Indiana 106, Clippers 105

08 Mar 2009

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A quick glance at the play-by-play reveals that the Clippers didn’t convert a single bucket from the field after Al Thornton’s layup at the 7:18 mark of the fourth quarter.

Impressions of the final moments:

Breakdown of the last 6:33, after Eric Gordon hits a free throw to push the lead to 8, Clippers 102 – Pacers 94. 4 turnovers, 2 offensive fouls, and only 1 shot attempt each for Zach Randolph and Eric Gordon. Clippers get outscored 12-3 in the final 6:33, and that’s your ballgame. This sort of thing happens all the time to young teams that are not used to protecting a lead in the final few minutes. You just can’t afford to go on that big of a scoring drought to end a game. The Clippers let multiple chances slip away, and you have to wonder if Baron Davis could have been the guy to seal the deal with one of his trademark daggers. The Clippers signed Baron for exactly this reason, to put games away for them in crunch time. But perhaps representative of his season thus far, his whereabouts are unknown. Mike Taylor shows why it’s very hard for a rookie point guard to have success in the league tonight, pretty much self-destructing down the stretch. These are the types of games that feed in to the theory that when this team finally gets healthy, they can compete in the West. –DJ
I’m a bit of a Dunleavy defender, but I think this loss is on him. I don’t mind giving up the half-time lead, since the Pacers clearly weren’t going away. They played well and made a game of it. Still, in the last couple of minutes, when we absolutely NEEDED a basket, I thought they should have gone to Zach in the post. But instead, the last three or four possessions were just ugly. You could tell guys were afraid. They were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. I would have let Gordon take the final shot, but I think they should of gone to Zach down low in any of the three possessions before that. –Cappy
Tonight our youth and inexperience definitely showed down the stretch. Guys bricked too many FTs, fumbled it a couple of times, missed a wide open dunk, got a really bad call at the worst possible time, shot a 3 with the lead instead of taking it inside for a safe(r) 2, and didn’t get the breaks they needed to put it away. The whole team got too timid and was too worried about not losing (the lead). That’s when you normally choke. And we did just that.Baron hasn’t been very clutch for us so I don’t think he was missed. For one, he continually sucks the energy out of this team when he is out there, and our energy got us that nice lead in the first half. Also, with Baron on the court Gordon gets fewer shots — and he was the hot hand for us tonight. We would’ve likely lost this game way more decisively with Baron. –Stian

clipsamba

If Clippers are going to keep Baron Davis… 70% of Clipper Fans will quit rooting for this team.

Forget about next season, I can’t root for this team while Baron Davis suits-up to play & derail the game even before the end of 1st quarter.

We must be really DUMB to keep this gutless character.
- Seth
  
  I think 100% of Clipper fans will stop rooting for them if we keep Dunleavy. Open your eyes, it’s not the players. It’s the coach. We have a really good team, no one wants to play for Dunleavy, and his offense sucks! If more fans think like you, I’m sorry.
  
  The solution: Donald T. Sterling needs to sell the team or die…get a good ownership that KNOWS basketball, hire a player-friendly coach, and have our players play their style of ball (with a few offensive sets)…They didn’t get to the NBA by studying “Dunleavy’s Basketball Tips and Tricks” book…they got to the NBA with their skills and knowledge of the game.
- BoomDizzleisaCipp
  
  i agree with seth, its not the players its the coaching
  
  http://hoopeduponline.com/2009/03/08/are-the-clippers-the-laziest-team-in-the-league/
Stian

We are not trying to keep the “gutless character” – Dunleavy, with Sterling’s blessing, tried his best to ship him out before the trade deadline. Nobody wanted him.

I’m sure we’ll try again this summer and hopefully be more successful.

We saw the (immediate) future last night – and it doesn’t include Baron Davis, that’s fer damn sure.
eastie rich

First, it was geat to see some effort last night. Second, like I’ve said, they drafted a great group of players.

