The Bucks were in the process of fighting back. After building a double digit fourth quarter lead, the Clippers let former Clipper Corey Maggette muscle his way around for 6 of the Bucks 8 unanswered points. The Clippers nervously held onto a 96-92 lead with only a minute left, Randy Foye had just missed a three and it looked like the Bucks were going to have yet another opportunity to eat away at the Clippers lead if they would just get the rebound from Foye’s miss. Except a Clipper player launched himself through the air to secure an offensive rebound, giving the Clippers another shot clock. It was Baron Davis. He then dribbled the clock down, passed the ball out to Eric Gor, er, Randy Foye who then drilled the three, putting the Clippers up 99-92 with 42 seconds left and essentially giving the Clips the win, their ninth consecutive win at home.
I remembered that a few weeks ago Baron had the big dunk and then the sky for the board so I asked him if his knee was feeling better.
“Gotta keep working on my knee,” Baron said, “get it where I need it to be. But right now, it got me the offensive rebound and the victory, I’ll take it.”
He may have been a little coy with regard to the knee, but what was obvious was how happy Baron was.
However, as happy as Baron was to have that game punctuating rebound and assist, this game was more about the happiness, the jubilance. The Clippers played with enthusiasm as well as precision. The highlight plays set the tone. I know that sounds like a banal platitude, setting the tone, but there was a level of excitement that allowed the Clippers to surge when they needed. Just look at that monster slam by DeAndre at the top of the page.
It wasn’t just a random play, it was a go to alley-oop down the stretch of the third quarter, a quarter when the Clippers normally play poorly. It was just a simple pick and roll from the left corner, Bledsoe trying to free himself of Brandon Jennings. But Jennings tripped up going over DeAndre’s screen, forcing Brockman to slide over, and Bledsoe lofted the pass up, DeAndre leapt, Brockman slid over and DeAndre crushed the ball through the hoop and almost dunked Brockman’s beard off. The Clippers earned another two points by means of Blake free throws (6 for 6!) and finished the third on a 13-2 run in the last 3:47.
That end of quarter surge was impressive, because the Clippers did that in every quarter. After a typically strong first quarter, the Clippers lost the lead in the second quarter and the Clips went on an 8-4 run in the last 1:55. So if you combine it with the aforementioned fourth and third quarters, that’s a 9-6 run in the last 42 seconds of the game (with an 11-0 run around the six minute mark), 13-2 run in the last 3:47 of the third and 8-4 in the last 1:55 of the second. More than just excitement, those trends are the sign of a winning team. Those times are the most pressure packed, when the teams focus most closely and the Clippers stood out tonight. That’s a trend that the Clips need to make a, well, a trend.
Some highlights before more thoughts:
• DeAndre out-highlighted Blake tonight and played sound defense (blocking 5 shots). That dunk on Brockman was the most vicious dunk of the season for the Clippers, and I’m including the Mozgov dunk. But there were the others, the breakaway dunk, DeAndre was forced to put the ball on the floor (if only once) and he did that somewhat successfully for a dunk. He was all energy tonight, and it was a huge. Even the crowd recognized it, showering him with a standing ovation at the end of the third quarter.
• Blake was Blake again, and as incredible as his windmill dunk was, I’d take the six assists over chasing windmills every day. We don’t need to be Don Quixote’s here, or maybe we do, but the point is when Blake serves out 6 assists or more, the Clippers are 6-2. That’s a .750 winning percentage, which would be good enough for 62 wins over the course of the regular season. Too much to stretch those numbers, but I love his vision. It has suddenly exceeded his ball-handling as my favorite thing he does that doesn’t make the highlights. Blake also had an assortment of spin moves, including a what-would-be-awkward-for-any-other-big spinning shot over his right shoulder, over Bogut for the bucket and the foul. I was curious how the Bucks would handle him, because they have some elements that could be successful and some weaknesses, and they didn’t fare well at all. Blake finished with 32 points on 13 for 20 shooting from the field and 6 for 6 from the line. He tore down 11 boards, handed out 6 assists and had a steal. Great night.
• Randy Foye played another amazing game tonight. On top of making that game sealing dagger three, he scored 20 points on 6 for 13 shooting, 7 for 7 from the line and passed out 5 assists. I love that his confidence has skyrocketed and I hope that it will continue when EJ comes back (which might be sooner than we thought, EJ will travel with the team on the road trip).
