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Last Call: Oklahoma City Thunder 104, Los Angeles Clippers 98 (Game 6)

May 16, 2014
,
by Patrick James



(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Buzzer Reaction


Los Angeles Clippers
98
Final
Recap | Box score
104

Oklahoma City Thunder

MVP: It took Kevin Durant nearly nine minutes to make his first shot, but in the second half, all bets were off. The league MVP finished the game with 39 points on 23 shots and grabbed 16 rebounds. He was unstoppable down the stretch and made all 10 of his free throws.

That was … unfortunate: When Chris Paul was called for a questionable offensive foul late in the game, an understandably agitated Staples Center responded by throwing drinks at the referees.

X factor: Scott Brooks opened the second half with center Steven Adams on the court instead of usual starter, Kendrick Perkins. The rookie was huge throughout the contest, tallying 10 points and 11 rebounds in 40 big minutes of action.
– Michael Pina

Tweet(s) Of The Game

The Depth Charge

BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF +/- PTS
Ryan Hollins, C DNP COACH’S DECISION
Hedo Turkoglu, PF DNP INACTIVE
Big Baby, PF 12 3-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 -8 6
Total 12 3-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 -8 6
(Photo via NBA.com/Stats)

(Photo via NBA.com/Stats)

ClipperBlog Live’s Best Moment


Faced with the finality that is the end of the Clippers’ season, the gang realized there’s always next year — and that our weekends are suddenly free.

Check Your Messages

Uncertainty Principle
Consider the following number: 56.22

That’s the average number of games logged by an on-court Clipper on Thursday night. Two-thirds of a season. “We’re a team of process,” Doc Rivers said after the game — process over results being the unspoken mantra of the franchise all season.

We knew how good the team could be, but didn’t know how good they actually were. We saw how good Blake Griffin could be, how good DeAndre Jordan could be. But nothing ever locked into place in that Spurs-ian manner.

56.22. The Clippers won more games this year than the average number of games their Game 6 rotation played in a Clippers uniform. We’ll always know how good they were, but never know how good they could’ve been.
- Andrew Han

The Sweater Song
All the little imperfections of this Clippers team seemed to come to the fore tonight. In a way, there could not have been a more predictably appropriate way for the season to end.

The lack of a third big, the absence of a front-line two-way wing, the inability of the offense to consistently function when Chris Paul rested. In the second half, Oklahoma City picked at each of these loose ends, and it seemed that everybody, (Staples Center crowd most definitely included) could see exactly what was happening. Equally, there was no obvious way to stop the unraveling.

It’s depressingly linear, but all the ways in which we worried the Clippers were just not quite good enough were precisely the ways in which it all came undone.
- Seth Partnow

Sports!
There are a lot of reasons the Clippers lost this game – the ball stopped moving in the second half; the Clippers missed layups, committed some bad turnovers, and lost track of assignments on defense; and Kevin Durant did Durant things. But they didn’t just give these last games away; the Thunder took them. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant played to their potential, and Steven Adams, Reggie Jackson, and Derek Fisher played valuable roles. Even Nick Collison hit a huge corner three. But none of that softens the blow – to put it simply, these were tough losses. You could see it on Blake Griffin’s face in the press conference, in Doc Rivers’ loosened tie and heavy sighs, in J.J. Redick’s watery-eyed grimace.

As a lifelong Clipper fan I grew accustomed to losing, to dropping game after game without much hope. Right now, this almost feels worse. I hope that eventually Clippers fans (myself included) will be able to look at the big picture, at the great season that was and the bright future ahead, at the time we have left with CP, Blake, DJ, and Doc, and be able to smile. But if you asked me right now if I’d trade the playoff run and these brutal losses for an inverted record and a handful of ping pong balls, I’d actually have to think about it. This was just one more reminder that every team but one ends the season with a loss. Sports are the worst.

Or at least they are until Sunday, when we get to watch this Thunder team take on the Spurs, and Miami duke it out with Indiana, and then there’s the Finals. And baseball season. And the draft. And then football. And then it’s basketball season all over again … Sports are the best.
- Ben Mesirow

#WeArentDone
For the second straight game, the Clippers had ample opportunity to win: they led by as much as 16 early in the 2nd quarter, the Thunder had early foul troubles, and Westbrook was having one of his worse possible games. And yet, the Clippers still couldn’t close out this game, despite solid statistical games from both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Kevin Durant and the Thunder were just too much. As was the common theme among the Clippers this year, their standards needed to be higher because these Clippers hold the burden of being exceptional.

This burden speaks volumes to the leadership and influence of Doc Rivers, who gave both Clipper fans and players a taste of championship aspirations and expectations. He quickly established the “Big 3″ experiment, wherein he challenged Paul to be an even better leader, Griffin to expand the many dimensions of his game, and Jordan to become the defensive rim protector he now seems more than capable of being. Throughout these grueling six games, it was clear that this Rivers’ experiment worked, but the Clippers lost — and for good reason. Throughout the playoffs we saw Hedo Turkoglu and Danny Granger play meaningful minutes for the first time in years. We perhaps saw a misallocations of time for Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick. We saw Glen Davis in crucial moments because he was delegated as the third Clipper big man.

