Before I go in on the subject I most want to cover, let me first say that the real issue in tonight’s 25-point road loss to the Spurs was not the Clippers’ offense. It was their inability to guard Manu Ginobili or DeJuan Blair or Richard Jefferson. We could expect Ginobili to abuse Chauncey Billups’s old bones, and we might have expected to give up some open 3-point looks to the opposing wing(s). But to have DeJuan Blair take your team to the woodshed is not a thing that should happen to anyone, barring some very strange circumstances.
Moving along. Offensively, if there’s one issue I’ve heard harped on in regards to the Clippers, it has been Chris Paul’s passivity and the lack of pick-and-roll action. Now, has Chris Paul been passive in terms of looking for his own scoring? Maybe. He certainly isn’t putting his shot up or going one-on-one from the wing much.
But I think we’ve all been victimized by the idea that having Chris Paul and Blake Griffin means that the pick-and-roll is going to result in 70-percent shooting at the rim and an endless array of dunks. But that isn’t how this thing works. The pick-and-roll is indeed one of the simplest, most perfect plays in basketball. When run the right way, you will never end a possession with a bad look. Ever. It’s impossible to guard the 2-man game and guarantee a great defensive possession if the team running it has good spacing and personnel.
So am I saying that the Clippers don’t have good spacing, or good personnel? No. Well, not in terms of the starting lineup, at least. There’s the weakside threat to dunk when the defense overcommits to the roll man (DeAndre). There’s the shooters to make sinking into the paint dangerous for the defense (Butler in the corner, Billups on a wing). And then you have your explosive big man setting the screen (Blake); and of course, arguably the most important element, the skilled point guard (Chris Paul) who can shoot from deep, mid-range, off-the-dribble, take it to the rim or dish for a layup to that excellent young rolling screener.
So that leads me back to that point about not always getting dunks and layups on every pick-and-roll. Why isn’t it happening, with this excellent personnel setup?
Because, while it’s impossible to perfectly guard the pick-and-roll, it is possible to take away elements of it that might otherwise lead to easy scoring for the offensive team. And what we’ve seen (and what the Clippers have seen) so far is two teams that have flat-out crowded the paint. We’re talking 4 guys shading towards a possible driver or roller. And when that happens, it’s going to limit paint scoring out of the initial pick-and-roll action.
But what it doesn’t limit is open spot-up opportunities, swing-drive-kick opportunities, or any other simple plays to be made against an overloaded defense. The real issue is in how well the players outside of the initial pick-and-roll action are using their open space. Not every open 3 for Caron Butler or Ryan Gomes or Chauncey Billups is going to fall. But they could aid the process by giving a shotfake on a closeout and driving to draw a foul. Or not hesitating and giving the defense a chance to close out in the first place.
Because that covers a lot of issues I saw in the pick-and-roll for the Clippers, as I reviewed the tape against the Warriors and Spurs. Chris Paul hasn’t been hesitant at all in the pick-and-roll, at least in terms of making the right play and the quick decision. He has indeed been hesitant to force an interior pass, or force his own offense when the defense has left his teammates.
I haven’t mentioned Blake yet, you may have noticed. And that’s because he somehow has managed to make himself almost invisible in the pick-and-roll thus far. He’s allowed himself to become a jumpshooter rather than a roller who forces the defense to commit to him all the way, in this extremely young season. Blake Griffin does not have a jumpshot, ladies and gentlemen of the blog. Don’t trust your lying eyes when you see him mange to knockdown a couple of forced jumpers. He’s better off being in position for a pass in the lane after Chris Paul swings to an open perimeter shooter than popping off of his screen for an ugly 16-footer.
And even as I rant about all this only a couple of games into the season, I realize one of the most important points of all — the Clippers aren’t struggling from a lack of talent. Execution can be fixed when you have the talent and reasonably well-fitting personnel the Clippers have. So don’t worry too much just yet, denizens of Clipper Nation, you Princes of Lob City.
At least not about the offense. Because the personnel is significantly less fitting for defensive success. But that’s another subject for another time, when we have a larger sample size. For now, let’s enjoy the ability to have expectations and as Jovan said — be patient.