• Clippers did a great job defending the three, only allowing 5 for 18 shooting from beyond the parabola. This was a perfect game for the Clips to get caught looking and allow the Bucks (and I thought Delfino would be a part of this) to scorch them. Instead they played great defense, and two of the five threes came off Jennings early in the game.
• How often do we talk about the free throw shooting? Not a problem tonight though, Clippers shot 25 for 27 from the line, good for 93 percent.
• The bench wasn’t as good tonight. Not that it’s a strength of the team, but there was some pretty terrible play, especially by Al-Farouq Aminu. He was a minus 11, which seemed generous considering he went 0 for 4, played bad defense and turned the ball over twice in 18 minutes. Not his finest stretch. Bledsoe played better, giving out 5 assists in his 16 minutes of play with only a single turnover. In fairness, it may have had something to do with VDN’s substitutions this game. At a point in the fourth quarter, the Clips trotted out Diogu-Cook-Aminu-Butler-Bledsoe. Not exactly a recipe for success.
The Clips have one last game at home, Wednesday against the Bulls, before they head out on the road for the massive road trip. Their spirits are high but the habits they’re exhibiting now need to carry over to the road.
36 Responses
Foye is gonna be an amazing sixth man once EJ comes back. He’s going to give our bench some much needed firepower if he continues his recent play.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 1:13 am
In other good news: Eric Gordon will be listed as day to day.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 2:22 am
with randy foye palying like this he will put some depth on the bench and if kaman comes back playing like an allstar he can put huge depth from the bench and give blake some breathers. Dj is amazing his sucess is incredible. some poeple said he was gonna be back up at best but it looks like he can be a starter and it looks like blake is teaching dj some tricks and he could possibly be a all star in the future maybe. His free thorw shotting is amazingly imporving. Breene nice job about the eric gordon line lol. Eric gordon injury is a blessing in disguise. but i hope he comes back soon for that road trip. i feel thart we can beat orlando the heat and the knicks with gordon back in our line up and foye as the 6th man
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 3:10 am
Don’t forget Diogu. He had some crucial buckets and defensive plays in the early 4th quarter while Vinny was giving Griffin a rest. I’m really interested in seeing if Foye can keep his confidence up when Gordon comes back. And damn!! Brockman should just retire now! DJ is the man XD
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 5:01 am
Foye, Kaman, Diogu as the first 3 off the bench will make up a potent bench. Add Cook and the rookies in spots and it becomes even better. Diogu is so solid. I don’t think he has had a bad minute on the floor. He’s tough, he scores, rebounds, and sets screens. BTW, Baron has again been instrumental in a win. Can enough be said about Foye’s filling in for Gordon? Not only does he make shots, his passing has been outstanding and his defense tough. What a great 3 guard rotation: Gordon, Davis, Foye– with a little time for Bledsoe, bringing him along slowly. the front court looks strong too with Griffin, Jordan, Kaman and Diogu. I’m still for a trade for a consistent SF though. Gomes would be a good bench guy.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 5:33 am
great game, after watching the lakers go one on five and lose sunday,clippers TEAM PLAY is so fun to watch,,,,,,,,verycool !!
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 6:21 am
I’m hoping that Craig Smith comes back from injury and contributes. Our front-court, if healthy, is pretty stacked:
Griffin
Jordan
Kaman
Smith
Diagu
Cook
old666 Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 7:52 am
as much as i love the rhino, ike has made him obsolete
JaySee Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Agreed. Ike’s defense > Rhino’s offense.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 7:22 am
Baron is the key. As long as he put his head on this game and play like he is playing now, then we are on our road perhaps to who knows a playoff maybe. All depends on how soon EJ and Kaman will be back. Meanwhile, just enjoying the fun everybody is having watching Blake and the Clippers play.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 9:01 am
I’m concerned about small forward. I was at the game and able to watch Gomes body language. It’s pretty clear he is very frustrated and he appeared psyched out. Got a few hustle buckets down the stretch but his contribution was zero prior to that. Aminu seemed totally lost out there. He’s definitely regressed. All other positions seem very solid though!
Michael1951 Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 11:01 am
Gomes hid in the corner for about 2 1/2 quarters. It was like 5 on 4 for the first half when he was in.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 10:08 am
Dear Mr. Sterling,
Please make sure that Blake is a lifetime Clipper… and by that I mean resign DJ ASAP!
signed,
your long time season ticket holders
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Road wins is what we need. Plain and simple. WIN ON THE ROAD. We’ve done it before, we need to do it again and again and again…(you get the idea)…
Bryant Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
*are
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Baron Davis had a great game. He was clutch when we needed him. I was wrong about Baron, that plus minus stat I always throw out…. Well I just kinda made those numbers up.
