Eric Bledsoe

It can be argued that Matt Barnes is playing the best of his 10-year career. At least that what the numbers say. Barnes is averaging a career-high 10.7 points. His 36.2% three-point shooting is the second highest in his career. And Barnes is doing all this as the backup small forward behind Caron Butler. "I think he's comfortable with his role on the team," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said about Barnes. "I have a lot of confidence in him, and he's done a good job for us in a lot of different areas [with]

When the Clippers got the news on the injury front Monday, there was a sigh of relief. The team learned that Caron Butler didn't suffer any structural damage to his left elbow, although an MRI exam revealed Monday that the small forward does have an elbow strain. Coach Vinny Del Negro said Butler will be out "approximately a week" because of the injury. Guard Jamal Crawford , after sitting out the last two games because of a sore left ankle, practiced some Monday and there is a good chance that he will play Wednesday when the Clippers play host to the Memphis Grizzlies.

They still have that don't-like-you attitude toward each other, even though the Clippers have won the first two games this season against the Memphis Grizzlies. They still have that show-me-what-you've-got demeanor, even though the Clippers have stood up to the physical Grizzlies. So what began during last season's tug-of-war first-round playoff series extended into this season, with the next chapter coming Wednesday night at Staples Center. "Those guys know what kind of game it's going to be," center DeAndre Jordan said.

The Clippers' play on defense has slipped since the All-Star break in mid-February. And that bothers Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro to no end. "I don't think our defensive intensity is where it needs to be right now," Del Negro said. In their three losses since the All-Star break, the Clippers have given up 116 points to San Antonio, 108 to Oklahoma City and 107 to Denver. "You see some of our defensive numbers dropping a little bit," Del Negro said, "and I don't like that.

The first adjustment Chauncey Billups had to make when he joined the Clippers last season was mental. The second adjustment Billups had to make this season has been physical. Through it all, the 16-year veteran has accepted it as a challenge to overcome. Billups was a point guard the first 14 years of his career. He called the plays, ran the team and was that soothing voice. When he joined the Clippers during the locked-out 2011-12 season, Billups was moved to shooting guard after All-Star point guard Chris Paul was acquired from the New Orleans Hornets.

DENVER - Jamal Crawford sat in a chair in the Clippers' locker room before Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, a sad look on his face because his sore left ankle was going to keep him out of the game. "I rolled it in the second quarter last night," Crawford said about Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center. "Man!" The Clippers don't play again until Sunday against the Detroit Pistons at home, which gives Crawford two more days to get therapy.

I worry Charles Barkley might have the Clippers pegged correctly as "fool's gold. " Good to know, though, Barkley has already pronounced the Lakers goners, and here they were Wednesday night pulling a Lazarus while Utah was digging a hole for itself. Hello, playoffs? But what about it - goodbye, Clippers, sooner than later? Barkley told a TNT audience Tuesday night the West has only three NBA championship-quality teams in Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Memphis, while going on to call the Clippers "softer than tissue paper.

Something had to be done to slow down Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook , Oklahoma City's dynamic duo. So the Clippers switched from their man-to-man defense to a zone defense in the second half, and it worked enough to get them back into the game that L.A. eventually lost, 108-104, Sunday. Durant had 20 first-half points on seven-for-15 shooting, two for four on three-pointers. He finished with 35 points but was only three for 10 from the field in the second half, one for five from three-point range.

INDIANAPOLIS — Don't expect to hear Chauncey Billups get down on himself when his game is not quite up to par. At 36, Billups is just happy to be back playing basketball for the Clippers after missing 49 games recovering from surgery to repair his left Achilles' tendon and tendinitis in his left foot. In the 10 games he has played this season, Billups has averaged 9.4 points on 45% shooting (45% from three-point range). "I'm able to move around," Billups said. "I'm still not in the type of condition that I need to be in. And just rust.

INDIANAPOLIS - Ronny Turiaf answered the call Thursday night when the Clippers were in need against the Indiana Pacers. Lamar Odom had picked up his fourth foul in the fourth quarter and DeAndre Jordan was in the locker room dealing with a bloody nose during a large part of the second half. All Turiaf did was play a season-high 21 minutes and provide the Clippers with five points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. "To me, whenever your name is called, you've got to be ready," Turiaf said.