Hours before the Clippers knocked off the Lakers on Wednesday, I asked Mike Dunleavy how a coach can tell the difference between real, permanent growth and the fleeting illusion of improvement.
“You ask yourself, ‘Is the team able to do what it wants to do?’”
Wednesday night, the Clippers got most of what they wanted offensively courtesy of Baron Davis, who is playing his most prolific stretch of basketball since he arrived in Los Angeles.
What accounts for that uptick? It’s probably a combination of factors.
Stops Matter & Transition
The Clippers, above all else, want stops.
With Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman on the back line, Rasual Butler and Eric Gordon on the wings and a motivated Baron Davis providing pressure on the ball, they have enough size, strength, shot-blocking and guile to be a good defensive unit. When that defense clicks, the Clippers notch big wins — Denver, Boston, Lakers, at Oklahoma City.
The to-run-or-not-to-run discussion surrounding the Clippers always struck me as a theoretical debate. While there are teams who are gifted at pushing the ball after made baskets (Houston/Aaron Brooks, Phoenix /Steve Nash, etc), transition opportunities come off defensive stands and rebounds. After residing in the bottom five of the league in defensive rebounding rate for a good part of the season, the Clippers have been doing much better work on the defensive glass. Last night, they created 21 transition opportunities for themselves, and generated points on 14 of those 21 chances.
The Clippers’ defensive schemes looked not unlike what they unleashed on Portland and Brandon Roy on Monday night. The Clippers’ traps were smart, strategic, and generally came from the place on the floor least likely to produce a high-percentage shot.
“We were trying to go quick at [Kobe Bryant],” Dunleavy said. “He’s so great. He knows the double-teams are coming, so he just makes his move faster. We were trying not to come off Bynum, because Kobe does a great job of finding him. We were willing to give outside shots to other guys. We want to get our rotations out there and wanted to contest shots, but if it comes down to Kobe in the post or somebody else taking a shot from the outside, we’ll take the other guy.”
Watch the latter half of the fourth quarter and you can see the level of alertness in the Clippers’ defense behind the Bryant traps. The Clippers defenders are communicating, pointing to one another, shifting their weight with purpose, but rarely cheating absently.
When you pair that defensive commitment with guys running hard toward the rim on the outlet, you get possessions like that nice break at [4th, 4:59] where Craig Smith gets to the basket underneath the Lakers’ slow transition defense. Rasual Butler feeds him from the perimeter for an easy layup, and the Clippers extend their lead to six — a margin that never narrows.
The Pick-and-Roll
Baron Davis, Chris Kaman and Mike Dunleavy each made independent comments lauding the chemistry — all three used that phrase — between Baron and Chris on the pick-and-roll. Remember how fluid Sam Cassell and Elton Brand were with that side screen-roll? How Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins operate the Boston S/R to perfection? How Nash makes every big he’s ever worked with a master?
It seems like the most basic action you can run. It’s not a skill like shooting the ball and it doesn’t require too much body control — just patience and precision.
But in some respects those qualities are harder to perfect than a shooting stroke. Over the past week or so, Baron and Chris seemed to have established the symbiosis a point guard and his big man needs to make plays in the halfcourt.
“If [the Lakers] wanted to play soft, Baron made shots over the top,” Dunleavy said. “And if they stepped up, he hit [Chris] Kaman on the roll or swung the ball and found open guys.”
Baron and Chris picked apart the Lakers on those pick-and-rolls — from every spot on the floor and, as Dunleavy elaborated, with flawless reactions. On the second possession of the third quarter, they run it on the side. The Lakers anticipate it quickly and blitz Baron against the sideline. So how does our dynamic duo counter? By having Kaman slip toward the hole. Baron bounces the pass between Bryant and Bynum to Kaman on the move, and Chris finishes against the Lakers’ collapsing weak side defenders with an off-balance fling at the basket while falling to the floor. He draws the foul and the Clips go up 12.
The permutations of this pick-and-roll are numerous. Sometimes Baron and Chris take advantage of a slow recovery as Chris rolls, and sometimes Chris realizes he has the space he needs for his jumper (which doesn’t fall at a proficient rate Wednesday night, though these are shots you want him taking). And sometimes Baron creates the space to launch a 17-footer over a much shorter Derek Fisher. Notice 17… not 21 and, therefore, a much higher-percentage shot.
