The Clippers were shown yet again that basketball is a game of runs and droughts, this time suffering a 93-84 loss at the hands of the Mavericks. The inability to stop runs has been one of the themes of the young season, and the Clippers were hit again tonight with a Mavs 18-3 3rd quarter run and a 4th quarter drought marred by untimely turnovers and poor shot selection, resulting in a measly two points in the final seven minutes of play. Each game the Clippers seem to raise more questions than they answer, and tonight was no exception. Let’s take a look at some of the things that gave the Clippers trouble tonight.
Matchup Issues:
- Marcus Camby starts off on Dirk tonight, which is about as good of a mismatch Dirk could hope for. Camby is indeed a former Defensive Player of the Year, but his true strength lies in his work off the ball, not on it. Camby is more than content to let his assignment shoot jumpers, and is notorious for hanging back in pick and roll situations. Dirk by no means abuses Camby tonight, but the Mavericks get some great looks by originating their offense through pick and roll action with Dirk. Truth be told, the damage could have been much worse in the first half, but Jason Terry was ice cold and Dirk was failed to knock down some shots he usually makes.
- Jason Kidd isn’t exactly quick anymore, but he nullifies a big part of the Clippers early season offense all by himself. Kidd completely shuts down both Eric Gordon and Baron’s post games tonight, simply by out muscling and out smarting the two Clippers down low. It takes away a large part of Baron’s game in particular, who struggled with 4-10 shooting from the field and 4 turnovers.
- Shawn Marion can still be a nightmare assignment for lots of forwards out there, particularly for ones that are used to relying on their superior athleticism like Al Thornton does. Al takes some miserable shots on his way to a 2-8 shooting performance, and gets 4 of his shots blocked in the first quarter. Al’s answered the bell with his rebounding so far this year (6 boards in 25 minutes tonight), but opposing defenses have caught on to his game and are more than happy to let him force bad looks off the dribble.
- To the Clippers credit, they recognize their big mismatch right from the get go. Dampier did a nice job on Kaman, but Chris was again true from about 18 feet, which helped him to score a career high 27 points on 12-19 shooting. Successful teams have a variety of different options they can utilize offensively, but tonight Kaman was the only player to really get it going.
Mistakes:
- Young teams are prone to them, but at this point it’s practically a full-blown epidemic for this club. Coming in to this game, in 4th quarters the Clippers have averaged 5.3 turnovers, and tonight they register 6 turnovers in the final period. Simply put, this team is not good enough defensively to allow their opposition multiple extra possessions. The Clippers do a better job on the defensive glass tonight (only 9 OREB allowed), but some bad passing out of double teams and increased pressure in crunch time still does them in.
- Sebastian Telfair swiping at a 30 foot Jason Terry three-pointer at the end of the half was pretty stupid. Barking at the referees and earning a technical after the obvious foul was beyond pretty stupid; it was idiotic. Telfair practically gifted the Mavericks four points in a tight game, but worse yet killed all the momentum the Clippers had worked so hard to establish going into the half.
- A few critical moments down the stretch: At the 1:53 mark of the 4th quarter with the Clippers needing a bucket and 3 seconds left on the shot clock, the ball is inbounded to Kaman, who appears to be unaware of the situation and lets the shot clock expire. It’s a critical juncture in the game, and the possession goes completely wasted. This play, compounded with two offensive rebounds let up on the other end on the next possession, take the air completely out of the building and erase any hope of a Clippers comeback. The old theory that “bad teams find ways to lose games” is inching towards becoming applicable to this group.
The Rotation:
- Dunleavy is struggling to find a consistent group of players he can rely on in the clutch. Tonight, he chose to ride the hot hands with Sebastian Telfair and Craig Smith. Telfair sparked the offense with some nice outside shooting (!) and playmaking, while Craig Smith proved once again that Dirk isn’t immune to smaller, athletic, physical defenders. Would the Clippers have been in the position to win the game without the 8-0 early fourth quarter run sparked by Telfair and Smith? Probably not. But it’s tough to sit on your hands through a 7-minute scoring drought when 22 million dollars of payroll in Baron Davis and Marcus Camby are riding the pine.
- DeAndre Jordan struggled mightily again tonight, and the numbers don’t lie: 2 minutes, 3 turnovers, -8 +/-. While it’s understandable that Dunleavy needs to win games first and foremost, he’s basically setting DeAndre up for failure. DeAndre knows he has zero room for error, and because of this he’s playing in constant fear of getting yanked from the game. There are very few players in the league who would succeed in the situations that Dunleavy is placing DeAndre or Kareem Rush in. DeAndre (2min) and Rush (4min) either need to be committed to with a proper amount of playing time and a spot in the rotation, or they need to be left out completely. Any and all confidence that DeAndre Jordan built up coming into this season is likely shot at this point.
