If you follow politics, you may recall some confusion back in January concerning the results of the Iowa Republican primary caucuses. Although Mitt Romney was initially declared the winner, a later tally, after the votes were certified and recounted, showed Rick Santorum ahead by 19 votes. The 24-cable news channels reacted with their usual mix of even-headed reserve and dedication to context. “If I were Rick Santorum, I would be yelling and screaming about this,” said CNN’s Paul Steinhauser. “I would be talking about this non-stop.” In other words – Get really, really upset Rick! You got screwed!
But was Santorum’s belatedly-discovered win actually such a big story? A story at all? Well, it depends. If the Iowa caucuses were simply a contest in a void, then yes – we thought one guy won the competition when, in fact, another had. But if, instead, we use the caucuses as a measure of how a group of Iowa votes felt in January about their candidates, a gauge of where the election was and where it’s going, well in that case Santorum’s “miraculous reversal of fortune” (Fox News’ words) is almost meaningless. A quarter of Iowans, give or take, like Mitt Romney. Another quarter, give or take, prefer Rick Santorum. Everything else is margin of error.
The Clippers lost tonight on basketball’s equivalent of the Iowa primaries. With five seconds left, the game looked won – was won, effectively. The Clippers had the ball and the lead. In order to clinch the victory, the Clippers needed only for Chris Paul NOT to fumble the ball directly to Gary Neal who, in turn, needed only NOT to drain a game-tying three. Which, of course, is exactly what happened. A hungover OT later, the Clippers were losers.
Basketball games, obviously, are contests held in a void. The parameters of sport are what makes it such great escape: every game has a winner, a loser, hero and goat, fresh opportunities to analyze late game situations and determine who’s clutch and who chokes. But as much as this one stings, you know what your takeaway should be, as the diehard Clip-lover that you surely are? Nothing. Oh, in-game observations, certainly. The Clips struggles to keep quicker guards out of the lane continues. Randy Foye quieting the call for a new shooting guard with his season’s crispest performance. Blake did a better job than he did in San Antonio of utilizing his strength advantage against Bonner and Duncan. But I refuse to pretend that anything at the end of the game says anything about this team’s championship hopes. Or their ability to execute in the clutch. Or close out tough teams. I won’t do it – because it’s just not true.
Forgive me as I stretch my opening metaphor even further. There are candidates for whom early primary results are existential matters. The fringe hopefuls, the underfunded and the underexposed, the aspirant dark horse, the guy (or gal) who knows early failure is tantamount to campaign death. The sports equivalent? Teams “playing to prove something.” Teams struggling to make the playoffs, or save a coach’s job, or a team like the Knicks, who’s discovering both an identity and unexpected capacity on a quarter-by-quarter basis.
Guess what? The Clippers are no longer one of those teams. The Clippers are Mitt Romney – the outcome of any individual contest barely affects the long term outlook (although here the metaphor breaks down – the Spurs (in fact, all guaranteed playoff teams) are ALSO Romney, not Santorum). Although the revamped Chris-Paul led Clippers have less than a half-season together, you would be hard pressed to deny that they have achieved Quality Critical Mass. The Clips have closed games against the Lakers, the Mavs, the Heat, in Portland, Utah, Orlando, and Philadelphia. Sure, some of the yappiest national talking heads will continue to doubt that the Clippers are “for real,” citing everything from their “lack of playoff experience,” to Donald Sterling’s destructive boogeyman powers.
But those of us who watch this team every night have a luxury those national reporters don’t have – we know. We know how good these guys are. We know that Chris Paul has been better than advertised, a man who elevates unspectacular execution of half-court offense into a super power. We’ve seen Blake and DeAndre begin to cohere defensively, and we’ve seen the sharp-elbowed grind that Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin have brought to the second unit. We’ve seen an explosive offense that can erase a 10 point deficit in seconds. And we’ve watched (seemingly every other game) Chris Paul pounding his chest as he skips back to the huddle after a huge shot and a time-out, yelling “Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Put it another way – If the Spurs lost today, what’s the takeaway? They gave up a 12 point third-quarter lead – are they lackadaisical coasters who lack intensity? They fumbled the ball away twice in the final minute of regulation – are they butterfingered chokers? Of course not. They’re the Duncan-Ginobli-Parker Spurs. And everyone knows they’ll be fine. What we saw at Staples Center today was two of the NBA’s elite teams play to a tie that had to have a winner. Plenty of people will hand-wring and opine. And that’s fine. Ascribing meaning to victory is a natural instinct, and it definitely makes for better radio and TV. But one game no longer says much about the Clippers going forward – and that’s worth enjoying.
31 Responses
horrible comparison, and it got worse the more detailed you got into! please leave your political affiliation and opinion at home. the clippers are not mitt romney!
Cult of Lawler Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
This had nothing to to with political affiliation. He never stated anything positive or negative about the candidates, just used a comparable situation in a different context. Calm the hell down
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Damn good article
Mandrew Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 10:59 am
yeah, having so much difficulty getting rid of my fatalistic Clipper thoughts, I feel like I needed to read this. I still feel like this is a dream sometimes…
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 10:17 am
glad to know we can hang with pretty much any team, but was still a disappointing loss and a crappy drive home.
