The devastating combination of length, agility, and passing ability among the Lakers’ bigs makes it difficult to be too frustrated by their dominance over the Clippers up front. The Lakers score 70 points in the paint tonight, the majority of which belong to Andrew Bynum, who finishes with 42. It’s not as if Bynum pushes his Clipper defenders around on the block. Instead, he works himself easy shots through motion, mismatches, second chances, and active work around the rim.
Bynum gets his first bucket of the night exploiting a mismatch down low against Thornton courtesy of a high S/R with Luke Walton; the second basket comes on a putback; the third on a pass from Kobe Bryant out of a triple-team when DeAndre Jordan leaves Bynum to help; the fourth on a back door cut from the left wing. The fifth when Pau Gasol hits the diving Bynum between two defenders [Brian Skinner leaves Bynum to help] ; the sixth on another back door cut.
The Clippers leave Bynum unattended far too frequently — and should be faulted for doing so. But the spaces on the floor change so fluidly in the Lakers’ offense — to say nothing of the ball movement — that it’s unreasonable to believe the likes of Skinner, Jordan, and Thornton can execute a defensive scheme that could contain Bynum. If it weren’t Bynum, it would’ve been Gasol.
On the other end, DeAndre Jordan has a breakout game: 23 points, 12 rebounds [six offensive], four blocks, and only one turnover on 89% TS. Jordan is on the receiving end of a bunch of alley-oops. He also collects a fair amount of garbage. But he shows some skills:
- [2nd, 6:34] Freddie Jones and Jordan execute a pretty drag screen. Jones dribbles left, and Bynum tracks him. But this leaves a clear path for Jordan to dive to the hoop. Jones deftly threads the needle to Jordan at about 10 feet. Jordan is in high gear as he catches the ball, but is met by two Laker defenders [Lamar Odom & Trevor Ariza]. What does Jordan do? Dance his way between both defenders with a pretty stutter step, then lays it up and in.
Jordan displays a freakish level of athleticism, soft hands, a good handle, and a nose for the ball. Can you imagine if he cultivates a face-up game from 12 feet?
Steve Novak continues his torrid January. This month, he’s now 21-40 from beyond the arc after tonight’s 4-5 3PA performance. Unfortunately, his liabilities are apparent tonight. Despite his 14 points in 24 minutes, Novak finishes a -11. He simply can’t match up defensively against the Lakers’ long 4s — specifically, Lamar Odom.
Kobe Bryant was in a deferential mood all night, but Eric Gordon doesn’t get off easy, but does solid work defensively. Two sets to examine in the second half:
- [3rd, 2:42] On the left wing, Bynum comes high to set a screen for Bryant that doesn’t bother Gordon much. EJ manages to stay close to Bryant along the left sideline, walling off the lane. At the baseline, Bryant turns the corner, but he’s far underneath the basket. For 99% of the league, this would be an impossible angle. But Kobe switches hands and flings a carnival reverse layup off the window. What to do?
- [4th, 2:20] Same set. Bynum’s screen is marginally more effective this time. Again, Bryant dribbles along the sideline, with Eric managing to stay in front of him. Rather than turn the corner at the baseline, Bryant backs Gordon in at the low post, then launches a quick turnaround jumper over EJ. It’s no good.
Bryant finishes 5-15 from the field, with three pairs of FTAs. Tonight he’s a facilitator, not a scorer [12 assists, one shy of his season high], and it serves his bigs well.
Ultimately, the Clippers lose the game on the glass. There are 35 rebounding opportunities beneath their basket. The Clippers grab 18 of them…but the Lakers take 17. That’s a 54% defensive rebound rate. Anything in the low 70% range is pretty awful. Below 70% demonstrates a Golden State-level of rebounding incompetence.
There’s something a little unseemly about rationalizing the team’s sorry state, but it’s indisputable that if the Clippers’ principal frontcourt were healthy, DeAndre Jordan might be playing down in Anaheim. Instead, we’re seeing a raw talent gradually refine his skills against the league’s best players, and the upward trajectory of his confidence offers real promise.