- Baron Davis – zero minutes in the fourth quarter. Chris Kaman – 44 minutes overall. Winning is always the top priority, but some semblance of a rotation plan needs to be established. Right now, the plan appears to be “play whoever is performing at all costs,” which sounds nice in theory, but can’t be relied on over the stretch of an 82-game season.
Regardless of whether it’s early season rust, growing pains, a tough 4 games in 5 days against playoff caliber competition, or any other excuse readily available, it’s hard to deny the claim that the Clippers simply aren’t playing up to their talent level right now.
The Clippers will try again to get their first victory this Monday night at home against Minnesota.
29 Responses
What time do you work on these recaps? Good post game analysis, I agree that the clips is still trying to figure the closing unit because dunleavy’s job is on the line.
Dj is hurting by all these quick substitutions. On to Monday
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 1:19 am
Best post I have seen on here in a long time. Maybe ever. The worm is starting to turn and even the Dunce syncophants are starting to realize that he is a miserable coach. When we get the old laugher “he got Sterling to open his wallet” then we know that the vultures must be circling the undertaker’s carcass.
The DeAndre Jordan insight is dead on. That kid has been killed off already. What a shame. I can’t imagine a worse coach to play for than that Dunce. He really can be counted on to mismanage playing time, rotations, and critical plays at the end of the game. In other words, he is less than useless. This team has already become unwatchable, the same as last year, within 4 games. Absolutely nothing has changed from last year except that Kaman is not injured and is playing well. The Clippers just lost to two pretty marginal teams, and Phoenix is going to be downright bad. Another trip to the lottery. Sad thing is that a decent coach could probably get 42-48 wins out of this group. Dunce will be lucky to get 25.
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Ben Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 2:23 am
well said………
im kinda glad didnt watch the game ….
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 1:53 am
Yep, I could thing of a million things to post right now coming back from a halloween party.
I sort of think of Mike Tyson taking calming psychiatric drugs and thinking he can still fight with the same intensity, and Barron Davis adjusting to Dunleavy’s system and thinking he can still play the same way.
Still only 4 games in, and the Clippers could go on a streak. Their players are looking better than I expected this year. But, you don’t need to start 0-4. I don’t get the ‘Gelling’ thing. All their starters are from last year, and look at the Celtics.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 2:25 am
Remove any of the emotion and bitterness, statistically it’s a testament to their being a God that he has a job. No one has been this bad for this long and kept their job. No one.
John Lucas, get ready. If mike was smart he’d resign and keep the gm role.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 7:23 am
Ah, I am so pleased that I didn’t renew after 11 seasons this year….I told the sales dept. I would only consider it if they fired the Dunce. I couldn’t spend hard earned dollars watching Dunceleavy ball…..let the college scouting begin..
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 8:20 am
I was all for giving Dunleavy a chance this year. Last year was about injuries and it wasn’t his fault. This year is his fault. He said we were going to run and score and look what’s happening… And that wasn’t Baron saying that, it was Dunleavy.
I’ll be more than happy to see Dunleavy go. I just hope he takes Baron, Ricky and Thornton with him. I would love to have their 20-million to spend on more productive players.
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qd Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 9:49 am
Oddly, we are running and scoring. Yet, we are still losing.
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SamMays Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Actually, we’re averaging 95 PPG… Exactly what we averaged all of last year… The ball moves and we have periods where things look changed, then, when the game is on the line, its back to slow motion iso, post and stand offense.
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Ian Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
We’re running and scoring but without an athletic PF our efficiency isn’t where it needs to be.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 8:44 am
I hope that the real reason for dunleavy hiring lucas is so that lucas will take the head coach spot somethine this year. Maybe I’ll get that wish by christmas!
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qd Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
But he signed on for a year only. I don’t know much about Lucas, was he any good as head coach?
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SamMays Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 am
No.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 9:47 am
Dunce has one of the biggest egos in the league. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell that he will do the right thing and resign. The only way Dunce leaves is if fans boycott any and all things Clippers so that Donald feels the pain in his wallet.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 10:12 am
after one Clipper time out a play was set up for a 3 pointer…..This is the same coach who wasnt playing Gordon at the start of last year and had R. Davis off the bench early in the first game..He is also killing Jordan…
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 10:21 am
Minus Blake, things are not bleak as we think.
Let’s look at these positives:
1. Fourth quarter benching of Baron shows, Sterling is active and he won’t let this season go down the drain. He’s willing to go any length to make this season a success story.
2. Clippers are working hard to find suitable takers for Baron, Camby and Thornton.
there’s no second guessing on that front. Camby to San Antonio. Thornton to OKC.
And Baron to Lakers or Cavaliers.
