ClipperBlog contributor Michael Shagrin takes a look at the 16-0 run that fueled a Clippers victory last night against the Nets. Read on:
There was a lot to be happy about and a lot to groan about in yesterday’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day victory over the less than impressive Nets. Without their anchoring post-presence Brook Lopez, the Clippers still managed to let New Jersey tie the game up in the 4th quarter after failing to maintain a double-digit lead.
Many of yesterday’s problems can be written off as consequences of the two injured All-Star PGs sitting on the Clippers bench, so in that spirit, I’d like to focus on how this team can function successfully without these two players on the floor. The key today was turning defensive pressure into points on offense. We saw a clinic in this aggressive style during the middle of the 1st quarter when the Clippers went on a 16-0 run.
11-10. Clippers lead.
7:10: After an unproductive possession, the Clippers get bailed out with a Defensive 3 in the Key call. Chauncey hits from the stripe. On the possession, Foye drives to the hoop for a strong but contested lay-up, and he doesn’t get it to fall.
6:50: Humphries gets blocked by Griffin. The most hated man in the NBA manages to get the ball back, but DeAndre has come in for support and completely roofs Humphries to the delight of the Los Angeles/Kardashian-crowd. The play turned into a breakaway with DJ finding an unhindered lane to the hoop. Caron throws an errant alley-oop pass that gets deflected by Mehmet Okur. Turnover Clippers.
6:28: DJ shows off his soccer moves with a kickball. This is where the Clippers decide they’re going to start playing the gritty D that they know could absolutely smother a weak team like the Nets. Strong D off the out of bounds leads to a Marshon Brooks airball.
6:00: After an awful possession of emotionless pick and rolls and nothing more than gestures at driving to the hoop, Chauncey launches an off-balance fadeaway from just inside the 3 point line as the shot clock winds down. DJ manages to save the possession by getting right up into Kris Humphries and forcing him to tip it out of bounds. This is DJ’s second disruptive play in the last minute.
5:35: Some quality ball movement leading to a Blake feed to DJ on which he gets fouled. DJ makes the first, then has his second roll around before popping out. First substitution for the Clippers is Ryan Gomes for Chauncey Billups.
13-10
5:15: Deron Williams is trying his best to create offense out of a motionless Nets but Randy Foye is staying right up in his grill, not giving him an inch of space. Williams ends up kicking it out to the foolishly confident DeShawn Stevenson. His 3-point attempts bounces off the right side of the rim, only to be redirected toward the sideline by DeAndre Jordan. Blake takes off wildly towards the sideline, then flings himself in the air towards the ball in the air and while, floating out of bounds, he manages to grab the ball and toss it accurately to Randy Foye near halfcourt. Foye heaves the ball to Caron Butler standing all alone under the rim. Caron slams it home. That’s a gritty basket.
15-10
4:50: Morrow misses an open spot up off a good screen. Bad perimeter defense by the Clips. Blake takes advantage of the long rebound and goes all the way to the other end himself, scooping up a layup and easily absorbing Anthony Morrow’s attempt at bear hug foul in the process. He misses the free throw.
17-10
4:30: Williams, guarded hard by Foye again, tries to drive the lane but can’t with the strong help D by Caron. DWill goes for an ill-advised (on all levels) chest pass to Stevenson, which Caron is able to tap towards halfcourt. Off to the races and Caron gets another breakaway hoop. Timeout New Jersey.
19-10
4:10: Johan Petro is forced to awkwardly travel by DeAndre. DJ stepped out and played strong perimeter D when Petro wasn’t expecting it. Clippers ball. Randy Foye playing the point dribbles around near the top of the key until Caron steps out for an open 18-footer on the left side. Foye dishes, Caron pulls the trigger.
