Griffin says Clippers' youth could be advantage

Blake Griffin is ready to put his off-court pursuits on the back burner and begin making good on teammate Mo Williams' guarantee that the Los Angeles Clippers will reach the playoffs.

Griffin worked out Monday with a handful of teammates ahead of Friday's scheduled opening of training camp, the prelude to the NBA's lockout shortened 66-game schedule that begins Christmas Day when the Clippers visit Golden State.

Griffin said he found out that a labor agreement had been reached shortly after Thanksgiving.

"I couldn't go back to sleep," he said inside a Subway restaurant near the UCLA campus in Westwood. "I've been good to go since August."

Last week, Williams said that "one thing I can guarantee" is the Clippers will make the playoffs, something the star-crossed team hasn't done since 2005-06, also the last time they finished with a winning record. They went 32-50 last season, when Griffin emerged as an All-Star, the league's rookie of the year and winner of the slam dunk contest.

"I'm behind him because as a team, we all believe in every single one of our guys. That's our goal as a team and we have to believe that," Griffin said of Williams' boast. "Right now we're healthy and we got a lot of good pieces and I think we're confident from where we were last year."

Griffin was the only Clipper to play all 82 games last season while teammates such as Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman lost significant time to injuries. The shortened season will get underway after two exhibition games, with the Clippers playing both against the Lakers, their Staples Center co-tenants.

• Norris Cole eager for his 1st Heat camp: Norris Cole has already learned one thing about Miami.

"It's different from Dayton," the Heat soon-to-be rookie said, referring to his Ohio hometown. "A lot. It's almost like paradise down here."

Especially now, considering his place of business is again open for business.

The No. 28 pick in this year's NBA draft worked out in Miami on Monday, saw the Heat locker room and met some of his new teammates. His first training camp will finally start Friday, assuming the NBA and its players complete a new labor deal as scheduled.

For Cole, a point guard drafted by Minnesota and traded that same night to Miami, it has been a grueling wait for the lockout to end.

"It's like you wait your whole life to get here," Cole said, "then you have to wait another six months."

There's no waiting around now. His life is on fast-forward, from trying to get settled in a new city and finding a place to live - his mother is with him in Miami, trying to assist in that process - to getting a crash-course on how the Heat do business. He'll meet more players over the course of the week, and in time will get to learn the nuances of the plan coach Erik Spoelstra will start installing on Friday.

Cole averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists as a senior at Cleveland State, for a team that finished with a 27-9 record. He scored 22 points as a sophomore in an NCAA tournament win over Wake Forest - on the Heat's home court.

• Slimmed down Love encouraged by Wolves changes: Kevin Love has used the extra offseason time created by the lockout to reshape his body, a grueling regimen that will have him reporting to training camp 25 pounds lighter than he was last season.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract, his bank account is poised to get a lot heavier.

Love worked out at the Minnesota Timberwolves facility on Sunday for the first time since NBA owners and players reached a tentative labor agreement, and he said he was encouraged by the changes the Wolves have made as he prepares to enter into talks on a contract extension.

"I love Minneapolis, I love the Twin Cities," Love said when asked if he hoped to sign a deal that would keep him here for the long term. "Really this is all I know. It's the first NBA city I fell in love with. This is all I know. Maybe we'll keep it that way, maybe we won't."

It's no secret that the All-Star forward, who led the NBA in rebounding last season and has emerged as the face of the franchise in the post-Kevin Garnett era, did not always see eye-to-eye with former head coach Kurt Rambis. The two clashed occasionally and Love was growing frustrated with his system, especially as the team lost 132 games over the past two seasons.

• Thornton, Pierce join Memphis Grizzlies' staff: Bob Thornton and Lloyd Pierce are joining the Memphis Grizzlies' coaching staff.

The team announced Monday that Thornton will be an assistant coach and Pierce will be player development coach, completing the staff of coach Lionel Hollins.

The two succeed Johnny Davis, who left to become an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors, and Damon Stoudamire, who resigned to take a coaching position with the University of Memphis.

Thornton and Pierce are veteran NBA assistant coaches.

Thornton spent the last four seasons with the Oklahoma Thunder and has also worked with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Pierce has worked with the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.