• It’ll come as no surprise that the Clippers are struggling mightily without Eric Gordon, and his absence is impacting the performance of the other guys in the rotation. So far as the small forward spot, Al Thornton’s offensive numbers are improving rapidly, while Rasual Butler continues to struggle with his shot, but is still the better defensive option at the 3.
• Of greater concern, the new starting lineup of Davis-Butler-Thornton-Camby-Kaman is getting shredded defensively, and is Bobcats-bad offensively.
• An in-depth profile on “Clipper Darrell” Bailey. You can place Bailey squarely in the camp of those who feel Mike Dunleavy has performed well as a general manager, but has lost the team as its head coach.
• DeAndre Jordan furtively defies the Clippers’ strength and conditioning coach and opts for the Brownie Sundae: “When Blake doesn’t go on the road trips with us, I’ll have to go out to eat with some other people, like Richard Williams our Strength and Conditioning coach. I’ve told you before how he doesn’t let me eat sweets, so when we go out to dinner I’m not allowed to get dessert. It sucks! Every single time we go to dinner, we’ll go out somewhere like Yard House or Grande Lux Café or CPK, which all have my favorite dessert on the menu – a brownie with caramel on it, then ice cream then more caramel and a cherry on top. They’ll even decorate your plate for you. Whenever I’m out with Rich, the waiter will come over and ask if we want to see the dessert menu. I’ll look over at Rich and he’ll just give me that knowing look and I have to tell the waiter, ‘No thank you.’ I can’t even look at the waiter when I’m saying it. I always like dessert. The good news is, he’s not on Twitter so he doesn’t know about that delicious brownie sundae I got when I went out to dinner last week.”
• Speaking of DeAndre, he’s leading the hazing campaign against rookie Blake Griffin (video below).

For the most part, this current Clippers squad has looked like a generally improved team thus far, but tonight’s poor performance evoked some horrible memories of the disaster that was last season. The formula built by last season’s Clippers on how to lose is followed perfectly tonight.

• Was there poor rebounding? Check. Last year, the Clippers finished 27th in total rebounding differential. Tonight, the Clippers lose the battle 51-36 for a -15 differential. The overwhelming difference on the glass is inexcusable, particularly on the defensive end where the Clippers allow an incredible 19 offensive rebounds. Even more incredible is that the Clippers weren’t outsized tonight at all – they enjoyed a size advantage at nearly every position. Unfortunately this didn’t mean anything, as the Clippers let themselves get outworked by a scrappier team tonight.

• Are random role players going off for big scoring nights? Check. The Anthony Marrow’s of the world destroyed the Clippers last year for career games. Tonight, Devin Brown hits the Clippers for 16, and Marcus Thornton and Bobby Brown each chip in 12, well over their season averages. All night the Clippers perimeter defenders are either slow on closeouts or allow too much space for the young New Orleans wing players to get their shots off.

• Is Baron Davis chucking up bad shots? Check. Baron was terrible shooting the ball last year at 37% from the field and 30% from deep. Baron seemed to be on the road to recovery by distributing more and shooting less, and then tonight happened. Baron threw up a team high 21 shots tonight, with 12 of those 21 coming from three point land. Again, this type of performance is absolutely inexcusable, and Baron’s bad shot selection killed the Clippers down the stretch. Everyone in the arena except for Baron realized he wasn’t a threat from outside tonight. The Clippers essentially have no chance to win when Baron reverts back to the shot happy, poor decision making version of himself that he was last year.

• Was the offense predictable? Check. Last season, the Clippers offense was predicated around Randolph post ups and the occasional set for Gordon. While it’s understandable that Dunleavy wants to get the ball in the hands of his scorers on the block, tonight it felt like overkill. Too many post entry passes were forced, which led to many of the team’s 16 turnovers. There didn’t seem to be a ton of pick and roll being ran, and outside of the few plays designed for Novak there wasn’t a big enough emphasis on setting off ball screens to free up shooters. The Hornets caught on pretty quick to the Clippers gameplan and successfully collapsed on post players all night. Yes, Dunleavy has limited options available offensively right now, but the offense felt like it was pounding it’s collective head against the wall at times. I’m not sure you can win when the shot distribution leans so heavily on three players; Baron had 21 attempts, Kaman had 18, and Thornton had 17. The rest of the team combined for only 26 field goal attempts. To the Clippers credit, the team did shoot 47% from the field, which should have been good enough for the team to win. This was the 8th game in 12 tries where the Clippers have out shot their opponent from the field, and despite being 8th in the league in field goal percentage, the Clippers are 4-8.

• Did the team look lackadaisical? Check. The Clippers coasted through many a game last year, and they did it again tonight in New Orleans. The team seemingly carried the mentality that they were the favorite, and in result of that had no sense of urgency despite the Hornets pasting them by 28 just a few short weeks ago. The lack of respect given to the Hornets outside shooters combined with the lazy effort on the boards did the Clippers in tonight. Effort is the key component in playing good defense and rebounding well, and tonight the Clippers were just plain bad in those categories. The blame for this poor effort falls equally on the players and the coaching staff.