21-10
3:45: Williams makes it to the basket but has to keep his dribble, lest he be smothered by DeAndre. DWill barely gets the ball to Morrow in the corner who tries to take it to the rim himself but meets the familiar 6-foot, 11-inch leaping obstacle. Morrow manages to dish it to an open Shawne Williams on the baseline. Airball. Randy brings the ball up the court and with the shot clock getting to single digits, delivers the ball to BG in a weak post-position. Blake manages to force his defender all the way down to the low block when the defense collapses. Blake makes a heady pass out to an open Caron on the perimeter, who drills the 3.
24-10
3:00: Just as Mike Smith announces to the world that the Nets really need a hoop from Deron Williams, the elite PG feels the moment and drives an open lane. DeAndre Jordan wasn’t watching the broadcast and decided he didn’t feel like letting DWill score. We were then treated to another one of DJ’s classic swats. After a crisp outlet pass from Ryan Gomes (yes, he did play a role in this offensive run), Randy decides that he should just let Caron keep doing what he’s doing. Randy gets the ball to an open Caron behind the 3-point line. Another transition basket. New Jersey timeout.
27-10
STATS DURING THE RUN:
FGs: 6-7
FTs: 2-4
3PT: 2-2
BLK: 3
STL: 2
TO: 1
Misc. Forced TO: 2 (DeAndre Jordan)
Looking at the stats, the field goal percentage isn’t the only number that stands out. The ability to shoot this well from the field was facilitated by the intense play on the defensive end. The defensive pressure led to some very easy baskets as well as opening up mid and long range opportunities when the defense overplayed the transition game. Due to Caron’s ability to hit open spot-up jumpers, he benefited immensely from the quickened pace off of turnovers and swift possession changes, going 5-for-5 during this stretch.
Every guy on the court was trying to make an impact on both the offensive and defensive end. I’m most impressed with the plucky play of Randy Foye against Deron Williams and his unselfish play at the Point when Chauncey was given some rest. DJ and Blake also deserve a lot of credit for really taking it upon themselves to wrestle control of the paint on defense and prevent easy baskets.
If the Clippers could have sustained this level of intensity throughout the game, it would have been a cakewalk, but the aggression fell off. It was this type of defense-into-offense that kept the Clippers in the game against the fastbreaking Heat, while also giving the Clippers the clear the edge against the aging legs of the Lakers. When we’re playing a deeper, more talented opponent than the Nets, the Clippers need to have this high level of intensity turned on the entire game, regardless of whether the league’s best point guard is on the floor.
18 Responses
A rare kudos to Mike Smith.
I waited all game for this mental defect to go into his tired schpeel about how Caron Butler was the “first to fall” in the off season aquisition order of things and miraculously he finally, for one game at least, was able to refrain.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Now that Howard has added the Clippers to his short list of teams he will accept a trade to, the Clippers have to make sure they get him. If they don’t, it will be a huge failure of management.
Whoever said the Clippers don’t have enough to make the trade without including Griffin is wrong. Howard will call the shots, not Orlando’s GM. Otherwise he’ll simply leave as a free agent and the Magic will get nothing. No way would Howard go to the Clippers if Griffin was traded away as part of the deal. There’s no substance at all to the thought that Griffin would have to be part of the deal.
Howard’s salary this season is $18 million and next year it’s $19 million, so that’s the basic salary figure the Clippers have to come up with in their trade, plus or minus about 25%.
Lately there’s been four parts to these trade packages, and one of the parts certainly would be DeAndre Jordan ($10.5 million). Another likely part would be Mo Williams ($8 million). They might include Bledsoe ($1.75 million). Then if they included a future draft choice, that’s all four pieces for about $20 million.
That way the Clippers team salary wouldn’t increase, so they wouldn’t have a cap problem.
Even if Howard waits until after the season, the Clippers still likely would do a sign and trade instead of simply signing him as a free agent because they’ll want to get rid of the salaries of Jordan and Williams so they won’t go over the cap.
My preference is to do the trade in March after Jordan becomes eligible to be traded. Then the Clippers would have him for the playoffs. But Howard may finish the season with the Magic.
