, or was it just less of a failure?

We’re heading into the most important summer in the history of the L.A. Clippers, and there are tons of questions to be answered. So stay tuned.

Somehow, here we are.

After winning the first two games of their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Los Angeles Clippers are suddenly facing elimination.

They lost the initial two games in Memphis, and followed that up with an awful effort on their home floor in game five.

Blake Griffin, who suffered a high ankle sprain in practice in the day prior to game five, was severely limited in the game, and wound up playing just 20 relatively ineffective minutes. He’s officially listed as a game-time decision for game six.

Chris Paul, who had to carry the load in Griffin’s absence, is also hindered by a thumb injury, but he will start. Paul led all scorers with 35 points in game five, but ran out of gas down-the-stretch, and got very little help from his teammates.

The only other Clipper to score in double-figures was Jamal Crawford with 15 points. No other L.A. starter finished with more than six points as the team was held to just 44 percent shooting from the floor.

The strong play of the Grizzlies big men continued in game five, as Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph absolutely dominated the paint, combining to score 46 points and grab 19 rebounds. Memphis won the rebounding battle 42-40 in that game, meaning the team that has held the edge in the rebounding department has won each of the first five games of the series.

Despite being up against it, the Clippers have been here before.

They had to go to Memphis last season, as you may recall, for game seven in the first round, and wound up pulling out a gritty 10-point victory to advance to round two. The Grizzlies franchise is 0-2 in game sevens, but is 3-0 in game sixes.

If they’re able to win the series, the Grizzlies will become the 16th team in the history of the NBA to win a playoff series despite being in an 0-2 hole.

L.A.’s offense has been stymied in the last four games, as the Grizzlies have held them to just under 88 points per game in games 2-5 after they poured in 112 in the game one blowout win.

The Grizzlies are sure to come out with tons of energy playing in front of their home crowd with a chance to advance, and the Clippers will have to weather that storm early and play with composure in order to have a chance.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30pm PT and will be televised nationally on TNT, and locally in the L.A. market on Fox Sports West.

Prior to the beginning of their first-round series, most prognosticators prognosticated that the Clippers-Grizzlies matchup would be a back-and-forth, hard-fought affair likely to take seven games before being decided.

Through the first four games, we have no indication that this won’t be the case. The Clippers took the first two games at Staples Center, and the Grizz countered by taking the next two at FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Game one’s 112-91 blowout win for L.A. was rather unexpected, given how evenly-matched the two clubs are. And the ensuing three games have taught us that this was, indeed, an outlier.

Game four in Memphis wound up being a 21-point Grizzlies win, but this was a fairly close game until the Grizzlies went on a big run to close out the third quarter. The Clippers never truly threatened after that.

In that game, the Clippers suddenly started missing everything. They wound up shooting 4-21 from three-point range, and just 41 percent from the field for the game. Only Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan scored amongst the Clippers’ starting five. But the real issue here was the interior defense.

After being fairly dormant through the first two games, the two Grizzlies big men have awakened.

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph scored 24 points apiece in game four, and combined to grab 22 rebounds, as well. Gasol was especially hot from the field in the second half, and the Grizzlies pounded the Clippers on the glass by a 45-28 margin. They had 13 offensive boards compared to just five for L.A., which led to a massive 22-2 edge in second-chance points.

The team that has won the rebounding battle has won each of the first four games of the series. In game three, the Grizzlies’ first win, they outrebounded the Clippers 45-33.

Defense and rebounding, as I’ve mentioned in this space throughout the series, are the Grizzlies’ primary strengths. They have three of the best perimeter defenders in the league in Tony Allen, Mike Conley and Tayshaun Prince, and Gasol is the Defensive Player of the Year.

Los Angeles outrebounded the Grizzlies by a stunning 47-22 margin in the game one blowout. Of course, this kind of dominance on the glass wasn’t expected to continue against a team like Memphis. However, if the Clippers are to win this series and advance, regaining the edge in the rebounding department must be the Clippers’ primary focus.

If you get outscored by 20 on second-chance points, you’re going to lose. It’s that simple.

Griffin was a complete non-factor on the glass in game three, finishing with 16 points and a measly two rebounds. In the game four loss, it was Jordan’s turn to take a night off, finishing with two points and two boards in 17 minutes.

Lamar Odom, who played 21 minutes, wasn’t any more effective, finishing with three rebounds off-the-bench in game four.