But, and there’s always a but with the Clippers. You’ve got Gordon going for 30+ in the first three quarters, and how many touches in the 4th? A basic rule of bk is keep going to the guy with the hot hand until he cools off. The Pacers didn’t do anything diff. to Gordon in the 4th than they did in the 3rd. I can just hear coach, “now their going to focus on Gordon because he’s having one hell of a game and could finish with 50, so Eric, I want you to be an assist guy in the fourth. That will really through them off.”
neiljphx

I don’t think it’s realistic to think there’s gonna be a way to get rid of Baron. I just can’t imagine a GM who wants Baron and his deal in this ever worsening economy. Maybe we’ll get lucky, but I figure we’re stuck with him.
And that’s a problem. Cause we’re stuck with MDsr seemingly forever as it appears that DTS has crazy man love for him. It’s a damn shame too cause I bet Eddie Jordan would find a way to bring out Baron’s best and this thing would get turned around in a hurry. Instead, it’ll be the same bleak conversation a year from now.
eastie rich

Neil, Can we get rid of Baron, Dunleavy and Sterling? O.k., never mind, what’s the reason I’ll by tickets next year?
http://N/A rocket

Eric Gordon?
EricGordonsAnkleBrace

…at least there’s a good site for us to vent on! Go ClipperBlog.com!
Seth

I think 100% of Clipper fans will stop rooting for them if we keep Dunleavy. Open your eyes, it’s not the players. It’s the coach. We have a really good team, no one wants to play for Dunleavy, and his offense sucks! If more fans think like you, I’m sorry.

The solution: Donald T. Sterling needs to sell the team or die…get a good ownership that KNOWS basketball, hire a player-friendly coach, and have our players play their style of ball (with a few offensive sets)…They didn’t get to the NBA by studying “Dunleavy’s Basketball Tips and Tricks” book…they got to the NBA with their skills and knowledge of the game.
- Seth
  
  This was a reply to clipsamba’s comment..
jermaine o neal

All you need to know about Dunleavy is this..Gordon was on the bench to start the season..only after injuries did he start to play…
- Stian
  
  Cat Mobley was a major player for us for years – it’s only natural for him to get the start at SG over a rookie. Instead of bagging on Dunleavy for something any other coach would’ve done as well – how about giving him some credit for trading Mobley and Thomas (a bum!) for Z-Bo and Collins, a move that put EJ in the starting line-up?
  - Jax
    
    Quite funny how much Stian defends Dunleavy, one of the worst coaches in the game. He’s lucky Sterling’s cheap or he would have been gone long ago.
    - Stian
      
      I’m not defending Dunleavy here – I’m defending logic. No coach would’ve started Eric Gordon over a proven vet like Mobley.
      
      Is Phil Jackson a horrible coach, too, because he didn’t start Bynum as a rookie?
      
      We all know Dunleavy would be long gone if it wasn’t for his long-term high salary deal. What does that have to do with not starting a rookie?
      - Seth
        
        I didn’t mind Mobley starting, but Eric Gordon had LIMITED playing time in the beginning…
        
        Stats:
        
        10/29: 13:50 (blowout game against the Lakers and still 13mins)
        10/31: 2:09
        11/1: 3:41
        11/3: 3:00
        11/5: 4:11
        
        I could go on and on….his limited playing time went for a good couple months…we drafted Eric Gordon to score, and he is a great scorer…I think we could have won more games if we played him earlier.
        
        Stian
        
        Look, we had Mobley and Ricky Davis, a proven 14 PPG career scorer, at SG. Mobley played very well before he got traded. Ricky didn’t but no coach is gonna bench a player with Ricky’s proven ability in favor of a rookie just because he is in a shooting slump which most players go through at one time or another. Only later did the team find out that Ricky couldn’t hit because his knees were giving out.
        
        To expect Dunleavy to give Gordon all sorts of minutes over two proven vets is as crazy as saying DJ should be getting minutes over Kaman and Camby had both been available when he had no track record of doing anything at this level.
        
