Al Farouq Aminu

A shortage of small forwards. Oh, that … again. It really never goes away for the Clippers. It was a lingering concern during the exhibition season. In November. And in March. April too? You get the idea. Coach Vinny Del Negro sighed when the subject was broached once again Thursday after practice. The Clippers, who play at the Phoenix Suns on Friday, have seven games remaining, five on the road. One thing Del Negro is considering: shutting small down forward Ryan Gomes for the rest of the season.

Panic spread at Staples Center less than two hours before the Clippers-Cleveland Cavaliers game Saturday when a knife-wielding man got on the court and engaged police in a standoff lasting nearly half an hour. Los Angeles police officers ultimately tackled the man near the Cavaliers' bench and took him into custody without anyone getting hurt. As of press time, police had not identified the man or announced any charges. The three Clippers closest to the man ? Eric Bledsoe, Randy Foye and Al-Farouq Aminu ?

Early-warning signs surfaced that this night, apparently, could be a problematic two hours spent in the workplace for the Clippers. And the things went from slightly off to flat-out awful Monday night as the Memphis Grizzlies crushed the Clippers, 105-82, at FedEx Forum, giving their playoff hopes a much-needed boost. The Clippers had 19 turnovers, and guards Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe combined for nine of them. Reporting from Memphis, Tenn. The Clippers never led, and, in fact, trailed by 31 points in the second half and finished a long trip 3-2. Williams managed to trace the root of their woes to the morning session.

Why was Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro sounding hoarse and looking annoyed after the Clippers' 92-87 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night? The Clippers pulled off their third straight victory, and it was a rare road win. More improbably, it came without the pure shooting services of star guard and leading scorer Eric Gordon. Del Negro said he wasn't pleased with the overall defensive effort in the first half and thought the Clippers came out "soft" at Time Warner Cable Arena against the faltering Bobcats.

Baron, we hardly knew ye … Oh, right, you're from here, went to UCLA and remained a local favorite … until you were traded here. As homecomings go, this was like deranged, ax-wielding Jack Nicholson in "The Shining," chopping through a door, announcing: "Wendy, I'm home!" Wendy, home is now Cleveland. In another deadline surprise, the Clippers traded Baron Davis and this spring's unprotected No. 1 pick — currently No. 7 — to Cleveland for Mo Williams, a defrocked All-Star, and Jamario Moon, who's like Al-Farouq Aminu, without the polish.

Mysteries are all well and good ? just not in the NBA. With only 26 games left in the season, it's still hard to really know about the Clippers' true abilities and chemistry because so many key players have been sidelined. Immediate clarity remains elusive because their leading scorer, shooting guard Eric Gordon, did not make the trip Monday to Oklahoma City. He stayed home to get treatment on his injured but improving right wrist, which has kept him sidelined since Jan. 22. But Clippers forward Craig Smith, out for two months because of a herniated disk in his lower back, could play Tuesday against the Thunder.

Youthful enthusiasm and energy were nowhere to be found in the Clippers' locker room in Portland late Thursday night. A loss, naturally, has the way of swiftly whisking away those two attributes. So does playing four games in five nights. Running on empty was the general theme. "We were a little fatigued," Baron Davis said. "But the most important thing I was proud of is that we continued to fight. We just probably ran out of gas at the end. Our shots got short. " Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon both looked exhausted after logging 44-plus minutes against the Trail Blazers.

Eric Gordon dunked on the Heat. So did rookie Al-Farouq Aminu. And even that "old guy" Baron Davis elevated high and showed the kids he could still do it. Stunningly absent from the roll call until it absolutely counted was the dunking machine, rookie Blake Griffin. Griffin saved the weapon, a two-handed jam, until it was necessary, unveiling it late and giving the Clippers an eight-point lead with 4:15 remaining, and slowing the Heat's momentum. Until then, never had the absence of a Griffin dunk meant so little.

Clippers forward Al-Farouq Aminu has seen his playing go up the last three games, and he knows the reason is not so much about his abilities with the ball in his hands. "Coach always said, 'Defense is going to get you out on the court,' " Aminu said. The 6-foot-9 rookie has averaged 27 minutes the last three games. He is averaging 11 points and six rebounds in that stretch, while giving the Clippers a threat from beyond the three-point line. But it's the things he has done at the other end that have Coach Vinny Del Negro running Aminu onto the floor.

Reporting from Philadelphia ? The usual suspects took down the Clippers ? turnovers and lack of defensive stops, among other things ? and their bench didn't lend much of a hand in the team's loss against the 76ers on Wednesday. Reserve forward Thaddeus Young had 12 points for Philadelphia, just two points shy of the entire Clippers bench. Clippers rookie forward Al-Farouq Aminu had two points in 15-plus minutes and veteran forward Rasual Butler , who played college ball locally at La Salle University, went scoreless in nearly 17 minutes, taking just two shots.