Conley, the Grizzlies’ POINT GUARD, and Allen, the SHOOTING GUARD, finished with four and five rebounds, respectively in the game, more than any Clipper other than Griffin, who had 10.

It’s certainly oversimplifying things to a great degree to say that winning the rebounding battle will automatically lead to wins. Even if the Clippers had the rebounding edge in game four, they’d still have been blown out shooting 4-21 from three.

One positive to draw from game four was that the Clippers were successful in holding onto the basketball, finishing with just eight turnovers, after turning it over 16 times in game three.

Paul asserted himself offensively late in game two, and, of course, hit the game-winning runner with 0.1 seconds to go. He’s going to have to be more aggressive in finding his own shot in these next three games.

The Clippers can’t afford to go through long offensive scoring droughts, especially against a team like the Grizzlies that can get themselves so many easy, high-percentage buckets on the interior.

Starting in game five, they have to get back to playing their style of play, and dictating the tempo of the game. They have the clear advantage in athleticism, and the Grizzlies can’t keep up with them if they can get out in the open court and start running.

Again, it all starts with interior defense. If you’re having to take the ball out from underneath your basket every time, it’s hard to get out in transition and score on the break. Memphis can’t shoot three pointers, and L.A. needs to be quicker on their rotations defensively in order to force the Grizzlies to beat them from the perimeter.

It’s a three-game series from now on, and the Clippers still have home court advantage. Game five will be Tuesday night at Staples Center.

Armed with a 2-0 series lead, the L.A. Clippers will look to try and bury the Grizzlies Thursday night as the scene shifts to Memphis for game three of their first round playoff series.

Following a rather shocking Clipper blowout in game one, game two was more of what we expected between two teams that finished the regular season with identical records, and have gone back-and-forth throughout the last couple of seasons in hard-fought fashion.

The Grizzlies’ efforts have been hindered tremendously by Zach Randolph’s foul trouble. Memphis’ star forward has been limited to just 56 minutes total through the first two games of the series, and has collected a total of 12 rebounds. During the regular season, Randolph averaged just over 11 rebounds per game. 

After being outrebounded by a stunning 47-23 margin in game one, the Grizzlies’ effort was better on the glass in game two, but the Clippers still held a 40-38 edge, including a 9-8 advantage on offensive boards.

Blake Griffin, following a rather sub-par 10-and-5 effort in game one, rebounded big-time in game two, finishing with 21 points and eight rebounds for L.A.

Of course, the true star of the show was Chris Paul, who, as he is wont to do, took the game over in the final moments, concluding in a game-winning bank shot against Tony Allen from the right side of the paint as time (nearly) expired.

Paul had 24 points and nine assists.

Memphis thrives on defense, rebounding and dominating the paint, but, unfortunately for them, they’ve had the advantage in none of those three areas through the first two games.

The Clippers have won nine straight games overall, and come into this game with all of the pressure on the Grizzlies.

Memphis could also stand to get a better effort from their bench unit. Jerryd Bayless, who was their leading bench scorer during the regular season, scored just two points in game two after leading the club with 19 in game one.

It’s been tough for the Grizzlies, one of the league’s best defenses in terms of forcing turnovers, to get on a roll so far, especially against Paul, one of the premier ball-protectors in the game.

Memphis will have to hope to turn the tables on L.A., perhaps attempting to get either Griffin or Paul into foul trouble early.

Tip-off Thursday night will be at 6:30pm PT and broadcast nationally on TNT, and locally in the Los Angeles market on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

In game one on Saturday night, pretty much everything that could’ve gone right for the Los Angeles Clippers, did.

In rather stunning fashion, they thumped the No. 5 seeded Memphis Grizzlies 112-91 to take a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven first round series.

The big key for the Clippers was their incredible edge in the rebounding department, where they held a 47-23 edge. That’s the kind of margin you might expect an NBA team to have against a college team, or something.

Memphis ranked third in the entire league during the regular season in both offensive rebounding and in limiting opponent offensive boards. L.A. grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in game one, with the Grizz finishing with just four of their own. The Clippers finished with a massive 25-5 edge in second chance points.

Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for six total rebounds, while Caron Butler, the Clippers’ small forward, grabbed seven of his own.

Los Angeles also got an expectedly stellar effort from Chris Paul, who finished with 23 points and seven assists, including 3-4 from three-point range.

