Anyone with a rooting interest in the Clippers would do much better to ignore wins and losses and segment the remainder of the season into a series of smaller goals. The Clippers are unlikely to win many basketball games between now and some point in the future when a combination of Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, and Chris Kaman returns. Whether you arrive at this conclusion with the requisite blame for whoever is at fault, or whether you’re just a Clipper fatalist, it’s important to get to that mental place as soon as possible.
The Clippers face the Lakers and the regenerative ring finger on Wednesday night. It’s entirely possible there won’t be more than 20 minutes of meaningful basketball, but that doesn’t mean the Clippers shouldn’t go into the game with a few items on their to-do lists:
- Eric Gordon: EJ’s Tour of Perimeter Killers continues against the league’s best scoring guard. Kobe Bryant has some height on Gordon, and will seek to exploit that advantage with his turnaround jumper. Gordon faces the same problem every smaller guard must contend with against Bryant. If EJ crowds him, Bryant will explode past Gordon en route to the rim. However much that dislocated finger is killing Bryant, he’s playing through the pain.
- Al Thornton: Thaddeus Young and Al Thornton both shoot about 36% on two-point jump shots. Here’s the difference: 54% of Thornton’s shots are of the two-point jumper variety, but Young makes the low-percentage shot only 35% of his overall selection. Instead, Young opts for more attempts inside, where both he and Thornton shoot greater than 60%. Thornton must resist the temptation to settle for stuff outside. He’ll start the game against Vladimir Radmanovic, a defender he should be able to take off the dribble. Al will still have to confront the Lakers’ stellar help defense, but penetration gives him a fighting chance. Firing jumpers over the Lakers’ lanky defenders doesn’t.
- DeAndre Jordan: The Clippers’ rookie center did an effective job staying out of foul trouble on Monday while defending the post adequately against Al Jefferson. The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum is a more athletic cover. In addition, the Lakers’ bigs move around the halfcourt a lot more than Minnesota’s, which means Jordan’s most challenging task won’t necessarily be bodying up, but staying alert.
- Rebounding: There’s one unintended benefit to the absence of Marcus Camby — it forces the Clippers’ wings to do some work on the glass. They did so admirably against Minnesota, a decent rebounding squad. The Lakers are the league’s 5th best team on the glass. The Clippers likely won’t outrebound the Lakers overall, but they should aim to do so at two positions.
UPDATE: Upon further consideration, it’s likely Gordon will draw Fisher, with Mardy Collins, at 6′ 6″, the natural size matchup for Bryant. For Gordon’s sake, a stint on Bryant would be instructive.
15 Responses
Congrats on the ESPN gig, KA. It’s every bloggers goal to turn their blog into gainful employment and you’ve actually done that.
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 5:37 am
Make that money, but don’t forget the 12 clipper fans here.
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 7:44 am
I’ve only seen a small fraction of total Clipper minutes so far this year, but I’ll note that almost every minute I’ve seen DeAndre Jordan on the floor, I’ve been highly impressed by his decision-making.
Dunno how high DeAndre’s ceiling is, but dude’s got great instincts for a 20yo big…
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 7:56 am
“Congrats on the ESPN gig”
Y’all are late on the congrats. Kevin hooked up with Mauschwitz back in October. That’s why he was subbing for Henry over the Xmas break…
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 8:01 am
LOVE THE SITE…. ALL THE LOSING NOW WILL MAKE THE WINS THAT MUCH SWEETER PEOPLE..AS A CLIP FAN FOR OVER 20 YEARS IM PATIENTLY WAITING FOR THE DAY I CAN SEE WORLD CHAMPS AND CLIPPERS TOGETHER ON A TROPHY
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 8:26 am
So IF the clippers win tonight, is that like taking down the Soviet Union during the Miracle on Ice?
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 9:08 am
Seriously, a bruised ass for a month. I hate to say this Baron, but take some notes from Kobe and get on the damn court.
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 10:31 am
baron’s never been serious about being in the nba anyway, bruised tailbone or not… he’s always had a questionable work ethic and it was a mistake to sign him under the pretenses EB gave us… mardy collins seems to be more beneficial to the team anyway.
i see a team that can be extremely competitive in the west if baron gave a damn along with the triumverate of crazy dominant big men that we have could actually play together for once.
but it has been comforting seeing eric gordon growing up so fast along with deandre showing promise. it’s shows flashes of a hopeful future if we hang onto them and one of the bigs that are injured right now… lets hope that dunleavy doesnt butcher it
(how did that guy win coach of the year?!)
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Why is Eric Gordon’s referred to as EJ?
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Eric Jr.
Peter Reply:
January 21st, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Thanks.
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 12:42 pm
I’ve been a Clippers fan for over 15 years now and tonight’s game against The Lakers is the first one that I’m seriously considering not watching. If so, it would be the first game I intentionally not watch. But seeing how we’re missing four of our six best players, and considering how The Lakers have just pounded us in the last two meetings, I’m not sure if I can stomach another beating. The beating they handed us on opening night was easily one of the top 5 loses I’ve ever witnessed, and to me there is nothing worse than being embarrassed on our home floor by The Lakers and then having to hear their fans who are too cheap to buy Laker-home-game tickets chant “MVP” every time Kobe shoots free throws.
Like a loyal dog, however, I’m sure I’ll find myself tuning in to tonight’s game in hopes that I witness the biggest upset of the season, and perhaps the biggest upset in Clipper history. And just in case things take a familiar turn for the worse, I’ll simply shut those cheap, annoying Laker fans up with a click of my mute button.
Q.D. Reply:
January 21st, 2009 at 5:04 pm
What! You don’t wanna hear Laker fans tell you how Sasha is better than Ray Allen or how Pau Gasol was drafted by the Lakers and stashed away in the LA Arsenal D-League team? !!!
(These are true statements at games made by Laker “fans” )
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 4:17 pm
God, I wish I could post this as a picture. made it today!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a272/guitar384/BARON.gif
Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Trackbacks