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They are the fourth-worst team in defending the 3-pointer, allowing teams to shoot 37.8 percent, and are letting teams hit close to 50 percent from 3-point range in their 22 losses. "Our bigs are getting stretched out a little bit," Del Negro said. "They have to have a little sense of urgency in closing out. Some guys can make that adjustment, and some guys are struggling with that but drilled it again today. That's obviously an area of concern." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, DeAndre Jordan 

Clippers forward Blake Griffin disagreed with Del Negro. "It depends on our defensive strategy and our defensive principles for that game," Griffin said. "We switch them every single game. I don't see that, no, but I'm biased." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, DeAndre Jordan 

Not only that, the Clippers now have the fifth-best record (46-22) in the West, half a game behind the 47-22 Denver Nuggets . "We're not playing well enough right now," Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We're not guarding hard enough right now. We're not physically and mentally tough enough, especially when we have to be, in the fourth quarter. And that's definitely a concern." Another concern for the Clippers: Chauncey Billups suffered a right groin strain early in the second quarter and didn't play the rest of the night. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Vinny Del Negro, Chauncey Billups 

Kurt Helin: Clippers players and Vinny Del Negro seemed concerned about the severity of Caron Butler's elbow injury. X-rays were negative, MRI Mon. Twitter @basketballtalk

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Injuries, Caron Butler 

Arash Markazi: VDN: "It was a complete a-- kicking." Twitter @ArashMarkazi

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro 

The Los Angeles Clippers do not expect to make any trades before Thursday's NBA trade deadline, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said on Wednesday. "We feel good with our team right now," Del Negro said. "Nothing's changed from that aspect. Nothing has been presented to any of us that makes sense to do anything different right now. We're always available and always looking to make our team as strong as possible but right now we feel comfortable with our team." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Vinny Del Negro 

The Celtics have been eager to continue the conversation on the deal, but league sources said the talks will remain dormant unless Clippers star Chris Paul pushes the issue with management. Several prominent executives and coaches with championship contenders told Yahoo! Sports they believe the Clippers would become more dangerous with Garnett. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro is a proponent of the deal, too, sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Vinny Del Negro, Kevin Garnett 

His team is going to get healthy, he thinks. And once they do, the team is going to be fine heading out of the NBA All-Star Game break. He knows these things; just like he knows that he'll be the one getting all the blame if it doesn't work out. "It's not right. It's disappointing," he said. "But I can't control what people say or do. I can just control the preparation of this team and organization." Despite plenty of criticism and skepticism about his abilities as a coach, Del Negro has the Clippers playing the best basketball in franchise history for the second consecutive season. They'll start the second half of the season Thursday with the third best record in the Western Conference and the fourth best in the NBA. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

While Del Negro is confident in his abilities as a coach, he knows some of the criticisms are deserved. Questions about his understanding of the X's and O's of coaching still persist – a remnant of being hired by Chicago without any experience. "Is there a learning curve? Of course. Does experience matter? Absolutely. But you go through it and you make some good decisions," he said. "You make some decisions you wish you could have back. I think if you ask any coach, they'd say the same thing." San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich, who said whoever says Del Negro doesn't understand basketball theory, though, is dead wrong. "Whoever said that made it up," he said. "I've talked to him a lot about strategy and those sorts of things, and he's as incisive as anybody else." Orange County Register

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

Noah fielded a question on Vinny Del Negro's growth as a coach. "Experience definitely helps, whether it's good or bad," he said. "Playing in that Boston series (when Del Negro was coaching Noah and the Bulls) and even that Cleveland series were fun years for me. Those teams were really exciting. I see he's doing really well. I'm happy for him. The Clippers are a great team. I wish him nothing but the best." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Joakim Noah 

Sean Deveney: Clippers Vinny Del Negro and DeAndre Jordan have clashed over his involvement in the offense, source said. Hence they want a vet upgrade Twitter @SeanDeveney

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, DeAndre Jordan 

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro has a good relationship with team owner Donald Sterling, but he is also a coach in the final year of his contract who has, to this point, been unable to land more security for his future. According to a person with knowledge of his situation, Del Negro's representatives have had ongoing talks with Sterling about a contract extension since training camp, but a new deal has yet to be agreed on. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching 

Chris Broussard: Vinny Del Negro wants KG, willing to give Bledsoe/Jordan for him. Clips front office totally against the move. Front office has final say. Twitter @Chris_Broussard

Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Trade, Vinny Del Negro, Eric Bledsoe, Kevin Garnett, DeAndre Jordan 

On Thursday, Jordan witnessed first-hand the new Kobe Bryant, the one who lately has focused on getting his teammates involved instead of shooting. Bryant did a little of both in the Lakers' 125-101 loss to the Clippers, scoring 20 points and handing out 11 assists. "He's a tough cover," Jordan said. "He can pass, he can post up, he can shoot from the elbow, shoot the long ball. So, he's really a tough cover. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was eager to see Bryant create shots for his teammates. "If he doesn't want to shoot, that's fine with me," Del Negro said. Orange County Register

Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Vinny Del Negro 

Marc Stein: Last remaining NBA coaches operating on last-year deals are Vinny Del Negro (Clippers), Larry Drew (Hawks) and Lionel Hollins (Grizzlies) Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Larry Drew, Lionel Hollins 

To me the most amazing stat—and this kind of speaks to what a wild ride it's been for you—is that you've had a different head coach every year of your career. Jamal Crawford: Actually, I've had sixteen head coaches. That's, like, unbelievable, right? GQ: It's incredible. Jamal Crawford: And you've got to figure, every coach has a different way they see you fitting on their team, a different way they want to use you. I'm glad that I'm here with Coach Del Negro, and we'll get him locked up long-term and keep this group together for a while. GQ.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Jamal Crawford 

Ronny Turiaf's phone kept ringing every so often during the summer. The person at the other end would ask about him and about his family. Not just about basketball. It was Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro. "I was like, 'Whoa, that's different,' " the much-traveled Turiaf was saying before Sunday's game against the Utah Jazz. "In the back of my mind, my subconscious was telling me, 'I think you made the right choice to go to a place where the coach actually cares about his players.' " Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Ronny Turiaf 

"He just tells me to be me. It's been awhile since I was told to just be me," Turiaf said. "It probably goes back to the Laker days when Phil [Jackson] just told me, 'Just go out there and just play. I trust your basketball IQ. I trust your basketball knowledge to make plays for us. "It's nice every once in a while to get the ball in my hands to make those passes." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Ronny Turiaf 

Crawford, who has played for 16 coaches in the NBA said Del Negro has navigated some tough waters in dealing with the team's talented, deep roster. "Everybody here has a decent body of work in some way shape or form," Crawford said. "They've proven something somewhere in the NBA. With that is a confidence that a player has, and there are egos involved. "For him to be able to manage that and put people in the right positions and use people to their strengths, he deserves a lot of credit." Orange County Register

Los Angeles Clippers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Jamal Crawford 

According to an NBA executive, one of the main reasons the Clippers have won so many in a row is "Matt Barnes is playing out of his mind." When told of the comments, Barnes' response included a slam of ex-Lakers coach, Mike Brown. "I've been working hard these past few summers. Last year, playing with the Lakers, I was told when I could shoot. If I made mistakes, I'd come out of the game," said Barnes. "This year [Coach] Vinny [Del Negro] has installed a lot of trust in me. He lets me go out there and play my game. If I mess up, he still sticks with me and that goes a long way with any player." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Vinny Del Negro, Coaching, Matt Barnes, Mike Brown