35 Responses
thanks for all the great work kevin. i love reading your stuff. like you, im constantly looking for different and, well, anything remotely positive, to follow on this, my favorite team, in this cursed season, and youre always givin me the goods….
keep it comin and congrats on the espn gig
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Posted on January 21st, 2009 at 11:59 pm
We put up a great fight, eg needed a big game and it didnt go to well. DJ is a beast and hopefully he can stay consistent.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 12:57 am
Firstly, congrats on the TrueHoop blog network Kevin.
Whilst we got beat last night, I’m proud that this team of basically second (or 3rd in some cases) string players fought and didn’t just roll over. There have been some good things to come out of these injuries and it’s to see that players like Mardy, DeAndre and Novak can earn some minutes in our rotation when all the stars return from injury. The future is bright, it’s clippers red, white and blue!
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 am
After watching Blake Griffen last night and Ricy Rubio Highlights, Who to take if we get the 1st pick in the draft? A jam packed Front line up to add Griffen?? Or another PG?
I like Griffen, he looks like a sure bet
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ClippersUK Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Haven’t seen much of Griffen but not sure how he’d fit in with Zach, Kaman and Camby gobbling up those minutes.
I’ve seen a lot of Rubio at the Olympics last summer and he looks very good. Basketball IQ was very high and a great creator. It sure would be nice to get that first pick.
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epaminandis Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
No matter who the Clips draft with the Dunce as the coach they’ll still be bottom dwellers. To boot, Sterling’s record of hirings is just as grim.
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kirbs Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Be careful the door doesn’t hit you in the arse when leaving Clipperland
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 7:46 am
2009-2010 Projected Line-up(based on current roster)
1. Zach Randolph
2. DeAndre Jordan
3. Eric Gordon
4. Mardy Collins
5. Al Thornton
The Bench:
6. Marcus Camby
7. C. Kaman
8. Mike Taylor
9. Steve Novak
10.2009 draft pick
11. 2nd round draft pick
12. acquistion via trade(for Baron)
13. acquistion via trade(for Baron)
14. acquistion via trade(for Baron)
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
At least it was fun to watch. It’s going to be a whole new team in about a month… When the injured get off their asses and walk back onto the court.
Deandre could make one of those 3 veteran big men expendible in the next year or two.
I think Mike Taylor has lost his backup role to Mardy Collins. Jason Hart should be released.
Al Thornton’s mid-range games sucks. He KILLS the offense when he settles for outside jumpers and misses.
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David Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I completely agree about Thronton hurting the offense with too many jump shots. Although he’ll occassionally sink a tough mid range shot, it’s clear that he is at his best when he takes the ball to hoop. He is so much better as a spot shooter, but right now they are dumping him the ball on the block and asking him to create his own shot and until his shot becomes more consistent, I’d much rather see him try to take guys off the dribble and attack the basket.
In terms of Mike Taylor and Jason Hart, I also agree that once Baron and Taylor are back, Hart should be released. He’s had an awful season and while Taylor my not be a refined offensive player yet, the guy hustles like crazy and is good for at least one steal every game. But there is no doubt that Mardy Collins should be our back up to Baron. Collins has definitely shown that he can be an effective point guard in this league. Who knew???
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 10:51 am
yeah, if we could package baron and skinner, that would be nice.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
I wish the starters would come back so I could get back to winning some money betting against the Clips. At least you knew those guys would get down by 12 and roll over. The guys out there now can’t be counted on at all. Who told them it’s better to fight back than let the other team completely humiliate you? Couldn’t be Dunleavy. Anyway, the guys owe me 50 bucks for last night. Hurry up B.D., I need some grocery money.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I don’t mean to be a downer but it seems like we have the sissyest players ever. Why is it always our people that are injured.(ass bruise) paul millsap is playing on a bruised knee. kobe w/ 2 f’d up fingers. there’s a bunch of players playin through pain.