The Clippers’ loss perhaps emphasized the need for more successful experiments to be done in the lab of Doc Rivers, because he needs to be held to an exceptional standard as well. In season one, Doc Rivers established that he knew who his “Big 3″ was, but it will be his job, as the coach and GM, to figure out how to maximize the rest of the Clippers, so that the team can achieve the exceptional standard that Clipper nation has so quietly longed for.
- Davis Vo

Organizational steps
There’s no accounting for bad luck. It’s hard to remember that after a loss. There’s no accounting for a deluded, racist owner either. In the aftermath of all that chaos, at least the Clippers are rid of him.

So maybe try to remember this instead: The Clippers’ best season in franchise history. A wealth of highlights, stories, substance. How the most exciting part of Blake Griffin’s game somehow became passing. DeAndre Jordan. Man, DeAndre Jordan.

This season was a success, as far as I’m concerned; an important step toward a larger goal. Yes, I’m leaving you with a well-worn Doc Rivers’ mantra, something of a cliche at this point, but it’s tried and true, an apt season review: The process is more important than the result.

The Clippers have always been defined by their missteps, from Donald Sterling to Lob City’s early unmet expectation, not to mention decades of turmoil. Today — finally — they get to be defined by progress. After the game, Doc told reporters, “We started figuring out what Clipper basketball is and will be … and time ran out.”

He’s wrong there. The Clippers have plenty of time.
- Seerat Sohi

Patrick James

Staff Writer at Clipperblog
Patrick James is a writer and editor based in Los Angeles. He’s written for LA Weekly, Fast Company, Bullett, Filter, and other motley publications. He was formerly the managing editor of Very Short List, and before that, GOOD.

Latest posts by Patrick James (see all)

  • Guest

    I see a lot of Summer wish lists starting. How about…

    A starting Point Guard who can actually run the offense Doc and Alvin installed without having to fight his own nature every 4th quarter, especially during the Playoffs?

    Or…

    A starting Point Guard who fits athletically with your two most dynamic players: Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan? One in the same age range, perhaps?

    Or…

    A starting Point Guard who is able to defend the young and athletic Point Guards in the NBA without having his body break down in the process?

    You can futz around the edges of the roster or address the real problems with the roster.

    In New Orleans Chris Paul went to a Game 7 in the 2nd round with an inferior roster and an inferior coaching staff. Wonder why? It was back when Chris Paul used to dominate games before his leg injuries.

    In the 3 years of the Chris Paul era the Clippers have won as many 2nd round games as the Golden State Warriors. They still have fewer 2nd round wins than the 2006 Clippers. And this year he had the 3rd place MVP as his teammate.

    But, you know, the Point God!

    • just win

      Thanks 4 stating the obvious CP3 is overrated.

      • ClipsFansSuck

        This team would not have Doc, JJ, Crawford or Collison if CP wasn’t bogusly traded to the clips. Wish you guys never got him and he went to the lakers where he should have been in the first place. Fans like you guys don’t deserve a good team but deserve the owner that will break up the team you don’t appreciate.
        Ungrateful!

        • qlippers

          I love trolls.

    • 30yrsACLIPPERSFAN

      Chris Paul is not the problem. Reminding everyone that the Clippers got beat on the boards no boxing out. They also shot to many threes when the shooting was cold. Missed perfectly good open shots in the paint.

      So to put the blame on Chris Paul would be the wrong. What the Clippers need to do is find away to move forward and keep what we have together. We have a ton of off time now for players to heal and recover. Everyone is in place maybe a back up true center(over 7ft) to get down in the paint and just snatch rebounds move Jordan to pf Blake to sf (develop his shot) when we play these bigger teams.

  • Guest

    I love these excuses that this Clipper roster just didn’t have enough court time together for the process to fully take hold. As though they were the San Antonio Spurs just waiting to happen.

    Well, guess what?

    More than half of the roster will be, and should be, different come training camp.

    How many of the following players do you seriously think will be back: Collison, Crawford, Green, Barnes, Dudley, Granger, Davis, Turkoglu, Hollins.

    Every one of those players could be upgraded. That’s 9. You could add in Redick and Bullock as possible trade pieces in the right deal.

    That brings you to 11 players on the roster who could be released or moved in the right trade and I’m guessing apart from Redick there wouldn’t be much love lost.

    So, that “process” will have to begin again with a significantly different roster. As it should.

  • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

    Doc Rivers failed. Things probably would have been the same if VDN was coaching.

    His roster moves sucked/didn’t work. Maybe they could have gotten by OKC if they had Bledsoe guarding westbrook.

    As for next season, DTS isn’t selling and will pull every legal trick in the book to try to delay it. When is this owners vote anyway?

    • Alfredo Rodriguez

      From what I’ve gathered, rumor has it that one of the voters is trying to protect Donald Sterling. The voter: the Buss Family Trust. Donald Sterling helped Dr. Jerry Buss buy the Lakers in 1979. Jerry Buss was also responsible for bringing Donald Sterling into the NBA. In other words, the Clippers have always been a stepchild to the Lakers because the Lakers owner made the recommendation for Donald Sterling to buy the Clippers in the first place. Unless the Buss family clears their name and denounce Donald Sterling, the Clippers franchise will forfeit the season come October.

      If the Clippers do get a new owner before October, their first task will be to bring in another superstar. Chris Paul has lost his superstar status and his point guard crowd – he has been demoted to an everyday role player. Paul needs to understand that point guards and little guys in general are disregarded; big men and post play are highly emphasized, that’s why it’s called the post season. Paul can still be a superstar in the regular season, but once he’s in the playoffs, he has to become a role player and trust in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, and the other superstar.