Another stunning aspect of game one was that Blake Griffin, who averaged 18 points and eight rebounds during the regular season, was virtually a non-factor, finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.

Seven Clippers scored in double-figures, compared to four for Memphis. Jerryd Bayless led the Grizzlies off-the-bench with 19 points.

Memphis prides itself on its defense and rebounding, but they’ll obviously have to try and regain their focus and make necessary adjustments in order to avoid slipping into an 0-2 hole after tonight. One of the league’s best defensive teams can’t be allowing their opponent to shoot nearly 56 percent for an entire game and expect to have a chance to win.

Tip-off for game two is set for 7:30pm PT and will be televised nationally on TNT, and locally in the Los Angeles market on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

The L.A. Clippers will kick-off the 2013 NBA playoffs Saturday night with a familiar foe invading Staples Center.

The Memphis Grizzlies, who finished at 56-26, the same record as the Clippers, will be trying to exact some revenge after losing a hard-fought first round series to L.A. last season.

Last year, it was the Grizzlies who had home court advantage in the series, and made some rather dubious history. In game one, they blew a 27-point fourth quarter lead as Chris Paul led the Clippers all the way back for an improbable 99-98 win.

There have also been 110 game sevens in the history of the NBA playoffs. The Grizz became just the 22nd team to lose a game seven at home, when a Nick Young-led Clippers bunch went into Memphis and stole an ugly 82-72 game to advance.

Both of the teams have undergone substantial roster turnover since then, but the majority of the core figures remain.

L.A. went 3-1 against Memphis during the regular season, including a big 91-87 win in Memphis on April 13 in what was essentially a “winner take home court” game.

Unlike last season, both teams come into this series with relatively clean bills of health.

The Grizzlies had a less-than-100% Zach Randolph for last year’s series, while the Clippers were without Chauncey Billups, who had missed the majority of the season after rupturing his Achilles.

Memphis also got miserable individual series from Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, respectively, both of whom are now gone. They’ve essentially replaced Gay with Tayshaun Prince, and Mayo with Jerryd Bayless, both of whom have been stellar in Grizzlies uniforms.

The Clippers’ bench has been one of the league’s strongest this season, with the new additions of Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and a fully-healthy Eric Bledsoe.

Memphis is actually a fairly favorable matchup for the Clippers, due to their style of play.

The Grizzlies’ offense, like that of the Clippers, is primarily predicated on high screen-and-rolls.

They also have the bigs in Randolph and Marc Gasol with the ability to step out and hit midrange jumpers, something the Clippers’ offense doesn’t really feature. A challenge for the L.A. defense will be for DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin to remember to step out on the 15-foot jumpers from Gasol that are so effective.

L.A.’s primary weakness on defense is defending the three-point line. Fortunately for them, the Grizz don’t feature many good three-point shooters, and they rank in the bottom-10 in the league in team three-point percentage.

Quincy Pondexter, who plays about 20 minutes per game, and Prince are their most dangerous shooters from beyond-the-arc.

The key for the Grizzlies defensively will be to slow the game down and keep the Clippers from getting out and running in the open court.

They certainly have the personnel to match up with the Clippers’ wings, as Tony Allen and Mike Conley are likely the league’s premier defensive backcourt. Down low, they have the aforementioned Gasol, who may be the Defensive Player of the Year this season.

Gasol is a master of angles defensively, and he’ll need to hedge hard on screens to keep Paul from being able to get the midrange elbow jumper that he makes with such efficiency.

The Clippers will also have to be strong on the defensive glass, as the Grizzlies are one of the best teams in the league in terms of nabbing offensive rebounds and creating extra possessions for themselves.

Game one tips off at 7:30pm PT on ESPN.

Chad Billingsley struggled a bit in his second start of the season as the San Diego Padres snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the L.A. Dodgers Monday night.

Padres starter Eric Stults, who was relatively ineffective in his start against the Dodgers last Wednesday, pitched six decent innings on his way to his second win of the season. He also helped his own cause with a three-run home run in the second inning off of Billingsley that put San Diego ahead 3-0.

Billingsley wound up going six innings while allowing seven hits and three runs with three strikeouts, ultimately resulting in a no-decision.

Los Angeles subsequently scored three runs to tie the game, “building a picket fence” with a run in each of the third through the fifth innings, as Vin Scully declared.

