If you read my list of games to watch for this week, then you may remember that the Clippers and Grizzlies have an afternoon matchup today at 3:30 ET. What you probably don’t remember is what happened when the Clippers and Grizzlies played almost six years ago to the day (not that I blame you). I always find it interesting to look back and see how much the NBA has changed over a relatively short period of time. This morning I took a look at a box score from a Grizz/Clipps game played on December 19th of ’04, and I decided to take a screenshot for you…
- What I was doing: I was just starting to become a big NBA fan at this point, and the name Stromile Swift meant little to me (looks like I didn’t miss anything on this particular day… unless the “1″ from his 1-6 FG stat represented a monster dunk). I probably didn’t think much of this game at all, I doubt that I even looked at that box score.
- What the teams were doing: Today, this matchup will have no impact on anything other than quantities of ping-pong balls. Back then it was a different story: Memphis was a playoff team. The Clippers weren’t, so a 10-point victory for the Grizz seems about right.
- What the players were doing: Only one player from the ’04 game is still with the same team: Chris Kaman, and he won’t play today due to an injury. I count at least nine guys that are no longer in the league, and one who’s not even alive (R.I.P. Lorenzen Wright). Elton Brand was a well-respected, all-star level player putting up about 20/10. Pau Gasol was yet to take part in his first All-Star Weekend, and only the most hardcore Grizzlies homers would’ve sided with Gasol in an arguement as to which player was better between the two. These days, Pau Gasol is considered the best big man in the NBA by many (that’s what a trade to the other LA team will do for you), and Brand is doing 15/8 for a 7-15 Sixers squad. Not much of an arguement anymore. Corey Maggette’s line made me LOL… his game hasn’t changed one bit. Look, he flopped his way to 17 freethrow attempts and turned the ball over seven times. He’s still doing the same damn thing right now up in Milwaukee, he just doesn’t play as much.
So, that’s what was going on back in ’04… it seems like so long ago. Today, this game could go either way. Blake Griffin and Zach Randolph will use very different styles to try to get their 20/10, and the first two shooting guards taken in the ’08 draft will face off. Eric Gordon will have to wait for OJ Mayo to get off the bench before that happens, though. Gordon, who was picked seventh, is doing 24 PPG… Mayo, who was chosen third, is brining his 12 PPG off the bench.
I guess my point here is to enjoy watching these athletes while you can. One of these guys might be your favorite player… you just never know when his career could start to go downhill for whatever reason. Six years isn’t a very long time, but that box scores make it look like an eternity.
