The Clippers’ exceptional defensive effort Sunday afternoon in Washington features only two blemishes:
- When the Clips run perimeter traps at the Wizards’ guards, the rotations onto Antawn Jamison aren’t prompt. Jamison is one of the best bigs in the league at finding mismatches or open space off blitzes and he burns the Clippers on a few occasions, keeping Washington in the game longer than they rightly should be.
- Chris Kaman grabs one defensive rebound all afternoon. In contrast, Brandon Haywood and Jamison secure seven and four offensive rebounds respectively. In the first half, more than a quarter of the Wizards points come on second chances. The downturn in Kaman’s offensive rebounding numbers can be ascribed to his playing more pick-and-pop basketball, but there’s no good reason a 7-footer guarding the opposing center should come up with a lone defensive board.
Apart from that, the Clippers grind the Wizards down defensively, giving up only 78 points on 92 possessions.
The reserve unit is particularly stingy during its second and fourth quarter stints. The backups pressure Caron Butler with double-teams early in the second, denying Washington a chance to establish any offensive rhythm. In the fourth quarter, with the Clippers hanging on to a three-point lead, there’s a different defensive dynamic on the floor, but the unit led by Mardy Collins produces the same result: It’s an incredible flurry of activity. Collins, Rasual Butler and Al Thornton each records a block shot within a 90-second stretch upon checking in. 30 seconds later, Chris Kaman cuts off a Caron Butler baseline drive and swats away yet another Washington attempt. Though the Wizards waste multiple possessions early in the game taking ill-advised early jumpers, they’re unable to get anything resembling a clean look when the Clippers make their stand late. For a team that’s had a wretched time putting opponents away in the fourth quarter this season, it’s a laudatory performance. By the time Baron Davis re-enters with 4:00 remaining in the game, the Clippers’ lead is back to 10 and never in jeopardy again.
Another factor for the Clippers’ success: They keep the Wizards off the line, a task they performed horribly in Denver on Thursday night. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that DeShawn Stevenson (a 28.4 percent shooter) takes all seven of his attempts from 18 feet and beyond, Nick Young (69th out of 71 SGs in assist rate) isn’t close on his three heaves, and Caron Butler fires up 13 of his 17 attempts outside the paint (knocking down only 4 of those, and 0-7 on the right side from 18 and beyond). But much of that shot selection we can chalk up to an energized defense that blankets the perimeter. When the Wizards go to their 4 out-1 in scheme (i.e. 3rd, 11:03), the Clippers’ rotation is air tight. There’s a double-team on the ball, with the perimeter defenders ready to move with the pass:
The Clippers’ offense should aspire to score more than a point per possession against a defense as porous as Washington’s, but you know what? Considering Gordon’s absence and the number of bad, 08-09ish shot attempts by Baron and Thornton, it’s not a bad outing by the Clips. One encouraging thing stands out in particular. They turn the ball over only 11 times, which makes absorbing poor shot attempts and missed opportunities on the glass a whole lot easier. Considering the double-teams he confronts most of the day, Kaman puts up an efficient 7-for-10 line from the field (though he coughs up the ball three times), and gets to the stripe for seven free throw attempts.
When Mardy Collins recognizes his strengths (on-ball defense, ball control) and checks his weaknesses (shooting), he can be a useful player in a reserve role. Today he’s a big part of the Clippers’ ability to restore order when the game was teetering on the brink, both in the second and fourth quarters. Whether he can sufficiently hold down the reserve point guard role until Telfair’s return is unknown right now, but the flexibility of using Collins in that capacity and, if necessary, cross-matching him against tougher wings will be a nice luxury to have against deeper teams.
The Clippers continue to be one of the top assist teams in the league, both in assist rate (percentage of possessions ending in an assist) and percentage of field goals assisted. Here are five of the more memorable assists (and a sixth virtual assist that results in two Kaman free throws) from Sunday afternoon:
22 Responses
A loss to Denver is one that I can live with, but it’s opponents like Washington that you have to beat. Glad the Clippers were able to pull this one out. .500 here we come. Great break down on the assists KA.
Posted on January 24th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Thanks, KA! I count on your game breakdowns.
On the one hand, Kaman’s low rebound totals make me think (again) that while he’s playing well, he’s not quite an all star yet. On the other hand, the team rebound totals were fine… I start to wonder, then if there’s a conspiracy afoot to have Camby grab the boards and so boost his trade value.
Posted on January 24th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
On numerous occasions both Kaman and Camby are after the same rebound and Camby comes away with the rebound. Camby seriously gets to every rebound and takes away a lot from Kaman and others.
Posted on January 24th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
When do we see the new kid who really looks excellent to me? What is the real scoop on Gordon. Gordon was a ? last 2 games. When does he play/? Today?
rmb Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:34 am
Gordon is resting. We don’t expect him to play in road games. It’s good if he can rest and Clips win 4 road games.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Mardy Collins is a smart player and he’s only 26. If Baron needs only 12 min.rest each game, it makes sense to use Collins(he can also back-up Gordon & Butler) instead of keeping unhappy Telfair. Telfair is not a team-first player. He’s our little Ricky Davis.