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backburner Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Good teams know what it takes to build a solid team.
What it takes? Probably no one in Clipper Nation aware of this. Because I never heard nor read about it. Yes, it’s unspoken. But serious teams make this their priority. Bu not Clippers.
It’s called Physical Tenacity. Can a player withstand the grueling schedule of NBA? This is the #1 priority to good teams. #2 is talent & Basketball IQ.
Clippers picked Shaun Livingston at #4. Only Clippers would chose someone on the basis of talent ignoring the requirement of physical tenacity. But they got lucky with Eric Gordon. Because he’s got both. Al Thornton has got tremendous physical tenacity. For him talent is #2. This combination will serve him well in NBA because he can expect a long career in NBA. His upside will shoot up mainly because of his physical attributes.
Forget Camby. He shouldn’t be playing heavy minutes. Randolph is talented but his physical tenacity is not 100% NBA-proof. Baron Davis doesn’t have an NBA body. He will not last longer in this league. Kaman still needs a baby crib. He lacks both talent & PT(physical tenacity).
Mardy Collins,Fred Jones, Mike Taylor have PT in smaller dose. But they can last longer by not playing heavy minutes.
Let’s get real. Only Al Thornton & Eric Gordon have NBA proof physical attributes. And you can’t play 82 games and expect to win 40-50 games with only 2 players bearing the burden.
Bottomline: Clippers don’t have an NBA team. Simply put…they don’t have a TEAM.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Why wouldn’t Dunleavy play Jordan and Samb down low? Skinner is more than a waste of space and actually misses easy buckets and creates turnovers. What is there to lose??
I bet if we would have had our two biggest(avaliable)on the court we wouldn’t have got killed on boards and bynam wouldn’t have broke 40. anyone agree? or am I wrong? or does it even matter? LOL
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ClippersUK Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Dunleavy wouldn’t play Samb and he’ll use some excuse like “He’s new and doesn’t know our offensive and defensive sets yet”. Like that matters!!!
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clipsamba Reply:
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Under Dunleavy, Samb wouldn’t find playing time until Camby, Jordan, Skinner get hurt.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
have they ever heard of pilates? this team is in need of a real trainer who can get these guys to a level of health that will allow them to maintain. the clippers have more injuries year in and year out then anyone else in the NBA
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Let us get rid of Jason Powell.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
It’s like buying a heavily used bike with worn out tires and blaming another mechanic for the damage it’s been causing.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 pm
http://www.firejasonpowell.com
the funny thing is ralph and mike always rave about how busy he is and what a great job he does keeping the team healthy.
I’m getting kind of sick of watching all the brown nosing going on in Clipper telecasts. All Mike and Ralph have to say are nice things about the team. They have never criticized any player even when they are playing like crap.
I want to hear some negativity, damnit. Why? becasue it’s the truth.
You can win in the NBA with a bunch of scrubs playing primetime minutes. I love the fact that the guys are busting their asses out there– more than i could say about B-Diddy–their supposed best player. But truth be told, scrubs are scrubs. We should get a partial refund on our tickets… Or we can do like this Mami Heat fan:
THE MIAMI HERALD:
Some of those being sued by the Heat are making an unusual defense for why they didn’t pay in full: The team was lousy last season. It finished with the NBA’s worst record.
The team ”failed to provide a product that it had advertised to the general public” prior to entering the agreement,” says Fort Lauderdale resident Deborah Cremer in court documents filed in response to a suit. She admits owing $19,175 on four seats in Loge Box No. 276 that cost about $33,000 last season.
Neither Cremer nor her lawyer responded to requests for comment.
Last year was a lost season for the Heat. Star center Shaquille O’Neal was traded. Guard Dwyane Wade, the face of the franchise, had his season cut short by a recurring knee injury. And Hall-of-Fame coach Pat Riley skipped some games to scout prospects before retiring from coaching.