Realistically, the Clippers are the best place for Howard to go because Griffin and Paul are so much younger than Bryant and Gasol with the Lakers or Nowitzki with Dallas. He can win titles with the Clippers for the next decade and make it the best team ever since the Bill Russell Celtics. He must know that.
If the Clippers don’t get Howard, it will be a major bungle.
Clips4 Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
DeMote, unless Otis Smith is really dumb or something, he would not send Dwight over for DJ, Mo Williams, and a bunch of spare parts. Unless there are additional teams included in the trade to make it work or if the Clips trade Blake for Dwight straight up, why would the rest of the teams in the league want to help build another super team? The Clippers have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the Magic would want in a D12 trade straight up. The Clippers’ best bet is to let Mo Williams walk in the summer and sign Dwight to the max of whatever they can and stay under the cap. Ultimately, Dwight would have to take less money and he can make it up through sponsorship and endorsements in the LA market. I agree that the Clippers is the best team Dwight can come to, but it is 99.999% unrealistic that it can be done via trade.
Even if the Clips don’t get Dwight via trade this year, management has still done a fantastic job assembling the team. Like everyone says here, you know absolutely nothing about basketball and I CANNOT emphasize this enough but that you PAY CLOSER ATTENTION to the game. The Clips’ main need right now is a solid to elite wing defender with length (a Tayshaun Prince type player) who can guard the other teams’ best wing player.
If only Solomon Jones would get playing time as the backup 5 so everyone can see what he can do, then we are just one piece away from the puzzle and that piece isn’t necessarily Dwight Howard.
DeMote DeAndre Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
Mo Williams has a player option of $8.5 million next season. He won’t walk away from that.
Clips4 Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Also, the Lakers have the best package available to get Dwight Howard with Bynum and Gasol. GSW has the second best package available to get Dwight with either Stephen Curry or Monta Ellis in the deal.
DeMote DeAndre Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
I agree other teams have better packages to offer, but that doesn’t matter if Howard says he wants to go to the Clippers, which he should do. It’s the Clippers who will provide Howard with the best team (Griffin, Paul) to play on for the next 10 years.
The Lakers (Bryant, Gasol) are good for three more years at most, not ten. Golden State doesn’t have any stars for Howard to play with, and it would be about like what he already has in Orlando, and that’s why Golden State isn’t on his list.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
I’m already bored to tears witht he Dwight Howard talk. We finally have a team and this is the best some of you can bring to the table? Sad.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 4:51 pm
A huge failure management…? N-word please!! Have you seen what management’s done lately?
If cards are played right by olshey we’ll get D. Howard, and who better than Olshey to get the job done!! Go Clips!
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 5:15 pm
I agree that so far this year, Olshey has done a very good job in getting Paul, Butler and Billups (except he overpaid for Paul since he didn’t have to give up the Minnesota pick). And last year he did a good job getting rid of Davis (which allowed the Clippers to get Paul).
But Dwight Howard is the biggest opportunity yet. Getting him on the same team with Paul and Griffin will make the Clippers the best team in the NBA for the next decade. The Clippers are one of only four teams he wants to play for, and of those four, the Clippers will give him the best young talent. They also have legitimate trade pieces to offer. So, yes, if the Clippers don’t get him, it will be a failure of management.
It’s all just sitting there waiting to happen. It’s a once in a Clippers lifetime opportunity. Can’t blow it.
bongstradamus Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:33 pm
What peices are you speaking of?
And put yourself in Otis Smith’s shoes before spouting off. You’re being unrealistic.
Outside of Griffin, there is nothing that would make me move D-12. Even with the threat of losing him in the offseason, I’d much rather take that risk and give him a max deal hoping he decides to stay than walk away with a bunch of over 30 players with no upside and have to rebuild.
Its better to go into next offseason with salary cap (created by a departing Dwight), than to trade your biggest cap hold for a bunch of players you don’t need and have no use for going into the future after already burning your amnesty clause on Gilbert Arenas.
