Five thoughts from tonight’s game:
- Bench Play – After a sloppy first quarter from the starters, the Clippers bench came in and made an immediate impact, accounting for 22 of the team’s 50 first half points. Al Thornton’s role becomes more and more defined as the season moves along, and again tonight he proved what he’s capable of doing when healthy. Thornton went 7 for 9 from the field for 17 points in 17 minutes of play by winning his one on one battles and attacking at every opportunity. Ricky Davis flirted with a triple double with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in his 27 minutes. Craig Smith didn’t get to double-digit points again tonight, but he did have the game high +/- mark at +12. The bench may need to continue their hot play, as both Gordon and Telfair went down with injuries late in the second half tonight.
- Bulls Offense – It’s no real secret that no one on the Bulls roster can score in the low post. Since that’s the case, the Bulls are forced to shoot a ridiculous amount of jumpers in the halfcourt setting; they actually lead the league by an overwhelming margin in attempts from 16-23 feet, which also happens to be the least efficient area on the basketball court to shoot from. Point being, if the Bulls are missing their perimeter looks in the halfcourt, they’re likely going to lose. Part of the reason the Bulls were able to jump out to an early lead was because they avoided their halfcourt offense like the plague. By constantly pushing the ball and turning the game into a track meet of sorts, the Bulls were able to jump out to an early 26-19 lead. When the tempo finally settled down, the Bulls offensive deficiencies became more clear. They had no one to dump it into on the block, so instead they settled for lots of Hinrich and Rose jumpers. The pair of guards combined to go 13 for 38 (34%) from the field. You live by the jumper, you die by the jumper.
- Clippers Bigs vs Noah – There may not be a player in the NBA who more closely resembles Camby’s unique style of play than Joakim Noah. Both attack the offensive glass incredibly hard, both are very good defensive rebounders, both have hideous jumpers (although Camby’s is effective while Noah’s is not), and both play with an incredible amount of energy. Tonight, Camby pulled in an obscene amount of rebounds (25) while Noah posted yet another double-double (14 points and 15 rebounds). Chris Kaman struggled a bit when matched up against Noah, and found most of his success (surprisingly enough) taking Noah off the dribble. Tonight’s game really served as evidence to the maturation of Chris Kaman. Instead of banging his head against the wall and continuing to fire up jumpers against a phenomenal and lengthy defender in Noah, Kaman put the ball on the ground and forced Chicago to send him to the line. Noah is one of the better post defenders Kaman will see all year, and to put up 20 points against him and a strong Chicago defense is impressive.
- Offensive Versatility – Individually, the Bulls have a ton of defensive talent spread across the floor. Hinrich is a tough perimeter defender, Noah is emerging into a premier post defender, and Luol Deng can more than hold his own against most small forwards. Ideally, you don’t want to attack these defenders in one on one situations. As soon as the outsized Jannero Pargo got on the floor though, the Clippers attacked their new found mismatch. It didn’t always yield points, but more often than not the Clippers offense felt “smart” tonight in the halfcourt. If opposing coaches want to play specialists, smaller guards or general defensive liabilities, Dunleavy will always call sets to attack those players. More often than not, it works.
- Baron Davis, Dagger Provider – The Clippers’ bench built the lead to 14 at the 6:35 mark of the fourth, but the Bulls came roaring back behind some transition opportunities and quick pick and rolls early in the shot clock. After a Noah dunk at the 4:09 mark of the fourth, the Clippers lead was suddenly down to four. Enter Baron Davis. A cringe inducing three point attempt fell first, then a 19-footer the next possession, then a heady pump fake to draw the foul on a three point attempt. After knocking down 2 of 3 from the stripe, the Bulls continued to answer and didn’t go away until Baron hit a runner and eventually iced the game with two free throws late. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s 11 huge points in the final 4 minutes. Baron’s play down the stretch was clutch scoring at its finest.