Clippers should clean their house before the trade deadline. They’ll trade Camby only if they are out of play-off picture. But they can still try to move Ricky, Thornton and Telfair.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The Lakers are a scared bunch. And they know what Griifin can do for Clippers from next season. To counter this scenario, they’re trying to acquire CHRIS BOSH from Toronto for ANDREW BYNUM.
Kobe is aging arrogantly. Pau Gasol is injury prone. Odom is unpredictable. Artest is probably playing his last SO-SO season.
Can the Lakers keep-up with Clippers?
Probably not.
RL Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
“Can the Lakers keep up with the Clippers?”
You’re joking with that comment right? Why don’t you look at all the banners the Lakers have in Staples Center. As much as I love the Clips, we have a lot of keeping up to when it comes to comparing ourselves with our co-tenants. Trading Bosh for Bynum is a good move for the Lakers. Though Bynum is gifted physically, I don’t think he has the desire to win.
NewsClips Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Sports is about the present & future. The past glory has sentimental value. How many rings this Laker team collected since Magic Johnson era ended? And how many since SHAQ left? KOBE actually kept Lakers in a COMA. I say it because Laker fans are simply mesmerized by this wizkid. And in a way fooled by this kid.
SHAQ gave them some credibility. But ever since he left, this team has been put on ventilator. Let’s see how long this ‘one man circus’ really last.
RL Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
One man circus? So I guess Gasol, Odom, Bynum, and Artest are all scrubs?… Even without Kobe, that team can still beat any team in the league. Easy on the Laker-haterade.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 8:56 am
This is from the Boston Globe regarding the Celtics Report and the LA Times regarding Gordon.
“The consensus is there needs to be major improvement on defending point guards if the Celtics expect to make a push for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. And a two-day respite allowed the Celtics to focus more on help defense, especially with physical and gifted Baron Davis of the Los Angeles Clippers coming to TD Garden tonight.
In the past four games, opposing point guards have averaged 21.2 points, 8.7 assists, and 7.7 rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the field.”
Gordon said he is experiencing some arthritis in the sprained big toe on his left foot that has forced him to sit out the last two games and fears it could linger for the rest of the season.
“That’s probably the worst thing, that it’s going to keep on hurting throughout the year,” he said. “I’m trying to get it to the point where it’s calming down so I can be out there and play.”
Gordon said he expects to return during this Clippers’ trip, though his availability tonight is expected to be a game-time decision.
Gordon said he is experiencing some arthritis in the sprained big toe on his left foot that has forced him to sit out the last two games and fears it could linger for the rest of the season.
“That’s probably the worst thing, that it’s going to keep on hurting throughout the year,” he said. “I’m trying to get it to the point where it’s calming down so I can be out there and play.”
This is from the LA Times
“Gordon said he expects to return during this Clippers’ trip, though his availability tonight is expected to be a game-time decision.
Gordon said he is experiencing some arthritis in the sprained big toe on his left foot that has forced him to sit out the last two games and fears it could linger for the rest of the season.
“That’s probably the worst thing, that it’s going to keep on hurting throughout the year,” he said. “I’m trying to get it to the point where it’s calming down so I can be out there and play.”
“Gordon said he expects to return during this Clippers’ trip, though his availability tonight is expected to be a game-time decision.”
After reading about Gordon things do not look good for him unless the arthritis could be healed with rest or this is something needs surgery.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 9:59 am
bynum is kwame brown part 2, the lakers should create more gasols, maybe gary gasol has a nice ring to it!
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Trade for Marcel.. Bynum needs a new home
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
NC
The NBA will not let the Lakers to go down, The NBA needs the Celtics and the Nicks in the East Coast and the Lakers in the West Coast. the trade for Gasol came from nowhere, the trade for Garnet was the same. Besides, the Lakers are a good organization, the players come to play for them for nothing. If they can keep a healthy Bryant, they will have a good for a few more years.
NewsClips Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Hype without substance won’t last too long. Even if NBA tries to revive a sick horse, it won’t work.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
I know that cs & silverclip must be joking. The reason Camby gets so many rebounds is that he goes after every ball while Kamen waits for the ball to come to him. In the euphoria of beating one of the worst teams in the league,let us not forget that Brendan Heywood,one of the worst centers in the league had 18 points & 12 rebounds & outmuscled Kamen throughout the game. There is no question that Kamen has improved, but he’s still too soft,makes too many mistakes & will never be the rebounder or defensive player Camby was & still is.
stillaclipfan Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Ttue kaman needs to be focused and then we can win so many games against the elite
clippafan4life Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
kaman is a finesse center he doesn’t try to be camby. Few centers defend, rebound, and score exceptionally well in this league. As long as the guy averages 20 a game I’m cool can always find a guy to rebound, not vice versa.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
The Clippers visited the While House a few days ago and Mr Obama did not receive them. Today the other team from LA visited the WH and the team was received by them.
I do not who schedule this but they should make a better job than that.
FireDunleavy .com Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
The Lakers are defending champs though.
Cpt1021 Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
They’re all republicans though!
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Maybe DS did not contribute enought to his campaign. You are right FD, I forgot about this.
Posted on January 25th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
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