3. Kaman’s new Avatar is unexpected. We knew, he’s more matured but wasn’t sure about his commitment. Now we know who Kaman is. With Blake & Kaman in the middle, this team can flourish for years to come.
4. DeAndre should start playing more minutes against below .500 teams. That should be his goal this season. His performance against ‘A’ list teams were expected.
5. Clippers have enormous advantage over salary cap & worthy contracts. Gordon, Blake and DeAndre are only 20. These 3 are going to be solid for this team for years to come. Telfair is young and his upside is greater than his temper. Craig Smith is only 25 and he can a useful back-up for Blake and can score at will against below .500 teams.
6. We need to work on making upgrade over Skinner, Rush, Ricky and Novak. And Dunleavy might prefer to relinquish his coaching job and remain the GM. I hope Sterling will decide on this sooner than later.
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SamMays Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Regarding the Clippers trying to find “suitable takers for Baron, Camby and Thornton. There’s no second guessing on that front.” Where are you getting this no second guessing information?
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 10:37 am
“inching towards becoming applicable”……..finding a way to lose in the 4th quarter has been the Clippers stock and trade, with the exception of a healthy Cassell’s presence, for as long as I can remember!
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gsr Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 11:49 am
No Clipper fan will ever forget Sam Cassell. He never looked down upon Clippers. He was as proud as anyone of us. And no player can replicate his healthy mindest.
Wish we had him here as our Coach.
This Clipper team is ONE BULLET short to becoming a force in NBA. We need a 3rd weapon alongwith Gordon & Blake. Then we can start to expect string of wins.
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clips101 Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Kaman?
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am
I went to the game last night, and I agree with much of this analysis. Marion showed that he was a beast last night. He is quick and he has the body type that just overpowered Thornton and Butler.
Also, I think something happened between B.Davis and Dunleavy, which caused him to bench Davis for pretty much the whole 4th quarter.
You can tell that the team is there. They can stay on par with these playoff potential teams all the way through the game. It’s just that we need to find a way to close out on them. It just sucks, we see these great games, but can’t pull out the win.
Also attendance was way down. Not many people there last night. I got great seats behind Lawler and Smith for dirt cheap.
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FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Baron started out the game dribbling the ball with his hand on his hip and the announcers were commenting on it. Maybe he was pissed Dunleavy was calling all those plays for Kaman. The 4th quarter benching was strange. Did Dunleavy comment on that?
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qd Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I saw dunleavy being stretched out most of the second half. I don’t know if dunleavy and bd had a run in or it was an injury
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Ben S. Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 9:08 pm
i would be mad too…i mean really Kaman was been playing well
but he is not going to get us any victories…..thats obvious….
running plays for Eric Gordon would probably get us more wins…
in short….
if we replaced the times we went down to Kaman and gave it to EG …
i think we would have gotten a victory already…..
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
It seems like Dunleavy is experimenting with plays. The players have no focus or clue on what is going on. A consistent set of starters and a bench need to be set, with their roles all set in place and being utilized. All he does is run with a player then we’ll be down by 15 and then subs in another. There is no set continuity on this team. There should be a set of players for when we are down by 15 or a set of players when we are up. If we are down, throw in our 3 point shooters Novak, Gordon and Butler…make sure to get the ball in their hands. If Baron is lobbing up BS 3 pointers takes his ass out. If Thorton is playing shitty, pull him out. Where is the authority and direction on this team? Dunleavy runs it like a pick up game with set plays!!!
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 1:49 pm
“A coach only can say so much that the players will listen to anyway.” I will always remember when I was listening to Coach Jeff van gundy talk about this. He was referring to the celtics and how KG was relaying the coaches message to the players because players really have trouble relating to coaches sometimes. That is what made cassell so great for us. He was our on court coach, he would not hesitate getting in the grill of the young kids, especially kaman. We need a leader on the floor, someones got to get on these guys for taking horrible shots. Ideally it should be baron, but he is guilty of taking a lot of these bad shots.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Will we win more than 19 games this year?
Better shot at the 8th seed or John wall?
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Deandre has to get in more. Sure, developing players isn’t always easy, but why have them if you aren’t willing to be patient for the learning process? Yes, Bassy did play well for a stretch, but that doesn’t mean he belongs in there for the rest of the quarter. Bassy’s job is just that – go in, get a few nice possessions, and then bow out. Dunleavy should have more confidence in Baron. I haven’t been too pleased with Dunleavy’s game management.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I think it’s pretty clear that Dunleavy hates Baron. I can’t say as I blame him… Baron hates Dunleavy, which I also can’t blame him for… That’s why there were rumors floated about trading Baron last year and there are already rumors about doing so this year… Not that there’s much likelihood of it happening, but the rumors are out there.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:40 am
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