34 Responses
The Spurs shot more wide open jumpers than I’ve ever seen an NBA team shoot in a game, ever.
There was one play in particular, in which Blake was two steps ahead of Parker, Blake jogged back with no sense of urgency, and Parker just beat him down the court for a layup that made me pull my hair out.
Not being capable of playing on defense is one thing, but that was just a 100% complete lack of effort, which is concerning in the 2nd game of the year in our first marquee matchup.
Posted on December 28th, 2011 at 10:21 pm
The next day off, someone should compile a 10 hour long video session of how DeAndre should roll after setting the pick for CP3.
He’s no threat on the outside, however when he sets a pick, which is a good pick, he seems to just be hanging around and not rolling to the hoop.
Tyson has no offensive game either, so it simply seems to be an issue of teaching him how to roll after setting a pick more than anything else. Hopefully the coaching staff can either teach him so that that pick and roll can be effective.
Posted on December 28th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
I’ve never posted but have read forever. Andy, I agree with you. It doesn’t seem like they know how to roll and it’s stagnating the play which seems to result in a jump shot. Blake is not David west and should not try to be with the jump shots from PnR with Paul. They need to just play on instinct sometimes.mthey seem to be focusing on trying to do a particular play too often. The defense is just about effort. If people are worried about getting in foul trouble and let players pass them (Blake) this team will struggle to beat teams
andy Reply:
December 28th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
I’ve been a CP3 fan and watched most all the Hornets games the past 6 years, the main thing is CP3 doesn’t need a strong pick at all to operate. Both West and Chandler cheated off their picks quite often (Chandler to the hoop and West to the open J), and is just something that hopefully both Blake and DJ will pick up on soon.
Ron Reply:
December 28th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
I hope so. with the way the teams with little turnover are playing, clippers don’t have long to develop a strong chemistry to be contenders or even a threat in playoffs. Yes it’s only game 2, but the games don’t get easier the next stretch.
Posted on December 28th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
The defense was horrible tonight. Close outs were poor and nobody put up their hands to contest jump shots by Blair, Duncan, and Jefferson. I really wished they could have put Mark Jackson’s voice screaming “Hand down, man down.” in their ears every possession on defense. The lack of defensive urgency tonight and Blake’s unwillingness to roll to the basket caused the Clips to lose tonight. The body language looked poor and it showed.
Posted on December 28th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Couldn’t agree more with this post.
In particular, Blake’s role in the P&R is frustrating me. CP3 is clearly waiting for him to roll to the bucket hard but Blake refuses to do so. I realize that the defenses have backed completely off Blake in those situations, but Blake has to find a groove and let CP3 do the hard part of getting him the ball. If anything, a hard roll forces the help defenders to react and at least take an extra step inside the paint. Right now the P&R is too stagnant and it constantly ends up with a wide open Blake with the ball at the top of the key looking to pass.
I was hoping 2 days off would allow them to practice this. But I guess we saw almost no CP3/Blake P&Rs in game 1, so it took them 2 days to realize they should try it. Maybe 2 more days to figure out how to use it effectively.
Posted on December 28th, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Um, I think focusing on the pick and roll is really a little too micro here. That’s not the issue of why they lost the game. The issue is much broader than that.
1. DeAndre is no longer a monster on the boards. I’m not sure why, but he maybe so focused on blocking shots he’s not boxing out. Someone on the Clippers staff needs to tell him to stop worrying about being a defensive force with blocks and just box out and rebound the ball.
2. There is no real back to the basket low post threat on this team. Yes, Blake can back his man down, but he’s not able to effectively pass out of the low post. Visualize this for a second. For the most part, when Blake doesn’t have that shot he does not kick it back out from the low post where he’s been double teamed, he dribbles back out toward the three point line – where the double leaves him – and then kicks it out. The problem there is you haven’t created the right spacing for your guards to either drive to the lane or for yourself (Blake) to get a offensive rebound. Before his knee issues, this was actually one of St. Elton’s greatest attributes. And DeAndre may be working on a back to the basket game, but can anyone remember when he’s gotten the ball in the first two games in that position? If they are going to play this way, they need to throw Butler down low (by the way he still looks woefully out of shape and 15 pounds overweight) and keep Blake on the wing or top of the key. I digress, but the point is the lack of a back to the basket threat is one of the reason good defensive teams (like the Spurs) are forcing the Clippers to become a jump shooting team.