      From what I’m hearing, the superstar they’re going after is Carmelo Anthony. But Luol Deng has crept into the conversation as of late. Paul Pierce is another possibility, but I’m going to say right now that his first preference will be wanting to play with the Lakers.

      But as of today, expect Doc Rivers to trade the farm the same way he did in 2007 when he packaged seven players, numerous draft picks and cash to get Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Keep an eye out for KG, because if Melo comes, so will the Big Ticket (they need to patch up on that Honey Nut Cheerios debate). He’ll arrive as a buy out. That’s my bold prediction.

  • qlippers

    Good season, disappointing ending.

    I love Doc as a coach infusing confidence into certain players that need the attention.

    That being said, I prefer doc the coach over doc the GM. I didn’t like the pickup of Granger and Hedo.

  • Tyler James Edward Hills

    We need a legitimate 3. Someone who can shoot the corner three, and slash to the basket and get to the line when the jumpers aren’t falling, and play defense. Truthfully, no disrespect to DJ, but our big three needs to be Chris, Blake, and a SF. Barnes is great, but he needs to come off the bench. And DJ developing any kind of low post game would be nice.

  • Neil

    Defense wins..Bledscoe was missed….

  • CPsucks

    Guest is correct. CP3 is the most overrated player in the NBA. He is the ROMO of basketball. He can’t handle late game pressure and admits he has confidence issues. He had 3 turnovers in game 6 during the last 5 minutes of the game and compound that w/ his braid dead 50 seconds in game 5.
    I hope Doc and CP3 go and we can move forward w/ the team being Blake and DJ

  • Bongstradamus

    I wish CP3 pressured Westbrook more and that they trapped him on the right wing or when he set up close to the halfcourt line every chance they got. DC was the only guy who put pressure on the ballhandler. OKC even put pressure on us when they were up by 12. Every possession should be played like we’re down 20 even if we are up 20. We didnt play both sides of the ball as much as we should have. And we made some stupid decisions down the stretch.

    • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

      That was Bledsoe’s job

  • Jake

    Chris Paul isn’t the problem. He’s an excellent point guard who plays well with Griffin, who is an excellent power forward. Paul is not super, not in the way James and Durant are, and there’s only so far a point guard like him can take a team, but he’s still excellent.

    The problems are everybody else, and the biggest of those everybody else problems this year was Rivers. I have no idea how anybody could think the Clippers wouldn’t be better off if they had back the #1 pick they gave Boston instead of having Rivers. The team he put together is significantly worse than either of the teams the last 2 years. He gave away Bledsoe, which is the biggest reason the Clippers lost to the Thunder, and he gave away Butler,who was a strong contributor for the Thunder, and he got back Dudley and Redick. Dudley will tie up over $4 million a year for two more years and Redick will tie up over $7 million a year for 3 more years. Bledsoe and Butlers’s expiring contract were the best trade pieces the Clippers had, along with the #1 they gave to Boston, so now the Clippers have not much of anything to trade in order to try and get better. So that whole transaction he did was a disaster.

    • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

      The good news is that it doesn’t matter now cus no one is going to play for the Clippers with Sterling as the owner. Doc Rivers is officially a failure.

      • Jake

        True, all of that.

    • Jake

      Then on top of that disastrous transaction, Rivers went out and brought in a long string of has-beens: Jamison, Jackson, Turkoglu, Granger and Davis. All of them were busts.

      I don’t see how anybody can think Rivers didn’t put together a team that was worse than either of the Clipper teams the previous two seasons. So in his role as the guy in charge of basketball operations, he clearly was very bad.

      As for his on court coaching, he horribly blew the last minute of game 5. There are things he clearly should have done that he didn’t (call a time out and advance the ball to half court), and there is the one big thing he clearly shouldn’t have done but did (his raving around on the court about the Refs call). Rivers melted down and it spread to the team.

    • JaySee

      Bledsoe was gone no matter what. Redick is not a bust. He significantly improves the offense and takes pressure away from CP3 and BG. The pick is not #1.

      Dudley is a bust, but of little consequence. Davis was a decent pick from slim pickings.

      Rivers out-coached Brooks throughout the whole series. The Thunder’s offense sucked. They just had better star power in KD and Westbrook along with some chokes by CP3 and BG in the 4th quarters.

      • Jake

        You are 100% wrong when you say the pick the Clippers gave to Boston is not a first round pick. It is a first round pick and that’s an indisputable fact.
        Redick has never before in his career been a starting guard, except when filling in for injured players, not even on poor teams like the Magic and the Bucks, the two poor teams he most recently was on. That also is an indisputable fact. It should be clear to everyone why that was. He is a major negative on defense. He is like Crawford, and should be a 6th man off the bench who shoots jumpers against the opponent’s second team. He should not be a starting guard on a team that thinks it can win a championship.
        You can have an opinion that Rivers out coached Brooks, but I don’t see what you possibly could base it on. I expect it’s clear to most people that the way Rivers coached the last minute of game 5 was horrendous, losing mostly by himself in that minute both the game and the series.

