It’s only fitting on the night the Clippers win their first game in nearly a month, the Clippers lose Marcus Camby to injury. At the 8:52 mark of the fourth quarter, Camby collects his fourth offensive rebound, but lands awkwardly, then buckles to the floor.
Camby’s injury is initially reported as a sprained ankle, but in Mike Dunleavy’s press conference following the victory, the Clippers coach tells reporters that Camby suffered a knee injury. The good news, according to Dunleavy, “It’s not as bad as it looked.” Dunleavy says that Camby, at one point, actually wanted back in the game.
Watching the first half of tonight’s game is like observing a pod of Hawaiian monk seals mating. Not only does Brian Skinner lead the Clippers with 14 points, but Al Thornton administers five dimes, and the Clippers shoot 59.5% from the floor.
There are five Al Thornton-to-Brian Skinner sequences in the first half:
- [1st, 8:03] The Bucks media guide lists Charlie Villanueva at 6′ 11″, while Brian Skinner stands about 6′ 9″. For whatever reason, Skinner has his way with Villanueva in the post [well, the reason might have to do with Villanueva's defensive indifference]. On this first possession, Skinner sets up at the left elbow. Eric Gordon holds the ball on the right side, so Villanueva cheats low and strong. When Skinner recognizes this, he scoots deep into the paint. By the time Villanueva recovers and the Clippers work the ball around the perimeter, Skinner has established strong position on the low block. Thornton feeds Skinner a dicey entry pass that Skinner tracks down along the baseline. Skinner has work to do to get back into position to make a shot. With his left shoulder, he backs Villanueva in all the way to the restricted circle. Skinner’s right-handed hook shot is true.
- [1st, 7:24] The Clippers run a catch-and-shoot for Al, as he runs around an elbow screen from Skinner. The shot is off, but the long rebound bounces back into the hands of Thornton. He picks it up the ball and barrels into the lane. As the entire Milwaukee defense collapses around him in the paint, Al shuffles a little left-handed pass to Skinner on the baseline. Skinner converts the layup. Not something you see from Thornton everyday — a good pass in traffic — but a welcomed sight.
- [1st, 6:52] Third consecutive possession of Thornton-to-Skinner. The Clips run a pin-down for Al. He catches the ball as he swings around the screen from Skinner. Very similar dynamic to the previous possession: The Milwaukee defense collapses on Thornton in the lane, leaving Skinner alone on the baseline. Again, Thornton finds Skinner through traffic. Dan Gadzuric challenges, but Skinner fools him with a ball-fake. The right-handed hook is good.
- [1st, 4:05] Mardy Collins dribbles the ball on the left wing against Luke Ridnour. Thornton is set up — largely unattended to — in the weak side corner. Collins fires a skip pass to Thornton that’s very high. Al has to climb the ladder to get it, which allows Richard Jefferson plenty of time to recover. Skinner, meanwhile, has sealed off Mbah a Moute beneath the basket. Thornton recognizes this, and darts a bounce pass along the baseline to Skinner. All Skinner has to do is pluck the ball and elevate for the jam.
- [2nd, 3:21] The Clippers get into early offense. Thornton has it on the right wing, one-on-one against Jefferson. Thornton crosses him over, then bursts ahead with a right-handed drive. Francisco Elson and the rest of the Bucks defense drops low to converge on Thornton. Again, in traffic, Thornton is able to thread the needle to Skinner, who is alone at the foul line. Skinner thinks about the jumper, then realizes he can dribble ahead another five feet. He does just that, then drops a little floater with his right. It falls through the hoop.
I can’t remember the last time Thornton passed out of a drive to create something for someone else. Here, against the collapsing Milwaukee defense, he does so repeatedly, with precision. It’s like seeing your teacher in some strange context outside of school.
Skinner finishes the game with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks on 76.4 TS%.
The Clippers dominate the paint and it isn’t just Skinner on the block and Thornton at the rim. The Clippers challenge Milwaukee’s perimeter players in the post all night. Thornton backs in Jefferson [3rd, 9:44], Collins against Ridnour repeatedly to initiate the offense…even Steve Novak gets into the act. At [4th, 5:26], the Bucks get crossed up, because they’ve got Ridnour on Novak, yielding eight inches to the Clippers forward. Novak backs Ridnour in, spins his left shoulder around while pivoting with his right, then shoots a perfect 18-footer over Ridnour.
When the Clippers aren’t scoring in the paint, they’re getting smart drive-and-kicks through penetration. At [3rd, 5:03], Collins pushes the ball ahead against Ridnour with a drive left. As the Bucks’ defense collapses, Collins finds Eric Gordon alone in the left corner. His high-arching 3PA is good.
Ricky Davis has only his second effective game as a Clipper. He lights it up from the right side. Davis scores five of his 13 points in about a thirty-second span in the fourth quarter — on a couple of free throws produced by a strong drive in transition, and a successful 3PA after Jefferson leaves him alone in the weak side corner. Gordon makes a dazzling pass, midair between two defenders, to find him.
An extended absence by Camby would be disastrous. Assuming he’s out on Monday afternoon, Dunleavy would be forced to go with Thornton at the 4, and start Ricky Davis at the small forward. Minnesota is a strong rebounding team, particularly on the offensive glass, where they rank 6th in the league.