Jordan heimer Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 11:30 am
look no doubt. I probably wasn’t clear enough in the piece – it was a lousy, frustrating loss… But the underlying fundamentals – “organization” in campaign speak – are strong enough to minimize the importance of even so frustrating a setback.
phil Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 11:57 am
after having the night to sleep on it the loss stings a lot less. i like what blake said about holding the feeling of hurt and carrying it over to practice today but not dwell on the game.
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 11:23 am
Man we needed billups in that game that way gomes wouldn’t have inbounded the ball. Even if he did hurt his achilles he would have been the better option to pass the ball then gomes. Clippers haven’t reach there full potential yet and hope foye can produce more numbers like that and maybe we can keep the squad as is. Or maybe not cuz he is a poor defender but still keep it foye.
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Paul had the worst +/- of the game (-20), not surprising, the way he played most of it. Paul has occasional off games, and he has them more frequently after this knee operation and he’s often befuddled by fast point guards like Tony Parker (for example, he plays very poorly against John Wall), and that could be because of his knee. But usually he’s good, and occasionally he’s great and I have no overall gripe with him (though he’s not going to ever again be what he was before the knee operation.)
The second worst +/- of the game, again not surprisingly, was DeAndre Jordan (-10). This is another indication of the long term problem Jordan is. Unlike Paul, Jordan frequently has the worst or one of the worst +/- of the game.
It’s even worse than it looks because in the opening minutes of the game, the Clippers jumped out to a nine point lead, including two open dunks by Jordan, then the Spurs took out DeJuan Blair and made an adjustment on defense and then things turned back the Spurs way and Jordan couldn’t do a thing after that until he finally took that foolish jump shot in the 2nd quarter.
People seem to like that jump shot, but in realilty it reflects how out of whack they were on the floor about that time. Jordan’s jump shot gave the Clipper’s their biggest 2nd quarter lead of 8 points, and he did it 4 seconds after coming back into the game with about 4 minutes to go in the half. Then it was straight down hill for the Clippers (with Jordan on the floor for all of that final 4 minutes) and by half time the 8 point lead had become a 2 point deficit. Jordean did nothing good during that 4 minute meltdown and he did plenty bad.
Does anybody think that before he hit that jumper that Del Negro told him to go into the game and within the first four seconds he’s out there to chuck up an 18 point jumper? Of course not. The shot was a reflection of the out of whack way Jordan was going to play for all of that four minutes and the result of it was a 10 point swing. That 4 minutes of play by Jordan more than anything lost the game.
Ace Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 8:12 pm
I wish Nick were here to remind us all that single game +/- scores mean NOTHING. And didn’t DJ hit that jumper? I’m confused as to what point you’re even trying to make in that last paragraph.
zack Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 10:54 pm
What are your options once DeAndre is demoted? Can you please tell me where another starting center is going to come from?
JoeLuis323 Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 9:24 am
Shot clock violation or have DJ shoot? U tell me Demote.
Cult of Lawler Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 5:12 pm
I’m sure Demote would rather have had Kaman fumble the pass out of bounds
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
The most encouraging thing in the game was the life and speed Bledsoe brought in with him. That should mean good things for the future.
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
I can’t believe you said the Clippers are Mitt Romney. Did you not proofread? So you believe the Clippers will get to the championship and then lose while shedding all self-respect and dignity?
The frozen one Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 12:17 am
it was an analogy. Jeez what’s wrong with a few of these people? Lacking the capacity for abstract thought or what?! I’m a total lefty and wasn’t offended in the slightest. It’s topical! Read a friggin newspaper.
Jordan heimer Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 12:23 pm
thanks dude
zack Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 7:12 pm
I was kiiiiiiidding man. Did my last sentence not tip it off?
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Michael Finley apparently worked out with the clips (according to ESPN). What are the thoughts on signing the 38 year old?
Clips4 Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 7:51 am
Too old and washed up. Don’t need him.
Posted on February 19th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
To borrow a phrase from Dandy Don Meredith,”Bless his heart, he’s got to be the sickest man in America!” However, the beat goes on. Stay the course, we win as a team, and lose as a team. Too many turnovers, one key turnover at the end, and a poor coaches decision are the negatives. Improve the energy level to be consistently high through-out. I think Bledsoe can help in that area. Foye proved what I’ve been knowing, when comfortable, he can score points in bunches, CLIPPERBULL where you at? Blake, 20-20, hey a career first? You mean he’s still getting better? We are one of the top rebounding teams already and by seasons end, one of the top defensive teams as well, with or without that long winged defender. 1 loss is not going to make or break us. We all know we’d rather have a chance to win, than get blown out, so get used to it. Each loss will be close and hurt a little. Just get me that win in the bay tonight, we’re fine! Nothing wrong with 20-10, make it happen fellas!
