There’s no need to go into how desperate, pathetic, hapless (or any other term that you’ve used when describing the Clippers) the Los Angeles Clipper are. But I must admit, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t find any humor when the Clippers show the world the true meaning of “desperate”. I mean, they are so desperate, they invited more than 100 people to watch Blake Griffin. Oh and yeah, just in case your calendar isn’t around, it’s only June 8th. There hasn’t been a draft, Griffin isn’t a Clipper (officially), and this was just a workout.

One was in El Segundo on Saturday, and the other followed later in the afternoon at Playa Vista. The former involved the Lakers, operating in the present, and seemingly the first team to be handed an NBA championship after one game in the Finals.

The latter, an open workout, represented a step into the future for the Clippers and Blake Griffin, the 6-foot-10 power forward they said they would take with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft this month.

These events were neatly paired to take advantage of the presence of the national media here for the NBA Finals, to show off the Clippers’ swank practice facility and to show off the national college player of the year from Oklahoma in front of 100-plus on- lookers, consisting of media, season-ticket holders and sponsors.

The Clippers showing off something? What has the world come to? Too bad that Mr. Griffin left his jump shot back in Oklahoma.

Of course, there’s the other side of transparency: Griffin’s misfiring jump shot. It was a byproduct, perhaps, of nerves but sure to be over-analyzed in this era of instant analysis.

There are certain things on his shot that he’ll need to work on to get better at, which he will do, Dunleavy said. Clearly, he shoots the ball well enough from the mid-range that he has be guarded.

In Dunleavy’s world, if Griffin hits 2 out 10 shots, that’s clearly good enough.

Blake Griffin impresses in workout for Clippers (Los Angeles Times)

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I’m sure you’ve heard about the “Great Debate” campaign between Lebron and Kobe that Vitamin Water has been running. I’m sure you’ve even seen this lil video here:

Well, Dwight Howard wants in on the action. So much so that he created his own Vitamin Water ad to settle the debate once and for all. And when I say he created his own, I mean he starred in it, produced it, directed it and even debated himself in it.

Now let’s just hope that he settles the debate on the court.

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No Guts contributor, J Will drops in with the story of Mickael Pietrus and his shoe dilemma.

When Orlando Magic guard, Mickael Pietrus comes into the game against the Lakers during the NBA Finals, he knows he will be guarding Kobe Bryant. What Pietrus won’t be doing is wearing Kobe’s shoes as he has previously. Pietrus has found another shoe to wear for this series.

I have some at my house, but I’m going to play with Michael Jordan shoes, Pietrus said.

He also said that he admires the killer instinct that Kobe brings and knows it going to be hard to slow him down.

The only thing I can do is try to minimize his touches in the fourth quarter, Pietrus said. He’s a tremendous player and those guys you can not stop them. So maybe I can say, ‘Hey, stop, Kobe! Yo! Stop!’ Maybe that’s the only way I can stop him. ‘Stop for a minute!’

I do feel that Pietrus is a x-factor in this series and you can never go wrong with wearing Jordan’s, but who are we kidding. Pietrus should just come out barefoot because there isn’t anyone on the Magic’s roster that is going to slow down Kobe, especially in the 4th quarter. I like the Lakers to win the series in seven.

Magic’s Mickael Pietrus will ditch Kobe-endorsed shoes for NBA Finals (Orlando Sentinel)

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Orlando Magic PG Jameer Nelson was having an All-Star season averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game, but it all ended on February 2rd when he injured his shoulder in a game against the Mavericks.

Fast forward 4 months later and the Orlando Magic are in the NBA Finals and they made it there without Nelson. The acquisition of Rafer Alston has somewhat filled the void, but who knows how good the Magic may be if Nelson was still in the lineup.

Even though bringing Nelson back would potentially interfere with the team’s chemistry, GM Otis Smith is yet considering the possibility of a Nelson return for the finals.

Why would the Magic even consider bringing Nelson back at this point? Not because they can’t win without him because they have proven that they can, but because they believe their chances of defeating the Lakers are better with him in the lineup. During the regular season the Magic were 2-0 against the Lakers, Nelson played in both games and averaged 27.5ppg.