Getting the Wings Going
Eric Gordon didn’t light it up, but he and his counterpart on the wing, Rasual Butler, provided the spacing that Baron and Chris needed to execute many of those sets. Gordon played a particularly intelligent game. Check out the possession at [2nd, 9:07]. When Shannon Brown crowds him on the left side of the perimeter, Gordon collects the pass from Telfair and drives hard to his right. Odom, who’s on Craig Smith (strategically placed high to give Eric an open lane to the hoop), doesn’t have time to get in Eric’s path. Eric seals himself off from Odom, elevates strongly and converts the layup.
Butler had one of his more complete games of the season: A couple of well-timed 3s, though his overall shot percentage was nothing dazzling. What I liked about his overall performance was that he played in that Tayshaun Prince mold — gathering rebounds, making sharp entry passes for assists, and playing both strong man defense and using his length to cordon off the Lakers’ weak side options.
Nobody will ever have cause to complain on the nights Butler is an accurate sniper from the arc, but really productive small forwards don’t just 3-and-D. They facilitate the offense as alternate perimeter playmakers. Butler did that Wednesday night.
Maximizing Your Assets
Craig Smith will be more useful some night than others. Against the Lakers’ bigs, he’s a handful. That’s especially true when the Clippers are in an up-tempo mode. Smith runs the floor extremely well and beelines to the rim in transition as well as anyone in the league — which explains his 59.2 field goal percentage. Once Smith has position in the post, that thick body of his has an uncanny way of getting to the rack. I have no idea how he does it apart from being very good at preserving his direct route to the rim by sealing off his defender. Everyone loves easy baskets, but you need the personnel to get them.
Then there’s Marcus Camby. The 13 rebounds come as no surprise, and I suppose the five dimes in 28 minutes don’t either. Having a big man who can makes plays in a high-low scheme from the elbow is indispensable. On a night when Baron is the best playmaker in basketball, Butler is creating opportunities and Camby is making pinpoint interior passes and zippy feeds from the perimeter, the Clippers’ ball movement is like a pinball game.
That’s how you beat one of the top defenses in the league.
35 Responses
The Clippers suck and they will always be inferior to the Lakers. Why would anyone want to be a Clipper fan? Big deal. So they beat the Lakers. Whoever said that should never happen. Every team will beat the Lakers at some point in their history.
Eric Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Clippers fans are true fans not like the FAKE lakers fans out there.
MichaelCage! Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
The people who are Clippers fans are hardcore basketball fans in the city of Los Angeles who don’t believe that you have to pay $200 to get decent seats at a professional basketball game. We’re there to watch basketball, not star gaze, nor identify with winning franchises in order to feel better about ourselves. We take the good with the bad, appreciate good things when they come, and we don’t take any wins for granted. That’s why we’re Clippers fans.
Clipper Derrick Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Nicely put.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
What really sucks is most people don’t even pay for the good seats. Many are company seats or used for tax right offs.
rmb Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Mr.T28: We are not content at just one win. Clippers will make sure the World Champion Lakers won’t advance to Western Conference Finals. Their fate will be determined by the Clippers. You’ll help yourself if you can keep things under wrap for a while.
MGC Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
T28 you sound like a bandwagon consumer of entertainment, not a fan. Youre on the wrong website.
stillaclipfan Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Yeah whatever most of these faker fans are just banwagoners !!
J-Luggy Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I have to admit that I am both a Laker and a Clipper fan (and it’s not contradictory), but I find it more satisfying being a Clipper fan because I can live and die with every game. I feel the elation after a big win and the pain after each loss. With the Lakers, I sleepwalk through the regular season and wait until the playoffs. ForumBlueAndGold.com sums up what it is like to be a Laker fan: “Feh. Flush It. Next.” I would rather endure the pain of the Clippers’ numerous losses if it means that I can feel what it is like to be a real fan for the entire season. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching the Lakers, but following the Clippers is what truly makes me feel like a fan of the game.
Curtis Reply:
January 7th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
I Couldn’t agree more J-Luggy.
rmb Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 7:56 am
I began my love for NBA as a Lakers fan. That was until I turned on TV to watch Clippers(of Darius Miles & C0.)
I think this team with Blake, Gordon, Kaman and Baron could attract thousands of new fans in LA. and nationwide.
Pez Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:51 am
love for clipper+laker fans! You summed it up perfectly j-luggy. I only root against the lakers when they’re playing the clips, and I felt no loss with this clipper win.