        Bayless is a major talent and he has barely played in Portland this year – because there are more established players ahead of him at his position. Gordon was in the same situation – only he got lucky that the guys ahead of him got traded or went down. That’s a typical rookie story. You benefit from others’ misfortune or certain circumstances.
        
        http://AndrewLeon.com Andrew
        
        This guy is making legit, logical points…… apparently if you are of the mindset that coach dunleavy is not doing an adequate job, then you are physically only able to utter one phrase..
        
        FIRE DUMBLEAVYLOLOLOL
        
        Jax
        
        What are you talking about? You make no sense whatsoever.
      - Jax
        
        Sorry, just taking the opportunity to respond here to a number of the posts that you’ve recently made on this blog. Your post here, however, is unclear as to whether you think Dunleavy should be fired. Do you agree that Dunleavy should be fired?
jermaine o neal

also if Dunleavy was a good coach he would have Thornton playing more of a team game. Youtake bad shots..youre on the bench…Thornton has skills as does deAndre but the wrong coach…
- Stian
  
  You can only bench players and not hurt the team if you have a good enough replacement to step in. SF is our weakest position right now. Novak can’t guard 3s or he would be be getting way more PT. And Collins is more effective as a guard than at SF. So we’re back to square one: Thornton.
  
  Do you really think Dunleavy is thrilled with these selfish serial shotjacking games Al plays at times? Thornton has been told to pass the ball and play more within himself a million times I’m sure but he just isn’t doing it as much as he should. Last night was a good game for Al (safe for the blown dunk) – if he shows up like that and goes inside instead of aping Baron’s shot selection he is a real asset to this team.
  
  And DeAndre is progressing nicely and there is no sign that he is being coach by the wrong person. Not to mention that Kim Hughes works with our big men and Camby is acting as a mentor as well. DJ is in great hands. It’s up to him now to work HARD and take it to the next level.
MC

Well, Cat was the proven veteran and EJ was the rookie that just came back from a sprained ankle in preseason.

I would have played Cat for the majority of minutes if I didn’t know how good EJ would be.
Lawler’s Law

during the game, there was a camera shot of a bald headed fan in the lower level stands, for a minute, I thought it was KA…guess not…
Section 113

Stian (Mrs. D) at it again I see. Saying that Cat Mobley was a major player for us is just silly. Cat, good guy, played hard, but was a role player. On any other team he would have been the 7th guy, maybe 8th. Your comparison to Bynum is off-base…Gordon was obviously ready, Bynum wasn’t. The complaint is not about Dunce playing rookies, it is about not playing Gordon…can you see that difference? And stop giving your husband credit for the Z-Bo trade, it was a Knicks salary dump to clear cap space, what Dunce should get credit for is being the only team willing to take on Fat Zach’s ludicrous contract…which puts him in the same league as Isiah Thomas who was willing to do so as well. So Mrs. D while you see GM Dunce pilfering the Knicks, the rest of the NBA saw the Knicks suckering the Clippers and instead of preparing for the future by creating some cap space, we instead are saddled with the twin albatross’ that are Fat Zach and Fat Baron.
- Jax
  
  He’s operating as though he doesn’t understand that the team has already quit on Dunleavy and that the Zbo move was just a reaction to the abysmal failure to re sign Brand. Zbo is ok, but he’s not a defensive presence at all.
  
  Dunleavy drafted Al Thornton, who didn’t pass in college and who had a questionable basketball IQ. Is it really surprising that he’s having problems in such areas now?
  
  While we’re on the subject, stian, why did Dunleavy sign Baron Davis, calling him an “elite” point guard, and then decide to slow the offense down, ignoring Davis’ skill set? Please enlighten us on that topic.
  