3. Chris Paul needs to be more aggressive offensively. It’s not about a pick and role it’s about just looking for his shot. He had 9 assists in a blow out and only 2 turnovers. He’s just got to look for his shot more.
Additionally, as much as I love Butler as a player on this team. Unless he becomes a major rebounder I’m starting to think he was a mistake. We need a Prince or a Battier type with THIS starting four. Would Butler have worked with Eric Gordon and Williams? Maybe. But I’m not sure he works with this one. At least in Vinny’s system (whatever that is, I still can’t tell what his offensive sets are).
Also, on a side note – please, can we cut Brian Cook? He’s a 11 or 12th man on a quality team. He should not be playing unless it’s a blow out. I cringe when he comes in.
Clips4 Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 11:47 am
With the way the team is constructed right now, Butler is the only slasher (not a very good one anymore). We need someone who can slash in the middle and draw fouls. This is where lacking a true shooting guard will hurt us. I agree with cutting Cook. I am still scratching my head at why Olshey signed him in the first place…
Bootstrenf Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Bring back maggette!!!
vince Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
I Totally Agree, Did you anyone see that Slam he had the Other Day?? Anyways back to reality, I hope Butler Gets back into Shape as the season Goes by because His man had waay to many Offensive Rebounds Against the Spurs,Not to mention He Cant Guard the 3Point Line worth *&&^%$!!
YES Please Get Rid of Cook so ClayThompson can get some PT…
Lets try & get Rid of Randy Foye also, I Never Liked his game last year to begin with…
Ryan Gomes can stay as Long as He plays PF, Please DONT Shoot…
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 12:57 am
What I was concern with is the jumpshots. And change ups in the starting line up. If vinny is so concern about defense. Why didn’t he put in different rotation players to see who could at least slow down manu. And blake needs to be more agressive on defense as well. He let’s dj do all the work and dj has to leave his man to go guard someone else and leaves a guy open and blake doesn’t get on the man. Blake needs to be that beast on offense and take it to the whole. And needs to be better on d. perimeter defense is a big issue that spurs exploited. Open looks and it hurts us when your best perimeter defender was traded. When need q ross or a good sg defender
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 1:15 am
I think this was a good lost to know that we have to improve in areas and be motivated to do so. Maybe this lost is a wake up call for blake to do some defense. Cp3 to be agressive. And vinny when things aren’t working right at sg switch for the oposing team. Defense is key and boxing out on rebounds. Most of all hustle and get aggressive will change those things. I hope this was an eye opener and the clips comeout strong against the bulls. And give them more time to mesh. And be more critical on learning each other game play
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 1:49 am
Sorry guys but I feel this team can be good, but not great with really no post players. But if they keep the players together and pick up a post presence they will have a chance in the future, but we know how Sterling always becomes Cheap.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 3:46 am
Good points about the offense but defensive rebounding seems completly strange for this group last night. Absolutely no anticipation for rebounding, boxing out, positioning, etc. All of the forwards and our only center looked flat and zero energy. If DJ cant block it he is useless defensively. Dude should have 12 rebounds every single game.
Honestly I think some times teams are dialed in and Spurs made so many shots. The Spurs should be the favorite in the West this year. Teams with minimal off season turnover should really excell early this season with no real training camp. When was the last time Richard Jefferson played like that – New Jersey?
I live back in Michigan now so I can only hope Clipper Nation will be loud and proud Friday night at Staples and be the 6th man. Go Clipps!
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 6:27 am
One thing I did not like either, is Mo Williams coming off the bench and taking all those jumpers. I think he is trying to hard to be spark off the bench. He needs to take control of the second unit and distribute the ball.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 7:17 am
The Clippers don’t know how to set effective screens. It is as if they’re in a hurry to get open so they don’t stand there long enough.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 7:43 am
I’ve haven’t watched Paul outside of playoff games, but he needs to attack more. Look what he created last night when he attacks the basket. Instead, most of the night he slowly walked the ball up the court, took a week screen by DJ or Blake, and would proceed to pass to either Billups or Butler (or some other wing).
