The Clippers denied a report that they are engaged in trade talks with the Warriors on Stephen Jackson.

Jackson and Baron Davis are good friends from when they were teammates with Golden State.

One official joked, saying: "I hope they're thinking of Steven Jackson, the Rams' running back."

Tuesday's Opening Night featuring games between the Celtics and Cavaliers, along with the Lakers and Clippers, became Turner's most-watched opening night in its 26 years of airing the NBA.

TNT drew nearly 3.7 million viewers Tuesday for the Celtics' 95-89 victory over the Cavaliers, followed by the Lakers' 99-92 win over the Clippers. That was a 43 percent increase over the 2.6 million that watched last year's opening-night doubleheader.

Clippers president Andy Roeser doesn't believe that the team is cursed.

"There is no curse," Roeser told the Los Angeles Daily News. "We don't sit around and talk about it that way at all. I'm sure it's great for selling papers, but it has nothing to do with reality.

"The reality is this is a player who banged his knee on accident and then aggravated it on Friday. But we feel we're good enough to sustain it.

"We're going to be the most improved team in the league. Go to Vegas and bet it. I'm actually more optimistic about this team than I have been about any team in a long time. ... And no, I'm not superstitious."

Blake Griffin, the first overall pick in June's NBA Draft, will miss roughly six weeks with a non-displaced stress fracture in his left kneecap.

Clippers rookie forward Blake Griffin is going to be patient in his return from a broken left kneecap.

He will miss up to six weeks with the stress fracture, which could delay his NBA debut until mid-December.

"It's disappointing, especially when it happened, but I'm not going to feel sorry for myself," Griffin told the Associated Press on Tuesday. "Everybody plays with a certain amount of pain, but it is a fine line, because you do want to take care of your body and make it easier on yourself."

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said that the forward could play through the injury, but it wouldn't heal.

"He could play on it, but it won't get better," Dunleavy said. "Once that became apparent, there was no question: Let's shut it down. Him playing at a lesser level isn't going to do us much good."

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Andrew Bynum added 26 as the reigning NBA champions opened defense of their title Tuesday night with a 99-92 win over the Clippers, as reported by the Associated Press.

The Lakers began the evening with a ceremony unveiling the franchise?s 15th championship banner, earned four months ago after defeating the Magic in the finals.

Los Angeles Clippers? rookie forward Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella suffered during the Clippers? last preseason game vs. the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, October 23rd.

Griffin was the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy doesn't believe that the team's fortunes rest solely on the shoulders of Baron Davis.

"It's not all on Baron's shoulders either," Dunleavy told the Los Angeles Times. "We're good and we're deep, and I think we can survive any kind of normal injuries to any of our positions right now.

"We're more talented, deeper, more experienced, and preseason is preseason, it's not the regular season, but I think anybody who has seen us play ... we look more like a team that has a chance to make the playoffs."

The Clippers signed Davis to a lucrative contract last offseason.

The Los Angeles Clippers waived guards Jerel McNeal and Anthony Roberson on Monday.

In two preseason games played with the Clippers, McNeal averaged 3.5 points in 4.5 minutes per game. Roberson tallied 1.3 points and 5.3 minutes in three preseason games played.

The Clippers? training camp roster currently stands at 15 players.

Los Angeles Clippers waived guards Jerel McNeal and Anthony Roberson on Monday.

In two preseason games played with the Clippers, McNeal averaged 3.5 points in 4.5 minutes per game. Roberson tallied 1.3 points and 5.3 minutes in three preseason games played.

The Clippers' training camp roster currently stands at 15 players.

Clippers forward Craig Smith has been involved in plays that resulted in injuries to teammates Blake Griffin and Marcus Camby.

Griffin was sidelined with a shoulder injury prior to training camp and led to Camby's sprained ankle on Friday.

"He's a bull," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy told the Los Angeles Times of Smith.

Camby sprained his ankle towards the end of practice on Friday and had to hobble back to the locker room.

He's doubtful for the remainder of the preseason.