Full-Court Press

Catching up with...the Los Angeles Clippers

Like the eye of an ugly playoff-desperation hurricane, the Mavs travel to play the LA Clippers tonight. It's a very winnable game, and the Mavs should treat it as a must win. If they lose tonight, they could very well be looking at a potential six-game slide with a rough stretch ahead. So, this is just as important as those games against contenders, and luckily enough, the Clippers are terrible.

More on Elton Brand's return, Clippers injury woes and Al Thornton's big game after the jump:

Catching up with...the Los Angeles Clippers

The Mavs will begin Life Without Dirk today against the Los Angeles Clippers. And if ever the Mavs needed a softball to get some in-game practice on how to play without Dirk on the floor, this is the team to do it against.  The Mavs have now won four straight against the Clips, and things haven't been going any better for them lately as they have lost seven straight and are 21-48 on the season.

Where's our old pal Nick?

In case you missed it, Mavs second-round pick Nick Fazekas, who was waived in the aftermath of the Jason Kidd trade, agreed to a 10-day contract with the LA Clippers on Wednesday. Fazekas played Friday night in a 110-104 loss to Denver and had an assist and an offensive rebound in a career-high four minutes of action. Way to go, Slick Nick!

Updated: Fazekas played four minutes, 39 seconds Saturday night in a 103-73 loss to the Pistons, but he did not match the lofty standards of his previous performance. Fazekas had just a turnover and a foul to show for all his hard work.

-- garza, mavs lite

Catching up with...the Los Angeles Clippers

The Mavericks will try and extend their season-high winning streak to seven tonight against the Clippers, a team they have whipped mercilessly in recent history. They have won their last three games against the Clippers by an average of 18.3 points and have won six of their last eight against them. The Mavs are playing the second of back to backs, which have not been kind to them this season.

Season not going so well
The Clippers weren't exactly world beaters when they headed into Dallas last month, but they had overachieved to a 9-15 record. Since losing to the Mavs the first time, they have gone 1-6 with their only win coming against the 5-30 Timberwolves. They have the worst offense in the league and only average 92.6 points per game. They are also next to last in field-goal percentage and field-goals made and are near the bottom in three-pointers. Their defense is middle-of-the-road, but are a poor offensive rebounding team. If the Mavs continue to play defense like they have, the Clippers shouldn't present much of a road block, despite the travelling back-to-back.

Vote for Kaman!
Yao Ming deserves to be the starting center in the All-Star game this year, but surely Chris Kaman deserves better than being 10th out of 11 possible centers in All-Star voting. As of the last voting returns, he hasn't even busted 100,000 votes, which is just sad. The guy is third in the NBA in rebounding  with  13.8 per game and third in blocks with 2.9. He's averaging 18 points and his overall numbers are top 15 in the league this year. But, because he plays on the stinky Clippers, he gets no love. There are seven days left to vote, go give the guy a hand, he needs one.

Brand update
The last word we heard about Elton Brand's Achilles' tendon injury was in mid-December. He had just starting jumping off of both feet and did some light jogging and sounded optimistic. Brand had been saying earlier in the season that he was targeting a return in February, but his trainers have stressed that was a best-case scenario. They haven't released any new information in quite some time, so it's guess work right now as to whether or not he'll return or if the Clippers will shut him down for the season.

Random useless fact
Sam Cassell is now the third-oldest player active in the NBA behind Dikembe Mutombo (41) and Darrell Armstrong (39). Cassell turned 38 on Nov. 18 of last year.

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd

Getting to know...the Los Angeles Clippers

The Mavs will go for their fifth straight win for the second time this season and will play the final game of a three-game home stand. They face the Clippers, a team they have traditionally dominated in the Dirk Nowitzki era. Since Dirk arrived, the Mavs have won 25 of 33 contests. More recently, the Mavs split their last four games with the Clippers.

Brand is still a ways away
Elton Brand ruptured his Achilles tendon before the season started, and that is likely what will define the season for the Clippers. Brand is their franchise player and is dominant when he's playing, but without him, the Clippers transform into a team full of role players. They're good role players, but need that leading cog to succeed, which is the main reason they are 9-15. Brand is expected to possibly return in February or March, but it's also unsure whether he will return at all this season. If the Clippers are sitting well out of the playoff picture, it's possible they will just shut Brand down for the rest of the season and allow him to heal more.

Kaman doing his best Brand impression
With Brand out, the Clippers really needed some production out of their other big men, and Chris Kaman has stepped in mightily. After a very poor 2006-07 campaign, Kaman is practically a lock to win the Comeback Player of the Year with some very lofty statistical totals and impassioned play that has helped the Clippers win a few more games than many expected them to with Brand out. His averages of 18.3 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks are not only career highs but All-Star worthy.

Maggette also excelling
Chris Kaman is having a fantastic year, but that shouldn't overshadow Corey Maggette, who is also playing his best ball in three years. He leads the team in scoring with 20.9 points per game and is looking like the Corey Maggette that the Clippers have been expecting since his breakout campaign in 2004-05 when he averaged 22.2 points and 6 rebounds. He is also averaging a career high in rebounds also with 6.6.

Random useless fact
Sam Cassell co-owns a clothing line with Nick Van Exel and Steve Francis called "We R One."

-Scooter Hendon, Hoops Nerd