After compiling some promising offensive numbers over their first three games, the Clippers turned in a lackluster performance in the second half Saturday night. In 41 possessions after halftime, the Clippers scored an infinitesimal 29 points — a 70.7 offensive efficiency rating that would make even the Charlotte Bobcats blush.
It’s a shame because the Clips put together a reasonably good defensive effort against a strong Mavericks team, holding them to 93 points in 97 possessions. Pair that defensive performance with the offensive outputs against Phoenix or Utah and the Clips would’ve walked out of Staples Center with an easy W.
So what happened?
In short, old habits die hard.
That crisp ball movement, nice-looking interior passing and smart spacing the Clips have displayed most of the week? Little of that was present during the second half. Instead, the Clippers relied on quick jumpers and stagnated in predictable half-court sets that the Mavs’ pick-and-roll defense sniffed out with ease.
Here’s a look inside that barren stretch of possessions that put the Clips down 10.
30 Responses
After the first loss brought out so much negativity, I made a smart-ass blogger comment about fair weather fans jumping off the bandwagon. As every loss accrues, I am fighting the urge to drop a foot or two of that wagon myself. I HATE to see the same old Clipper faults. But Kaman (of all people) is keeping my hopes alive and I’m still riding on optimism.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 2:24 pm
We just won the lottery. Expecting miracles with same starters(from last season) is ridiculous. Inspite of loss, this team has given 100%. Is it enough? Not against better teams yet. But once Blake returns, we’ll see real results.
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Euthanize Kaman Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I agree. Loss of Blake means this is the same team from last year. With Blake on the court there’s a different passion from the whole team and there will be more fans and energy in our building. No worries. We were gonna go 79-3 anyways so who cares. Let’s get rolling on minny on Monday!!!
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Q.d. Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Agreed, disappointed we won’t get to 82-0
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VH Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 am
Smith, Butler and Telfair are faaaaar better than the bench we put out there last year. Blake will help, but even without him this is a better team.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 2:44 pm
very nice video kevin!!! Hope there is much more of that to come!!! On the game, yes the third quarter was very harsh but if we can space the floor better and DRIVE THE BALL TO THE RIM I think better things can happen!!! Eric and Baron need to drive more, especially eric! I’m getting tired of saying this but Al needs to come off the bench!!!
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 4:04 pm
there is absolutely no excuse for losing this year.
fire dunleavy!
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Really cool video. Great job, Kevin. I love this blog – the quality of analysis is heads and shoulders above that of almost every other NBA blog.
As for the Clips, I’m not freaking out until we lose to Minnesota.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Excellent work Kevin.
I hope this becomes a regular feature.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Nice vid Kevin. It’s good to know you haven’t abandoned the blog in favor of Truehoop. Your analysis is much needed!!!
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 10:26 pm
you can analyize all you want..bottom line.this coach isnt very good.No time outs at the right time,cant devolope young talent,overcoaches,too many plays, The thing that would get me as a player is how Dunleavy is always standing up and yelling..its hard to play with a coach like that…. K.A, what is your thoughts on how Dunleavy is always standing…complete opposite of Jackson..
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Kevin Arnovitz Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:31 am
Neil:
I don’t put a lot on the standing/prowling sideline vs. sitting debate. For one, Jackson has a bad back and standing for long periods of time is excruciating for him.
What’s funny is that when the Lakers are struggling, as they were a few seasons ago, you’d hear Lakers fans outraged that “all Phil does is sit there! I could do that!” or “He never calls timeout! That’s ridiculous!”
My point is that when we’re predisposed to like or dislike a coach, we tend to pick apart the cosmetics rather than the substance.
I’m all for picking apart the substance (i.e. in this video, why is the spacing so bad? Why can’t the Clips generate shots inside of 15 feet for long stretches of the game?)
But for me, in-game sideline conduct makes up less than 1 percent of the grade.
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gsr Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
Dunleavy is not a bad coach. He knows the game. He’s a classroom teacher type. Not a playground coach material. He lacks passion, vision and agression. These 3 elements are essential to win anything in sports. You can’t learn these things outside. It has to come from within.
Sterling has none of the above. Hence he doesn’t care what type of personnels he employ. The law of karma is in works here. We get what we deserve. You can’t expect to drive away with Mercedes when you actually paid & signed up for Subaru.
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FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 11:36 am
Dunleavy is one of the highest paid coaches in the league.
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Kevin M Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Dunleavy is a horrible coach. He can’t communicate effectively with the players and refuses to make the concessions that any successful coach would make. It’s well known that Dunleavy has one of the most complicated and extensive playbooks in the league. Simplify the fucking thing because it hasn’t won shit in nearly two decades save the ‘05-’06 campaign, which was pretty much all Cassell anyway.
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Posted on November 1st, 2009 at 11:42 pm
[...] Arnovitz has a cool video analysis demonstrating the Clippers’ inability to score against the Mavs. If all goes according to [...]
Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 am
If we lose to Minnesota tonight, we might as well throw in the towel for the season. Oh yeah, we can officially start our “Fire Dunleavy” chants. I can already hear Mike Dunleavy’s excuse for tonight’s game, if we lose. “We didn’t have Blake. He would’ve helped us with our rebounding. Also poor execution in the 4th.” So what Mike? Minnesota doesn’t have Kevin Love. Seriously, he’s running out of excuses and I’m getting tire of it.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 11:03 am
Kevin, is there anyway to run analysis of Dunleavy’s 4Q career? 4Q is about intensity. You can’t play 4Q basketball four quarters per game 82 games per year. Hence stars turn it up a notch down the stretch, just like a 10K runner will sprint with 1/8 mile remaining in a dead heat to win the race (can’t spring the entire 10K).
Either our team plays in its highest gear the entire game (would explain all the injuries) and the other teams just are that much better when they put it into the highest gear down the stretch, or we have a serious coaching deficiency. A guy who does not appreciate and set his players up with that 4Q killer instinct. Sam Cassell had it and everyone around him got it with him on the floor. Remember the defensive intensity we would bring come crunch time? Without the extra gear, I am afraid we will lose every sprint down the stretch. We can only win if we have put our opponents away before the 4Q starts or by the chance of luck – afterall statistics will fall on our side from time to time.
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Chris. Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 pm
3rd quarter Clippers under Dunleavy always do bad. He sticks to his game plan & can’t change it to adjust the way other coaches do. His fatal flaw & why he should be fired as coach.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 12:19 pm
jeez,.. I sense a bunch of bandwagon fans desperate for a win. no need to throw in the towel or push the panic button or anything of that sort, the important thing is that the players have come to play this year and the team is starting to gel. going 0-4 and being highly competitive against playoff teams is much better than going 0-4 against the likes of minnesota, okc, and memphis. if or when that happens, feel free to push the panic button.
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Curtis Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Point taken. All we need is one win to get the confidence going and hopefully start winning some of those nail-biters. Although, if we don’t get a win against Minn. on our home court tonight, then the argument, “But it’s the Clippers,” will start to sound truly valid.
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btc Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Lmao. Bandwagon refers to success. The fans that are angry just want a damn win. Isn’t that the point to playing? To win?
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Kevin M Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
RL, we wouldn’t be reacting this way if we weren’t losing for the SAME fucking reasons that we did last year. Poor shot selection, poor rebounding, blown rotations, stupid fouls, etc. This shows me that Dunce didn’t learn anything from last year and is dead set on doing things his (extremely unsuccessful) way. How could you possibly say the team is starting to gel? It seems like every other offensive set takes 15 seconds commence because people don’t know where to be or where others should be.
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RL Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:52 am
Kevin (and everyone else pushing the panic button), you are right that the Clips still have a ways to go for them to truly “gel”. Every game features plenty of wasted offensive opportunities due to poor shot selection, inability to swing the ball properly, overdribbling, and taking too much time before setting the called play. Hell, sometimes we’re treated to a combination of all four. I’ve watched all four games and have scratched my heads plenty of times at some of these possesions.
What really kills me is when the Clips swing the ball to the wing, and try to force an entry pass to the low post (usually to Kaman) where the low post defender is already shading/anticipating the pass. This leads to about 5 seconds of awkward interaction between the low post and the wing players: pass… don’t pass… pass… don’t pass…. and then.. BAM.. turnover! What needs to be done is to swing the ball back to the top of the key, which would allow for a much easier entry pass – even an occasional free path to the rim if the opposing D is slow to rotate. I learned this playing pickup ball… why can’t the Clips figure this out is beyond me.
Even with all their shortcomings – you can see chemistry starting to develop between the players. Everyone is starting to understand how to play off each (especially Baron and Kaman), some players know that they need to be agressive offensively (Gordon), and a pecking order has been established in the offensive sets (Kaman 1st, Gordon 2nd, Davis 3rd, Butler 4th, and Camby 5th). Although the core of the team has been together for two years, they’re still trying to play together due to the ridiculous amount of injuries last year – so I am cautiously optimistic that with more games under their belts, the Clips will start to play as a cohesive unit and reduce the amount of turnovers that is typical of the first four games.
It is indeed frustrating to lose the first four games when three of them should have been W’s, but keep in mind that the Clips would not even be in position to challenge for a W against these teams in the previous season. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think the Clips got blown out by 30+ points in their first game against the Jazz, and 40+ points in their first game against the Lakers last year. A loss is a loss, but we were competitive in all those games – which endorses the notion the team is heading in the right direction.
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RL Reply:
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:54 am
phew.. sorry for the long post.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Lol Clippers haven’t had bandwagon fans in 3 years, btc hit it right on the head. At some point, when a franchise isn’t putting out a quality product we as fans have the right to express anger and frustration…emotions Clipper fans know oh too well.
FIRE DUNLEAVY! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOCQjLpSteE
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FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Is that a new remix? Good stuff.
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Kevin M Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
That is awesome. I sent to Simmons so hopefully he’ll acknowledge it.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
[...] Arnovitz does a great job showing how the Clippers stagnate and start to force shots when the game gets close & things start to matter. Of particular [...]
Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Don’t post here often, but long-time reader. Excellent video and analysis. Definitely hope there is more of this to come.
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Posted on November 2nd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
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