Good basketball teams leverage their strengths against inferior opponents, and that’s exactly what the Clippers accomplish Friday night against Golden State.
Rather than try to match Don Nelson’s small-ball, the Clippers use their size, strength and the skills of Baron Davis to decimate the Warriors in the half-court. They also play a smart defensive game. With Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman guarding the basket, the Clippers lull the Warriors into a barrage of contested outside shots.
Chris Kaman
Neither Mikki Moore nor Anthony Randolph are equipped to deal with Chris Kaman, and the Clippers establish Chris on the block from the very outset of the game. Now that Chris has to be guarded at 18 feet, opposing defenses are getting stretched. That’s helping Baron Davis execute a crisp pick-and-roll game with Chris. Before Kaman established that mid-range jumper, defenses could trap and leave Kaman to his own devices after he popped. But now, Chris demands a much quicker rotation because he’s virtually automatic if unguarded from 15-18. This destabilizes the defense. Throw a shooter into the mix like Eric Gordon to whom Chris can kick the ball out of the post, and that complicates things for the defense even further.
Baron Davis
Apart from a couple of long, off-the-dribble jumpers in the first quarter (both of which he nails), Baron’s shot chart is precisely what you’d want to see. That’s particularly true against a team like Golden State against whom Baron can exploit his size and strength in the post. He also attacks the paint off the dribble, taking full advantage of the Warriors’ anemic interior defense. Just as Kaman asserts himself against Moore, Baron establishes his physical superiority early over Monta Ellis.
Interior Defense
The Clippers’ bigs host a block party, and when they aren’t swatting away Golden State’s shots, they’re providing weak side help. Because the Warriors don’t have any post threats, Camby and Kaman are free to rove away from the basket to help on the wings — so long as Ellis isn’t zipping down the lane. Both Camby and Kaman make judicious decisions all night and the Warriors’ explosive offense never has a chance to fuel up.
Other Notes
- Eric Gordon utilizes his advantage over Stephen Curry, but his big first half is largely the result of the Warriors’ atrocious defensive rotations and their unwillingness to chase Gordon around curls. EJ finishes with 25 points in 17 true shots (for a true shooting percentage of 68 percent).
- Putting away a team in the third quarter allows you to rest starters — especially important on the first night of a back-to-back — and offers opportunities to younger players at the back of the rotation. In that spirit, DeAndre Jordan’s fourth quarter might be among the more important stories of the game. Sebastian Telfair and Jordan hook up on a couple of pick-and-rolls and the results are frightening if you’re the game operations guy in charge of the baskets at Oracle Arena. Jordan, who’s had the yips since opening night, shows off the athleticism, instincts and touch that had everyone giddy about his prospects this season.
- Al Thornton is under the weather and relegated to reserve minutes.
By sticking with their program and refusing to bow to Nellieball, the Clippers capitalize on their superior size, skills and talent to control the game. This was the formula that prevailed in 2005-06, and it’s something the Clippers should take to heart.
Everyone loves to watch his team run, but when you’re presented with an opportunity to establish your strengths in a half-court game, you have to slow things down and let your personnel do what they do best. Watching Chris Kaman and Eric Gordon tease the Warriors’ defense with a deliberate two-man game (1st, 5:48; 1st, 1:30) is a revelation. With Eric’s outside shot and ability to put it on the floor and Kaman’s extended range, having the two of them on the ball side together in a slow-it-down set makes life very difficult to defenses that struggle in the half-court. The Clips would be crazy not to exploit that advantage with a more deliberate, execution-oriented offense.
24 Responses
Excellent game! I’m esoeciay happy to see the Clips lose an early lead! Telfair and Jordan looked like a nice second unit to have on the floor! The defense (which led to offense) looked real good tonite! Proud to be a Clipper fan after that game!!!!!
Clipper Derrick Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 12:12 am
Wow. I’m exhibit “A” for “people who should not message on a phone after a couple drinks….”
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 12:10 am
I was at the game, and aside from the many lusty boos for Baron early, the crowd was absolutely taken out of the game. On the BART, girls talked about how embarrassing GSW is this year. On the final leg home, in the car, the talk radio guy was hammering the Warriors. “Tell me right now,” the radio guy said, “you wouldn’t trade every one of the Warriors for every one of the Clippers.” And it’s true, except for Novak and Thornton, everyone had a good time out there.
How nice that I’ve got a strong, smart team for a night — and hopefully longer.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 12:24 am
Well, that was almost as easy as shooting fish in as barrel but it’s still good to see the Clippers beastin’ for a change.
