Our expectations create our perceptions. A cheeseburger off the drive-thru value meal might hit the spot, but if you order a $14 burger at an expensive steak house and the waiter serves you a Big Mac, you would complain to the manager.
For 13 million dollars a year, fans expect everything. That’s reasonable. Guys who are paid at an elite level are expected to combine their (assumed) elite talent with elite work habits. Effort, consistency, and a good attitude (or, at least, the perception of all three) are base line expectations. More...
This is a preview of Baron Davis: Bon Voyage and Thanks For the Memories.Read More...
When Baron Davis arrived in Los Angeles almost three years ago, he was supposed to be the harbinger of a new era for the Clippers. He had just taken the almost equally pathetic Golden State Warriors to consecutive winning seasons and with a real big man in Elton Brand, he would be the bearded and smiling face of that change. People would be able to look back in the annals of Clipper history and pinpoint exactly when it was that the Clippers turned it around. Baron still may be able to be that marker, that Black Swan event that everyone rationalizes post-facto, but it won’t be in the way that he initially hoped. More...
This is a preview of Baron Davis: Harbinger.Read More...
If you were to draw up a typical Clippers loss this season, what would you include? A strong start, brilliance from Blake, lots of turnovers, high energy but confused defense, a third quarter meltdown, stagnant offense, a middling fourth quarter that doesn’t make up for the third, the sinking feeling of a loss. Other than the strong first quarter, that’s about what you would have seen from the Clippers against the Hornets. All the lessons that the Clippers learned to implement in January at home, the Clips still haven’t even come close to figuring out on the road.
This Clippers loss featured a few new things: Chris Kaman played more minutes than DeAndre Jordan (25 to 16 minutes) for the first time since November and Baron Davis sat out the game with a balky knee, giving Eric Bledsoe the starters minutes. However, those changes didn’t so much as improve the game so much as change the change the faces playing it.
Bledsoe, having showed promise in the early part of the season, didn’t inspire quite the same zeal against the Hornets. He still was quick and doled out 7 assists, but his passing hasn’t been his problem, more his consistency of his passing. He turned the ball over four times, one embarrassingly bad time on a simple inbounds play after a basket when he dribbled the ball off his leg and out of bounds. Those are routine plays that just can’t happen if you’re going to be the starting point guard for a winning team.
Kaman showed his first signs of warmth shooting on the season, going 6 for 11, but he didn’t block any shots, only pulled down 4 rebounds in 25 minutes and turned the ball over 4 times as well.
Actually, there were four separate players on the Clippers that had 4 turnovers (Bledsoe, Kaman, Blake and Ryan Gomes) and a large portion of the credit should be given to the Hornets. Monty Williams has stressed defense in his first season with the Hornets and they have been holding opponents to 92 points when they are playing at home. The Hornets were in the Clippers face, Paul pressuring Bledsoe into turnovers and the bigs (a smattering of David West, Aaron Gray, Jason Smith) doubled Blake the majority of the game.
In the first quarter, the Hornets held the Clippers to only 16 points, but that was all in the first seven minutes of the game, before the Hornets figured out the Clips. And figure them out, they did. After Ryan Gomes’ jumper at 5:09, the Clippers had shot 7 for 11 and were leading 16-11. But then the Clippers didn’t make another field goal the rest of the quarter, in fact, they only attempted 4 field goals the rest of the quarter. Even if they made those shots, the Clips would only have scored 24 points, not good. Instead, in the last 5:09, the Clippers had 6 turnovers. The Hornets were swarming and smart, something that the Clippers have had enough trouble with at home, but on the road they are completely hopeless.
And what was frustrating was the Clippers’ inability to match the Hornets effort on the defensive end, they trailed at the half and the Clippers have lost now 35 games in a row on the road when they are trailing at the half. Even Eric Gordon’s influence didn’t help the Clippers overcome trailing on the road at the half.
The Clippers allowed the Hornets to make 40 of 78 shots for 51.3 percent shooting. Chris Paul put up another simply Chris Paul night with 19 points on 8 for 17 shooting, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals, but he also didn’t have much trouble getting looks with Bledsoe on him. Bledsoe couldn’t figure out if he was supposed to go over or under screens (signs of coaching and preparation) and left Paul so wide open on some shots that I think Paul missed a few because of sheer disbelief. Not that Foye or Blake were much better. Willie Green had another of his strangely effective nights, scoring 17 points on 7 for 11 shooting with Foye covering him, and Blake, while he challenged shots (blocking two) and drew a charge, he didn’t pose much of a obstacle to David West, who schooled Blake for 22 points on 9 for 18 shooting.
At home, in January, the Clippers learned to keep the play of the stars down, they learned to hold teams shooting percentage down, they knew how to rotate the ball to shoot a higher percentage and how to keep from having that third quarter epic fail that they do on an otherwise nightly basis. But on the road, they just haven’t a clue, and because they’ve been out on the road for so long, struggling with the same struggles every night, it just seems like a regression from the identity that they had worked so hard to create.
The Hornets going for a 15-4 run in the third quarter was only an inevitability. The Clippers playing hard but ineffectively through the rest of the game wasn’t so much as hopeful as it was tiresome and sad. They just don’t know what they are doing.
Separate notes:
• On ESPN’s broadcast, Hubie Brown spoke about the Hornets’ screens, saying that the they were having lots of success with staggered screens because the Clipper defender that shows on the other side of the screen isn’t stopping the dribbler, so the Hornet ball handler (usually Chris Paul) can have patience, keep the dribble and let the offense open back up. Maybe the Clippers should try to play the screen better against Chris “I’m the best PG in the league” Paul.