”They destroyed the team last year,” said Carlos Gonzalez. His South End Investments, a condo-conversion company, was sued in November by the Heat.
He estimated he still owes the team about $70,000 on an approximately $250,000 tab for 11 premium seats.
”I told them halfway through the season, cancel my tickets,” said Gonzalez, who was unaware the Heat had sued his company. He promised the team he would renew his seats for this season if they refunded money for last season’s unused tickets, but it refused, he said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/592/story/849612.html
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
went last night. was cool to see DeAndre do his thing. good to see the guys show up and at least not lose by 30. was certainley more entertaining than i expected walking into the building.
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Ok, what was up with Lamar dunking and grabbing his scrodum, er, I mean scrotum? What a douchebag. Someone should have put him on his ass with a flagrant foul (or gone Reggie Evans on his crotch) the next time down the court after that classless act.
Once a douchebag ….
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 5:11 pm
It was a classless act by Lamar. You know that he still harbors grudges for the Clippers ever since Elgin questioned his character when he ran off to Miami. Things like grabbing his crotch while dunking when his team was up by 15 proves that Elgin was right. A few years ago when the Clippers beat the Lakers handily, he got ejected from the game. It seems that Lamar is incapable of losing graciously or winning graciously. Its a shame, because in everyday life, Lamar seems like a great teammate and a selfless individual. Unfortunately, it might all be an act, a conscious fabrication. What you reveal in your best and worst moments ultimately define who you are. And for Lamar, his pettiness and vindictiveness might be who he truly is. The Lakers would be foolish to retain him after this season. I’m guessing that they’re too smart of an organization to offer him much money.
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bootstrenf Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:52 am
i wouldn’t be surprised if the clippers were the team stupid enough to sign him after his stint as a laker…..horrified yes, surprised no…..
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Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Mark Iavaronni, former coach of the Memphis Grizzlies was fired today for having an 11-30 record after going on a 7 game losing streak.
Meanwhile, the LA Clippers kept Coach/GM Mike Dunleavy Sr, who has a substantially better roster and even fewer wins than the Grizzlies.
In other news, the US Government signed POTUS Barack Obama to a 4 year deal, creating a sense of hopefulness for fans of every other basketball team besides the Clippers.
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kirbs Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Better roster, WTF are you talking about, our Roster is out with injuries that are taking more than twice the normal time to heal. At present we are held up by rookies and journeyman who by the way are having a red hot go.
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bongstradamus Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
on paper we clearly have a better roster. people were even talking playoffs. we’ve got the second worst record in the league. injuries or not, memphis has Rudy Gay and thats about it. We have Gordon, Camby, Davis, Kaman, Thornton…i mean seriously, we have buckets of talent compared to the Grizzlies.
and injuries is a cop out. even when we are healthy we manage to suck.
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 2:15 am
I actually Mark Iavaronni for his offensive sets. Can’t we get Sam Mitchell, Iavaronni as a coach
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
Did any see the ESPN Daily Dime podcast?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090123
The debate who is the worst team in the NBA, we are mentioned. It starts around 14:45min mark
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 10:38 am
All gibberish… It’s like Eddie Murphy once said, “tell me somethin’ I don’t know motha-fucka…”
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
Until we get an owner that puts winning first more than profits, nothing will change. Sure, he’s spending more money now but his first priority is having profits. That’s the only reason I could think of why Dunleavy is still here.
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I Can’t wait till Baron and the rest of the starters come back. I’m tired of hearing all the criticism of them all milking their injuries. I expect whining and b****ing from non-clipper fans, but to hear it from our own fans is surprising. I’m fustrated too, but I know we are better and I’m sure the players can’t wait to get back.
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EricGordonsAnkleBrace Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
u r dilusional. if these guys were on a contender theyd be playing.
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Paul Davis for his size would be a start????
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Posted on January 23rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
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