Even though he’s been cleared by Magic doctors, inserting him into the lineup, at this point in the season, will make the Magic appear shaken, scared or unprepared to face the ‘Mighty Lakers’ without him. I believe in loyalty, but the NBA Finals is not the time display it. I empathize with Nelson, NBA players know that’s there is no guarantee that you’ll make back to the finals, so naturally he wants to play, but if he does play the Magic will lose, and lose big.

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The Orlando Magic handed the Cleveland Cavaliers its first loss of the postseason and third loss at home this season in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals; the Magic won 107-106. MVP Lebron James may be the best player in the league, but last night’s loss to the Magic proves that even a King needs some support.

James scored 49 of the Cavaliers 106 points, approximately 46 percent of the team’s total points. Of course he could do this every game, but this team wasn’t built to win that way. Mo Williams has to shoot better, 6-19 won’t do it, and Big Z must attempt to score more because with his lack of foot speed, we all know he’s going to get torched by Dwight Howard, so why not make him work on both ends of the court.

Lebron was physically drained at game’s end, it took him about 5 minutes to get to the locker room, probably the longest 5 minutes in coach Mike James life. Will the Cavs win this series? I don’t know. Though they had the best record in the league during the regular season, they are not the best team in the league. In my opinion, Orlando has more talent from top to bottom, but their nightly effort is inconsistent. If the Magic gives a herculean, or should I say superman like effort every game, they’ll win this series in 6 games.

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The Los Angeles Lakers will win the NBA Finals. Literally, I’m not going out on a limb with this prediction since the Lakers have been the favorites majority of the season. Yeah, I know the Yaoless, McGradyless Rockets gave the Lakers a handful, though it took a seven game series, they did prevail. Many critics, writers and fans have recently jumped off the bandwagon which is not a surprise, given how inconsistent the Lakers play has been in the post season. Inconsistent or not, the Lakers are the best team in the NBA and here are five reasons why they’re taken the title back to LA.

1) Scoring- The Lakers have yet to lose in the playoffs(8-0) when they score more than 100 points. As the most explosive team left, this trend will continue, its simple if they score, they win.

2) Defense- At times the Lakers have appeared weak on the defensive end, but they are the top rebounding team left in the playoffs, also tops in blocks. Defense wins championships, they may not be the ‘Bad Boys’(Pistons) but they defend well enough to win.

3) Phil Jackson- Whether you believe he’s a great coach or that he’s been fortunate enough to coach the best player in the league twice, simply put, he wins championships, period. His laid back style allows his players to grow and feel comfortable in the dynamic triangle offense. 9 titles and counting, one ring for each finger and both thumbs, coming soon.

4) They play in LA.- Jack Nicholson, Leo DiCaprio, Penny Marshall and Dustin Hoffman are just a few of the many talented actors and entertainers that fill the Staples to watch the Lakers put on a show every home game. How can this not motivate you, people that have millions of fans are your fans. It has to give the players a little extra kick.

5) Kobe Bryant- As if you didn’t know, he is the main reason the Lakers are the team to beat. Kobe is averaging 28.4 ppg. in the playoffs and will score 40 or 15 if that’s what it takes to get the victory. After last year’s lost to the Celtics in the finals, Kobe is on a NBA title mission and he won’t stop until it is accomplished.

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After an entire Saturday without any basketball, I was all set on a riveting Sunday full of game 7 theatrics. What I got was a bunch a crap. A big pile of stinky, get beat by 20 points, crap!

And it’s not even like the Rockets nor the Celtics even tried to make this the least bit interesting for me. They both finished the 1st quarter in their most important game to date down 10 points. The Rockets somehow only scored 12 points and the Celtics mustered a measly 17.

At that point I tell myself, “it’s only the 1st quarter, it’ll get better.” Well, it didn’t. And I really feel like the Rockets and Celtics owe me those hours from my life that I wasted watching them get mercy’d. And just so this doesn’t happen again, I say let’s just skip the rest of this nonsense and get to the Cavs-Nuggets series. It’ll save you and me a lot of time.

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Former NBA journeyman and 11-year league vet Corie Blount was sentenced to prison for one year for drug related charges.

In December 2008, Blount was found with a total of 29 pounds of marijuana which obviously wasn’t for personal use as he claimed.

Blount dodged a massive bullet by making a plea deal, he could have received 10 years in the pen.

After retiring, most athletes start businesses that allow them to maintain their way of life, but they are usually legal in the states. Well, lets hope Blount is the last to try ‘street pharmacy’ as a career after sports. Crime clearly doesn’t pay.