TNT57 Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:18 am
I said it before…if you love a team that wins by out spending everyone else then the Lakers are your boys. If you love a bunch of blue collar type players fighting their asses off for every win then Clipper Nation is the spot. The Lakers look like a bunch of machines with no heart or emotion or character. The Gasol trade remains a mystery and proves that the playing field is completely stacked in the Lakers favor. Why does Memphis give their very best player away for nothing? It makes no sense. The whole Laker thing leaves me cold and disinterested while the Clippers are the thing of great Hollywood underdog stories. I promise you that win the other night brought more joy to Clipper fans than anything the Laker fans will feel all season.
bongstradamus Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
I would love it if we spent our way into a championship! Thats the next step!
acd Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:37 am
why would anybody actually indulge this douchebag?
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Great analysis as usual, KA. Rasual, Craig Smith, and even Ricky Davis have been contributing lately off the bench. Unfortunately, Al’s production has fallen off and Sebastian’s jumper comes and goes. Long term, this team still needs Al to be productive, as his slashing abilities give us a dimension that the team currently lacks. We probably needs to establish some plays for Al to get him going and not leave him to rely on his iso skills all the time.
But the key has been our defense, the team seems to be coming together these past few games. We also took better care of the ball last night then we have in a long while. Hopefully the team can keep its focus and play well against Miami on Sunday. That will be a very difficult game, as Miami needs a win badly, and they are capable of taking out the best teams on any given night. They almost beat the Lakers at Staples earlier this year with D Wade playing a subpar game, and lost to a Kobe miracle shot. If we can build on this victory and beat Miami, then maybe, just maybe, this team will have turned the corner.
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Very knowledgeable post Kevin. Thank you very much. Good point by Cage about the defense and getting Al involved in some plays. The Heats have always play well against the Clips maybe they are thinking to get a freebie here and this is our opportunity.
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Good question you posed to Dunleavy. Since the start of the new year, and some notable wins in ’09, it’s really hard to determine whether all this is an illusion or permanent. As Clipper fans, we believe it’s the latter, and the win against the Lakers is our proof.
We’ve won five straight games on our home court; let’s make it six by dominating Miami. I’m very pleased with our starting five, and thankfully at least one person off the bench has been the go to guy that’s stepped up huge for us. We just need to focus on getting everyone on the bench to play at the level of consistency that we’ve seen.
I’m really starting to notice a strong chemistry forming between Baron and Ricky. Because we’re somewhat weak in the back court, we really need Ricky’s presence to fill in for Gordon when he’s not on the court. Keep it up.
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Sunday’s game is a hangover game for Miami…they have to play in the afternoon after partying in L.A. the night before. Let’s hope the Clips take full advantage of those crispy mfs!!!
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Great post. There are 18 games to the All Star break and that should give us the answer. The 6 games against the bottom of the league are absolute must wins – home for New Jersey and Chicago, with Washington, New Jersey (again), Minnesota and Golden State on the road. In 7 of the 18 games the Clips will be solid underdogs – 4 road games against Denver, Boston, Cleveland and Atlanta, with 3 games at Staples against the Lakers (Laker crowd), Cleveland, and San Antonio. The remaining 5 games will make or break this stretch – home for Miami and Utah and on the road for Memphis, New Orleans and Chicago. Anything less than 10-8 over that stretch will make last night’s victory seem more mirage than reality. 11-7, however, puts the Clips at 27-25 and squarely in the playoff race with 30 to go. Next 3 are Miami, @ Memphis and @ New Orleans, so I think we’ll have an indication of whether this is fleeting or actual progress pretty soon.
rmb Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Agree. They must win 12 of next 18 to stay in the race. If Dunleavy can do better BODY management(limited/restricted playing time to all players to minimize fatigue level, we can maintain our win/loss under control. Once Blake suits up, Dunleavy can rest easy.
Posted on January 7th, 2010 at 11:29 pm
Good call by Dunleavy to push the tempo and put the Lakers on their heels. I do think, however, that the Clippers should push the tempo in most (if not all) of their games. With the exception of Camby and Kaman, the team consists of athletic players who thrive on the transition game. IMHO, the Clippers are at their best when they push the tempo to look for transition buckets, and turn to feeding Kaman in the low post if the opposition stopped the transition game. Can someone explain to me why that hasn’t been the case? My basketball knowledge is just average, so it is likely I’m not seeing something.
Newtybar Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Stops. Good defensive stops opens up the transition game on a team built like this.
Not many teams can be like the Suns or Knicks.
Game Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 10:47 am
“…transition opportunities come off defensive stands and rebounds.”
