Game 4

7:30p PT

Fox Sports Prime

980 AM

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Finally had a chance to watch most of Dallas’ big win over the Lakers last night, and the findings were interesting.

80 percent of Dallas’ offensive sets can be reasonably classified as one of two things:

• Pick-and-roll
• Dirk Nowitzki

There’s some overlap here, but Nowitzki — at least Friday night — was employed most frequently as a post-up threat, or in isolation on the wing. Occasionally, Rick Carlisle would spot up Nowitzki on the weak side, run some action low in an effort to lure Dirk’s defender into the play, then whip the ball over the Dirk before the defense could recover.

The other 20 percent of Dallas’ playbook Friday night falls under miscellaneous (i.e. Shawn Marion curling off a screen, a spot up set for Jason Terry).

I’m very bullish on the Mavericks this season because that pick-and-roll game is awfully difficult to defend. Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea and Jason Terry all run it well, but it’s the presence of Nowitzki behind the action that makes Dallas so tough. Do you trap the ball-handler? Maybe, but that will leave you 4-on-3 — and one of those three is a 7-footer who can kill you from anywhere in the halfcourt. If Nowitzki’s defender stays home, now you’re looking at a 2-on-1 and Jason Kidd has this funny way of finding open basketball players easy shots. On top of that, Erick Dampier sets a nasty screen and Shawn Marion is terrific in the PNR. Marion was the roll man five times last night and scored a bucket on four of those five possessions. If he handles a pass cleanly, that number is probably 5-for-5.

Switching is an option, but here’s where Eric Gordon’s size hurts the Clippers a little. Bigger 2s can handle some switches or, at the very least, stall a big man long enough for the defense to recover. There was a reason Cuttino Mobley was on the floor so much for Mike Dunleavy during the Brand Era. Mobley was a very capable pick-and-roll defender and a central ingredient in those good defensive squads. Gordon still has to learn how to anticipate the pick-and-roll and have a recovery plan ready. He’s not going to be able to fight through every screen, but if he can develop that instinct of knowing when and from where the screen is coming, he can take some pressure off the Clippers’ bigs who are finding themselves backpedaling a lot the first week of the season. Baron Davis has traditionally been a tough straight-up man defender, but I haven’t seen much over his year in Los Angeles to indicate he’s going to chew through a screen or give a big man trouble coming off that screen.

Hedging still demands that kind of recovery from your guards. It also requires smart, proactive play from your big man (against Dallas, the big man in the PNR is often the man who’s guarding Marion). Marcus Camby prefers to stay back defensively, though I’m pretty certain he’s shown on a screen a handful of times over his 13-year career. Kaman is getting better, though the Clippers usually deploy Kaman in a perimeter trap.

If Kaman is the match-up on Nowitzki, he’s going to have bigger things to worry about than pick-and-roll defense. And that’s why Dallas is going to be so tough to defend this season. It isn’t enough to defend the pick-and-roll to perfection, you also have to be mindful of the game’s most versatile big man at the same instant. That kind of multi-tasking is difficult.

• Kevin Pelton asks Dr. Bill Carroll, author of the forthcoming Carroll Guide to Sports Injuries, about Blake Griffin’s fractured patella. Carroll’s recommendation for the most aggressive treatment would have doctors “surgically attach wires” to repair the fracture.
• The Onion Sports Network has some fun at the Clippers’ expense.
• Early pace and fast break numbers should please those hoping to see the Clippers run more this season. Granted, a game against Phoenix helps pad the stats, but after three games the Clippers rank 9th in the league in pace, and have outscored their opponents 56-29 thus far on the break. Might I suggest that the Clippers’ first unit should be looking to slow things down to take full advantage of  their two most efficient offensive players, Chris Kaman and Eric Gordon, who are unguardable one-on-one in the halfcourt?
• Marcus Camby tells Lisa Dillman that his left ankle, which he tweaked in the first quarter last night, should be okay: “I don’t even remember what happened … I remember rolling it. It was a big game. I had to get right back at it. I didn’t want to sit out and let it get stiffened up. I’ll be all right for tomorrow.”
• Rasual Butler might be on a reality show, but he won’t spill the beans.
• Still without Twitter accounts: Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby.
• Mark your calendars for Clips Nation’s viewing party next Friday night down in Long Beach.  Steve and the gang will be gathering at The Beach Club Sports Bar on PCH to watch the Clips-Warriors.