• Willie Warren had a minute tonight, and a bucket. Considering his efficacy in the D-League (21 points, 7 assists in 25.5 minutes per game), should he be getting more run in the backup role with Baron and EJ out?
• Al-Farouq Aminu, more what I expected from the beginning of the year. I never thought he’d be a three point threat this early in his career, which he clearly isn’t anymore, but more of a slashing, interior player with good hands and a feel for offensive rebounding. That was him tonight, as he scored 8 points on 2 for 5 shooting and 4 for 4 from the line. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and, miraculously, didn’t have a turnover (or wasn’t credited for one, I saw him have his pocket picked by Ariza that may have been given to another player). Still, he was at least effective.
• Kaman looks better, but there are times when the Clips throw the ball into him and they hesitate to cut. Especially Blake.
• Don’t think that the increase in turnovers and Baron’s absence are mutually exclusive.
Clippers beat the Hornets the last time around, back in November. They had just come off the enthralling loss to the New York Knicks (aka the Mozgov Game) and there was a ebullient sense of potential with the Clips, despite their 1-13 record. The Clippers went on to beat the Hornets, defending Chris Paul so well that he only had 2 points and a single assist in the second half. Not only shocking because the Clippers beat the best team in the NBA, but because the Clippers hadn’t beat the Hornets in 14 tries before that.
The Clippers have another chance to overthrow history, as they haven’t beat the Chris Paul and the Hornets in their last 7 tries on the road.
However, most of the chatter around the league is revolving around trades. So let’s delve into that for a moment…
Clippers would have been a great fit for Carmelo, except that Carmelo wasn’t so enthusiastic about coming to the Clippers. Not that I blame him, even with the talent of the team, Donald Sterling still owns the team. Although I think Melo is grossly overestimating the capabilities of New York, James Dolan isn’t exactly the king of kings.
Deron Williams was just traded to New Jersey for essentially the same package that NJN offered for Carmelo. It happened so fast that most sportswriters around the country were shocked to hear the news, because there weren’t months of drudgery and anticipatory rumors like with Melo, in fact there were no rumors at all. Deron is a dream target for the Clippers one day and still is, as John Hollinger writes. Why couldn’t they do this now? Well, the Clips didn’t have the same talents and package that the Nets offered. Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, an unprotected 2011 pick, top 7 protected 2012 GSW pick and $3 Million is better than anything the Clippers could offer. The best trade offer the Clippers would have had was Kaman, Bledsoe, Aminu, two first round picks (one being the Minny pick) and $3 million in cash. Devin Harris is already better than any player in that deal, Derrick Favors is a Top-3 draft pick and the picks from NJ and GSW are going to be very good. Nothing the Clippers could do about it, unless they wanted to give away Gordon or Blake, and we all know that’s not happening.
Gerald Wallace’s name has been floating around the rumor mill for a while now, and it doesn’t seem to be too high of an asking price: an expiring contract and a protected first round pick. The Clippers don’t have the standard matching contract, but they are under the cap so the salaries don’t need to match as closely as normal. But the question remains if the Clippers want to go after a player that is already showing a decline in play at 28 and has a history of injury. I know D.J. Foster loves some Gerald Wallace, but with Wallace’s contract extending out to 2013 (if he takes his player option, probably will), it seems unlikely that the Clippers will do it. The team seems to be taking fiscally cautious steps, which might not be all of Donald Sterling, but a worry about the new restrictions of this summer’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Caps could come down, limiting the Clippers’ ability to maneuver with bulky contracts.
Rasual to the Celtics. I like this one if the Clippers can give up Rasual for a first round pick from the Celtics. The pick will be at the end of the draft, but it’s still of value and I like the way the Clippers have been drafting recently. However, the Celtics have rumored to want a second round pick as well, which is almost the same as their own first round pick, going on draft selection. Not so high on this, because it doesn’t help a whole lot and can’t the Clippers finally use leverage to get more out than just a couple slots in the draft. The Celtics are desperate for wing help. Take advantage, Clippers.
Just know for all those that are clamoring for a small forward, the Clippers are actually looking. Good news. Chad Ford mentioned in his chat the the Thunder have inquired about Kaman, and they have plenty of pieces (he also mentioned Gallo probably isn’t on the move). The Thunder make me nervous though, because Presti is so shrewd.
Keys to the Game
- Get inside. The Hornets give up 35 percent from outside 15 feet and 54 percent from inside 15 feet*, so the best idea is for the Clippers to get the ball down to Blake and the bigs while also penetrating and getting looks close to the basket.
- Chris Paul and effective possessions. The Hornets play at sloth-like pace, their 90.7 possessions per game is only faster than Portland and Detroit. Additionally, Chris Paul is a very efficient ball handler and passer, so the Clippers won’t get nearly the same amount of opportunities to get out in transition, where they normally thrive (18.8 points off turnovers per game*). So the Clippers are going to have to take care of the ball when it’s their turn to score.
- Find some semblance of bench play. After the stomping the Thunder put on the Clips, the lack of team balance was obvious. The Clippers will have to get more help from their second unit if they want to win. Seems like a good place to start would be to get Kaman the ball in his spots.
- Have a strong first half. According to the Elias Bureau, the Clippers haven’t won a road game in which they trailed after the first half in their last 34 starts (going back to last season). Not exactly a confidence inspiring trend.