  This is either Mrs. D, D jr. or John R using another handle.
TNT57

Guys we are powerless. We might as well be sending these thoughts and emotions into outer space. Mental masturbation. Unless you believe that Sterling or Davis or Dunleavy or Roesner actually read this blog, we might as well be writing to each other about how to bake a cake. We need to do something meaningful and public. I still believe if a hundred or two hundred season ticket holder would gather outside Staples on the night before the last home game and as a group burn their tickets that we will finally be heard. Local media, national media will cover the event (after a few well placed phone calls giving them a heads up) and we can finally voice our concerns about how tired we all are of the way this team is being run. We can ask David Stern to take a good look at the owner and do what is right for the fans. We can warn DTS that unless there are changes made he will suffer the only place he can be wounded — in the wallet. Clipper Nation can finally stand up and be counted. We can make sporting history as the only fan base to actually rise up against the giant sporting machine and say enough is enough!
- eastie rich
  
  TNT, that’s a good idea. I personally like what the Saints fans used to do, bring paper bags and put them over their heads (I don’t know if your old enough to remember that – but it sure got alot of national exposure).
- Seth
  
  this sounds like a great idea..we should plan it at our last home game..it’ll be a silent protest..with posters and banners expressing our feelings towards this lack of franchise…this is probably the only way we can get this team up and running..
TNT57

BTW, I will step up and try to organize this thing if there is really enough support and interest from the fans. I don’t want to be the lone idiot out there burning my tickets because that kind of display would have the opposite effect and make the organization look stronger and more in control. I would contact local sports talk radio and try to get the message out, give an email address where season ticket holders could contact me and pledge their support for the idea. This only works if we are united. Otherwise we just remain a faceless, nameless, powerless group of perpetual victims continuing to pound our collective heads against the wall. If we don’t try something to send a message then we get exactly what we deserve. It’s out of my hands now.
- ACD
  
  i’m in!
TNT57

Eastie, I’m 51 years old and I do remember the Saint fans. The Saints look like the damn N.Y. Yankess compared to the history of the Clippers. I’m mad. I’m tired. I’m fed up with being powerless. I realize this isn’t the Civil Rights Movement or anything monumental like that, but we shouldn’t allow ourselves to believe we don’t matter. Maybe this is finally the time to step up and be counted even if it’s just for a moment. Obama is in the White House because he convinced America that enough was enough. Maybe we can ride the coat tails of that movement and try to change something that’s been broken for a long time. I don’t think we should point a finger at the players, just the powers behind the scene. We are good people, we work hard for the money that we spend on these tickets and we have been treated like fools. I just placed a call to 570 KLAC and hopefully someone will contact me about giving an interview and sending the word to Clipper Nation that now is the time to finally stand up and be counted. If this thing fizzels and no one is interested then I can finally sleep well knowing that in the end nobody really cared about it anyway. If anyone on this site knows how to contact the local media it would be helpful. I don’t know if I can give out my email address but it’s hahree2@aol.com.
- Seth
  
  Everyone should leave their email addresses: mine is hengtime81@hotmail.com
  
  i’ve emailed bill simmons, i’ll write to him again about this..we don’t need to burn any tickets because that will cause ruckus when cops are around staples…i say media and us ripping and throwing tickets on the ground…LETS DO THIS!
  - eastie rich
    
    It’s an interesting idea all the same. I’ve e-mailed Simmons before but if your not off the wall theres no reply. I think he might get interested in this though. If you can get enough people involved – I may be in. Sorry I can’t commit just yet. And your right, the way the Clippers are run is nothing like the Saints.
    - eastie rich
      
      TNT, I just went to Clipper Nation and posted for anyone as frustrated as we are to come here and check your idea out. Maybe you can post there as well.
      - Q.D.
        
        I’m down, sign me up.
        
        I can’t suffer through this anymore
EricGordonsAnkleBrace

Everyone should eat their tickets the morning before, then we can all poop out our tickets at Staples Center right before the game on Sportscenter.
vlight

I’d like to be involved as well, bibbycakes421@yahoo.com. This is a great idea, management needs to realize it’s fan base will not stand by and support this team if there aren’t changes – head coaching changes.
FD

