Deandre Jordan

With the roster changes pretty much finalized, it's safe to envision how the Lakers will fare in the 2012-13 season. Sure, the Lakers will have to thin their 14-man roster during training camp, and no one can be sure how any potential deals might change the NBA landscape. But in the spirit of seeing how things have evolved for the Lakers since the 2012 NBA playoffs , this is one in a series breaking down potentially troublesome opponents. Team: Clippers Lakers' record vs. Clippers last season: 2-1 How Clippers fared last season: Finished fifth in the Western Conference with a 40-26 regular-season record.

Any correspondence about possible Clippers' off-season moves needs to go straight to the top. So, Chris Paul, here's a primer on what you should instruct your franchise to do in the coming months to take that next step, otherwise known as getting past the first round of the playoffs. It's not going to be easy, the Clippers creeping toward taxpayer status for the first time in franchise history, assuming you come back. You're going to have to help persuade Donald Sterling to pay those more punitive taxes or risk multiplying the disappointment Clipper Nation experienced in recent weeks.

Any correspondence about possible Clippers' off-season moves needs to go straight to the top. So, Chris Paul, here's a primer on what you should instruct your franchise to do in the coming months to take that next step, otherwise known as getting past the first round of the playoffs. It's not going to be easy, the Clippers creeping toward taxpayer status for the first time in franchise history, assuming you come back. You're going to have to help persuade Donald Sterling to pay those more punitive taxes or risk multiplying the disappointment Clipper Nation experienced in recent weeks.

Win or go home. It's the slogan for the NBA during the playoffs and it now applies to the Clippers. The reeling Clippers must beat the surging Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night, on the road, in Game 6 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series or L.A.'s season is over. If the Clippers find a way to win - something they haven't done in the last three games after winning the first two in this best-of-seven series - Game 7 would be Sunday at Staples Center.

In two weeks, the Clippers will open the regular season after training camp and the dress rehearsals of exhibitions are over. After the first 2 1/2 weeks of practices and three exhibitions, at least in the eyes of guard Chris Paul, the Clippers have made the right strides to be ready for that Oct. 31 game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center. "I think we're right where we need to be," Paul said after practice Tuesday. "We never want to peak too early. We're showing a lot of good signs in a few areas, but we still need a lot of work in other areas.

On Sunday evening, DeAndre Jordan's name was trending on Twitter, the Clippers' center was leading the NBA with the most mentions per hour on NBA.com, and NBA superstars were tweeting about him.  It happened after Jordan sprinted down the middle of the lane, caught a lob while he was midair and dunked the ball hard with his right hand (which happens to be his "off-hand"), posterizing Detroit Pistons ' point guard Brandon Knight, who decided to contest the play and ended up flat on his back.

Brandon Knight is alive and well -- no thanks to the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan and despite what you might have read on the Internet over the last 12 hours or so. The Detroit guard still might be feeling the effects of the monster dunk Jordan threw down on him off a Chris Paul lob during the second quarter of the Clippers' 129-97 victory over the Pistons at Staples Center on Sunday. But that didn't stop him from joining in on the Knight-bashing trend Sunday night. Knight made fun of himself on Twitter for seeming to forget the Clippers' Lob City reputation: "It wasn't in the scouting reports that the clippers threw lobs lol. " Though it's commendable that the 6-foot-3, 189-pound Knight tried to hold his own against the 6-11, 250-pound Jordan, much of the online focus has been on the second-year pro's motionless body on the court after being jammed by the Clippers center.

MINNEAPOLIS - DeAndre Jordan stood with his back against a wall, looking intently at Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro, the two of them talking after practice Tuesday at the team's practice facility. Basically, Jordan said, Del Negro told the 6-foot-11 center to "stay ready. " The conversation seemed to have paid off for the Clippers and Jordan, his double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds and two blocked shots a big key in their 96-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Shaquille O'Neal made a somewhat bold proclamation Thursday evening on TNT.  "I'm going on the record," O'Neal said. "Best center in the West right now is DeAndre Jordan. You heard it here first. " It was another subtle dig at Dwight Howard, the Lakers' six-time All-Star who has been verbally clashing with O'Neal all season. O'Neal previously asserted that Philadelphia's Andrew Bynum and New Jersey's Brook Lopez were better centers than Howard, a comment which peeved Howard.