Other Notes:

The Clippers wasted an amazingly efficient offensive effort from Al Thornton tonight, who finished 12-17 for a game high 30 points. Al has seemingly figured it out on the offensive end, and while the transformation is nowhere near complete, it’s safe to say it’s starting. Al took only two shots from outside 18 feet tonight and was dominant around the rim.

Kareem Rush left the game with a knee injury, and the return on his status is not favorable. Rush has a torn ACL, and will be out for the rest of the  season. It’s a tough break for Rush, who showed he was capable of contributing with his performance on Monday against Oklahoma City.

The Clippers will look to rebound tomorrow night in Memphis at 5pm PT.

Game 12

5p PT

Fox Sports Prime Ticket

980 AM

When people ask the brain trust of the Houston Rockets how the team is able to achieve success even though, on paper, it doesn’t look like much, they’ll often say, “Our guys know their limitations.” For instance, watch how little Chuck Hayes has the ball in his hands, and how rarely Shane Battier looks to take anything other than an uncontested spot-up jumper.  More...

Through three quarters, the Clippers exhibited everything that has made them absolutely infuriating to watch so far this year. Despite out-shooting their opponent from the field (44% to 32% in the first half), rotating well on defense, and building a substantial lead, the Clippers fell behind on the scoreboard at the end of three periods, 76-75. Outplayed but not outworked, the Thunder again looked primed to steal a victory late from the Clippers on the back of Kevin Durant. What, or who, was the difference for the Clippers down the stretch tonight?

• Vintage Baron – The Baron Davis seen tonight was more in line with what Clippers fans expected when he was signed to his long-term contract. While Baron undoubtedly has been a better overall player this season as opposed to last, he’s still left something to desire with his shot-making ability in crunch time. Baron’s biggest possession came at a crucial time tonight.

[4th quarter, .43 seconds] – Baron works a high pick and roll with Kaman, but Westbrook sinks way off Baron to possibly switch or impede the path of a diving Kaman. There’s confusion with Westbrook and Krstic, and Baron suddenly realizes he has plenty of room on the perimeter, gets his feet set under him, and drills a three pointer to make it a two possession game with limited time remaining.

Baron has yet to, and maybe never will, live up to many fans expectations, but tonight he’s finally the closer the Clippers have desperately needed.

• The New Al Thornton – Al has had a rough go of it this season, but tonight he was very important in keeping the game alive for the Clippers. Now fighting for playing time and some respect, Al has shown a new willingness to use his athleticism on the offensive glass, and tonight he records three big offensive boards in the final period. Along with his new found hunger for offensive rebounding, Al seemingly has reverted back to what his game should be centered around: Attacking the basket and getting to the line. All 7 of Al Thornton’s made buckets tonight come via dunk or layup. The shot chart may not be pretty, but it gives you a nice idea of where Al should be spending his time.

• Chris Kaman – Is the Kaman love getting old yet? Tonight, Kareem Rush and Steve Novak combine to play42 minutes with the sole purpose of stretching the floor for Kaman and giving him room to operate. Rush incidentally plays some nice defense to go along with his 9 points, but ultimately he’s able to be on the floor because of the attention Kaman draws. Chris went for his suddenly standard 25 points on a very efficient 10-15 from the field. Kaman’s trade value around the league is higher than it’s ever been, but I doubt Dunleavy is fielding any offers. The Clippers offense would be nothing without him.

• A little luck - Sometimes, the difference in a close game can boil down to who makes their shots. The quality of looks in the fourth period tonight weren’t overwhelmingly better than they’ve been during the three game losing streak, but the looks fall. Can Scotty Brooks live with Marcus Camby shooting a contested jumper from 18 feet? Probably, but it’s one of the shots that tipped the scale for the Clippers. Maybe the Thunder shouldn’t have been in this game in the first place. With that said, the Clippers should feel pretty lucky that they escaped with a win, especially considering how hot Durant was.

If those shots by Baron and Camby don’t fall, there’s an entirely different outlook on this game. Dunleavy’s head is called for, Baron’s leadership qualities are questioned, and the ESPN trade machine is fired up with all sorts of scenarios to get rid of the Butlers and Thorntons of the world. The fact that the Clippers allowed 18 offensive rebounds is likely pored over. The stat that shows the Clippers have shot better from the field than their opponents in 7 out of 11 games this season, yet still have a losing record, is dissected. Winning can sometimes be the ultimate concealer.

While it’s a much needed win for team and fan base alike, it’s still troubling that the Clippers are making a habit of wasting too many possessions. Turnovers (29th in the league in turnover ratio) and poor defensive rebounding (26th in the league in defensive rebounding rate) can’t continue to be issues if this team has real playoff aspirations. The Clippers simply shouldn’t have needed those big shots down the stretch to put away the Thunder; the game should have been locked up and over long before them.

Regardless of the pessimism, a revenge win on the road, without Gordon and Griffin no less, is truly impressive.

The Clippers will try again to avenge another early season loss when they travel to New Orleans on Tuesday.