        • JaySee

          You are 100% wrong in claiming the pick is a #1 pick AND you are 100% wrong in claiming that I claimed that it is not a FIRST ROUND PICK. Get your wording straight.

          You: “…Clippers wouldn’t be better off if they had back the #1 pick they gave Boston…”
          Me: “The pick is not #1.”
          You: “You are 100% wrong when you say the pick the Clippers gave to Boston is not a first round pick. It is a first round pick and that’s an indisputable fact.”

          You’re claiming Rivers was a bad coach for 5 measly minutes when Brooks was a bad coach for the entire series minus maybe game 2.

          • Jake

            Your comments make no sense at all to me. Perhaps you have been drinking a lot, which is fine. Don’t blame you.

            In general, most people here likely are in deep denial, which I understand. Rivers and the team management sold everyone on the idea Rivers was a super coach and a super basketball mind and once he came here and took over total control of the team, that was all that was missing and then the team would win the ring. The main talk at the beginning of the season was that nothing short of the finals would be enough, now that they had Doc Rivers. And most people here bought into that. But it wasn’t true when they were saying it at the start of the season and it certainly isn’t true now that they lost in the 2nd round in 6 games of their home court after barely getting out of the first round.

            • Jake

              The simple and unfortunate truth is that this team Rivers put together is not as good as either of the last 2 Clipper teams. And what’s worse, the Clippers now have even fewer trade pieces to make it better than they did before he got here.

              It sounds good to tell the media things like all that’s necessary is for this group to play together longer and to learn what Clipper basketball is and to say nobody knew what that was before he (Rivers) got here. But there’s no truth behind the cool sounding words he’s saying. Before Rivers got here, the Clippers were Griffin and Paul, and they couldn’t get out of the second round. Still are. So all the swell sounding words don’t cut it in any significant way. What matters is getting better players.

            • JaySee

              So basically you’re a moron who doesn’t know English well enough to distinguish the difference between a #1 pick and a first round pick. OK. No need to talk to you any further.

              • Jake

                Clearly in the context I used it, #1 means first round. It’s shorthand. It means the Clippers first pick, *their* #1 pick, which is in the first round. Nobody in their right mind and nobody that understands the game would think I said it was an overall number 1, since the overall number 1 hasn’t been determined and won’t be until the season is played and the lottery held. I at first assumed you were claiming it was a second round pick not a first round, and that is a valid assumption since you didn’t clarify at all what you were flailing about. I also later clarified the context by directly referring to is as a first round pick, twice. You are sloppily grasping at straws in an attempt to clumsily defend an indefensible position.

              • Jake

                To be clearer, this is my position:

                The Clippers would have been better off today if they hadn’t given their #1 pick in the draft to the Celtics for Rivers. Rivers didn’t make the team better, he made it worse. And now because that fist round pick is gone and because Rivers wasted a lot of cap space for multiple years to come on mediocre and worse players, it will be even harder for the Clippers to get better than it was going to be before Rivers came in claiming how he was going to make the team a champion.

              • JaySee

                LOL! Nope! I very clearly pointed out your mistake with quotes, yet you still failed to understand it. You’re backtracking trying to cover your ass when I already clearly pointed out your idiotic mistake. No one who knows NBA basketball would call a first round pick a #1 pick which totally negates all the other nonsense you’ve said.

              • Jake

                Here is a good example why as I previously said, you are 100% wrong. It is from Bill Simmons’ column today regarding the lottery, and this bit focuses on Boston and also focuses on the very #1 pick I have been talking about. Bill Simmons uses the term No.1 twice in this one paragraph. Bill Simmons know basketball.http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nba-draft-lottery-karma-rankings/
                “2. Boston Celtics
                You gotta admit, they sold as high as possible on Pierce and Garnett (three unprotected no. 1s from Brooklyn in 2014, 2016 and 2018 plus a pick swap in 2017) and Doc Rivers (an unprotected no. 1 in 2015 that has a puncher’s chance of becoming a gem if the Sterlings fight to keep the Clippers and every Clipper decides, “I am suing to play for a different team”). You can’t execute an impromptu rebuilding plan better than that”

              • JaySee

                LOL! How long did you scour Google to find that? Just because someone else is an idiot doesn’t mean you should follow them. You’re still 100% wrong as is Bill Simmons, and you’re an even bigger fool to scour Google to try and justify being a failure at English.

              • Jake

                The Simmons column was linked to ESPN’s front page. I was reading it and thought that paragraph might help you understand your erroneous ways. Apparently not. Referring to a team’s first round pick as a #1 is very common. I’m guessing you’re new to following the sport, which is fine. Welcome. Perhaps when you have spent more time reading about the NBA or listening to people discuss it, you eventually will understand that in most contexts, #1 means a team’s first round pick. If a person is referring to the actual first pick in the draft, it’s common to refer to it as the overall #1.

              • Tim

                Actually, you’re both wrong. #1pick is a football term, for a 1st round draft pick. The drop off between 1st round selections in football and all others rounds is equivalent to 4th overall and below. Which is why basketball draftees are referred to as #1 overall, #2 overall, or #3 overall picks, and the rest termed lottery picks or mid-to late 1st round picks.

                The Clippers did not give up a #1 pick for the services of Doc Rivers. They gave up a mid to late 1st round pick, although the pick is in the 1st round, its different.