Posted on February 20th, 2012 at 1:53 pm
No, there wouldn’t have been a shot clock violation. Jordan chucked up the foolish jumper 4 seconds after he got into the game . . . at the start of the shot clock. The ball got tossed in, Jordan got it 20 feet away (what was he doing out there anyway?) and he chucked it up. Major foolishness. Major case of being way out of postion, as he so often is. And that same mindset of major foolishness and of doing the wrong thing from the wrong place continued through the last four minutes of the half, in which he didn’t score again . . . though he foolishly threw up a 3 foot hook shot and also missed an easy tip in and other than that did nothing . . . including not defending and allowing the Spurs to score at will.
During that last 4 minutes of the half, the out of whack Jordan-led Clippers went from 8 up to 2 down.
Then in the first five minutes of the third quarter, the still out of whack Jordan-led Clippers went from 2 down to 15 down . . . capped off by Jordan missing a dunk and shortly after that fouling Duncan.
That’s a 23 point swing between the last four minutes of the 2nd quarter and the first five minutes of the third . . . all of it with Jordan in there leading the out of whackness. It can’t get much worse than that.
And all of that out of whackiness started with Jordan taking an 18 foot jumper four seconds into the shot clock, then the out of whackiness continued on for a Jordan-led 23 point turn around in favor of the Spurs. Dreadful.
Then Bledsoe came in and changed the mental dynamic back to good, and then the Clippers fought back with Randy Foye doing most of the scoring.
JoeLuis323 Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Time – 3rd quarter Action
@t 4:43 – Tony Parker makes driving layup
4:24 – Los Angeles full timeout
4:20 – DeAndre Jordan makes 18-foot jumper
4:43 minus 4:20. If my math is correct that’s 23 sec after.
I do agree, there was a play where he got the ball way too far from hoop and ended up getting steal but in this specific instance he had to shoot. If we go on and blame we should put a blame on CP3 for not scoring and having an off night for 3 quarters, also the refs for making bad calls that might’ve cost us the game. (blake did not touch Parker and he was called for a foul) speaking of Blake he complaints way too much and more than often gets the clips minus 1 5-on-4 on ‘D’. Love the dunks though!
#dontfeedthetrolls
Cult of Lawler Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Demote won’t believe that evidence that the shot clock was running down and he had to shoot. There was probably a Marc Stein article he read somewhere that said it was only 4 seconds in.
Posted on February 20th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
That Jordan’s foolish shot (from 18 feet, 4 seconds into the shot clock) accidently went through isn’t what’s significant. What’s significant is that he was even out there so far away from the basket shooting, and that short moment of foolishness was reflective of the larger nine minutes of foolishness in which the Clippers went from 8 up to 15 down in nine minutes (last four minutes of the 2nd and first five minutes of the 3rd) all starting as soon as Jordan checked back into the game in the 2nd and immediately chucked up a long jumper 4 seconds into the shot clock.
Of course, a single games +/- doesn’t mean much, but when the +/- game after game fo the wholoe season is either the worst or almost the worst on the team, then it does matter. And that is the case with Jordan.
Clips4 Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
DeMote, use logic. What evidence do you have that DJ is a chucker? He would not throw up a shot just 4 seconds into the shot clock from 18 feet out. Think about it. The only reason he would take a shot from there is if the shot clock was winding down.
Posted on February 20th, 2012 at 4:15 pm
VDN’s weak coaching is showing itself. Rotations with having CP3 play so many minutes without much rest and having him go into hero mode is hurting the Clips.
C L I P S E T Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
What’s hurting the Clips is the lack of a slasher. Too many jump shots. No ball movement. All the guards are 6-1 or shorter. C P 3 late game heroics are not going to work every game. With that said, man the officials are TERRIBLE!!!!!!! So many blownnnnn calls. The major ones were the 2 blown calls to end the half. David Lee passes to himself before he assists to tie at 95.
Clips4 Reply:
February 20th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
I agree with you. The Clippers need easy baskets and are a jump shooting team. This team obviously died by jumpers tonight. Too bad I have been getting killed in the negative comments for my spot on analysis of what the Clippers need.
Posted on February 20th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
The problem I have with this is article is that it takes a rather short string of success against a handful of quality NBA teams (with only 1 of those wins coming on the road) and uses it to justify elevating the 2012 Clippers to the level of one of the past decade’s most dominant teams, the San Antonio Spurs. You can’t take 1/3 of a lockout shortened season as proof that a team is now a “contender” or even a “perennial threat.” The Spurs have a consistent, championship-proven core, led by three All-Stars, a former MVP, and a legendary coach. They also have a culture of winning. The Clippers have what, one playoff round win in their history? Obviously what happens in 2012 is more relevant to 2012, but you cannot ignore the fact that the Spurs tend to end up on the winning end of these “tossups” more so than the Clippers. There are reasons for this. It’s not sheer luck.
So, if anything, the Clippers are Herman Cain…and it remains to be seen whether the 9-9-9 deal (ie Lob City) is just a flash in the pan.
Posted on February 21st, 2012 at 9:43 am
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