KA addressed this above. It is the ultimate truth in hoops – if you want to run successfully, it all starts with defensive rebounding and generating turnovers (i.e., stops). Good defense begets good offense.
Pez Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Baron agrees with you…and he certainly was in his element against LAL. If they can maintain improved rebounding it seems like they should be able to keep it up. We can call it the seven seconds or Caveman offense.
Posted on January 8th, 2010 at 12:28 am
BD thrives best in the transition game, particularly where he’s pushing the tempo. Good defensive stops help, obviously, but we are wasting one of his greatest strengths by not allowing him to push the ball when he can. That aggressiveness worked well in the Laker game, and perhaps Dunleavy is opening up to trusting BD more than he has in the past.
Al is fine coming off the bench for instant offense and iso sets. What is most critical to the Clippers’ success is not how Thornton does, but how the starting unit is playing, which is what KA so excellently focused on. BD discussed the importance of Rasal in the starting lineup following the game. Thornton is a good fit with the second unit because we need the second unit not to lose leads and to hold their own. Offensive spacing is not as critical.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Yeah, it looks like Dunleavy might have figured that out after a year and a half. We’ll see how much freedom Dunleavy gives BD now.
Posted on January 8th, 2010 at 10:41 am
There is an excellent article by Ian Thomsen about Baron’s relationship with Dunleavy on SI.com. The link for it is:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/ian_thomsen/01/07/davis.clippers/index.html
Among the astounding nuggets are these: Baron and Dunleavy met up regularly over lunch during the summer and according to Baron:
“We got a chance to go to lunch and talk and establish our own relationship, to where now we trust each other more,” Davis said. “After the season, I reached out to him and we would check in once every two weeks or so. He would ask me to go to lunch or I would ask him. He’s just a real cool dude, he’s a good guy off the court, and it’s good to see somebody outside of this [NBA] element where there’s so much pressure, so much intensity. It was good to get away from the game and find out who he is as a man.”
And then the really astounding admission by Baron that:
“It’s been a great year, it’s been a learning year,” Davis said. “Coach Dunleavy has been great as far as allowing me to have some input and he’s kind of like grooming me to be a coach. I can’t be mad at that.”
That’s right. Baron Davis is talking about becoming a coach someday.
“It’s something I never thought that I’d be wanting to do,” he said. “But we [Davis and the coaches] always talk about the game. [Dunleavy] lets me draw plays in practice. I’m overjoyed right now. I just know there’s a lot more in it for this organization. The future is definitely going to be bright and I’m doing everything I possibly can do to work and to make that happen.”
Baron drawing up plays in practice with the coaches? So perhaps that great photo of Baron hugging Dunleavy after the Boston win was a real display of genuine affection after all. Great job of reporting by Ian Thomsen. How did our LA reporters miss the evolution of their relationship?
Posted on January 8th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
wow well after hearing that i think BD will have way more freedom here than he ever did in GSW because they didn’t even have a good team lol… BD can drive in or trust one of LA’s players will finish it off..
i hated the dunce for a good minute but i noticed he showed alot of emotion when one of the big shots happend towards the 4th quarter of last game…. FINALLY WE SEE SOME EMOTION COME OUT OF DUNLEAVY so maybe if that keeps up he will stay as a good enough coach?
Jax Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Dunleavy isn’t a good coach. Look at his record. Watch how the teams play historically. Case in point: He’s been trying to force BD to play in a structured system, which isn’t BD’s strength, and that hasn’t worked for a number of reasons.
The article is interesting because it confirms what we can see on the court – that BD and Dunleavy are trying to make this work, but it’s also somewhat of a puff piece. The reality is that the more Dunleavy allows BD to create, and the more BD focuses on the defensive schemes, perhaps they’ll put something consistent together. Which is what BD said after the last game – the Laker win is definitely great, but it’s just one game. Let’s see where they are in the next 10 games.
Cautious optimism should be the appropriate tone I think.
Curtis Reply:
January 9th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
I agree it’s still a bit too early to tell if everything fans are hearing is permanent or if it’s all an illusion. At the same time, there are actions by both leader and coach that would suggest that things are constantly improving: i.e. John Lucas coming aboard, constant communication between Leavy and Davis, etc.
At the same time, the great debate about the Clipper’s offense has always been about whether this team is a fast break / transitional team or a half-court offense.