                If people want to make is sound like the Clipper gave up something good for Doc Rivers and screwed themselves, they can technically say, they gave up a #1 pick, and although they did, its really a mid to late 1st round pick, which doesn’t sound as bad, and really isn’t bad as if they gave up a #1 pick, because they didn’t, although they did, but its still a mid to late 1st round pick, which isn’t bad. Hope that makes sense.

              • JaySee

                LOL! That was some hilarious nonsense.

              • Tim

                #1 pick is a term loosely associated with 1st round draft selections, but its more for football than basketball, because football has multiple rounds. Heck, in basketball, half the players in the draft are #1 picks. 90% of the Association are #1picks, so the term has no relevance in basketball circles.

              • JaySee

                LOL! Keep justifying your stupidity. It’s quite amusing. This is what you sound like: “Mom! A bunch of other kids are tattooing “moron” on their foreheads, so it means it’s cool!”

              • Jake

                You are free to be as wrong as you want to be.

      • Jake

        Bledsoe wasn’t gone no matter what. The Clippers could have kept him all season and he would have been great in the playoffs and the Clippers then would have had a very real chance of beating the Thunder. Then after the season they could have decided which of several viable directions to go with him. The trade was a disaster, a foolish disaster.

        • JaySee

          Nope! Gone no matter what. There’s no cap for a sign and trade.

          • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

            Reddick and Dudley are 11 mil, would Bledsoe get much more? And if he did so what. Clippers had to play for this year anyway.

          • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

            No point in arguing with the panickers, somehow they simply can’t get over the Bledsoe thing – or anything. They are delusionally trying to tie themselves with the idea of a Playoff saviour, completely ignoring everything else. That’s simply how people tend to do when they can’t face frustration, disappointment, failure, they either face the problem or they run and put the blame on something else.

  • Tim

    I’m hoping Bullock develops over the off-season, and finds a way into the rotation. Maybe he’s the long-winged quick-footed defender we need, that we could designate to guard Westbrook or shadow KD. If we just had 1 guy who could do a better job of neutralizing one of those 2. The Clippers have to defend first. We still need the designated parameter defender, who could shut down one of the Splash Brothers, or take a Russ or KD out of his game. Imagine if Bullock could stay in front of KD and get a hand up, or slap the ball on the way up before the shot? I wonder how Westbrook would do, driving against someone thats taller, who could stay in front of him, jump with him, and block his shot, without committing a foul. Bullock might, could handle that assignment. He’s not a rookie anymore. Lets trot this guy out there and see what we got.

    • Jake

      I’m hoping Bullock develops too, because since the Clippers have so much of their cap space tied up in mediocre players, they can’t sign a good free agent and since they gave away most of their tradable pieces last off season for next to nada, they’re going to have a hard time improving through a trade this season. Seems like Bullock improving may be the only way for the Clippers to improve next season at all.

    • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

      Bullock got some bad luck. Couldn’t play preseason, then, he finally gets into rotation with some wings injured and then, he gets injured as well. Vets come back and he loses playing time. He is not strong enough to be guarding a 3 yet, but I like his quick release, hopefully he will be able to play more next season.

      • Tim

        Honestly, I want Bullock for whatever the situation calls for come playoff time. If we need someone to put the clamps down on Steph Curry, its Reggie-Time! If we need someone to stay in front of Russell Westbrook, and defend him all over the court I’m looking for Mr. May-June! And if I need 3 homeruns in a game and its not October, than put Reggie on KD’s, go deny the MVP the ball, and force mid-range jumpers…

        • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

          I hope it’s reggie but the one thing Clippers doesn’t have, it’s a real defender, a 3-and-D guy. Barnes is far from what he was when he played for the Magic and Dudley, well, it’s Dudley.

          When they signed Dudley I didn’t like it and so many tried to convince me that he was capable, I gave him a chance, a big one since I didn’t want any excuse. I knew he was dealing with some serious tendinitis and as he was never very fast laterally this could slow him down even more, but then, he had time to heal and he cam back and then, yeah, he is just as I imagine he would be. Plus, for some reason, he wasn’t shooting as well as expected.

          Clippers need a defender, somebody that can take some of the load from somebody else. I mean, other teams explored tons of favorable backcourt mismatches simply because Clippers didn’t have a defender. To the point CP was assigned to guard a basically 7-footer in Durant. Redick couldn’t contain anyone that ISO him back to the basket, neither could Collison. Collison, for some reason may never learn how to have the foot work to avoid a screen. But we knew they weren’t The defenders and I never expected to be.

          I hope Clippers get a real defender for the next season, a guy that can guard from 1-to-3 and even 4 IF necessary. Cp3 is a great defender, but we have to understand that it’s really hard to demand the guy to stay totally durable on both ends like he had to. I mean, Curry and Westbrook, plus Durant. Clippers need a defender no matter what, that’s the only thing I really missed through out the season.

          BTW, Turkoglu worked fine as a stretch 4 and he can handle the ball pretty well. Granger was two step slow but he played as expected, maybe a bit less than expected in the Playoffs – and he became a fouling machine. Davis was ok. Clippers need somebody else in Hollins place though. But there are still lots of time until preseason. Let’s see what happens.

  • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

    So when is this owners vote happening? I’m assuming it’s a private vote.

