For the third time, the Clippers couldn’t win more than three games in a row. It upheld to more than that pattern though, the Clippers started strong again, beating the Blazers 27-23 in the first before they crumpled in the second and third quarters, surged in the fourth (twice) and then collapsed terribly down the stretch.
Like many of their early season losses, the Clippers fought until the end, they cut the lead to 8 with 11 minutes left in the fourth before Rudy Fernandez flipped up a flamenco shot that helped the Blazers regain momentum. Portland found contributions from all over, the Blazers ran a UCLA cut for an Andre layup oop for two points (high post screen by Pryzbilla for Andre Miller at the top, Rudy recognized Miller’s opening and threw it to him from the wing) and found Miller on the ensuing possession in the fast break. The Portland fans thought that the Clippers were done.
If there is anything that the Clippers have done this season it’s fight (I even predicted as much, check 12:50 on the Daily Dime Live Recap and while you’re there, look at Jordan’s play-off post). Eric Gordon bookended a Blake jumper with cuts off screens to get two open threes (a step back three at the top of the key and one on the wing) to cut the Blazers lead to 3 with only 6 minutes left to play. Miller scored on a driving baseline layup, Gordon answered with a steal and a coast to coast layup of his own. There was life for the Clippers and the possibility of improvement. Then the Clippers devolved.
In the last 3:30, Rudy Fernandez scored 5 more points, Wesley Matthews scored 5 and LaMarcus Aldridge did the impossible, bullying Blake for easy buckets. Had this been at home, it may have been different, because Blake had a pounding dunk off that silenced the Rose Garden. At home, that might have fired the crowd up and gotten the Clippers ready for the run, but instead they gave up oddball shots to Rudy Fernandez and lost easily.
So the road still isn’t friendly to the Clippers. Despite the fact that the Clippers starters didn’t play nearly the same minutes as the Blazers (who even went to OT last night), the Clippers looked like the team that was lethargic and unwilling to defend. This was supposed to be a test for the Clippers who are about to go on some serious travels. Next week they face the Mavericks and the Rockets before that dreaded eleven game road trip that starts with the Hawks, Heat, Magic and the Knicks. They Clippers have to solve these road woes if they are going to even think about competing for the last playoff spot for the rest of the year.
Some Notes:
- Eric Gordon had a doozy of a game on offense tonight. 35 points on 13 for 26 shooting, 7 for 11 behind the arc, 5 rebounds, 4 assists. He diligently made an effort in the third quarter when the Clips are typically weak, Gordon repeatedly made three pointers off of Blake Griffin passes (a dribble hand off, a feed after Gordon ran through multiple screens on the baseline and a pin down screen where he got an open look after Blake kicked the ball back out to him) and he even had one of his reclining floaters. He added more magic in the fourth in the form of 11 points, but failed to score in the remaining 4 minutes, during which the Clippers fell apart without his offense.
- Clipper wings could not defend. Gordon or Foye, didn’t matter, Wesley Matthews went off for 28 points on 10 for 18 from the field and his backup Rudy Fernandez scored 17 points on 7 for 10 shooting. They ran multiple screens for Matthews, not particularly tight ones (and he’s no Reggie Miller or Ray Allen) and Matthews found plenty of open shots. Rudy made his points off of his slashing and open court hustle plays (one in the fourth was uniquely sloppy, involving the Clippers and the Blazers batting around the ball like a shuttlecock only to have Rudy pick up the ball and lay it in easily) making him a tough cover for the less athletic Randy Foye.
- The Clipper highlight of the night came from Al-Farouq Aminu, even with Blake’s dunks. With a little more than eight minutes left in the second quarter, Aminu picked the pocket of Batum and initiated one of his knuckleball fast breaks*, weaved through 4 Blazer defenders and laid the ball in the hoop for two points. It wasn’t an alley-oop, but that play took more coordination than I was willing to give Farouq credit for before the start of the season. Like his three point shot (struggling now, but still), he’s showing way more than most of us could have reasonably expected.
- Clippers earned their third technical foul from the bench in two games. I’m not sure what the Clippers are saying, if it’s really that bad or offensive (it’s not visible) but they need to cut it out.
