Opening night is always a little dizzying. It’s difficult to measure the new versus the familiar, and to banish what you want to forget while still recalling the stuff that’s useful to remember.
Though all five Clipper starters Tuesday night are alumni of last season’s miserable squad, it’s clear that the 2009-10 Clippers are a measurably improved team.
A few notes:
- This is a far better conditioned squad, and it’s evident in Chris Kaman’s arms, in the team’s third quarter run, and in the fact that the Clippers rack ass all night, never taking a single possession off. There’s a reason the Clippers were a lousy third quarter and an awful rebounding team last season: They were out of shape. Basketball is a frenetic, aerobic game and there’s absolutely no way to remain competitive if you can’t match your opponent’s physical effort. The Clippers lose the game, but not because they can’t endure.
- The Clippers do little to help themselves in the first quarter: Nine turnovers and a barrage of contested jumpers, compounded by the decision to go small when Marcus Camby runs into foul trouble. I had a chance after the game to ask Mike Dunleavy about his reasoning. “[Ron] Artest and [Lamar] Odom are quick for the big guys and and big for the small guys,” Dunleavy said. “That’s their strength and advantage. You’re always trying to play that game. That’s actually one of the spots where we really miss Blake. He’s our big guy who can play the smalls and make them work.”
I don’t envy any coach who has to match up against Odom, but I think the Clippers — who are already compromised in the defensive post against a team like the Lakers — give up too much by going that small that soon. - Craig Smith’s second-quarter explosion is a highlight of the evening, and offers a flashback to 2006 at [2nd, 8:22]. It’s a play you saw the Clippers run for Elton Brand a thousand times: A guard (usually Cuttino Mobley) sets a cross-screen for Brand in the lane, as Elton dashes to left side for an entry pass against either Mobley’s defender or, at the very least, his own guy who is still recovering. Here, it’s Eric Gordon laying out a screen on Luke Walton as Rhino rumbles to the left block with Farmar now defending him on the switch. The Lakers are able to recover, but Smith has solid position as he takes the entry pass from Sebastian Telfair, and he dispatches Walton quickly with a baseline spin move and layup. It was a good set then, and it still is now.
- Eric Gordon has become a solid pick-and-roll player, and he demonstrates some nice interplay with his big men tonight. There’s a particularly good-looking possession early [1st, 10:05] when Eric gets a high screen from Marcus Camby above the left elbow. It’s a strong pick that takes Kobe Bryant out of the play and leaves Andrew Bynum backpedaling against a driving Gordon. Chris Kaman is set up on the right blow, covered by Lamar Odom. Once Eric beats Bynum, Odom is forced to collapse. So what does Eric do? What any good playmaker does — dishes the ball on the move to the wide open Kaman for an easy layup. It’s one thing to be able to penetrate, but it’s quite another to leverage that skill to create shots for others. Gordon has a tremendous night: 21 points on 16 true shots, with three turnovers and four assists (including this one), and it’s nice that he gets to do it in front of a national audience that rarely gets to watch his gutsy brand of ball.
- Given what they’re up against, the defense does solid work. The Lakers challenge the Clippers in the post all night, which puts a lot of pressure on the Clippers’ help defense. By and large, the Clips make sounds decision about when and from where to dispatch that help. There are a handful of blown rotations, but more times than not, the Clips are quick to the ball. They post a defensive efficiency rating of 98.7 for the game — a significant accomplishment against the Lakers, with or without Pau Gasol.
- Baron Davis and Al Thornton both fall victim to their lack of shot selectivity. Davis’ shot chart is especially ugly — 1-for-10 from the field without a trip to the stripe. The good news? The most efficient scorers take the bulk of the shots: 18 true shots for Kaman, 16 for Gordon and 13 for Camby. Thornton’s 4-for-11 is mitigated somewhat by his work on the boards: Nine total rebounds, which helps the Clips win the rebound rate 52/48.
Wednesday night’s matchup against Phoenix will tell us a lot more about the Clippers’ flexibility as a team. It will also reveal something about their resilience, because there are no moral victories at home against non-playoff teams.
26 Responses
I agree, it was a tough night to measure the team by. We r conditioning is a lot better and our depth really helped out
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 7:12 am
Pretty good game last night. I was watching witha group of laker fans and even they admitted how much the game would have been with Blake in the lineup.