  • Tim

    The Clippers lost and it wasn’t anyones fault. Doc, CP3, and Blake all did well, although we all know the meltdown in game 5 was unfortunate. Still that was just 1 game. J-cross, and JJ weren’t reliable enough. Collison impacted only once during the series. We got out-rebounded, which is a team stat. We lost that series as a team. We had a punchers chance to win, and the opening did present itself, but we couldn’t close the deal. Game 5 was our punches chance, after stealing Game 4. We didn’t get it done, but this was a great team. Blake is healthy entering the off-season again, with more room to improve, and good health with which to achieve that improvement. Lets get rid of the owner, and hit the ground running. 2014-15, barring injury, should be our year. At least we’ll crack the top 2 in the West.

    • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

      They signed Doc and got rid of a #1 pick to win, and they knew the road was through OKC. Since the GM is the coach, again there is only 1 person to blame.

      • Tim

        Doc is for the long term sustained success for this window of opportunity that is presented by DJ and Blakes prime years, not a 1 year deal. A low 1st round pick is a small price to pay to obtain the services of a top 3 coach.

        • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

          If he was a top 3 coach he would have gotten past OKC

      • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

        Get over that already.

        Pointing fingers and turning things into a black and white thing is very infantile but some need that to feel better, I guess.

        • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

          Welcome to the internet.

          But, Doc took control of the team and it didn’t help.

  • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

    Clippers fans are such a horrible crowd for losses.

    PANIC! VERY EFF SINGLE TIME!

    They always run away from reality wondering about impossible scenarios, imagining how perfect it would just IF, JUST IF… Oh, the nostalgia! The Clippers from VDN were better? What a bunch of crap. Oh, they shouldn’t had traded Bledsoe… again this? Move eff on!

    Man up guys, face the elimination and move on.

    There is so much in this that made me feel miserable, the Sterling thing almost making Clippers lose in the 1st round, then the constant questionable calls going in favor of the Thunder, so many calls with soft touchs they weren’t calling and then suddenly they did, the bad timing in TO, so many things.

    But nonetheless, it’s a loss and blaming won’t change anything, pointing fingers is something that only poor supporters do in this volume, blaming coach, players, calling everything a bust.

    These are the type of person that always say “I knew this wouldn’t work” when something goes wrong. The type of person that can never be held accountable for nothing, that are always giving excuses for others and themselves. Always trying to not look responsible for anything and just trying to blame somebody else, to the point they really believe they should.

    I follow others teams and sports but with the Clippers, this usual Internet crying and whining over a loss are even worse. The mentality of questions like “was it really a Clippers W or the other team that lost for us?” is really revealing for a fan base. Blame everything when loses and ive the credit to others when win.

    Very few seem to approach the loss as it is, without much overreaction. I won’t be looking for basketball related things for a while, even watching the rest of the Playoffs is going to be tough, but even so, I can’t see anyone or anything that could really take a all the blame, several things happened, most of them, out of control of any Clipper. Clippers need better supporters than panickers, bad supporters and worse than no supporters but I guess that the bandwagoner thing may be true because bandwagoners and very volatile, they ride when is good and give up when it’s not.

    • Tim

      I totally agree. We lost as a team. There were many reasons why, but the score board never lies. We lost. Now its time to figure out how to come back next year with a better squad. The Vinnie vs Doc comparisons is the most sickening argument. Doc guided the Clips all season through major injury after injury, losing extended games from JJ, J-crosss, CP3, and Dudley, and still came out with 57 wins, where Vinny had an injury free (for the most part) 56 win season the year before, and no offensive or defensive game plan to speak of, except pick and roll. But, regardless, we won and lost as a team. We’ll get them next year. Not an excuse, but anyone could see, that there were key moments of the games where the Thunder brought the kind of playoff intensity that the Clippers just flat out, weren’t experienced enough to handle. Hopefully we’ll grow from that experience.

      • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

        Dudley missing games is a positive. I agree season wins doesn’t matter though.

        Everyone agrees VDN isn’t good, but Doc had full control of the team and he didn’t make much of a difference. There’s only 1 coach that matters and that’s popovich.

        I just don’t think Doc should be the GM.

        • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

          I disagree. Clippers need shooters and not simply because they needed it, but to implement a system with that into account. Once that the system is in place, it’s much, much easier to exchange pieces.

          How Didn’t Doc make a difference when so many came because of him? The Pop comparison in year ONE of Doc is totally unfair and unreasonable. Spurs have the system on going for many years, I’ve watched the Celtics while KG was there and it was incredible that with so many injuries the Celtics came so close to 2 or more championships. They lost important pieces and even so, they kept it going. Reliability is what I felt while watching Celtics, you didn’t see many silly mistakes, miscommunication or misrotation, you always felt that they could pull it off. You can’t hurry and overreact like that in just year ONE, for me, that turns you argument completely invalid.

          The moves Doc made is what he could do. I didn’t like Dudley but people can’t judge on the trade after seeing Dudley not playing well.

          Butler and Bled would go, they couldn’t afford Bled, he wa not a shooter and they didn’t want to lose him to FA. Butler rad a somewhat massive exp contract they had to move as well. Dudley was having career year shooting wise. That’s a very fair trade. They pursued others but they couldn’t get, they ended with Jamison. Odom couldn’t get on his feet, there were not real stretch 4 available. Blatche signed with the Nets, they could find a 3-4 guy, Kirilenko signed with the Nets, even MWP wasn’t available. There were not many options.

