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There is no need to posture and act like tonight’s game has a marquee match-up. It doesn’t. Everyone and their mother knows that the Spurs should beat the Clippers handily. Everyone realizes that this is an excellent opportunity for the Spurs to bounce back from two very underwhelming performances. But I wanted to throw a couple of quick thoughts out there before tonight’s game anyways.

• The Clippers are 2-2 in their last 4 games, with wins over the Warriors and the Celtics. Last time we traveled to LA (to play the Clips) it took some late game heroics by Mr. Mason to get the win. Don’t put another notch in the W column until this one is over.

• The Clippers are facing a rash of injuries (Brian Skinner, Al Thornton, Mardy Collins, Fred Jones), nearly all of which are day-to-day. If LA’s bench is thinned by injury, I hope Malik Hairston and Pops Mensah-Bonsu see serious minutes. Partially because I’d love for them to get the continued experience but mostly because Popovich should take advantage of the Clippers shallow roster and keep fresh legs on the floor for a full 48 minutes.

• If the decision for which big to make permanent comes down to Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Drew Gooden, Gooden will get the nod from Popovich. Pop always goes with experience over potential. I understand people’s affinity for PMB (I really like the guy, too) but Popovich’s record on decisions like this speaks for itself.

• If I could cut one member of the roster, it would be Vaughn. At this point his value consists of nothing but his supposed “leadership” ability. If we want to hire him on as an assistant to tutor Hill, that’s great. But I have absolutely no interest in seeing him ever step on the floor once we are in the playoffs. At this point the nebulous veteran qualities we love to associate with him translate into zero on-court production.

If you are looking for a good recap of tonight’s game, make sure you stop by ClipperBlog tomorrow morning. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows how to breakdown the X’s and O’s like Kevin Arnovitz.

Further Reading:

48 Minutes of Hell: The Notebook: Spurs-Clippers, 11/17/08

ClipperBlog: Alone in the Corner