DeMote DeAndre Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
There is a lot of truth to what you say. It’s most likely that Orlando will not trade Howard this season and will offer him a max deal (which will be more than any other team can offer him).
But if Howard doesn’t take it and does leave, then the Clippers can do a sign and trade. Then Orlando will want something, anything they can get.
Cap space won’t do Orlando any good once Howard is gone, because no good free agents will go there then. The only way cap space does them any good is to get a free agent to come there to be on the same team as Howard.
If Howard leaves, the Clippers package of Jordan, Mo Williams, Bledsoe and a future #1 likely will be better than any batch of free agents than can lure there.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
The only way the Clips are going to get Howard is including Blake Griffin in some sort of trade pakage. I will make this trade because the Clips are going to get the best center in the NBA. The guy is just 26 years old and looks like he could do this for another 10 to 15 years. I am not saying that Blake Griffin is not going to be great but is he going to be the dominating power forward playing in his position like Dwight is in center position.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Embarrassing game. They better play harder than that tomorrow, I have tickets.
phil Reply:
January 17th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
haha i was thinking the same thing. me too bro.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 8:17 pm
WOw came out flat.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
I saw this one coming. I HATE playing in Utah. But…. that said, we didn’t do ourselves any favors. Utah didn’t really turn the screws. They gave us numerous chances to nullify the early lead and turn this on into a game.
Missing all three of our PG’s hurt and then Chauncy had an off night to boot.
Let’s hope the silvier lining of resting our starters for the bulk of the second half pays dividends. And let’s hope Vinny has something in his bag to start the game other than having us down 12-6 or 10-4 and playing catch up ball.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
I am from Orlando, and am a die-hard Orlando Magic fan. I moved to LA one year ago. I hear all the chatter that is going on about Dwight to the Clippers. As a loyal Orlando Magic fan, I’d ideally want Dwight to stay and for D-Will to sign with us after this season. This would be perfect. But this is not going to happen.
Dwight wants to leave. If he really wanted to stay, he would have signed an extension by now. He’s outta here, and most likely t’s gonna be through a trade. Otis Smith is not going to disappoint the citizens of Orlando by letting him leave for nothing.
Allegedly, there have been a few proposed deals from different teams for Dwight Howard. Some of these proposed deals are completely rumors, and some are very legitimate and realistic. Let’s list the legitimate trades that have been proposed:
Trade #1
NJ Nets send Brook Lopez + 5 First Round Draft Picks for Dwight Howard
Trade #2
Atlanta Hawks send Joe Johnson + Josh Smith for Dwight Howard
Trade #3
LA Lakers send Andrew Bynum + Pau Gasol for Dwight Howard
Trade #4
LA Clippers send DeAndre Jordan + Mo Williams + Eric Bledsoe + First Round Draft Pick for Dwight Howard
Now, out of all these trades, if I’m Otis Smith, I am liking Trade #4 the best. I’m also liking Trade #3 as well, but let’s face it, the Lakers are not going give up both Bynum and Gasol.
With Trade #4, I am getting talent that can help right now, as well as a young stud of a PG in Bledsoe. That kid is going to be very good one day. I’m also getting a draft pick.
As an Orlando Magic fan, I’m saying that Dwight Howard to the Clippers is very realistic. I’m also saying that we are getting the best deal that is out there, as of right now. But who knows, maybe a mystery team will pop up out of nowhere with a spectacular trade offer. I highly doubt it, however. Dwight is basically in control of this situation. Just like how last year, Carmelo wanted to go to New York from the very beginning. And he got his wish. No matter how long it took.
Posted on January 17th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
I’m with Dump Davis. DeAndre Jordon has some trade value and Mo Williams is playing ok this year. Maybe they can them for Dwight in March.
If Olshey pulls this off, I’ll be happy with him. He did an ok job (not great) this year (terrible last year).
Posted on January 18th, 2012 at 12:18 pm
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