ClipperBlog Live 2-1-12 Clippers @ Jazz

Team is playing well.

I hate to admit but coach del negro is coaching out of his mind. I know it’s easy to say he is doing a good job when he wins but the way he is doing rotations are perfect.

Continue to play good d and keep up the rebouding.

Clips4life

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/218721/Clippers_Set_To_Offer_Martin_One_Year_$25_Million_Contract

… and we’re still getting better.

You guys need to stop complaining about Gomes. Ryan Gomes has been playing out of position for the Clippers, both this season and last season. Gomes is a natural 4. He plays much better as a 4. The Clippers are asking him to be a 3, which he is not.

Just look at his career averages:

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/ryan_gomes/career_stats.html

He averaged about 12 points, 5 rebounds in about 30 minutes of play for four years in a row. As a starting POWER FORWARD for the Celtics and T’Wolves.

Those are serviceable numbers. Not great numbers, but not horrible either. As Clipper fans, we are expecting him to be a knockdown jump shooter and to defend the other team’s wing players. We want him to do what a SF does.

But that’s the problem. He never was able to do these things, and he never will be able to do these things. That’s not his game.

He plays serviceably when you use him in the post, both offensively and defensively. He is a serviceable backup PF on a playoff team.

My point is that he’s not a bad player, as all of you are saying. He’s just a bad fit with this current roster. There’s a difference between being a bad player and being a bad fit.

To further prove my point, let’s use Reggie Evans as an example. Reggie is not a skilled basketball player. Reggie is 100% grit, hustle, determination and heart. He is a rebounding and low-post defending beast. But his skill-set is practically non-existent. I think it’s fair to say that Ryan Gomes is a better basketball player (skill-wise) than Reggie Evans.

But for what our team needs, Reggie is a much, much, much better fit. Before this season started however, I guarantee that none of you were saying that Reggie Evans is a better basketball player than Ryan Gomes. No way.

There’s a difference between being a bad player and being a bad fit on a team.

It is very possible that you can be a good player, but be a bad fit on a team. At the same time, you can be a bad player but be a great fit on a team. It all just depends on how your game fits in with the team you’re on.

Ryan Gomes’ game is not a good fit with these Clippers. This is obvious. But to say he is a bad player and to bash him for not being a good SF is ridiculous and naive.

He never was a knockdown jump shooter or 3-point shooter, and he never will be. He never was a good perimeter defender, and he never will be. He never was a natural SF in this league, and he never will be. But that doesn’t mean he is a bad player.

Just look at what happened to his numbers as soon as the Clippers asked him to play the SF position. Now ask yourselves, is that because Ryan Gomes is a bad player? Or is it because his game doesn’t fit with what we need?

In conclusion, let me just say this. If Ryan Gomes is a 3rd string forward on your team, then your team is probably loaded. He is not a bad guy to have as a 3rd stringer.

As long as he remains one of the last guys off of our bench, the Clippers will be a perennial championship contender.