Well Clipper fans, he's not quite Elton Brand, but he's still a hell of a player. Last night the Clippers swung a deal for 2 time defensive player of the year, Marcus Camby of the Denver Nuggets.

Granted, Camby is no Elton Brand, but you stick him next to Chris Kaman and you have probably one of the best defensive frontcourts in basketball (if you include last years rookie sensation, Al Thornton).

It was a desperate move by 2 desperate teams. The Nuggets were simply looking to dump salary (which is why they only acquired a 2nd round pick), while the Clippers were simply looking for anything that could get the bad taste of the Elton Brand situation out of their mouths.

The problem now is that the Clippers will no longer be able to throw a large contract offer to the Hawks' Josh smith or the Bobcats' Emeka Okafor. Their team is pretty much set (they'll obviously fill in a guy here or there).

Obviously with Baron Davis and a lot of athletes on the team like the aformentioned Thornton, rookie Eric Gordon and now Camby, the Clippers should be an exciting team to watch. But will that excitement result in a berth in the playoffs in 2009? I don't think so, but we'll have to wait and see...

Tonight is the night that the post-season begins for the Los Angeles Lakers. They have the opportunity to place themselves right back in the top spot of the Western Conference with a victory over the Hornets (techincally they would still be 1/2 game back, but with 2 more games to go after that, the ball is definately in their court, no pun intended).

The problem is, the game is just as big for New Orleans, and they aren't going to just give the game away. Lets not forget what Chris Paul did to the Lakers the last time the Hornets were in town. He carved the Lakers up for 21 assists and made Peja Stojacovic look like Larry Bird (Peja dropped 36 points on 10 of 13 from deep).

The Lakers perimeter defense has been nothing short of below average over the last month of the season. They have been torched by the likes of Beno Udrih and Steve Blake in recent weeks. Now, here comes Kobe's direct competition for league MVP. How will the Lakers respond to that challenge tonight? We'll have to wait and see...

The Los Angeles Lakers started their 4 game east coast trip on a high note last night with a convincing victory over the Chicago Bulls. But while the Lakers are riding high, winning 8 of their last 11 games and boasting the NBA's 3rd best scoring offense, rumors abound about them possibly picking up Hall of Famer to be Jason Kidd.

I am never one to pass up an offer to improve my basketball team, especially if I can get someone who I feel is one of the best point guards to ever play the game. Of course the problem is (as it always is), who do you give up? I think its pretty clear that Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum are untouchable.

I'm sorry, but if I'm the Nets, the Lakers don't have anything else I would want. I would have no inhibitions about trading Lamar Odom. The problem is, why would New Jersey want him? I mean, you put him at the 4 to go along with Carter and Jefferson. Does that make the Nets any better? I mean you can count on Kidd to give you 15 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds a night. While Lamar will score 22 points, and grab 15 boards one night, and follow that up with 8 points and 4 boards the next. It's a complete one sided move, unless the Nets are looking to clear salary cap space after next season when Lamar's contract runs out. But even after Lamar's contract runs out, they will still be over the cap because of the extensions they have given to Jefferson and Carter over the last 2 off-seasons.

Another scenario would be to trade Kwame's contract along with the long contract of either Vlad Rad or Walton and a first round pick, and maybe Farmar. Once again, if you're the Nets, is that enough? I say no. You already have a young point guard for the future in Marcus Williams. You have Jefferson, Nachbar and Antoine Wright at the Small Forward position (which both Walton and Vlad play), and the Lakers 1st round pick would likely be in the bottom 3rd of the first round.

While all Laker fans daydream about Kidd leading the fastbreak with Kobe on one wing, Trevor Ariza on the other and Andrew Bynum trailing, the fact of the matter is that the Lakers simply don't have the guns necessary to bring Kidd to Los Angeles. The ONLY WAY that Kidd will be in a Laker uniform this season is if he demands Nets management to trade him there.

The USC Trojans football team put a hurtin' on the 6th ranked Arizona State Sun Devils last night, beating them by 20 points on their home field.

Now, what seemed to be a longshot a month ago, looks to be almost inevitable: The USC Trojans can make it to the Rose Bowl.

Remember after the home loss to Stanford? People were talking about how the dynasty was over, and USC was on their way to the Alamo Bowl, or the GMAC Bowl etc. Now the Trojans have placed themselves in a position where they need one more win and an Oregon loss, and they are right where they expect to be every season.

But next week is the true test. Its USC vs. UCLA. The Bruins knocked USC out of the National Championship game last season, and they will definately relish the opportunity to knock the Trojans out of the Rose Bowl this year. With the Rose Bowl on their minds and revenge in their hearts, USC will not only be looking to defeat the Bruins, but embarrass them.

The hype begins right after UCLA's victory over Oregon this Saturday afternoon. As soon as the clock hits zero and the victorious Bruins walk off of the field, having shattered the dreams of one Rose Bowl hopeful (Oregon), their quest will begin to crush the hopes of another (USC).

The Lakers played like dogs offensively for the first 3 quarters of Friday nights game against the shorthanded Pistons. But they had a huge 4th quarter rally that was fueled by Jordan Farmar's tenacious on ball defense.

Kobe Bryant had a terrible shooting night, but played the best defense he's played in years by holding down one of the best scorers in the league in Rip Hamilton.

But what stood out the most was the energy and emotion that the team played with in the 4th quarter. The team has not played that inspired since the Phoenix playoff series 2 years ago. The Lakers have to come out with that same type of intensity every night and then maybe they'll have something.

They may not be the most talented team, but if you play with 100% effort every night (I know their human, so lets say at least most nights) they will be in nearly every game.

They've taken down some of the NBA's elite here in the early season (Houston, Phoenix, Utah and Detroit). Let's see how they follow up this Detroit win when they welcome in the struggling Chicago Bulls. If they can maintain a double digit lead against the Pistons for the better part of 3 quarters, they should run the Bulls off the floor right....?