(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
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No Dime tonight, so enjoy this aerial assault instead:
Tweet(s) of the Night
Hedo Turkoglu looks like he's been following the Vlade Divac training regimen: hot tub and cigarettes.
— Beckley Mason (@BeckleyMason) January 18, 2014
The Depth Charge
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | DREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | +/- | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Mullens, C | INACTIVE | |||||||||||||
| Ryan Hollins, C | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 1 |
| Antawn Jamison, PF | DNP COACH’S DECISION | |||||||||||||
| Total | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 1 |
ClipperBlog Live’s Best Moment
Andrew runs a solo show and makes a compelling case that the Clippers’ offense should be run through Blake Griffin rather than Chris Paul.
Check Your Messages
Buying Into The System
“The way we’re playing offensively and defensively, everybody is just trusting each other and really buying in and hopefully that makes us a better team when we do get C.P. back,” Griffin said. “We’ve had to lean back on our system. If everybody hasn’t bought in now, they’re not going to buy in. It’s been great for us.”
Rivers will never pat his back or his playbook after the game, but he has liked the way his team has gathered together in Paul’s absence and found ways to win by trusting in each other and the system.
“When Chris went down the first thing I said is, ‘We got to find a way,’” Rivers said. “It may be a different way every night, but we got to find a way to win that game. And that’s what we’re doing.”
“They’ve learned other ways. They can’t just rely on him on the pick-and-roll. We have to be more creative offensively. We have to move the ball. We’re playing in-and-out. We’re using Blake as the facilitator a lot. They’re just learning how to play, and that will be even better when Chris comes back.”
- Arash Markazi at ESPN Los Angeles
Vertical Spacing
It’s the idea Eric Spoelstra spoke of when the Heat signed Chris Andersen last season: throw the ball up around the rim for your big man to finish.
This is one of DeAndre Jordan’s values to the team and why his supposed lack of offensive skill is overblown; a defender cannot cheat off of Jordan on dribble penetration. If Jordan’s man commits to the ball-handler, the rim effectively expands from the regulation 18-inches to Jordan’s massive 7-foot 6-inch wingspan. Throw it anywhere in that vicinity and it’s an easy two points. And contrasted with New York’s woeful multiple lob attempts, success is not as casual as it seems.
Jeff Van Gundy mentioned pre-game tonight that, even without Chris Paul, the Clippers could be an elite offensive team because of such big-to-big passing between Blake Griffin and Jordan. Griffin attracts so much attention as the focal point that when he gets the ball at the elbow or nail, much like dribble penetration, all he has to do is feint towards the restricted area and Jordan’s man will release to the middle. Then there is no one left to guard that space above.
On the converse, Jordan has been setting up Griffin more and more this season; usually via a swing pass to beat a fronting Griffin defender. Tonight, Jamal Crawford ran a simple high screen-and-roll with Jordan, but instead of DeAndre’s typical mad dash rumble to the rim, he committed to a shallow roll, stopping at the nail. Blake’s defender, Tyson Chandler, jumps up to dam the paint, and Jordan flicks a smooth pass to a spotted up Griffin for the crystal clear corner-3.
Lob City’s big-to-big passing: developing into a two way street.
- Andrew Han