There is no team in the league that has had worse luck with injuries than the Portland Trail Blazers. Sure, the Clippers have been a team that can bemoan Kaman and Baron’s time on the sideline, and in the past it’s been bad, but the Blazers have lost expansive swathes of playing time from Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, Marcus Camby (the latest), and Joel “Vanilla Gorilla” Pryzbilla, just to name a few. They still have young stud Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge and the stalwart point guard Andre Miller. It’s a testament to the talent that Kevin Pritchard corralled, that even with all of these injuries the team can just keep winning (6-4 in their last 10).
And while they will grumble about the loss of the superstar Brandon Roy, the team might be better off without him this year, considering the shape of his knees, the way he was playing and, most importantly, his frequent scuttlebutts with Andre Miller. Both players are playmakers, but Roy had already begun to fall off from his normal high efficiency. He was averaging a career low 14.9 PER, due to his career low shooting percentage (39.9 percent), rebounding (3.0) and assists (3.3). Wesley Matthews isn’t averaging much better numbers than that (15.1 PER, 15.8 points, 43.4 percent shooting, 3.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists), but he removes the controversy with Miller and can play better defense because his knees allow it.
As for the Clippers, the spotlight remains on Blake Griffin, so much so that he has had to move his spot in the locker room just so that DeAndre and Ike can get to their lockers. He doesn’t seem to like this as much, and from listening to his interviews, I can tell you Blake doesn’t interview like he did with me over the summer.
Lots to read around the league about the Clippers:
• Ramona Shelburne thinks that that the Clipper Curse (something I never believed in) is over.
• Coach Anthony Macri of Hoops World takes a peak into the evolution of Blake and the positive learning experience of the “red-shirt year” (read more here):
One of the first things one notices in today’s Blake Griffin is the way he operates mostly up on his toes. He is considerably lighter on his feet, particularly in face-the-basket and transition situations. As a collegian, Griffin tended to be more heavy-footed, relying on pure strength and power. However, by leaning out a little bit and spending more time on the balls of his feet, he has increased his explosiveness, becoming quicker and more agile. While he simply overpowered smaller players in college, he now can overpower smaller players and out-quick larger players. This is a huge advantage.
Perhaps as a result of his footwork, Griffin’s most glaring deficiency in college was that he seldom changed speed and direction with the ball in his hands. A proverbial bull in the china shop, he consistently powered at top speed in one direction. However, he has obviously worked on his ability to shift gears on drives, employing a variety of stop-and-start moves, that accentuate his explosive athleticism. His ability to change directions is still in its early stages, though he is using more crossovers and spins in places other than the post. In general, his body control is very good, and he has always displayed a good sense of balance. These strengths have only gotten better in his time off.
The one bit of praise that I might disagree with is this:
Defensively, Griffin’s pairing with Deandre Jordan in the Clippers’ front court has only made him better. He is more active than he was at Oklahoma, shuttling over for help blocks and using his hands and leverage to become a more pesky post defender. He runs the floor on the defensive end much better than he did in college, and in general seems to focus on every possession, which was not something he always did just over a year ago. It’s easy to trace these mental gains to a year spent watching from the bench.
Free throw shooting is the most glaring statistical weakness (although even that’s been improving), but I find that Blake’s defense has been his biggest actual weakness. I know this is a comparative piece, looking at his OU play and his Clipper play, but I wouldn’t call Blake a pesky defender. Not yet at least. I still think that even though he gets back on defense, he takes mental breaks, particularly in transition, and lets other players get good looks. He has the court vision and awareness, he just needs the focus to improve. I’ve already seen steps, he’s no longer given a defensive replacement, but there is plenty more work to do there. He could be a very good defender.
• John Krolik writes about the easy points that Blake gives the team here:
The term “hustle player” is used to describe players like Dennis Rodman, Joakim Noah or Anderson Varejao — the kind of role players teams need to be successful. Because of that, praising Griffin’s hustle may seem like something of a backhanded compliment, but effort is just as important a part of Griffin’s game as his athleticism or skill.