The Dubs w/o Biedrins and Turiaf were no match for us and when not even their dreaded 3-pt game was working you knew it would be a long night for GS.
Other than the brief Warrior run early in the third to cut it to 9, the Clippers had little to nothing to worry about tonight.
It was great to see EJ and Kaman delivering yet again, Baron playing by far his best game of the season, Camby being the Lord of the Board, and everyone else doing their part to make it a blowout.
So glad we had a big enough cushion to give our bench guys some major PT in the fourth; DeAndre really needed tonight to regain some of his confidence – I can’t believe he hit that jumper! Man, if he can cultivate that shot – watch out!
Now let’s do it again vs. the Grizz. No letdown, please!
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 12:41 am
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 7, 2009
New York Times
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Chris Kaman had 22 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes and the Los Angeles Clippers ended a ******seven-game losing streak******* in the Oakland Arena with a 118-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 1:01 am
any kaman haters still?
please back off of that…. im still not good with r. davis and a few bench players who will not see time at all…..
lets see more Novak though!
and trade some of these bench guys for a solid SF
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Did I see an excuse for Thorntons futility this evening? Come on, he’s played worse than he did this evening every game so far. You trying to say he’s been “under the weather” this whole season. Six bad games in a row and the excuses start coming, ha.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 1:25 am
one of the most exciting and satisfying victories in a while
i mean really when was the last time we blew out a team like this?
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 3:01 am
See what happens when Dunleavy trusts his guys and plays a regular rotation? We win!
Bout time DeAndre got to see some sizable floor time. I think I love watching our 2nd unit more than our starters.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 5:13 am
Great analysis. Sums it up perfectly. Play to your strengths and you give yourself the best shot at winning. Too many times Dunleavy tries to matchup with other teams, F that. He stuck to what his guys can do and the results were toxic for the Warriors.
Another point that Baron made after the game also speaks to this, he said something to the effect that ‘we can run but we want to run at OUR pace’. That’s how it’s supposed to be. An equal focused and sound effort against Memphis should put us on a 3 game streak going in vs. the CP3s on Monday.
And DJ, I’m noticing you have some great taste in music. However, Nia completely blows Blazing Arrow out of the water.
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Thanks BTC. I’m going to have to revisit Nia now for sure.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Pick your Poison.. Double team Kaman and let Gordon shoot the lights out of the building or don’t double team Kaman and let him eat you alive inside.. Hopefully Clippers can play like this against a playoff team and make it work.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 9:18 am
OK. Now the test is can the Clips CONTINUE beating bad teams? The win last night will mean nothing if the team doesn’t come home and whup up on a pretty weak Memphis team. I want to see this team string 5 or 6 wins together and then they’ll have something to shout about. Good start…
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I don’t think tonight will be easy. Randolph and AI have this game circled. They’ll be playing like it’s game 7 of the NBA finals.
Curtis Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I’m curious, I can see why Randolph would have a vested interest in this game, but why Al?
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Clippers were intested in signing him (and AI wanted to come) but the Clippers decided not to for chemistry issues… and he didn’t want to come off the bench.
bongstradamus Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
AI had this date circled all right…for voluntary retirement.
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
First thing I thought of as well when I saw this game on the schedule. They’re going to bring it tonight.
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Well so much for that. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NBA&hl=120864&id=409
No Iverson tonight.
Curtis Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
This is assuming that his absence is due to his displeasure with the team, but as much as I like Iverson, sometimes his antics have me shaking my head.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Sounds like he’s going to retire. Who knows what happened. The coach probably told him that he’d be starting and it’s why he agreed to come to Memphis. If that were the case, I’d be upset also.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Finally! After over a year of disappointing and frustrating performances, BD has the kind of game that I for one expected from him almost every night. Why did his game go out the window the moment he dons a Clipper uniform? Let’s hope that he can continue his “comeback!”
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
hey guys, im just curious, why doesnt anyone ever talk about resigning Camby? this guy is proving that age is just a number!
Curtis Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I would love to see Camby back again next year, but at the same time, the amount of money his salary opens up can definitely buy a high quality small forward or add some depth to the back court. If he does come back, it’ll have to be at whatever the minimum the league allows teams to pay older players, and that’s assuming he doesn’t decide to retire and wants to play at a fraction of what he is making right now.
Nonetheless, I completely agree with you, Camby is proving age is just a number and he has been a solid starter for us.
Posted on November 7th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
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