Initially, that’s where a lot of problems between Leavy and Davis stemmed from. Now, we’re starting to see that the Clippers are both, which is making us extremely deadly. As a result, I’d say much of this positive chemistry is coming from the realization that both coach and leader are recognizing each other’s strengths. Davis is a fast break guy trying to learn Dunleavy’s half-court schemes, whereas Dunleavy is the half-court coach learning from Davis’ fast break tempo.
Baron being with the Clippers for three more years after this season, and all the right pieces starting to fall in place, who knows what this team’s limits are.
Posted on January 8th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I was surprised when Baron’s shots were falling. I was watching the game at an El Toritos with friends ; I was the only one rooting for our Clips, And kept saying Damn! Baron Davis!
The Kaman/Davis Duo is tempting me to make a comparison against all the other 2 player duos in the league. They seem to be reaching that level of play.. Sigh ….. I dont wana excite myself.
Posted on January 9th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Interesting takes on the Clippers-Lakers. Most of the hardcore Clips fans have a profound hatred for the Lakers, which I do not share. That’s fair enough. I too was and still am a Laker fan for many years since the Jerry West Elgin Baylor days. Growing up in the Wash. DC area I was a Bullet fan. I used to watch the Bullets when they came to the Forum to play the Lakers. But my hatred for the Celtics kind of made me a Laker fan(when they weren’t playing the Bullets.)
I used to live within’ walking distance of the Forum and would actually walk over and go up to the ticket counter and buy a ticket to watch the likes of Kareem vs. Walton when he was with Portland. This was pre-Magic and the Lakers weren’t a very good team. I was a huge fan of the showtime era and when the Clips moved to LA, I didn’t really pay alot of attention, because the team wasn’t very good and seemed to be run poorly. But it was NBA basketball, and I would watch when the Clips were on local TV. They sort of grew on me. I loved to watch the team when Larry Brown was the coach, and I was totally hooked on the Sam Cassell-Elton Brand team. If it wasn’t for Tim Thomas, we would have seen a fascinating playoff series in 2006 between the two LA teams sharing the same building.
I find the Clps to be so much more interesting to follow then the Lakers. I always root for the Clips when they play the Lakers, and I totally enjoyed the game on Wednesday. Let’s hope that the Clips can continue their improvement despite the Dunleavy factor.
bongstradamus Reply:
January 10th, 2010 at 11:29 am
I think it was hard for anybody to not love Magic and the Showtime Lakers. His love for the game, his size, his skill, he had the whole package. I remember being a kid and staying up late to watch Magic in the playoffs, it was the only thing my parents let me stay up late for at the time. I was a total Showtime Laker fan, they made me love this game. I loved seeing Kareems skyhook, Byron’s 3′s, Worthy’s drives and most especially Woolridge’s dunks. It was even fun to make fun of Vlade Divac when he first entered the league. That was an era onto itself. They were our Celtics, a west coast dynasty with a whole chapter of history just about them.
I think its funny and rather ironic that what made me a Clipper fan was the drafting of Lamar Odom. His first year, everyone talked about how he was like Magic. He was a long, tall lefty who could play 4 positions on the court and created off the dribble. Then we drafted Darius, traded for Maggette, had Keyon and Q. There was a lot of energy in those games and that team is what made me become a fan. I was over the moon when we traded for Elton and I thought for sure we were going to have a reversal of fortune. Alvin Gentry’s Clippers were a really good squad. Even Sean Rooks made me cheer.
Then I realized how terrible the organization was when they let all that talent walk away. It was like your favorite toy on Christmas was broken before you could even fully assemble it. They redeemed themselves by matching Corey and Elton, but since then I’ve been skeptical of this organizations will to win, their failure to spend money on talent, of their tendencies to pick up scrubs to fill out a team, and the people they hired to coach us.
Its good to see the team doing well, developing real chemistry on the court and maturing before our eyes. When Baron was a FA the first time, I had hoped we signed him back then. We got Andre Miller instead. And we all know how that didnt work out. Our big three became a big one in the span of a season. Even when Baron finally came, I was still skeptical that his 29 going on 40 old man in the league routine wouldnt push us over the top, but it seems he has his swagger again and thats really what we’ve always needed, a strong point to drive it all home.
bongstradamus Reply:
January 10th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Part of why I hate Dunleavy so much is for the destruction of the Showtime Lakers too. I thought he was a terrible coach back then. It was impossible to think you could lose with that team but he managed to do it. I dont think Ive ever forgiven him for presiding over the end of that era, and I guess thats kind of unfair.
Posted on January 10th, 2010 at 10:42 am
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