If tonight’s game felt familiar to you, there’s a reason for that. You’ve played in this game before.
Let me explain. From the arc of the game right down to some of the characters in it, tonight’s matchup felt a lot like a glorified pickup game.
Take Corey Maggette for example. Ever play with someone that calls every single foul? Even if he’s the one that charges in to you at full speed? Well, that’s Maggette. He does his bull in the china shop routine and completely ignores teammates once he puts the ball on the deck. Everyone hates playing with the guy who calls every foul, and I have a hard time seeing anyone getting any joy out of playing basketball with Corey Maggette. To wit, Maggette went into full blown black hole mode en route to a three-for-16 performance from the field tonight.
Baron Davis is that guy who has the most talent on the floor, but there’s always something missing. Whether it’s his jumper or his defense, there’s always something that you can point to with him and say “that’s the reason why he’s not elite.” Tonight, Baron plays as close to a perfect half of basketball as possible, going seven-for-10 from the field for 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers. But then Baron injures his wrist late in the first half, and he eventually has to leave the game because of it. It’s a shame. Even when Baron does everything right, something eventually goes wrong.
With Eric Gordon, Drew Gooden, Travis Outlaw, Craig Smith, and Baron Davis all out of action, the pressure fell squarely on the shoulders of Chris Kaman (or, the one guy taller than everyone else) to lead his team offensively. Kaman responded well against the Warriors small front line, scoring easily throughout the game on the inside and totaling 27 points on the evening.
Steve Blake plays the role of gym rat tonight, logging an outrageous 46 minutes due to the Clips being shorthanded at guard. It’s always fascinating to watch players like Blake in the midst of chaos. Blake’s that guy that passes, cuts, screens away from the ball and all that other nonsense. It looks out of place at the park, and it looks out of place at Staples tonight.
There are a couple of funny moments in the fourth quarter of this one. Devean George brushes off the cobwebs to hit a few shots, and both times he runs down court screaming and pumping his fists. It’s hard to tell if he’s being sarcastic — I have no idea how serious of a person Devean George is, but it’s hard not to picture George as the ridiculous old dude down at the park who once a month turns back the clock and hits a few shots and simply has to let everyone know about it. Between George’s theatrics and the slightly insane enthusiasm of Ronny Turiaf, the Warriors at least provide entertainment value down the stretch.
The Clippers win this one behind the late game scoring of Rasual Butler (or, that guy who tries to do way too much) and DeAndre Jordan (that one kid that can dunk). After three straight buckets right at the rim by Jordan, Butler knocks down a mid-range jumper and then a big three to pull the Clippers within one at the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter.
From there, the game plays out like both teams are locked up at game point. Suddenly, the defense ratchets up about 40 notches, and the previous Laissez-faire approach to defense goes out the window. Mike Smith actually mentions at the three minute mark that the “next bucket wins.” He’s referring to Lawler’s Law of course, but you could have fooled me.
The play of the game comes in the clutch at the [2:02, 4thQ] mark. Chris Kaman gets the ball on the left block, and DeAndre Jordan ambles over to the left wing to act as a kickout for Kaman should he get in trouble. Aside from the hilarity of DeAndre Jordan acting as a spot up shooter with Kaman having the ball in the post, the play works wonderfully. After looking confused for a bit, Jordan gives a quick basket cut and Kaman delivers a beautiful pass (!) to Jordan for the easy dunk. The Clips lead goes to five, and they hang on the rest of the way.
April basketball for the Warriors and Clippers isn’t much different from the pickup game for us regular scrubs. The more experienced players on both sides won’t remember this game for any reason, as it will just blend into the thousands of other games they’ve played. Neither team cares much about the result really, as wins and losses don’t really matter at this point.
But then there’s the kid who can dunk. He isn’t experienced yet, so these wins mean something. It’s confidence. It’s matching the second highest total for rebounds in your career (15). It’s a game deciding bucket. Maybe to the bitter veteran those things don’t mean anything, but you don’t survive as a young player in the NBA if you don’t enjoy the small victories when they come your way.
26 Responses
Excellent analogy here D.J., laughed to myself a number of times reading it as an older guy regaining small glories at the Y.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 3:34 am
Great write up. Never read a better analogy of maggette.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 7:32 am
Please, for goodness gracious holy macaroni, for the sake of tending on our own profusely bleeding noses, LEAVE COREY MAGGETTE ALONE. He and Brand carried this dead horse for a long time on their strong and reliable shoulders. Be Grateful and Thankful.
“Fortunate & blessed are the people who maketh effort to be grateful for what cometh and
thankful for what not cometh”
Amen!
Q.d. Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I agree, Corey helped us win by missing a wide open dunk. It was just Corey being Corey. He would close his eyes and drive to the hole, never looking for another teammate.
Corey seems like a nice guy. Yet, gsw and clipper fans all hate because he’s a dumb player. Best line I heard about the Corey signing, “if you told me baron was amputating a foot before we sign Corey, I’ll still baron. Baron will show flashes, Corey shows that he forgets he has teammates”
Jose M. Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 9:43 am
Chris Crocker?
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 8:19 am
The win did mean something. Maybe a worse draft pick!!!!!!!!!
akram47 Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 11:33 am
In competition, Blake did better than any rookie in summer league… including Curry.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Warriors fan here, fan of the site. Maggette is frustrating, for sure, with his black hole mentality. And yet, he does try hard, his defense – at least in the context of the Warriors – is not horrible, and the guy is scoring 20 points in 29 minutes a game on 52% shooting. I mean, that’s really good, right?