While Chris Kaman continues to nurse a severely sprained ankle, DeAndre Jordan continues to grow as the Clippers' center. Some of Jordan's growing pains are growing pains to opposing teams. He has 13 blocked shots in the last two games and is averaging 2.2 per game since Kaman was injured Dec. 5. "I see a guy driving and, as soon as he lets the ball go, I come over late," Jordan said. "All I have to do is take one step and I can be across the paint. " Call it giant baby steps.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Bring on the next bunch of disappointing, underachieving, gagging local athletes. And so it goes with our Trojans, Lakers, Clippers and even the Bruins losing their last three. So much promise, raised expectations and then a quick goodbye to all. The Kings? The who? Oh yeah, I hear they're down already, 2-0. Thank heavens for the grandchildren. They are waiting at home, in for a visit from Arizona, and they don't give a lick about the power trip referee Joe Crawford is on, disturbed fans in Memphis or a visit with the Choking Dogs on Monday night.

An air of finality might be the closest they get to catching a whiff of the Finals. The Lakers are done. The Clippers could be by Friday night. And to think some people actually wrote that these teams could go all the way. Oh, right. Sorry about that. Given the expectations, this could easily go down as the most disappointing NBA season in L.A. in the 29 years the city has hosted two teams. The Lakers were presumed Finals contenders who were supposed to challenge the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record of 72 regular-season victories.

Vinny Del Negro playfully bulled his way through a scrum of reporters Monday afternoon to reach a designated interview area, showing more toughness than any of his players had the previous six days. Were you watching, DeAndre Jordan? Did you take mental notes, Caron Butler? The only player who showed heart when the Clippers became the Memphis Belly Flops in a pair of double-digit playoff road losses to the Grizzlies was Matt Barnes, and that was only after his team had already flubbed Game 4. "We got punked," Barnes said in a refreshingly candid admission.

I so wish I could watch Chris Paul continue to play basketball and show everyone what a mighty competitor he is. But I fear the absolute worst. One more Clippers collapse, and that appears to be a certainty come Friday, and the basketball season is over. And you know what that means? We have to start paying attention to the Dodgers and Angels. Or worse. Icing. The NBA playoffs were not about winning a championship, but getting us deep into June without having to watch Joe Blanton pitch or listening to Charley Steiner describe an underachieving team's performance.

It's tough to win a playoff game going one on five. The Clippers gamely tried Tuesday at Staples Center, but not even the sustained brilliance of Chris Paul was enough on a night he nearly doubled the output of his fellow starters with 35 points. The Memphis Grizzlies didn't deliver a powerful jab during a 103-93 victory in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series as much as what seemed like a knockout blow, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

So far in their Western Conference first-round playoff series, the Clippers have not found a way to handle Memphis All-Star power forward Zach Randolph and center Marc Gasol. That has shifted a lot of the pressure on the Clippers' All-Star power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan to deal with the Grizzlies' dynamic duo. As much as anyone, Randolph and Gasol are the reasons why the Grizzlies won the last two games to tie the best-of-seven series, 2-2. Game 5 is Tuesday night at Staples Center, and it will provide Griffin and Jordan another opportunity to wrestle with Randolph and Gasol.

It takes a village to raise a free-throw shooting percentage. Or something like that. But advice and affirmation from learned elders and helpful teammates can only go so far when you are flirting with sub Shaq-like numbers. The Clippers' DeAndre Jordan , mindful of the grim 38.5 free-throw shooting percentage in his rookie season, got his 6-foot-11 self into the gym in the summer. And stayed in the gym. "I'm working on my free throws. A lot, a lot," Jordan said.

SAN ANTONIO — Playing in only his eighth playoff game, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had his first shot blocked Tuesday by veteran power forward Tim Duncan. Undeterred, Jordan responded by snatching the offensive rebound and slamming home a dunk that no one, including Duncan, could defend. It's not unusual to see Jordan throw down thunderous slams as a part of the Clippers' "Lob City. " But Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs, the dunk was the start to an unusually productive quarter for Jordan that his team can only hope signals the beginning of a breakout series.

Now it is time to see what sort of resolve the Clippers have. They failed the test presented to them in Memphis in Games 3 and 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series, leaving the Clippers looking vulnerable against a tough-minded Grizzlies team. The Clippers still have the opportunity to prove that they are gritty enough because Game 5 of this best-of-seven series that's tied at 2-2 is at Staples Center on Tuesday night. "That's why you work so hard for home court," point guard Chris Paul said after Saturday's game.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Clippers have lost all of their playoff momentum and it has left one of them questioning their manhood. They suffered their second straight double-digit loss in the first-round Western Conference series, this time going down in flames, 104-83, to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Blake Griffin (19 points), Chris Paul (19) and Jamal Crawford (12) were the only Clippers to score in double figures. BOX SCORE: Memphis 104, Clippers 83 But that was only the beginning of their problems in Game 4 against a physical, hard-nosed Memphis team that won both of its games at the FedEx Forum to tie the best-of-seven series at 2-2. Game 5 is Tuesday night at Staples Center, with Game 6 back in Tennessee on Friday.