The Clippers collapse again late in the game tonight, scoring only 10 points in the fourth quarter en route to a thoroughly disappointing 83-79 loss. They shot a season-low 36 percent from the field. “We just missed so many shots here tonight that we shot ourselves in the foot,” Mike Dunleavy said after the game. “So many easy buckets, opportunities, good looks from outside that we didn’t make…” Chris Kaman led the team with 20 points but took a career-high 26 shot attempts and made just nine of them. Baron Davis shot just 6-of-18 from the field but was supremely effective as a distributor, delivering nine assists and no turnovers in 41 minutes.
Two moments in the game to highlight before we get to some of the issues raised in this one — both good and bad.
[2nd, 6:13] Al Thornton three-pointer: If Thornton can provide this sort of shooting on a regular basis, the Clippers won’t miss Eric Gordon all that much over the next 10 or so days. We also see a calm, patient Baron Davis pass up on a three-point of his own and hand it back to Thornton, who nails the straightaway 28-footer.
[4th, 9:14] Jeff Green three-pointer: After sloppy play from both sides to begin the fourth quarter, Green hits the first shot of the period to tie the game up at 69. Immediately after, DeAndre Jordan is called for an offensive foul, and the Thunder go on to score four more points before the Clippers respond. Green hit only two of the six shots he attempted from beyond the arc, but this was a big one.
Onto the notes:
Not bad on defense: The Clippers had arguably their best defensive showing on the season tonight, albeit not against a top-flight offensive unit. Still, the Thunder put up an average of 94 points a game heading into the game. Like they did against the Grizzlies, the Clippers again let the opponent’s star score but limited his teammates. Kevin Durant had 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting, but the rest of the Thunder shot a collective 36.5 percent. As a whole, they shot just 42 percent, including 23 percent from three. Dunleavy said the defense wasn’t to blame for the loss: “If you had told me their score in this game and that they had shot 42% from the field, I would’ve thought we had a pretty good chance to win the game based on how we’ve been shooting the ball.”
More on Durant: The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Durant presented problems for the Clippers all game long. “He’s just a mismatch,” Kaman said. “Any time you get a guy like that it’s just a tough matchup because you can’t put a big on him because he just outplays the bigs and if you put too small of a guy on him, you see what happens — he just posts them up and takes advantage.” The Clippers rotated the task of covering Durant throughout the night but couldn’t find a stopper.”He shoots over you,” Thornton said. “Easily.”
Unable to finish, again: With the Clips up nine with 3:53 to go in the third quarter, the Thunder proceeded to outscore them 22-6 over the next ten minutes of play. This has been a consistent problem so far this season, and it’s one players are getting tired of. “We’ve been in all the games, except for the New Orleans game,” Thornton said. “But we need to find a way to close them out. We’ve got to get better in that aspect.” Added Baron Davis: “We started off the game pushing, attacking, sharing the ball. And then as the game progressed it’s like we just get out of sync.
Al pleased with his performance: Thornton had 15 points and 9 rebounds tonight while playing 40 minutes, his highest total of the season. He made 4-of-10 shots and noticeably passed up a couple outside shots in favor of driving to the lane. ”I have not been playing well at all, and I think it was a big game for me, in terms of my confidence,” Thornton said. “Getting a little bit of my swagger back, trying to come out there and contribute. It was a good game for me.”
Kaman ill: Chris Kaman will sit out of practice tomorrow with an illness, Dunleavy said. The illness is not of the flu variety, but Dunleavy said after the game that the team doctors had told him Kaman was contagious. ”It may have accounted for some of his play,” he said. Kaman downplayed it, saying it was no excuse for his 9-of-26 shooting performance.
40 Responses
Thinking about it, if we can double our win total this year, I’d consider this season a success, nonethless, all I want to see is the Clippers win, and this one was very hard to swallow. 10pts in the 4th quarter! Bleh.
Just sucks, if Kaman made just three more of his 26 shots, we would have pulled this one out. It’s tough being a Clipper fan.
Chris. Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 12:17 am
it is the only game of the season thus far he has shot under 50%, bad timing and terrible playing at the end but he’s been the only bright spot. Unfortunately with a team playing this bad it’s hard to argue he should be an all-star since we won’t get any recognition if we don’t win at all, even from other coaches.
