NBA Nba Press Box

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Anyone who has watched the L.A. Clippers so far this season pretty much has the same question: what's up with Chris Kaman?

The guy's been playing some ball and doesn't seem to resemble the player of past years. But according to coach Mike Dunleavy, nothing at all is up.

"The only difference with him is he's shooting the ball," Dunleavy said before the Clippers dismantled the Warriors, 118-90, on Friday night. "And I mean literally shooting the ball. He's always been able to shoot the ball but always had this kind of mentality of 'I can't take too many shots,' or 'I need to get closer to the basket.' "

OAKLAND -- First thing you notice about Baron Davis these days is that beard. It's long, it's thick and it's got some scruff. It's back -- and all of it, too.

Now whether the Los Angeles Clippers are back remains to be seen. But the return of Davis' beard is certainly a good omen. So was the arrival of Blake Griffin.

"I want to put the work in and I want to show people again," Davis said Sunday night before the Clippers-Warriors exhibition opener. "I don't want to talk about it, really. There's nothing for me to say. I grew my beard back. That's all you need to know."

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Close to 90,000 hardcore Lakers fans packed the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to celebrate the Lakers' NBA championship, among them USC's Pete Carroll, the Lakers girls, politicians, cops and Los Angeles' best and most unpredictable fans.

In this exclusive FanHouse video, NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant spots me in the crowd and gives me a shout-out. We also meet the cast of characters that make up the mozaic of Lakers fans, from the adult man who walks around with a Kobe action figure, to the fan who says he'll kill an Orlando fan after the parade (jokingly, we hope), to the fans who called out of work sick to be at the parade. This is one video you wont want to miss.

Check out the video after the jump.

ORLANDO -- Kobe Bryant knows better. So do Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, along with the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, they all failed miserably Tuesday night at Amway Arena beyond what they didn't do on the court against the Orlando Magic during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Off the court, they failed, because they kept trying to convince us in the land of Disney World that Mickey Mouse is Goofy in disguise, that dreams really don't come true and that Kobe is only human, and Kobe isn't allowed to be. That is, not if he wishes to join the league's elite of all-time instead of just the elite of this time.

He knows it.

His teammates know it, too.

LOS ANGELES -- Orlando point guard Jameer Nelson has been getting a lot of attention now that he's returned to the court after being out four months with a shoulder injury.

Nelson played 23 minutes in the Magic's Game 1 loss to the Lakers, and he did some good and some bad -- not that it mattered much in the 100-75 loss. After the game, there was a lot of talk about whether or not Nelson should have played and if so how much.

Lost in the attention was Anthony Johnson, who just like that went from backup point guard to third point guard. Quite a demotion, and just in time for the NBA Finals. That was Johnson's only DNP-CD of the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES -- May 3, 2006 was a big day in Orlando Magic history.

Nothing happened.

So what if the Magic media guide says that's when Otis Smith (right) became the team's general manager. The reality of the situation is that the status remained very much quo that day.

Apparently, that was a good thing, too. The result is a very stable front office in Orlando, thank you very much.

---

---

LOS ANGELES -- Well, Jameer Nelson played his first game in four months on Thursday night. And he didn't do badly, either. He did a lot better than most of his teammates, in fact.

Nelson, who suffered a torn labrum on Feb. 2, made his playoff debut against the Los Angeles Lakers, checking in to start the second quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

"My rhythm was a little off, but it was good to be back out there," Nelson said. "I thought I did some good things, and I also thought I did some bad things. Like I always think, there's always room for improvement."

LOS ANGELES -- Mickael Pietrus is from France, and his nickname is "Air France."

So, it's no wonder he felt the need to honor the memory of Air France Flight 447, which crashed over the Atlantic Ocean on Monday en route from Rio De Janeiro to Paris, killing everyone on board.

Pietrus wore sneakers with the No. 447 on the sides in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday at Staples Center.

LOS ANGELES -- This morning, a report indicated that Jameer Nelson was not only expected to miss Game 1 but likely the entirety of the Finals. But in his pre-game press conference tonight, Stan Van Gundy squashed that rumor, confirming Nelson will dress while adding that Nelson will likely serve as the team's primary backup behind Rafer Alston.

Nelson, who hasn't played in a game since Feb. 2, will take Tyronn Lue's spot on the active roster, and in all likelihood, Anthony Johnson's spot in the rotation.

Nelson figures to be rusty, but Magic general manager Otis Smith said he didn't anticipate conditioning would be a significant of an issue.

ORLANDO – There is now a 95.6 percent chance LeBron James will not make the NBA Finals. If you think that makes him a failure, there's a 100 percent chance you are wrong.

I don't want to turn Cleveland 's Game 4 loss into a LeBron gush-fest, but you could almost hear the haters warming up in the bullpen Tuesday night. Before you start throwing high hard ones at James, take it from someone who knows.

"I'm very proud of our guys to keep hanging in there with what he's doing in this series," Stan Van Gundy said.

---

---