Ronald Belisario took the loss for L.A. after walking a pair and allowing a hit to load the bases in the seventh. Lefty Paco Rodriguez then came in to relieve Belisario, and he walked in a run before inducing a double play off the bat of Yonder Alonso that allowed the Padres to take a 5-3 lead.

A Kyle Blanks sac fly to center scored the Padres’ sixth and final run of the game in the top of the ninth off of Josh Wall. Wall was called-up from triple-A Albuquerque earlier in the day after Shawn Tolleson was placed on the DL with a lower back strain.

The Dodgers fell to 7-6 on the season with the loss, while the Padres improved to 3-10. The two teams are currently fourth and fifth, respectively, in the NL West.

L.A. had its fair share of opportunities offensively, yet failed to come through.

They were able to load the bases in the first with two outs before Andre Ethier struck out to end the inning. Carl Crawford led off the inning with a single, and finished the night 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored. He’s now hitting .396 on the season, and has been one of the few bright spots for the Dodger offense.

Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI ground rule double to cut the San Diego lead to 3-1 in the fourth. Matt Kemp, who had singled prior to Gonzalez’s hit and would’ve scored on the play, was forced to stop at third due to the ground rule double. He was then stranded to end the inning, ultimately costing the Dodgers a run.

The left side of the infield continues to miss Hanley Ramirez, as Justin Sellers and Luis Cruz combined to go 1-6 on the night. Dodgers pitchers, with six hits, still have more hits on the season than Dodgers third basemen, who have five, combined.

L.A. squandered another run-scoring opportunity in the eighth, when Skip Schumaker was called upon to pinch hit for Cruz with one out and a pair of runners in scoring position.

Schumaker then hit a comebacker to the pitcher, who threw him out at first. Then, A.J. Ellis, who was on third, was gunned down at the plate by Alonso from first while attempting to score to end the inning.

San Diego’s Carlos Quentin, who started the massive brawl when these two teams last faced each other last Thursday, missed the game while serving the first game of his eight-game suspension.

The Padres and Dodgers will go at it again tomorrow evening, with Chris Capuano making his first start in place of the injured Zack Greinke for Los Angeles. Jason Marquis will take the hill for San Diego, with first pitch coming at 7:10pm PT.

In case you may have forgotten, the Dodgers and Padres aren’t really friends.

The two teams will take the field for the first time since last Thursday’s game was marred by a benches-clearing brawl Monday evening at Dodger Stadium. Chad Billingsley, who gave up one run on five hits against San Diego last week, will be making his second start of the season opposite Eric Stults for the Padres.

Stults was Billingsley’s mound opponent last week, as well, and struggled, taking the loss. The Dodgers (7-5) touched him up in his five innings of work, scoring four runs on eight hits including homers by Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis. He’ll be the seventh left-handed starter the Dodgers will have faced in their first 13 games of the season.

L.A. is coming off of a tough series loss in Arizona over the weekend, including a 1-0 defeat Sunday afternoon. Josh Beckett, despite taking the loss, was brilliant, going 8 1/3 innings while striking out nine and giving up a run.

Adrian Gonzalez’s strong start continued, as he picked up three hits for the second consecutive day. He’s now hitting .409 with a pair of home runs and a team-best 10 RBIs on the year.

The Dodgers took two-of-three in the series down in San Diego last week, and the Padres’ rough start continued into the weekend, when they were swept at home by Colorado. The Padres are tied with the Miami Marlins for the worst record in baseball at just 2-10.

Thursday’s brawl began after the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke hit San Diego’s Carlos Quentin on the arm with a 3-2 pitch in the seventh inning. Quentin then charged the mound, resulting in a fractured collarbone for Greinke, who will be sidelined for about two months. Quentin, Matt Kemp and Jerry Hairston, Jr. were all ejected from the game.

Quentin received an eight-game suspension from Major League Baseball, which he will begin serving tonight. Hairston received a one-game ban.

Kemp is off to a rough start at the plate this season. He’s hitting just .194 with an on-base percentage of only .220. He’s driven in four runs, and is still without a home run. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

The players and coaches downplayed it pregame, but it was evident that the final regular season date with the Memphis Grizzlies was of utmost important to the L.A. Clippers.

Led by 16 points and 12 boards from an energetic DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers marched into Memphis Saturday night and got their biggest win of the season, a 91-87 triumph over their Western Conference rivals.