The goal of every defense in the NBA is to keep opposing players from scoring at the basket: Griffin is able to score at the rim over and over again because he uses his athleticism and work ethic to create opportunities at the rim before the opposing defense can set up against him.
Griffin is more than a great hustle player — he’s a great player who hustles.
According to Synergysports.com, Griffin has made 139 of 212 shots on plays where he gets the ball after making an off-ball cut, grabs an offensive rebound or gets the ball in transition. That means Griffin generates approximately 3.5 baskets per game without the Clippers’ having to feed him the ball in the post, set him up in isolation or involve him in the pick-and-roll — and that doesn’t even include the value of the free throws Griffin draws in those situations.
To show you just how much “free” offense Griffin has generated this season, here are the equivalent numbers for some of the other top forwards and centers in the league:
Dwight Howard: 92-of-123
Amare Stoudemire: 87-of-167
Pau Gasol: 129-of-191
Kevin Love: 131-of-252
LeBron James: 104-of-172 (79 of the 104 made baskets have come in transition)
As you can see, only Love generates anywhere near as much “free” offense as Griffin, and it has taken him 40 more attempts than Griffin to even get close.
• Mike Prada at SB Nation gives a look at why Eric Gordon needs more pub (more here):
As it turns out, it’s Gordon, and not Griffin, that leads the Clippers in scoring. He’s currently averaging just under 24 points a game, putting him eighth in the entire league, ahead of guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. But if anything, that obscures just how good a scorer Gordon has been this season. Gordon is currently posting a true shooting percentage (which takes threes and free throws into account) of 58.3 percent and an assist percentage of 22.1, all while ending 27.1 percent of his team’s possessions. In layman’s terms, he is scoring while getting his teammates involved and without wasting too many possessions, all while shouldering the kind of scoring load superstars shoulder.
The ability to do all of that is more difficult than you think. For comparison’s sake, here is a list of players who have posted seasons with a TS% above 58, a usage rate above 25% and an assist percentage above 20 in the past three years.
Manu Ginobili (all three years)
LeBron James (twice)
Chris Paul (once)
Deron Williams (once)
Eric Gordon (this year)
That’s it. Kevin Durant, arguably the best “pure scorer” in basketball, hasn’t ever pulled it off. Kobe Bryant only did it once, and that was back in 2006/07. Dwyane Wade, arguably the best or second-best scoring guard of this era (along with Kobe), also hasn’t ever done it. In fact, if you go back to 2004/05, when the new hand-checking rules were put in place, the only new players that you can add to this list are Paul Pierce (twice), Bryant (once), Kevin Garnett (once), Gilbert Arenas (once) and Tony Parker (once). That’s elite company, and yet Gordon gets little love for it.
Now, the Clips just need to handle their business up in Portland so that they can have their first 4 game win streak of the year.
Keys to the Game:
- The New LaMarcus Aldridge. In the wake of injuries to Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and now Marcus Camby, Aldridge has been stepping up his game. He’s currently enjoying the most productive year of his career (21.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and a career high 20.72 PER) now that he is the primary offensive weapon. The last match-up with the Blazers, the Clippers held LaMarcus to 4 points on 2 for 10 shooting in only 23 minutes due to foul trouble. That’s the trick again. Blake’s not a great defender, so his rambunctious offense will be the key to subduing Aldridge, who will have to cover Blake for large portions of the game due to big man injuries.
- I really hope that the three point defense from the Minnesota game (Wolves shot 1 for 16) carries over, but the two games between the Blazers doesn’t indicate that. The Blazers shot a combined 15 for 33 from the three point line (45.5 percent). Sure, it’s something that we may be accustomed to seeing DeAndre shoot from the free throw line, which isn’t particularly intimidating, but for a team to shoot that from three, it has to be stopped.
- Pace and turnovers. While the Wolves played high paced and a high turnover game, the Blazers are the mirror opposite. They play at the league’s second slowest pace (91.4 possessions per game) and they have the third lowest turnover ratio (22.7 percent), so the Clippers have to adjust their game. One of the reasons they lost the last game in Portland was due to turnovers late in the game, so they’ll have to care for the ball in the way they did against the Heat and Lakers (22 turnovers combined in those two games, fewer than the total they had in last night’s game).