Have 20 people throw them on the court right before tip-off in front of Sterling.
melting clippers

tchr24all@msn.com but ill send u an email
TNT57

I think I’ve hit a nerve. I was thinking it could be civil and peaceful. I could bring a bucket and we could quickly burn them all at once. The problem is it won’t mean anything unless we get someone there to cover it. Sterling and company will only become aware of it if it makes the news. I think it could at least be a novelty item to local sports tv and talk radio. I personally don’t care what they think about it as long as we get our message across. I’m sure they would want to talk to a spokesman or somebody about why we’re doing this and what are beef is with the Clipper organization. I think we leave players out of it and focus on the gross mismanagement of the team from a fan’s perspective. We can’t argue with Sterling strictly as a businessman because the team is profitable. I think the point is whether a team owner has the duty and obligation to build a winning team and not just a press to print millions of dollars. It’s a question of moral and ethical obligation. Does Sterling have the right to just do enough to keep the Clippers legit or does he have a greater obligation to the psyche of the season ticket holders to do his very best to win a championship? At the very least it’s an interesting question and one that could finally blow the ld of Donald’s scam as an owner.
- eastie rich
  
  I’d be willing to keep Dunleavy at coach if we could get rid of Sterling. And Dunleavy is the Worst Coach Ever! Still nothing compared to Sterling.
Iankobe

I agree with all of you. Enough is ENOUGH!

I’m tired of being a loser as a Clipper fan and it’s about time for us to make a difference.

It was like a dream come true when we got into the playoffs in 05-06.
Sam Mays

I started getting season tickets in ’88. They drafted Manning and Smith and were the Portland Trailblazers of that era. An exciting young team that was dangerous and was only going to get better. Well, Sterling blew that up pretty quickly and soon going to 41 games a year was pretty unbearable. Then, like now, I couldn’t give my seats away.

By ’94, I’d finally figured it out and stopped buying season tickets. Sterling wasn’t going anywhere and that so long as he owned the team it would always stink… He’d put just enough in to create the illusion that things would get better to a new generation of ticket buyers (the way a movie franchise can be renewed every 15 years or so). On occasion they would have a decent season or stumble upon an exciting new player, like pre-inury Manning, pre-injury Ron Harper, Doc Rivers, Eric Gordon.

Once I stopped spending the money on season tickets, I was able to enjoy being a Clipper fan again. I go to games about 3 times a year and only when I get the tickets for free. Rarely will I pay and only then through a ticket broker on day of game when prices are usually half of the face value.

I watch all their games on TV, rooting for individuals I like, like Gordon, Camby or Jordan and screaming out “NO!” every time Baron Davis launches a shot. I try to illuminate the stupid plays Ricky Davis makes and use them as negative examples for my son, who is a very good youth player and already much smarter.

I’ll ask him probing questions like, “What should Thornton have done instead of what he did?” “Why do you think we’ll be stuck with Baron Davis for the next four years?” “Compare and contrast Mike Dunleavy as GM to Isaiah Thomas.” “What is the intent of the offense they’re running with one guy dribbling and four guys standing still watching him?” It’s a wonderful education for the boy.

Then, of course, there is the absolute best part of being a Clipper fan. Playing the ESPN lottery game and imagining who we’re going to get in the next draft. Draft night is invariably the best night of the year for Clipper fans. What do Laker or Celtic fans know if this awesome joy, wondering if we’re going to get the next Tim Duncan, or Shaq, or Roy?

All in all, if you can get money and positive expectations out of the picture, being a Clipper fan has its rewards… But it’s like sex with a hooker. If it’s bad, stop paying for it.
- Sam Mays
  
  By the way, on the compare and contrast Mike Dunleavy to Isaiah Thomas as GM question. There is no contrast. They are the same; foolishly desperate.
inside scup

i just heard from a inside source that baron has a clause in his contract to trade him back to GS. baron was livid when he found out that in his clause in his contract. i guess we may get some drafts and benchers from gs for him.

on sterling, from a golfing buddy of dunlevy, sterling berates the players as they are on the court. calling them worthless and other demeaning names in the front court. then to hear him “scold” his players after the spurs game and putting blame on thornton is not called for.

i may not renew next year.
sterling & al davis should go bowling and see who’s dont a better job.
they are the undead. got to get rid of them.

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Indiana 106, Clippers 105

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