          Anyway, Mullens, Jamison, they turned into Davis and Granger. And they were pretty good signings. Granger was a shell of himself and 2-step slow but he was not a bad signing. He performed in some games, just didn’t have the consistency to do that often. Davis didn’t post great numbers but except for his fouling picks, he was pretty good on D, he rotated better on D than both DJ and Blake.

          I can’t se anything bad on Doc as a GM except your pure will of wanting to have Bledsoe and against that, there is nothing that anybody can argue because you simply think that Bledose would had saved the team. And then, can you imagine if Bledsoe got injured just like he did and Clippers got nothing in return? I mean, there is no way to argue on this matter. More often than not you get an ok deal rather than the most perfect one and as I said, move on from the Bledsoe trade. There is no coming back and it had to be done.

          • Tim

            Bledsoe missed 41 games. Without those 41 games of Bledsoe, we are the 6th seed, not the 3 seed, and we lose to GSW in 6, instead of winning in 7.

            Can we move on from Bledsoe?

            • Jake

              First, you can’t assume Bledsoe would have been injured if the Clippers hadn’t traded him, because everything would have been different.
              Second, even with the injury he would have been back for the playoffs and if he had still been on the Clippers, they would have beaten Golden State more easily and they would have had a much better shot at beating the Thunder.
              You’re trying to twist things around in an attempt to justify what was a boneheaded trade. I assume you’re trying your best, as a Clipper employee, to divert the blame from Rivers, which is where it belongs.

              • Tim

                Remember, the Warriors series went 7 games and we had home court. With Bledsoe missing 41 games, Paul missing 19, and J-Cross missing all the games that he missed, we would not have had home court for that series, because there would be games in there were we had no Paul or Bledsoe. Collison did a great job as back up this year. On the road at Oracle for a game 7 is not where you want your season to end, and I believe even with Bledsoe on the roster, our season would have ended somewhere on the road in a game 7 of the 1st round, but thats just my humble opinion.

            • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

              Was this really for me? I was trying exactly to say that this IF Bledsoe is nonsense.

              • Tim

                No, it wasn’t for you. It was for whoever is still crying about not having Bledsoe in a Clipper uniform. Whoever that is, please lets move on. Bledsoe is gone, and lets keep building what we have now.

              • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

                Changing the subject a bit, I had nothing much against OKC as I had against Golden State Whiners and Grizz but after Ibaka “unintentional” 2nd groin hit, those weird combo of calls, I simply felt like they didn’t deserve so I’m all for the Spurs.

                I still don’t like how LBJ used to choke and how he needed Super Friends to get over that. Not so much just because of that by itself but because if he gets more rings, people will use that as an argument as how great he is but for me, he will always lack that Champion’s heart, that drive and killer instinct. Moreover, they are going to bring again the MJ comparison, the 3-peat, as a legitimate point in LBJ’s favor and forget about HOW he has done it.

                In another words, I want a Pacers vs Spurs Finals and Spurs as Champions, but it’s not like I would mind so much the Pacers getting the trophee, but although the Spurs made me quite angry last Finals, I still prefer them as opposed to another young team like the Pacers… hahaha…

              • Tim

                My preferences in this order for the
                title: Pacers, Heat, Thunder, then Spurs. I know the Thunder have no chance vs
                the Spurs with no Ibaka, but I can’t stand the little French men, and
                Tim-whining-Duncan. I have mad respect for KD and RussWes, and Lebron as well.
                Bron did what he had to do to get a ring. Smart not to go out like Iverson, and
                spend his prime years trying to win, and finishing up with no rings. The
                Pacers? Why not, how boring, no major markets in the Finals, but Indy has
                waited a long time for this, so why not. This might be their year, but the Heat
                will not go away quietly. I just want the next NBA Champion from the West to be
                the Los Angeles Clippers, so I’m pulling for one of the Eastern Conference
                teams.

              • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

                It’s not like I have something against LBJ doing what he did and I do understand, it’s just that I can’t stand that people or even him, thinking that getting a ring like that is not kind of like cheating. A Rind is a Ring, no matter what, it’s just that by doing the way he did, he does showcase that lack of heart, drive and killer instinct that I pointed out. My point being that if he wants to be the GOAT, he does need to have that and he simply doesn’t. Getting a 3-peat would make people forget even more about this fact.

                I also didn’t like Durant impersonating Kobe during All Star game, which ultimately made the West lose. I don’t mind the Champ being from West and not being the Clippers, as I said, I think I mind more about the Champ being a young team like Clippers.

                This Playoffs was tough, so much happened despite Clippers being relatively healthy. The Game 7 without Ibaka would give Clippers an edge, but even without Ibaka, they couldn’t capitalize in GM6. It was clear that they were not in the right place mentally and it’s hard to say but it’s probably a mix of everything that happened plus the lack of experience, also, being year ONE of Doc.

                If there is no injury like there were this season, next season Clippers may have a MVP. And the second year of a system is much better, you can simply change pieces and fill roles and only go after players that will fit the system and philosophy. Everyone that stays already know their stuff, it makes it easier for everybody, including the newcomers.