15 Responses
I think this game will revive the endless debate about whether Utah should have chosen CP3 or Mardy Collins with their #3 draft pick a couple of years back.
clipsamba Reply:
January 18th, 2009 at 8:37 am
CP3 will slow down once he gets hurt(knee injury?). He runs like an untamed horse. He’s our next Steve Nash. Runs like crazy but never wins a RING.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Like Camby said, this team looks good on paper. It’s unfortunate, that Randolph got injured. Otherwise we’d be in the hunt. Is it too late? Not yet.
If they can limit their losses to 10 from this point, they can reverse the damage.
But letting Baron back in rotation will have a negative impact. This team plays well with Mardy. He’s solid & calm under pressure. More he understands Dunleavy’s offensive schemes better he’ll perform every game. Trading Baron & Kaman is a real option now. Sooner the better.
Thornton can learn & get better. I think Dunleavy sees a solid player in the making in Thornton. I’d like to see him playing at PF position. With increased passing ability, he can be a force.
Fred Jones is playing hurt. Don’t underestimate his ability to play. We should sign him for a 2nd 10-day contract.
Injuries actually made Clippers stronger & opened the clear path to next season. Addition of Mardy to this team is a big bonus. Steve Novak is not that bad. Dunleavy should play him atleast 14mpg. Groom DeAndre & Samb this season.
Brian Skinner deserves to be treated with respect for his experience & physical fitness. He can fill in void nicely. Involving him in their offensive strategy is a good move.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Haven’t been watching the games as much, but is it me or is Mardy Collins turning out to be a pretty good point gaurd? He was running the offense well and shutting down Ridnour. He presents matchup problems for most point guards in the league. He’s at least as effective as Jason Hart.
The Clippers were also sharing the ball very well last night. Was that also new? Even when they were winning, I don’t recall at least three Clips touching the ball on every possession, like they did last night.
I think Al Thornton is beginning to get that he doesn’t have to score to win. All that film watching must be finally paying off. Those passing lanes should be there for him when he drives most of the time. Thankfully, I only recall two fade away jumpers last night that were somewhat deep in the post.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 8:31 am
finally, a glimmer of hope in the black hole that is al thornton
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 11:28 am
Darius is a born Clipper. He was surprised when Elgin Baylor shipped him to Cleveland for boneyfaced Andre Miller.
Bring Darius back to LA. He played well for Grizzlies.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
It was bizarre watching the Toronto feed of the PHX/TOR game this afternoon. Both the announcers and crowd were more into Steve Nash than they were into the Raptors. It must be weird to be Canadian.
—–
And at the beginning of the season, I thought Toronto was playing Bargnani just to keep Colangelo from being publicly embarrassed at sitting his #1 draft pick bust . But it’s starting to look like dude might end up being an impact player at the end of the day.
ghost_ride Reply:
January 18th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Yeah, it wasn’t so long ago I was joking about Bargnani being the worst #1 ever, but he’s proving to have some solid value lately.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
I knew we got this game when I “witnessed” a Novak fade away jumpshot. I don’t care if it was against Ridnour
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
where are all those thorton haters now? i’ve said over and over that he is really good, and the reason he doesn’t pass is two fold:
1) last year he was our best option on offense, no need to pass to someone who is going to miss in his mind…its about trust, if he is going to give up a shot attempt he needs to know his teammate will be able to finish it, and this is finally beginning to happen, with time and the improvement of our team he will be a much more willing passer and you guys will eat crow
2) injuries/new players = noot being comfortable with your teammates, knowing where they like the ball and what their skill sets are (keep in mind injuries prevented any semblance of getting to know each other preseason, and ever since we haven’t had a 10 game stretch where someone major wasn’t injured or traded)…if the dunce would stop changing up the lineups every game (granted injuries and a lack of production in general have made him feel compelled to mix things up) then the players would begin to gel much better and we would see better results, thorton is no exception…mark my words, if the team can begin to stabilize as players get back from their injuries you will see thorton embrace being a more all-around player, including passing out of double teams and traps as he drives
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Mardy for all those who “belted him when the trade was made”, has after the initial “finding your feet with a new team” has been a shining light for the Clips. He is up in all areas of his stats , and all up has only played 130 games.
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
kirbs your right, for a toss in the dunce certainly found a guy with value…guess the dunce is as good a gm as he is terrible as coach…actually he’s not THAT good as a gm…but honestly, can someone tell me if the dunce gets a separate paycheck for gm than his coaching contract, or is it one contract…i’m thinking someone needs to convince sterling that he wouldn’t be pissing his money away if he fired dunce as coach if he kept him as gm, that way he’s getting something for his money…i know i’m dreaming
Posted on January 18th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Not to toot my own horn, but to toot my own horn, Petey was trying to tell y’all about Mardy on the day the trade went down…
And jgroove also understood the zeitgeist:
Posted on January 19th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Not to mention that if you ever find yourself in a playoff series against the Nuggets, you can just use Mardy to be the recipient of a Carmelo Anthony sucker punch and get suspended ‘Melo for the rest of the series…
Posted on January 19th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Ghost ride – two words
Kandi. Man.
Posted on January 19th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Trackbacks