Timmythetooth Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Way to come around Dump Davis, I’m glad to see that there are a few rational thoughts left up there. Why is it that when Davis has a really good game and makes some pivotal plays, your backup plan is to bring up the past 10 games, say every good game is anomaly and not even mention the game he just had. Also, while you are being coherent and not blabbing about numbers that you crunched in your Dump Davis Laboratory, can you start an alter ego like Great Griffin or Gutsy Gordon and maybe talk positive on the blog comments? It would be quite refreshing. BTW I realize its not Dump Davis that made that comment.
Timmythetooth Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Also, I can’t wait to see Dump Davis change his name to “The Real Dump Davis” to make sure everyone knows.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 2:34 pm
Don’t know anything about the comment above.
The best thing about Davis’s game last night is he only shot two threes. His game would have been better if he hadn’t shot either of them, which he clanked. Those two three point bricks were late in the fourth, and they both helped the Bucks draw closer. Typical.
The coach seems to have put restrictions on Davis shooting threes. That’s a good thing, but the restrictions should be even tighter. Davis should not be allowed to shoot any threes. He shouldn’t even be allowed to shoot long twos, nothing farther out than ten feet, and even those shold be limited in number. He simply is a terrible jump shooter and he always will be and there’s nothing else to do about it. If he’d been allowed to do his typical brick chucking last night, the Clippers would have lost. Instead most of his shots were close in easy looks, he made half of them and the Clippers hung on to win.
Correcting myself from yesterday . . .
I said Foye, Gomes and Butler should shoot more, not Davis. I intended to say Foye, Gomes and Brian Cook. I also think there should be more inside shooting, mostly Griffin. But Davis should shoot less, not more than seven shots a game, and he should never shoot from distance.
Breene Murphy Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Dump,
Like anyone else that follows the Clips, I cringe when I see Baron swing around a screen for a drifting 3 or chuck a pull up three in transition. But when Baron actually has his feet set, and the ball comes to him in the rotation of the offense, and he’s open, he absolutely should shoot that three. He’s not Rajon Rondo.
I think the larger problem with Baron, which he’s doing a great job of mitigating, is his propensity to shoot terrible shots. Shots where he’s not squared up, or he’s turning around for a fadeaway, those are terrible for him. It doesn’t matter the distance. But what has been such a welcome relief in his recent play is that he’s going to the rim now to score or provide opportunities for others.
This isn’t the Baron we saw in the last two years, or even the beginning of this year. He has made this team better over this stretch.
Even when you’re talking about the threes that he missed in the fourth, last night, one was a desperation heave at the end of a shot clock that was a result of a sloppy play, not even his own overdribbling. He was just trying to bail out the team. Frankly, I’d be on him if he didn’t take that particular shot as some selfish form of protecting his shooting percentage. If it clangs off the rim at least it provides an opportunity for an offensive rebound.
Just like most here, I’ve watched his play the entire year and there have been times when he has been revolting. At the time, when the Clippers put Baron in the starting line-up against Chicago, I thought it was a huge mistake because they had just earned their first win on the road with Bledsoe at the helm (over Detroit, but still a win). But Baron has honestly played much better over the last month, he has changed his play and the Clippers have won 9 in a row at home. He’s a big part of that.
I know you like to say he’s a fake, but even if that were true, none of us on the site can do anything about it. So why don’t we enjoy watching as the Clippers play some of their most exciting basketball of the season. Right now, even with Baron and Rasual (who draws my ire with his play from time to time) and Gomes and whomever else you want to nit pick, the Clippers are playing their most exciting AND promising basketball maybe ever. For now, relax, man. These Clippers are fun. Even Baron.
ImissQ Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 5:59 pm
Tell him girl!
Steve Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 8:33 pm
Hallelujah! Thank you Breene.. As so many other people have said here: we KNOW baron is not some awesome player that we cannot do without, but at least an objective person can put aside the hate for a player and realize he’s not only playing well now but also very engaged with this team and his play. It’s tiring reading the same ol same ol..
Dump Davis Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 10:15 pm
But…but….but…his plus minus!!! His threes and…and his beard!!! And…and that offensive rebound that won us the game at the end that was because that was all luck… He didn’t hustle for the rebound and dish to foye he…he still sucks bro because shoes suck!!!