I don’t know what’s holding him back; conditioning? knees? If he’s going to play this passive to start the season, Vinny needs to take control of the offense and bit more to get some momentum going.
Also, what’s up with our entire defense collapsing every freakin time someone drives into the lane. DJ has it under control! And Blake needs to stop trying to block the same damn shot DJ is and box out. It’s why DeJuan Blair had 3 offensive rebounds in the 1st quarter.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 8:27 am
I expected a loss, but why do I feel like its panic time already?
griffin Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Becuz we played horrible in the first two games and we only won the first one becuz of star power
Clips4 Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I expected a loss too but I didn’t expect to get blown out. I thought the Clippers would have kept the game relatively competitive given their talent.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Dont know about you guys but that felt like a reality check. This team needs alot of work. to me it looks like bad coaching. to many guys that look lost out there. they just need to play like they know how..
Clips4 Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
I was never high on VDN and I had written here on Clipperblog last year that VDN is better served as an assistant coach than a head coach. VDN will be like Spoelstra last year and under a microscope. The only benefit that Spoelstra had was that he was the understudy of a hall of fame coach in Pat Riley. I have no clue which coaching tree VDN came up from. There are still some quality head coaches out there that are way better than VDN (Sam Mitchell, Jerry Sloan???, Mo Cheeks, Jeff Van Gundy)
griffin Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Jerry sloan retired but I hope he comes back to coach the clips or van gundy. It would awesome if phil jackson wanted to coach us lol
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 11:39 am
What really concerns me, is that none of the spurs starters played over 30 minutes, and they STILL blew us out by 25…
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
In addition to not being able to guard the players you mentioned, Parker dominated them in the 3rd quarter with Moe Williams guarding him. I think at one point he took it straight at him 4 straight possessions and scored on all four until Clips had to take a timeout. Defense isn’t supposed to be that bad. They need to step up their D if they have any chance at all.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Seems like Chauncey is something of a black hole when he gets the ball, killing possessions with ill-advised long jumpers. I understand he’s still trying to get the hang of his new role, but it seems like he’s been killing the team with his shot selection.
griffin Reply:
December 29th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I think we need to trade mo for an sg or an sg that plays both sg and sf. And have billups come off the bench.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Shot selection was awfull i agree but the problem in offense isn’t as bad as defense! Yikes!
They were all over the place and the spurs were torching us on one on one!
I ask where’s Ivaroni’s speedy offense? CP3′s conditioning seems to be dictating the pace which is not good. And teams chemistry seems to be a major problem. Both fixable so that’s good.
VDN is VDN he comes from popovich’s schooling so he shouldnt be as bad as it seems. (im being skeptical here).
all in all its a learning process and what best time than right now to learn from a lost i guess. i’ll take a loss to the spurs over the lakers anytime!
OVER-RAted the crowd chanted – lol.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
One other thing to add, the Spurs were red hot, everything was falling for them. On the Clips end it seemed like there was a lid on the basket. I realize the Spurs had some open shots, but outside shooting comes and goes even when the D is suspect. Don’t forget also that Spurs were the 1 seed last year before getting knocked out. When they’re healthy, they are as good as anyone in the NBA. They were both healthy and red hot last night. That will happen, no reason for panic.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
And wouldn’t you know it. Spurs getting their butts handed to them by Houston right now smh
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
First, I’ll say that I’m a devoted Hornets fan.
I was reading the article and what immediately jumped out to me was the bit on CP (who else?) and how he’s not looking for his shot.
The thing with CP is that he doesn’t look for his shot unless he absolutely feels he needs to take over the game.
Which he will do. Wait. Be patient.
The 4th quarter in tight games is where he shines the most. It’s magical to see him do it. Can’t tell you how many times CP won us, the Hornets, games almost singlehandedly .
And, of course, the playoffs. Beast.
Posted on December 29th, 2011 at 8:48 pm
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