Newtybar Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 9:18 am
remember five of those 26 were gimme layups! That’s what makes it so frustrating!
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 12:08 am
That 4th quarter was pathetic actually going 3-19 and only scoring 10 points, who does that? Nobody knows how to win. Kaman has been great this season but that last minute with his missed lay-up & then passing to the other team showed his nerves and inability to be our go-to-guy. Butler shooting that ill advised 3 with the game tied when he already missed 5 previous one’s was terrible.
Dunleavy can we say missed easy bucket and shots from the outside but so did they, Westbrook went 1-11. We can’t make lay-ups and nobody wants the final shot, where is Baron’s or Dunleavy’s leadership. Something needs to change or it will be too late before Gordon & Griffin both return. So much for this easy schedule up front. *NOH got whipped by the Suns.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 12:16 am
No question/response on why the Dunce inexplicably didn’t foul down two with 27 seconds left? Even if we had gotten the rebound and called timeout there’s not a chance in hell this team can create a good look in 3 seconds.
Chris. Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 6:25 am
I don’t like the Dunce at all but hindsight is always going to make him look bad when we lose. If it worked we would’ve been happy but we couldn’t get the long rebound so we failed. We played good defense on that last play, OKC is one of if not the best free throw shooting team above 800% and we didn’t make any kind of shot in the 4th quarter so who’s to say why anything would’ve changed?
Kevin M Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I’m not saying we would have won by fouling and extending the game. I’m just saying that in my opinion our odds of winning would have improved a little bit because there is more margin for error. We are a horrible rebounding team so it was possible we wouldn’t get the rebound, and sure enough we didn’t. There were four scenarios that could have played out:
1. Foul but OKC makes their FTs. Lose.
2. Foul, OKC misses and we somehow make shot(s). Win.
3. Don’t foul, get missed rebound, have 3 seconds to create a good look. Probable loss given our poor shooting on the night.
4. Don’t foul, don’t get rebound. Lose.
Which one has the greatest likelihood of getting us the W?
Kevin M Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Sorry, I guess the fifth scenario was don’t foul, OKC makes shot. Lose.
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Definitely a point of debate – we posted a poll in the live chat asking whether the Clips should foul or not, and it came back 57% no , 43% yes. I think most coaches prefer to play it out in that situation, but personally I’m with you in that I’d prefer to extend the game.
Pez Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
At the time I wanted them to foul as well.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Every game is hard to swallow
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 7:50 am
It’s a well known fact that a Dunleavy team has to be up by 20 entering the 4th quarter to have a good chance of winning.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Well , seeing that the Wizards are 2-6 with Gilbert Arenas makes our 3-6 record 2 percent easier to accept. But when I see OKC is 5-5 , thats when I cry.
WTF is the problem. Is it the coaching OR the players; is it both?
Also – Al Thornton’s defense sucks. I have been patient and withholding my opinion but after seeing opponents consistently abusing him on offense, I must come out and join the negative bandwagon.
Curtis Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 11:14 am
If you’re judging the Al Thornton’s defense based on last night’s game, I have to disagree. For a bulk of the game he was in Durant’s face contesting shots. Against a player like Durant, you can’t ask for much more. The guy is going to get his points no matter who is guarding him. The guy is a scoring machine. Not to mention, we held them to 83 points.
Funneling the offense to strictly Durant was a great plan, it’s just we have to back it up on the offense, and we failed to do that.
Asperis Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Yeah I agree. Durant had a terrible night the night before (against the Kings) and still recored 37 points. We held him to 30 and Al was doing a solid job guarding him all things considered.
The next highest scorer was Green….with 13. So give me a break and get off Al’s nuts about everything. Yeah he’s struggling but he did well last night and this team as a whole failed miserably.
Asperis Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Look at his stat line
15 points, 1-1 3P, 6-8 FT, 3 blocks, 4 offensive boards (9 total) and 3 assists.
That’s a solid stat line, even more so considering he, including the rest of the team, played a terrible 4th quarter.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 8:04 am
While Baron has played well, as compared to last year, has anyone noticed how steeply his performance declines in the second half? He had nine assists last night. Seven in the first half. He’s shooting a terrible .38 %, every bit as bad as last year despite being in better shape… The man’s legs are gone, which is typical of a heavy guard who has a habit of letting himself get out of shape. His career is in decline and that decline will get steeper.