            • http://www.bboy360.com/ Bboy 360

              Redick missed a lot of games too

      • http://2epicbits.com/ theSUBVERSIVE

        I get the lack of intensity thing, though I’m not sure how much of it is really the lack of experience or how much this on going Sterling thing weared them down. But I did miss that intensity, that killer murderer intensity – that’s why I like KG, he never lacks that. And I’m with you, SO MANY injuries and still 57 team record wins. That without accounting the fact that it’s a new system – not that there was any with VDN -, a new coach, several new players, guys trying to learn on the fly. This could had been easily a 60+ W team. Balzers and Pacers had a ride thorugh out the reason basically because they were healthy most of the time.

      • Jake

        It sounds like you work for the Clippers. I don’t mean that as an exaggeration. I really think you must work for the Clippers, maybe as a paid blogger or someone from their PR department, and it sounds like you have dropped in here to defend the front office and what clearly were their erroneous decisions. You seem to be here to bolster the faulty notion that it was a good thing to give up a #1 to Boston for Rivers. You also seem to be here to bolster the faulty notion that the changes Rivers made in the team improved it when in reality they did the opposite. And you seem to be here to also bolster the faulty notion that Rivers did a good job of on court coaching, when the truth is that his coaching of the last minute of game 5 was about as bad as on court coaching can get and it lost the game and the series. And finally you seem to be here to bolster the same hot air Rivers was spinning after the loss, that the team just needed to play longer together. Wrong. The team needs better players.

        • Tim

          Jake, rest assured, I don’t work for the Clippers, been a Clipper fan since before the Showtime era. I, like most of us, watched the Clippers improve over the course of the season and can appreciate the fact that , we had our opportunities to win the series, but ultimately, we didn’t execute during key moments, during critical stages of the series, and when the pressure turned up, the Thunder did not blink, and we did. Up 101-90 in game 5, J-Cross launches an ill-advised 3 early in the shot clock which was a brick, and they come back down, and KD nails a contested 3 right in our face. That was the beginning of the end. If J drains that shot, we’re up 104-90, and the game would have been over, but that little ray of light was all The Thunder needed, and suddenly its 101-93, and the 8 point lead was nothing compared to the intensity the Thunder brought at that key moment, where the series was in the balance, and we all watched the team come unglued. You don’t have to be a Clippers employee to see that the Clippers were not going to win that game. No time outs,or inbound plays, or Eric Bledsoe wild-and out manuevers would have prevented the inevitable at that moment. Stop thinking its someones fault. In keys moments, the Thunder was just better than the Clippers. Move on, get over it, and we have nothing to be ashamed of, although it sucks that we aren’t playing right now. Lets get rid of the owner, and try to maintain the roster until the trade deadline, develop what we have and make some moves in February, and make a deeper run next year, and stop crying over this lost series. Its over. No one is directly to blame, there are all sorts of reason, and don’t forget to credit Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, because they had a lot to do with the Thunder winning that series as well, so blame them if anybody.

  • Tim

    Question to the resident experts. The type of injuries that Dudley attempted to play through this season. Can we expect him to be 100% this season, and finally get a true starting 3 type performance out of him, regardless of the role he’s asked to play?

    • JaySee

      Dudley, even healthy, is pretty useless. He’s not a good defender and he’s not athletic. He’s just a spot-up shooter.

      The Clippers need to package Dudley with Crawford and try to get an athletic defensive wing to be our starting 2 until Bullock is ready. Sell Crawford while he’s hot. Reddick can be our 6th man. Collison should also be traded away if at all possible. The Clippers need to sign or trade for an athletic defensive point guard as well. Defense is the gaping problem of the 2nd unit. There’s more than enough offense with Reddick, Granger, Baby, and Turk. Turk can be the ballhandler. It’s time to get serious with defense.

  • just win

    The true Clipper fans are the ones that tell the truth and want better play or players that can help win, nothing wrong with telling truth we need 2 push the pace we need athletic long defensive minded strong young smart wing players clearly

    • Tim

      If you ever had to ask your dad what happened to the Buffalo Braves, and wondered as a kid how far away San Diego was (at the time I lived in Tennessee), then you might be a true Clipper fan. If you vented out loud that you thought Eric Piatkowski should get more playing time, then you might be a true Clipper fan. If you scratched your head when they drafted Randy Woods, and if you’ve ever thought to yourself that Tom Garrick or Lancaster Gordon just might work out, and get this thing turned around, then you might be a true Clipper fan.

      During the season, I remember saying to myself right after Chris Paul had that 0-for game vs I think it was New Orleans, and just after that game he was playing like a man possessed, right before he tricked out the shoulder vs Dallas, I said, “If Chris Paul plays with this kind of pace the rest of the way, the Clippers will be unbeatable, wow, he must truly be at mid-season form, finally!” Then he tricked out the shoulder, and I never saw him play with that kind of pace again the rest of the season. Oh well.

      Would like to see Chris Paul do more passing on his way to the basket, and if the pass isn’t open, I’m ok with whatever he can get up on the rim, any Chris Paul shot is a high percentage type situation. He needs to be more selfish, push pace. In Quarterback terms he needs to be like the young Michael Vick. Drop back, check the 1 read, not open, run with it. Paul needs to blow by his defender, check for a cutter in route to basket, no one there, shoot it.

  • Tim

    Question from way out in left field. You trade genius-types, and you all know who you are, is there any possible trade scenario (Blake and CP3 untouchable) that can land DeMarcus Cousins in a Clippers uniform? I’m just curious.


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