20 Responses
Kaman has indeed matured, though his maturation took a big step backwards with his God-awful backcourt pass to Camby while underneath the Bulls’ basket. Probably a nominee for this season’s worst plays, and potentially for this decade. Dunleavy’s reaction, though, was priceless: WTF ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!
And of course, a trip back to the bench. Instant classic, no? LOL.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 12:41 am
just because you said “for those of you keeping track at home,” i decided to do the math. Baron actually had 11 points there. 3 pointer(3)+jumper(2)+free throws(2)+runner(2)+icing free throws(2). nice summary though.
D.J. Foster Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 9:36 am
Oops! Let me fix that – thank you sir.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 1:12 am
I was distracted through the whole game, but I was wondering, what happened to Gordon and Telfair? I know they got injured but what happened?
Clipper Derrick Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 2:21 pm
Gordon sprained his big toe and Telfair took a hard all on a foul.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 1:30 am
Kaman’s pass was pretty bad and Dunleavy’s reaction was hilarious.. another Kaman miscue was his top of the arc 20 something foot jumper that he bricked lol… I swear, Kaman cracks me up sometimes.. I Love the guy.. but you can soo tell his attention will drift away from time to time..
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 1:35 am
Ralph pointed it out: that BD 3PTM early in the shot clock was a terrible shot. He’s not draining that with any consistency this year…if we live and die at the end of games by that shot it won’t be pretty. I’ve loved Baron’s play this year, and he’s earning his contract…but taking those shots scares me.
Nonetheless, good win, let’s see how we do tonight.
Blake Griffi Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 2:51 pm
you do realize thats the same shot that iced the Thunder game on the road? You can’t have your cake and eat it…I guarantee you no other available PG in the league can do what Baron can…notice I say available.
Pez Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
love baron…not saying I want anyone else running the team, but when you’re shooting 29% from 3, its early in the clock, there’s 3 minutes left & you’re protecting a 4 point lead, I would prefer our floor leader to try to get a higher percentage look for his team.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 9:33 am
ESPN reports that RUDY GAY may be on the trading block. CAMBY and 1st round pick? Memphis isn’t going to pay this kid anything.
RL Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:32 am
Memphis ain’t trading Rudy Gay,… they got a good thing going. My money’s on Memphis ponying up the money to resign Gay. But if not, the Clips should consider making a run at him in the off season.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 10:24 am
TN
I do not understand your point about trading Camby (third in Rebounds in the league) and first round pick for a guy who will free agent by the end of the season. Kaman will not be the same without him.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 11:05 am
Re: Kaman….more than anything else I’m just glad to see him attacking the basket and dunking the ball with more consistency than always putting up those pathetic bunnies that tend to pop out of the basket.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 11:12 am
I was at the game and must say that Staples was rock’n. Baron played great down the stretch.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 12:25 pm
What about Camby for Andre Iguodala?? Seems as though he’s on the block – his athleticism and scoring I think would do WONDERS for this team. I would do it in a second
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 4:59 pm
phily is out of the playoff race.
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Anybody talking about trading Camby is insane. Who is going to step up and do the little things that he does?! Nobody, that’s who. Nobody on this team can do what he does. He leaves the team and automatically we are losing 30% more games. Unless that’s your plan.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 4:57 pm
He’s going to leave at the end of the year and the Clippers might as well get something for him. Who cares if the Clippers win 38 games or 28 games, they’re still not going to make the playoffs. It’s time to think about next year.
PejaxStojakovic Reply:
January 21st, 2010 at 5:48 pm
I think Camby is definitely not re-signing next year – even if the Clips are a playoff contender they’re not a championship one, and at this stage he’s going to want to go for that. Though I completely agree there is no one to take is place (here’s hoping Blake can next year), and it would translate to more losses. I think as the consensus says, this road trip will have a lot to say about whether he stays or goes before the deadline
Posted on January 21st, 2010 at 4:25 pm
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