The victory pulled the Clippers into a tie with the Grizzlies for the No. 4 seed in the conference, with each team sitting at 54-26 with two games to go in the regular season. However, the Clippers won the season series 3-1 against Memphis, so they own the tiebreaker should the two teams finish the year with the same record. They’re each also just a half-game behind Denver for the No. 3 seed.

If the Clippers can manage to overtake the Nuggets for the third seed, they’d likely face the Golden State Warriors in round one. L.A. is just 1-3 against the Warriors this season.

If the season ended today, the Clippers would face Memphis in the first round of the playoffs, but, unlike last season, they’d own home court advantage in the series. It was Los Angeles’ fifth consecutive win overall.

L.A. also got an unexpected boost from 40-year-old Grant Hill Saturday evening, who played crucial minutes down-the-stretch after Caron Butler left the game at the half with a sore right knee. Hill, who had played in just one of the Clippers’ previous eight games, stepped in to score five points and block a pair of crucial shots in the fourth quarter. Butler was scoreless in nine minutes before leaving the game, and is day-to-day.

The Clippers’ offense was highly impressive against one of the league’s premier defenses. Memphis is one of the league’s best in terms of turnovers forced, yet the Clippers only coughed it up seven times on the night. Each team turned it over just three times in the second half.

Marc Gasol was tremendous for Memphis, finishing with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.

Mike Conley, who had been on fire of late, struggled mightily, as he has done against the Clippers historically. He came into the game having scored 20 or more points in five of his last six games, but finished with just 12 on 4-11 shooting from the field.

This recent run has been highly encouraging for the Clips, after having played so-so ball throughout February and March. It’s also particularly positive to know that you can still beat a quality opponent like Memphis even without your top two scorers lighting it up. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combined f0r just 25 points on the night.

The reserves provided steady production, as well, scoring 40 points in all, with none of them scoring in double-figures. Memphis got 21 points from the bench.

The Clippers’ final two games are at home Tuesday against the Trail Blazers, and then on the road against the Kings the next night, in what could be the final NBA game played in Sacramento. Neither Portland nor Sacto is in the playoffs, so the Clippers “should” be able to take care of business.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies will travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks on Monday, and then host the Jazz Wednesday. The Mavericks are still trying to get over the .500 mark despite not being playoff-bound for the first time since 1999. The next game could be huge for Utah, as the Jazz are still fighting with the Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot.

Denver has three games left, and will host the Blazers Sunday evening, and then travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Monday. They’ll close the regular season with the lowly Phoenix Suns coming to town. The Nuggets have won 21 straight games at home.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin led the team with 19 points apiece as the L.A. Clippers continued their march towards the postseason with a 111-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Wednesday night.

The win was the Clippers’ 31st of the season on their home court, which broke the previous franchise-best of 30. The old record had been set by the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves.

Fresh off of their first season sweep of the Lakers since that same ’74-’75 season, L.A. swept Minnesota 4-0 in the season series for the first time since 1992-93, and improved to 52-26 on the year.

The shorthanded T’Wolves were led by Nikola Pekovic’s 20 points, and they also got a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double from Derrick Williams. Minnesota is now 29-49 this season, good for the fourth-worst record in the Western Conference.

The Clippers’ defense has been noticeably better during their current three-game winning streak. They held the Timberwolves to 6-23 from behind the three-point line Wednesday night. No real surprise there, though, as Minnesota is statistically the worst three-point shooting bunch in the league.

All five L.A. starters scored in double-figures, and they also got 14 points from Matt Barnes, as well as 11 from Jamal Crawford off-the-bench. The Clippers never trailed, and led by 16 entering the final quarter. Reserves played the majority of the final frame, giving the starters a good chunk of the night off.

The Clippers currently trail the Grizzlies by a game for the No. 4 seed, and the Nuggets by two games for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles has four games remaining, including a pair of back-to-backs. Three of those games are on the road against New Orleans, Memphis and Sacramento. The lone remaining regular season home game is next Tuesday against the Trail Blazers.

Memphis’ remaining four games come against Houston, the Clippers, Dallas and Utah, while the Nuggets remaining schedule includes dates with Dallas, Portland, Milwaukee and Phoenix.

If the playoffs began today, the Clippers and Grizzlies would face each other in the first round, as they did a year ago.

The Clippers will next hit the floor Friday evening in New Orleans against the Horlicans/Pelinets.