I think last night also confirmed ally if what clipperblog has said over the course of the preseason. Kaman is in good shape. Butler can’t be the guy to create one on one. For some reason they didn’t drive and kick to him last night, why dies Camby get the rice and kick 3 with the clock running out. I think Al conirmed himself as the 6th man last night, and Bdiddy was horrible. I almost want to say that the offense ran smoother through Gordon.
Looking forward to tonight.
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Q.D. Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I agree with kick out shots, but I think that has to be the length of the Lakers. The Lakers collapsed in the lane very well on us
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 7:18 am
the thing that I am most grateful for this year is that we finally have a true backup point guard. I am falling more in love with bassy with each passing game. Probably because of what I am used to seeing come in to give Baron a breather. It makes our second unit able to not only keep pace but do some damage. He is just a smart, solid pg. I know he doesn’t have much of a jumper but thats ok, he gets guys easy looks. Also him and craig smith are on the same page, you can tell that they have been playing together for a while. The clips overall were still frustrating last night, lots of stupid turnovers. I agree with KA, the clips would have been better off going big.
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Ian Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Agreed!!!
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Wasn’t to disappointed last nite. it was a good effort. Just too many unforced errors. And we wold have had a semi-decent game from Baron, we would have won the game. Blake would have defintiely made the lakers work on the boards and with the hustle. Much better effort than we saw last season…
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 8:35 am
You guys owe some props to Al for his work on the boards. If you’ve been a careful watcher during the pre-season, you would have noticed that Al seems to read the boards here. He’s trying to expand his game to include rebounding and defense. I know it’s early, but I’m hopeful the kid sees the light and keeps expanding his game. Good job Al, keep it up!
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Kevin M Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I’d rather see Al get 6 defense boards and 3 offensive than the 6 offensive and 3 defensive he got last night.
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jgroove Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Are you kidding? Any coach will tell you offensive rebounds are 10x more difficult to land and more important than defensive boards.
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Curtis Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Yeah, and aside from that, is that really something to chastise a player for doing?
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bongstradamus Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I agree, O Boards = Putbacks and Second Chance points. D boards just end a possession.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I’m not one for moral victories, but I can’t be too surprised (or even disappointed) about the loss last night. The Lakers are a better-coached team, period…plus it helps when you have arguably the greatest player in the NBA today in Kobe Bryant. I give our guys credit for sticking with them, although the final score could have a lot worse, as the Lakers pretty much eased back once the game was practically decided. As was it already mentioned, the turnovers absolutely killed us, and the Lakers are the one team that better capitalizes on turnovers than any other team in the Association.
Props to Kaman for stepping, and putting up a workman-like performance…he usually plays tight against the Lakers, almost imtimidated if you will. Of course, if not for Gordon, Kaman, and Craig Smith…this game would be more one-sided than it was.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Solid game. Let’s forgive Baron for his mindless moments atleast this time. Not next time. If sleepwalks, just send him to shower room.
Several encouraging signs:
1.We were only 7 pts behind world champion Lakers. (credit Baron for this deficit)
2. We rendered their Bench useless and forced starters to log in heavy minutes.
3. Lakers wanted to prove their supremacy in front of star studded faithfuls by thrashing supposedly lowly Clippers. That did not happen.
4. Addition of Blake & Craig is an upgrade over Elton which gives Clippers 48 min. solid plays at this position.
5. If Baron can learn something from Kaman and Camby, he can still save his career. He should focus on making plays. He’s afraid to operate from left and right wings. He’s rightfully worried about turnovers. If that’s the case, simply handover the ball to Gordon/Butler.
6. After watching Camby and Kaman play, now we can say, that our last standing weakest link on this team is: BARON DAVIS.
7. If we can package Baron & Ricky for a trade, we can make another leap to improve this team.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Granted that Baron’s point production was pretty ugly, you have to look at what he did off the ball. 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Also, Thorton has been receiving some heat for his poor shot selection, but his 9 rebounds really shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Yeah, a W would have been nice last night, but it’s the opener against a solid Laker team. Although tonight, we have to win against the Suns because they’re going to be a team who we’re jockeying for a playoff spot with, come late season.
On a side note, anyone else sick of hearing the announcers milk the Laker wang all night?
