FIRST TEST FOR CLIPPERS

Talk about a primetime exhibition.
When the Clippers tip-off on Monday, Dec. 19 against the host Lakers, the atmosphere inside Staples Center will be unlike any preseason game in recent memory.

It’s the first NBA game at the arena in nearly seven months. It’s the opening matchup of the so-called “Hallway Rivalry” between the Clippers and their city-mates. And, most noticeably, it marks the in-arena debut of Chris Paul in Los Angeles…as a Clipper.

The saga of the Paul trade reads much like a soap opera, a 10-day escape that ultimately delivered the point guard to the Clippers.

Paul, Chauncey Billups, and Caron Butler will play their first game with the Clippers, only three days after taking the court together for the first time.
“What you have to do is not try too hard to force it,” Billups said. “You’ve got to go out and you’ve got to compete and people start to respect each other for different reasons, different approaches to the game. It just kind of comes together. You can’t force that.”

That’s probably the most noticeable thing to watch for on Monday: how the trio of new Clippers mesh with the rest of the team.

“It’s not just about how it’s going to work with us [Billups and Paul],” Paul said. “But how it’s going to work as a whole.”

Billups will start at the shooting guard spot and while he insists that Clippers Head Coach Vinny Del Negro is effectively starting two point guards, it’s no secret that Billups will have to guard opposing teams’ bigger backcourt player. On Monday, the 15-year veteran will be tested against the indomitable Kobe Bryant.

But as Paul indicated, it’s not just about how he and Billups will handle their responsibilities. There are several other questions chemistry-wise in the starting five.

How will Butler, who was second among Dallas players last season in usage rate, according to Hoopdata.com, fit in as the third or fourth option on offense? Or how will Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan match-up with the length of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, a group that gave the Clippers trouble in their four games against the Lakers last season?

Obviously, it’s a preseason game. But there is a heightened sense of urgency with the regular season opener just a week away (Dec. 25 at Golden State). Del Negro is looking to balance getting starters court time together and regulating their minutes.

“I want to first see how some of the guys feel,” Del Negro said. “You know, Chauncey and Chris are just getting back in the flow of things. I want to talk to Caron a little bit. He hasn’t missed any training camp. it is our first preseason game, we only have a couple.

But I also know it’s very important to have some really good practices at the middle to the end of the week after those preseason games. I want to be smart about it.”