CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK : BARKLEY'S DOWN ON CLIPPERS.Byline: Gary Washburn Daily News Staff WriterAs the playoffs near the Clippers are getting some advice on their first-round matchup with Utah. ``They're going to have a tough time,'' said Rockets forward Charles Barkley This article is about the basketball player. For the politican, see Charles E. Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. . ``Utah is on a mission. They have a rough road to hoe hoe, usually a flat blade, variously shaped, set in a long wooden handle and used primarily for weeding and for loosening the soil. It was the first distinctly agricultural implement. The earliest hoes were forked sticks. .'' The Rockets were apparently playing well until traveling to Salt Lake City and coming back with a 104-83 loss last Friday. ``The Clippers play hard, but the Western Conference is the best it's been since I've been here,'' Barkley said. ``They're going to have the play their butts off.'' In Bill Fitch's return to Houston on Tuesday, he couldn't help grading the Rockets. Houston is an aging club that turned on cruise control See adaptive cruise control. in their 123-119 victory. The Clippers scored 40 points in the fourth quarter. ``I don't coach the Rockets anymore, but I would have them do some more,'' Fitch said. ``They're legs got a little tired in the fourth quarter. They're not out of shape, but you want to have those playoff legs.'' It caused this response from Barkley: ``Tell him not to worry about this (bleeping bleep n. A brief high-pitched sound, as from an electronic device. v. bleeped, bleep·ing, bleeps v.intr. To emit a bleep or bleeps. v.tr. ) team; worry about his own scabs.'' Staying afloat: The Clippers have two more important games before their playoff series with Utah. The Lakers come to the Sports Arena on Friday (a sellout), with Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). . The Lakers are a half-game back of Seattle and Houston for the No. 2 seed. The Clippers, who vowed not to play down for the final games, are preparing. ``We know we have to keep that momentum,'' forward Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina) is a retired American basketball player who last played power forward for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Rogers played college basketball at Wake Forest University from 1990 until 1993. said. ``Teams are playing us for something and we're playing for something. We can't go to (the) playoffs not playing well. We just don't want to get there.'' The Clippers end the season at Seattle, where they haven't won in 14 tries. |
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