Injury Report:
- Chris Kaman left ankle, out
- Craig Smith herniated disc, out
- Brian Cook right ankle, doubtful
- Brandon Roy knees, out
- Marcus Camby left knee, out
- Greg Oden left knee, out
- Elliot Williams right knee, out
For the second time, the Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves at home for a three game winning streak. Back in December that streak was news, but tonight there was another streak that was much, much bigger news. For the first time since November, Blake Griffin didn’t get a double double. He played very well, scoring 29 points on 10 of 21 shooting with 6 assists and yet, he ‘only’ snatched 8 rebounds. However, I was proud of him not getting the double double, proud of VDN for taking Blake out of the game when there was plenty of time to get those last two rebounds.
Let me explain, had he gotten that double double in the minutes that he played, great. But this was a game that was decided pretty early in the fourth quarter and the Clippers actually care about winning. They want to make the playoffs (even if it’s a long shot). And because of that attitudinal shift, combined with their road game up in Portland tomorrow, it was in the best interest of the Clippers to rest Griffin for those remaining 3:55. It doesn’t happen often, but the Clippers are actually strategizing to win multiple games and not just celebrating the individual moments.
Just ask Blake how he felt on the streak ending:
“Now I can just start a new one. So it’s whatever.”
He doesn’t exactly sound crushed by its end.
This game wasn’t exactly the cleanest of games, both teams turned the ball over a ton (Clippers 23 TOs, Wolves 19) and it never really had much of a flow, and in that spirit I’m going to give a few bullet points on the rest of the game.
- Eric Gordon tore or sprained a ligament in his ring finger on his shooting hand and missed a large chunk of the first half. He came back into the game and finished with 23 points on 7 for 14 shooting, 3 for 3 beyond the arc and 6 for 6 from the line. He has played well against this Wolves team all season (scoring 30 and 36 in the other two games). So, I’m not sure he was too affected by his injury. That said, it’s probably pretty painful and will swell up tomorrow. The Clippers will keep an eye on it, but Gordon talks like he’s going to play through it. At least it’s not the index or middle finger.
- Baron shot well against the Wolves, 7 for 12 from the field and 3 for 6 from behind the arc. While he only had 4 assists (some of his assists were botched), he had a very good game within the flow of the offense. It’s not like he was shooting pull-up threes, Baron took his shots with his feet set and an open look to the rim. I like those shots from him. Also, Baron was the team leader in both steals and blocks with three a piece. I know he had the same amount of turnovers as assists (4), but Baron continues to care and play well.
- Mike Smith’s hyperbole surfaced again tonight when Blake got his own rebound for a put-back dunk. Smith called it the most impressive play of the season for Blake when, frankly, it wasn’t even his most impressive play of the game. His most impressive play of the game came when Blake brought the ball up court with Corey Brewer on his hip and Lazar Hayward in front. Brewer tried to use his length and quickness to get on one side of Blake and swipe the ball away, only Blake spun to his left, bringing the ball high up and away from Brewer’s reach. Finding himself now open, Blake quickly rose and dunked the ball, capping the highlight of his fantastic play down the floor.
(The video of the first dunk)
- Blake made another three, this time to finish the first quarter. He now owns a better three point percentage (50 percent) than the more famous shooter in his head to head match-up, Kevin Love. I like how comfortable he looks shooting and the discipline that he has to not roam around out there.
- The Clippers held the Wolves to 1 for 16 shooting from three, their best defensive performance from behind the arc this year.
- The Clippers also out-rebounded the Wolves by a considerable margin, 45-33. A huge reason that they dominated the game.
- Kevin Love’s streak continues. The bitterness of the game, especially considering Blake’s 21 and 7 first half, was that Kevin Love’s streak continued. He even forgot to pick up a rebound in the entire first half. But then he collected 11 in the second, finishing with 26 points to go with it.
The Clippers fly out to Portland to take on the continually injured Trail Blazers tomorrow night. Another great win though, the Clips are 11-4 in their last 15.