What is this guy going to be like as the season progresses and the minutes add up? What’s he going to be like next year and the two after that? If we can find anyone to take this guy, please do so. While I think he’s been an okay PG so far this year (after being one of the worst PGs in the league last year), his future doesn’t look good. Golden State might be desperate enough to take him back… If do, don’t delay… Our future is with Gordon, Griffin and Kaman anyway. If we can get rid of his contract, do so even if we get little in return. Just having the money free going into next year will be an asset.
We continually lose games in the second half. It’s not coincidental that this is when Baron also is out of gas.
tons of fun Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
actually, baron had a pretty average season last year, as far as point guards go. yeah, he didn’t shoot that great, but he never really has been a good shooter. it does seem like he’s wearing down, but i think it’s all mental. i think if this team starts winning, and winning easily, he’s going to have fun and really perform. that’s how he was at golden state. as soon as they were in the playoffs, he exploded.
if we trade him to a contender, i have a feeling he’s just going to go crazy.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Mason’s syndrome? Definitely want to keep that quarantined.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Where’s KA and D.J. – they get sick of the Clippers play?
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Still here my friend – the better question is where were you for the live chat? Huh? Huh!?!?
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Without Gordon, the only Clips I can get excited about are Telfair and (shockingly) Kaman. Blah.
shim Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
pretty much
i wonder how much more the clips would benefit with telfair if we ran the pick and roll more often
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 9:55 am
They interviewed Thorton after the game and he said the team might have been ‘tired’. Tired? Are you f’n kidding me? It’s the 2nd week of the season. You had a day off. The team you played was on a back to back. And you guys were ‘tired’? He should get fired for that comment alone.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Answer: Avery Johnson. we need somebody that can handle the players, Some how we need to be able to close out games. the coaching has alot to do with it.
bongstradamus Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Avery’s a hothead with a Napolean complex. At the end of his last season he had alienated nearly all the players in Dallas. Otherwise hed have been hired already by someone. Id take the newly unemployed Byron Scott or Jeff Van Gundy. Both of those guys have longer resumes and a history of nurturing younger players and getting more out of their team than the talent on paper says they should.
Stats leading up to this season:
Mike Dunleavy – 592 Wins, 688 Loss .462 Win Percentage
Jeff Van Gundy – 430 Wins, 318 Loss .575 Win Percentage
Byron Scott – 352 Wins, 355 Loss .498 Win Percentage
But hey, Averys record looks pretty good. Then again he was coaching a stacked Mavs team. Makes you wonder why Detroit didnt hire him immediately.
Avery Johnson – 194 Wins, 70 Losses .735 Win Percentage
qd Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Avery is a terrible choice, if we hate micro managing coaches then Avery should be dq’d
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Down goes Byron Scott. Maybe he should have left his starters in to beat the Clippers by 50.
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Only a matter of time. Bad news if you’re a Clippers fan – the Hornets might play like they actually enjoy the game of basketball now.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 10:51 am
So the Hornets let go of Byron Scott after a 3-6 start . Clippers are 3-6 but missing Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon.
Slax Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
That would entail Mike Dunleavy firing himself and that ain’t gonna happen. I would love to pick up coach B. Scott.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Who wants 5 tickets for the clips vs raptors game? The seats are for BOX SEATS!!!!!
$500 for the whole the lot including a parking pass!
email me: road_runner080808@yahoo.com
- James G
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Scott as the coach would be the move to make!!!!!
D.J. Foster Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Not with Baron still on this team. That pairing didn’t end so well in New Orleans.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
why has no1 brought up worthless Butler?? he missed so many 3′s it could have been a 10 point LA win if he did..
Butler is garbage thats why NO got rid of him… Al Thornton is a good 6th man….
hey lets start Novak!! solid shooter is all we need at SF and Novak wont be getting into too much trouble with Camby and Kaman in there
Asperis Reply:
November 12th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
At this point, why not. At least Kaman will have a guy to kick it out to who will actually make more than 30% of his 3 pointers.
Posted on November 12th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
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