He’s hardly the only NBA scorer who doesn’t pass, yet Maggette seems to have developed this reputation as uniquely damaging to teams. I’m not saying it’s unfair or not, but it’s interesting. I wonder if it doesn’t just come down to the fact that he’s almost always played for bad teams, and that he’d be a great third option or bench option for a good team.
GL Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
CAVALIERS wanted Corey and asked GSW for a trade. Why didn’t they trade him?
Are the Clippers better-off today without Corey? Record since his departure speaks fot itself.
D.J. Foster Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
JimmyJack – Thanks for your comment, always good to hear from W’s fans.
Maggette is having a great season, it’s true. I guess my point is with him that he’d be miserable to play with. That doesn’t make him a bad player – he’s one of the best guys at drawing contact I’ve ever seen play.
I just wouldn’t be excited to “share” the floor with the guy. I don’t think he’s solely responsible for the losing teams he’s been on by any means, but I’m not sure he contributes much to the winning mentality.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 10:23 am
By the way, many if not most Warriors fans were happy that last three-pointer clanked off the rim. Ping pong balls must be protected.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 10:25 am
This game was pretty hilarious and entertaining. I thought the funniest sequence was somewhere in the 2nd half, not sure if it was the 4th quarter, but kaman missed like 3 or 4 shots in the paint on his own only to come away with nothing lmao!! Even mike smith had to request for a replay on that play lol!!!
but game aside… Once the spots are set, is it possible for us to trade down for cash?? I know once teams are given their picks and lets say we have 7 or 8 and we are aiming high on Wes Johnson, and some other team has the 5th pick, I’m pretty sure we could swap picks for money and a “conditional 2nd round pick” if both teams still believe their guy will be available right? I think its something to consider if we end up somewhere around number 8
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 11:08 am
However, DJ you lose points for the 213 picture though. Snoop Dogg is atrocious. He’s been living off his first album for 20 years.
D.J. Foster Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Aww. It was more about Nate Dogg and Warren G than anything, but couldn’t find a picture of them together. I actually enjoyed their solo stuff a little bit too much. “Music and Me” was surprisingly decent.
Beard The Curse Reply:
April 12th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
In the History of Music, “Regulators” is one of the greatest songs EVER. Period. That song is undeniable.
Chris McD Reply:
April 13th, 2010 at 7:48 am
Nate Dogg’s been living off of everyone else’s songs (since the beginning) and last I heard from Warren G he performed at the local Tattoo Expo. I don’t think Snoop’s that bad, but I don’t care for most of the stuff he comes out with. This makes me miss the late 90s.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 11:21 am
Clips never know when to win or lose. This win could be the difference between an impact player and a role player. Way to go you dumbass’.
chris. Reply:
April 11th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Totally agree but either way we’re going to need a little luck to get a top 3 pick. This did send us from the 7th most ping pong balls to tied for 8th (with our luck we’d get the 9th pick) … Doh!
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Great post. I think I’m currently Steve Blake in 5 years.
Also, is there really that big a difference between #8 and #9? Come on guys. I’d take 30 plus wins any day over a “better” draft pick.
TNT57 Reply:
April 12th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
Really? Why? What logic makes 30 wins better than 28 or 26 or 25? A better draft pick is a better player by definition. No disrespect but what you are saying make absolutely no sense. None. Sorry. 30 wins mean nothing! Zero.
oasisman Reply:
April 12th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
You have no logic, Clips are making a run at a Premier Free Agent, if they have a higher draft pick, it is more money that goes against the cap, and less money they can offer to the free agent. So getting 30 wins is important for the morale of DeAndre Jordan as well as getting a lower pick. It’s also a good number to reach Mr TNT
TNT57 Reply:
April 12th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. They are going to end up with some player in the draft. Isn’t there a base limit on rookie contracts? Why not pay a good player? You think a free agent doesn’t know who and what the Clippers are? Like it’s some deep secret that nobody wants to play here. Our best shot is the draft. You wait and see who we get as a fee agent. We’ll be lucky to land RUDY GAY. You think anybody but you is worried about Jordan’s morale? Hell, Kaman didn’t even know the team had lost 7 in a row. These guys are mercenaries. They don’t give a damn about you or me or the Clipper nation. I bet they laugh at us for being such suckers.
Posted on April 11th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I do not think there is a conspiracy to lose any game. The effort, desire and the quality of the opponent is what it makes the difference. The most of the players and coaches do not know where they are going to be next year. We also know a good scout it is what it will make a difference after a fifth draft pick. By the way, the game was ugly but I take an ugly win than a “pretty” loss or “moral victory”.
Posted on April 12th, 2010 at 9:06 am
can u put up video of DeAndre from this gaame and analysis
Posted on April 12th, 2010 at 9:31 am
What does 30 wins get us? I’ll take the higher draft pick in a heartbeat.
Posted on April 12th, 2010 at 11:14 am
Davis was talking on the pregame show about how he’s going to talk a big free agent into coming to the Clippers. He said he knows all of them well and mentored them when they came into the league, so he’ll talk one of them into signing with the Clippers.
What a joke! Does he actually believe that, or does he just enjoy spewing BS at teh interviewer? Surely, no Clipper fans believe it, and certainly no big free agent believes it.
Davis is terrible — as a shooter, a defender and a toxic influence on the team. The only thing he cold say to a free agent that might possibly influence that free agent to come to the Clippers is if he said he (Davis) was immediately retiring.
Posted on April 12th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Trackbacks