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 9:59 am
great positive analysis KA, this is the best basketball blog on the planet, and a big reason why i became such a big clipper fan, win or lose.
al needs to take a lesson from ej, and not take anymore 21ft jumpers. it seems to me that 97% of ejs shots come in 3 places 1) 3 pointers 2) layups 3) foul line. he is very efficient in all three. every time al takes a 3 with his foot on the line it drives me crazy, and it happens a lot. loved his rebounding though, he deserves props for that.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I am a big Baron Davis fan -but he is not moving well. Is Mardy Collins are 3rd string b/u pg? Does anybody know if Mike Taylor stuck with Memphis? I read that Dan Dickau was cut by the Suns – perhaps LAC can pick him up?
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Kevin M Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
This maybe the DayQuil talking but I’d much rather have EJ at the 1 and Ricky at the 2 than Dickau at the 1 and EJ at the 2.
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bongstradamus Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Taylor was waived from Memphis. Mardy is the third string PG/SG/SF it seems.
And I liked Dickau. He could surprise sometimes, just never really totally fit in anywhere even though hes a good guy. Injuries, better talent, depth have all kept him from getting good floor time, but honestly as a Clipper he wasn’t half bad.
Where in the world is Earl Boykins? I’d love to see him come back to the Clipps
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Couple of comments:
Craig Smith, strong D, great shot selection, only one forced one shot, player of the game.
Eric Gordon: Is going to be insane for us on offense and defense. Kobe fouls happen
Kaman = Biggest variable in my mind: Offense: Don’t try to create your own shot 17ft from the rim, catch n shoot if open or kick the ball. Keep it Simple Stupid. Defense: Stay back to collapse instead of chasing the guard way past the three pt line off the pick n roll. Bynum got a lot great low post positions with Kaman chasing guards = easy buckets or fouls.
Baron Davis = whatever dude….
We played well when we kept the defense in collected and forced Lakers to make shots. When we spread and allowed penetration Lakers made easy buckets or got fouled. We are best when we collapse on penetration and keep our rotation instead of chasing the ball at will.
Lakers were a better team last night even without Gasol. Time to getter better Clips…
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 10:51 am
sebastion > baron
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 11:40 am
First quarter deficit was the factor. Same was the case last season with Baron at the helm.
If he cannot prevent the bleeding, let him come off the bench to save the season. We should not let this man to destroy this team one more season. Act early MR.DUNVEALY. Don’t fall asleep.
Telfair is solid. He can do much more for this team. By end of this season, Telfair is going to surprise many by his talent & grit. With Telfair, Collins, Gordon & Rush in the team, we should not hesitate to ship Baron back to GSW. Exchange him for 2010 first round draft pick(unconditional)
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Lakers are the new Jazz where they get away with physical interior slapping and physicality. A few years back it used to frustrate them to no end in Salt Lake now they’re happily doing it.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Dunleavy’s coaching last night was beyond vomitory. I’m sorry, but were Craig Smith and Rasual Butler not two of the more impressive players we had during preseason? Marcus Camby hardly played, yet he gets the start. Thornton, aside from one decent showing where his bad shots actually went in, was completely unimpressive in camp. Yet he starts. And were my eyes deceiving me, or was Ricky Davis the first player off our bench? Mike Dunleavy is out of excuses. He does not have the guts to play the better players over the more tenured ones. That is wretched. And I can’t picture a team being coached by one of the good coaches in this league to suffer that many mental lapses as his teams always do. This is beyond disguisting. He needs to be fired IMMEDIATELY.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Hey we only turned it over twice on inbounds plays! Lol. So pathetic.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
ONE GAME IN AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT DAN DICK-OW! My lord. Baron’s beard is cursed. It’s a big hairy black hole grown to deflect attention away from the fact that this guy is a hack! Start Telfair. Publicly humiliate Davis and see if he has one drop of pride left in his stumpy little body. The Clippers could have won that game with a decent point guard. And props to Kaman for working his tail off and at least showing up. Baron, please, retire or quit or commit a major crime so we can be rid of your worthless ass.
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I hate it when I find myself yelling at the TV, but Baron had me doing that all night. If, as preseason bloggers predicted, he is the key to Clippers success, we are in deep s*#t.
That being said, I was cheering the TV in seeing Gordon and (my god, am I really saying) Kaman perform. Its going to be an interesting year…
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
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