What do turnovers have to do with the offensive glass? Both speak to the concept of shot opportunity. Protect the basketball and you’re almost certain to get a shot off. In contrast, a failure to get any offensive rebounds and you’re limiting your shot attempts. The Clippers turn the ball over only nine times on Friday night, but of the 39 available rebounds on their own glass, they collect only three, for a microscopic ORR of 7.6%.

The Jazz crush the Clippers inside and it’s not just about the boards. Despite Kaman’s productive night on the offensive end, the Clippers’ interior defense is shredded by Utah’s dizzying array of low action. All night the Clips are either oblivious to the screen — or are so concerned one might be coming that they miss the ball or a cutter.

The result?

68 points in the paint by the Jazz, despite the Clippers’ size advantage. Click on the video below for a further breakdown.

Is there stuff to like? Sure, but that refrain has an expiration date, one that’s quickly approaching. The Clippers play a feisty Dallas team Saturday night. Unless they can package these disparate attributes — Chris Kaman’s devastating mid-range jumper, Eric Gordon’s confidence, the good ball movement — into a coherent package, they’re going to find themselves stuck in the same morass as last season, only with a better vibe.

Game 3

6:00p PT

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980 AM

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Steve Nash simply wouldn’t let the Suns falter tonight, carrying them down the stretch by answering nearly every Clippers score with a bucket of his own. The Clippers controlled this game in every sense of the word, but just couldn’t put Nash and the pesky Suns away. The fashion in which the Clippers lost was unquestionably heartbreaking, but resist the temptation to throw the baby out with the bath water. The Clippers played really well tonight, significantly better than the majority of their outings last year. Yes, chances presented themselves, particularly from the free throw line (15-27) and in the form of a few missed bunnies down the stretch, but this game felt more like Steve Nash taking over as opposed to the Clippers falling apart. Frankly, the Clippers didn’t do a whole lot wrong down the stretch – Nash was just a little bit better. Let’s take a quick glance at what went right and what went wrong tonight.

The Good

• Marcus Camby was a difference maker both offensively and defensively tonight. On defense Camby blocked shots from the weak side, dove after multiple loose balls, and disrupted passing lanes all night. His slingshot jumper from 19 was falling, and it proved useful in drawing out his man to let Baron work in the post.

• Baron Davis is still figuring out if he can trust his jumper, but his play overall tonight was outstanding. Baron’s post play began to demand double teams, and his distributing out of those coverages was top notch. There were a few moments (like the steal resulting in a three from the corner) where you could literally see Baron’s confidence growing. Defensively, Baron seemingly had his hands on everything, knocking loose a lot of balls and coming up with 5 steals on the game. Nash was perfect in the fourth quarter, but to no fault of Baron. He was in Nash’s jersey every step of the way.

• The offense has a whole hummed tonight in all facets of the game. Fans clamoring for the team to run more got their wish, as the Clippers outscored the Suns 16-2 in fast break points. The passing on the break was crisp, and the discipline by the wings in filling their lanes was outstanding. The halfcourt offense sometimes tends to stutter, but tonight Dunleavy’s post heavy game plan paid dividends, as the Clippers shot an incredible 55.8% from the field with a lot of those looks originating from the block.

The Bad

• 15 for 27 from the free throw line.  It’s a tired adage, but good teams knock ‘em down. Bad teams don’t. Don’t expect this to be a reoccurring theme however – the Clippers should normally be pretty solid from the line.

• DeAndre Jordan, zero minutes. Even though Kaman and Camby both enjoyed incredible individual games, you’d ideally like to see the young center get some playing time. The concern should be minimal here, as the healthy DNP for DeAndre should be a very rare occurrence. This does mark two straight games where Dunleavy has experimented with a small lineup to lackluster results. Against the Lakers, the Baron, Ricky Davis, Thornton, Butler and Kaman lineup struggled to mesh with each other. Tonight, it was Telfair, Rush, Thornton, Butler and Smith. This particular lineup quickly lost the first quarter lead the starters built, and Rush took the brunt of it with a -8 +/- in 3 minutes.

• The Suns bench players gave the Clippers reserves and starters trouble all night long. Dragic (+9), Clark, (+11), and Dudley (+12) provided big contributions for a Suns bench that is largely considered a question mark. The depth of this Clippers team is a strength, but tonight they were outworked handily.

The end result tonight was less than desirable, but if the Clippers can sustain the level of play seen tonight they’ll win these types of games more often than not. It’s a stretch to call this a fluky win for Phoenix, but the Suns truly were outplayed for the most part and were fortunate enough to be bailed out by some Steve Nash heroics. The Clippers next shot at redemption and first win will be Friday at Utah.