JaySee Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Quit the spoofing. You’re actually worse than the real Dump Davis.
ghost_ride Reply:
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:36 am
Yes, I think it’s safe to say Baron has overall been in “least bad mode” for a while now.
And there’s no way Gomes should be shooting over Baron, especially in the 4th quarter – Gomes has a big penchant for tightening up on big shots, while BD is one of the few Clippers that shows some ability in the clutch.
MV22 Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 9:26 pm
Sorry to burst your anti Baron bubble but without Baron Davis, the Bucks would have beaten the Clippers last night. He has become an integral part of the team. Would I rather have Nash, Paul Williams? Sure, but we’ve got Baron and he’s playing well for this team now. You need to let go of your rigid and biased view of him and enjoy the team—which includes Baron.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Very impressive the foul given by Maggette to BG at the end of the second quarter. I never saw a foul like this one before. He should be suspended for that.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Great game! Clips came out with such great energy that I kept looking up at the scoreboard expecting us to be up by 20. But, the Bucks are a disciplined team and when they started making shots and went ahead in the second I was worried. But, this team has the will to win all of a sudden and their spirit and scrappiness took the day in the end.
Foye was fantastic. He was really controlled, consistent and was calmly making great plays. Looks like the biggest problem in EJ being out is that the 2nd team is REALLY lacking now. Having to put Butler in there, it just feels we’re going to give up a lot of points until the starters come back.
I do have worries about Bledsoe. I’d figure he’d be making great progress by now but the last few games I’ve seen him play he’s been making so many mistakes. Also, when he takes it to the hole without a clear path it’s almost always a turnover or terrible shot.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Somebody was asking Kaman’s status earlier today, LA Times is reporting that he does not know when he will be back, the good news is he is traveling with the team, the bad news his ankle still hurts when he runs. In another words, the chances to trade him are getting slimmer.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 6:14 pm
For those of you who follow the Clips on ATDHE, the govt. seized their domain name today.
ATDHE says they will be up and running again on Wed. New addy is atdhenet.tv.
JaySee Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 11:20 pm
Thanks! ATDHE was the only way I can watch the games from where I am.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Yo Breene,
good to see you’ve finally decided to take Dump Davis to task. But your support for Baron seems inadequate. Since Baron returned from his early season injury I can’t think of any instance when his play was revolting. He has been committed to team basketball and as a result the Clippers have turned their season around. You were clearly wrong in thinking Bledsoe should start. As it is, he struggles enough with his 15 minutes a game. Blake and Gordon may be the stars of this team but Baron Davis is the leader. Let’s give credit where credit is due Baron has turned his game around and now the Clippers are a legitimate threat. He has been more than a big part of the Clipper resurgence. He has been the main reason.
Breene Murphy Reply:
February 1st, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Rico,
While I love the way Baron is playing now, I don’t believe that he is the ‘main’ reason nor do I believe that he’s the leader of the team. Blake is both of those. I would give you that Baron is the floor general but a floor general is different than a leader, they instruct on plays but the team doesn’t take on their persona. This team is Blake’s and EJ’s. They’re the main reasons for how good the Clips are. Baron is a great secondary reason, but he’s still secondary. I’d put Baron’s renaissance on the same level as DeAndre’s emergence. Really important, but caused by the Blake, EJ and some opportunity.
ghost_ride Reply:
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:45 am
Couldn’t agree more. Blake & EJ have lead, BD & DeAndre who’ve had talent but lacked motivation and direction, have stepped up as a result of Blake’s leadership and in EJ’s quiet determination. Really dig the yin/yang to our two best players, they really complement eachother well.
Baron however, is providing something the team has really needed, which is veteran leadership down the stretch. We have so many young guys who don’t execute as well when the game’s on the line. BD’s been a good calming influence on the team in that respect, he’s basically our only relevant vet.
Meanwhile, DeAndre has gone from a liability to a force in seemingly nothing flat. The energy he provides and defensive presence is unlike anything i’ve ever seen from a Clipper. The improvement from the line has been important as well…afterall, we’ve seen some pretty dominant 50% FT shooters, Shaq, D. Howard come to mind. Also have been impressed with his lack of turnovers around the basket. He’s been able to catch balls in traffic, gather himself by taking a dribble or just going to straight up with it strong. Ironically, he seems to possess all the skills that Kaman lacks, and vice versa.
Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 10:05 pm
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