With Blake’s 47 point destruction of the Pacers on Monday, the Clippers have been showered with attention, mostly Blake-centric with a smattering of Gordon and Baron in the mix.
In the past four decades or so, however, players have routinely left school early and taken more lumps as NBA rookies. In that light, Griffin’s rookie season seems even better. Only two rookies in the past 40 years have exceeded Griffin’s current 23.26 PER, and one of them was a 24-year-old David Robinson. The other was a fairly decent player by the name of Michael Jordan.
Everybody else takes a back seat to Griffin. EVERYBODY. Shaq, Duncan, Magic, Bird — no dice, fellas. The comparison of Griffin to other dominant big men of recent vintage is particularly noteworthy. Once we adjust for pace and minutes, as I’ve done in the chart, his rookie season seems completely in place next to those of Robinson, Duncan, Shaq, and Olajuwon. And in one respect (his passing ability) he’s already far beyond them and nearly into Larry Bird/Chris Webber territory.
Hollinger has plenty more words and graphs to chart the significance of Blake’s year, but no matter how you look at it, the above two paragraphs put everything in context. Blake’s year is phenomenal.
- Old friend D.J. Foster peeks into the question of the clutch performer on the Clips, not surprisingly, it’s Eric Gordon:
Gordon ranks 15th in the league in points per 48 minutes in the clutch – maybe not the most impressive number, but there’s more to it. Of those players ahead of him, Gordon is 5th in field-goal percentage, 4th in free-throw percentage, and 3rd in 3-point field-goal percentage. As far as efficiency goes in the top tier, only two players – Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry – have been better than Gordon this season. The percentages across the board speak for themselves: 52 percent shooting, 40 percent from 3, and 91 percent from the free-throw line.
Compare those numbers to Kobe Bryant’s. Widely considered the most “clutch” player in all of basketball, Bryant is shooting 38 percent overall, 21 percent from 3, and 89 percent from the free-throw line. That’s not to say Gordon as a whole is more clutch than Kobe, who obviously has hit plenty of big shots and continues to hit big shots. But at the very least, the numbers do show that Gordon is much more efficient with the game on the line than Kobe has been this season.
It’s dangerous to read too much into one game, but let’s look at what happened when the two met up with the game on the line this Sunday. Check out each player’s line when the game was within 5 points with 6 minutes left, and keep in mind that Gordon and Bryant covered each other for a good portion of this time:
Bryant: zero points, 0-for-1 from the field, 1 assist and 1 turnover.
Gordon: 8 points, 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 from behind the arc, 2 assists, no turnovers and 1 steal.
Having watched every game this season, it doesn’t surprise me at all, but I continue to marvel at how simple those big plays feel. Seemingly every night Gordon knocks down momentum-changing shots and does it with bravado, yet somehow it feels normal or expected. It’s more than that though, because fans have expected players like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan to come through too, and they’ve been ‘loud.’. I think what differentiates Gordon is the low-difficulty of the shot he gets (a large reason for those efficient stats), he’s not making fadeaways with opponents in his jersey, he’s making open layups, dunks and threes because he has shook his defender so well. It’s a testament to his patience and his ability that he gets those shots, but I find it fascinating that more people haven’t caught on to his play, he’s often highlight worthy. On top of his dunks and clutch threes, he has one of the most unique plays in the game, that lay-back floater as he goes to the rim. I haven’t seen that shot from anyone else.
- Yahoo’s Marc Spears tackles the issue of retaliation on Blake’s play, something that has caused many a Clipper fan or NBA fan to cringe on many occasions:
In the process, Griffin also has become something else – a target for many opponents who have grown weary of his limitless energy and flyover act.
In the closing seconds of the Clippers’ victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Lamar Odom(notes) grabbed Griffin by the jersey and tried to yank him off the court, igniting a brief scrum that led to the ejection of four players. Odom’s complaint: Blake was battling too hard for a rebound – or, in Odom’s words, delivering a “ram in the back” – in a game that had already been decided.
Griffin didn’t retaliate, throwing up his hands in defense and trying to back away from Odom. But his teammates – in particular, veteran point guard Baron Davis(notes) – have grown increasingly frustrated with the perceived “cheap shots” the young forward has been subject to from opponents. In an interview with Yahoo! Sports on Friday, Davis said it was time for the Clippers to start protecting Griffin. He made good on his vow, pushing Odom and jawing at the Lakers forward during the scrum.
Frankly, I think the cheap shots have been dramatically reduced since the Andre Miller tackling incident. Lamar’s move was just grabbing him from the front, something that Blake can manage. What were more dangerous were the holds on the shoulders from behind as Blake went up for dunks earlier in the season. Thankfully, I haven’t seen too much of that lately. The physical play or Lamar confronting him face to face is part of the game, but the takedowns are what should be nipped.
As for this season’s Clippers, folks are starting to wonder if they’re good enough to contend for the final playoff spot. They likely dug themselves too big of a hole when they started 1-13, but it’s clear something has changed in the last month. If their upward trend continues, the Clippers could easily approach 35 wins. That would be a nice start.
So, what exactly has changed in the last 14 games? For starters, the Clippers are playing like an elite club on both ends. Over that span, the Clippers are scoring 108.1 points per 100 possessions, according to Hoopdata.com. That’s about seven points higher than their season average, and it would rank fifth in the league, tied with their Staples Center co-tenants. And on defense, L.A. has yielded just 103.4 points per 100 possessions in that stretch. That’s about the league average on D, but league average is a huge improvement for the Clippers, who rank 23rd in points allowed per possession for the full season.
Their points differential over their last 14 games — +4.7 points per 100 possessions — would rank eighth in the league, right behind the Mavs. That is a real improvement, and it has come against a decent schedule and not a parade of cream puffs.
Lots of good stuff right? The Clippers continue to play better and better. Despite Hollinger’s prediction that the Clippers are going to slide back down because their schedule was so home heavy, I think that the Clippers are improving so much that a similar 16-26 or worse record down the stretch would be a disappointment, even with the heavy road schedule.
Keys to the Game:
- Three pointers. Not a surprise, since the Clippers are still giving up 39 percent from three on the season, but there was an especially big difference in the game that the Clippers won and the game that they lost. In November, the Wolves eked out a win over the Clips in large part due to their 53 percent shooting from three (10 for 19). But in the Clipper win in December the Wolves “only” shot 39 percent from three (7 for 18).
- Rebounding. Led by the best rebounder in basketball Kevin Love, the Wolves are a top 5 team in both total rebounds (due to pace) and rebound rate. The Clippers, however, are the top team in rebound rate, not just because of Blake Griffin, but DeAndre Jordan. In their win against the Wolves, the Clippers had 20 more rebounds than the Wolves. Granted, it ended up a bloodbath, but that kind of success on the glass correlates to wins for the Clips. In the first game they played the Clippers just barely had a better rebound total and lost a close one. They have the athleticism and drive to get the rebounds, they just need to focus on it (like they usually do) because that’s where they will control the game.
- Don’t be scared of the pace of play. The Wolves have the most possessions per 48 minutes in the league, but they’re not nearly the offensive team that the Clippers are. They have the same turnover rates but the Clippers are 15th in eFG percentage and Minnesota is 22nd. Not only that, but the Wolves don’t have the athletes that the Clippers have. If the game starts to go fast, the Clippers don’t need to worry about that, instead they need to focus on their own fundamentals.
Injury Report:
- Chris Kaman left ankle, out
- Brian Cook right ankle, doubtful
- Craig Smith herniated disc, out
Note: I’ll be on ESPN’s Daily Dime Live chatting it up during the game.
With the jubilation in Clipperdom as fervent as it has been in a long time, murmurs of the impossible have created their own undercurrent. The record says 15-25, but those last 14 games weren’t a fluke, right? They were a progression meant to build upon and grow. Like Blake’s personal numbers, the team’s have only improved from month to month. October/November yielded a 3-16 record, December a 7-8 record and now, in January, a 5-2 record. And with the way the team has been playing, knocking off the Heat and the Lakers in the same week, it bears asking, can this team make the playoffs? More...
This is a preview of Playoffs? We Talking Playoffs?.Read More...
