The Clippers demolished the Wizards 107-81 to kick off their six-game road trip. Our two ClipperBlog writers — and guest contributor John Krolik — discuss what happened at the Verizon Center in Washington.

Most encouraging takeaway from the blowout win?

Jordan Heimer, ClipperBlog: The most encouraging takeaway from a blowout win? That it was indeed an emphatic, never-in-doubt, Wizard-destroying blowout win. The Clippers never took their collective foot off the gas, beating the Wiz by at least ten points in each of the first three quarters, and resisting the temptation up twenty to stop running the offense and start freelancing. Three quarters of dominating play earned the starters a fourth quarter on the bench cheering on the scrubs.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog:The Clippers’ offensive efficiency was off the charts. Ninety-five of the Clippers’ 107 points came from the paint, the free-throw line, or the 3-point line – the most efficient areas on the court. That’s not just a product of talent, it’s a product of discipline. Even with a comfortable lead, the Clips continually looked for high-percentage shots instead of relaxing and chucking up the first shot available.

Breene Murphy, ClipperBlog: Just that there was a blowout on the road. The ClipperBlog crew hung out tonight and the big question was: How many games has Ralph ever called like this in his 30+ years? 4? 5? Love seeing the starters getting rest at the start of a road-trip heavy month.

More impressive on Saturday night — Blake Griffin or DeAndre Jordan?

Jordan Heimer, ClipperBlog: DeAndre Jordan. Blake was good – DeAndre was perfect. 18 points on 9-11, 7 offensive rebounds, 3 blocks, and the dunk of the game. But honestly, picking one over the other misses the point. It was the tandem of Jordan and Griffin that was collectively unstoppable – the Wizards won’t be the last team on this road trip that simply lack the size, speed, and strength to match up with the Clips’ front court.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: Call me spoiled by expectations, but I’m going to go with DeAndre. In a vacuum, Blake would probably get my pick, but DeAndre was the best possible version of himself, which you can’t say about Blake. 9-11 shooting from the field, one vicious dunk after another, and 7 offensive rebounds, all while shutting down the Wizards’ attempts to attack the rim.

Breene Murphy, ClipperBlog: Blake’s always more impressive. But if you’re going more relative on this, I would say DeAndre Jordan. DeAndre’s amazing dunk-rescue of Mo’s faith-based pass was the cherry on top of an incredibly efficient night.

3. Any advice to cure the Clippers’ free throw shooting woes?

Jordan Heimer, ClipperBlog: Um… shoot underhand? Hypnosis? A freak, but fortuitous ulna-break a la Rookie of the Year that results in perfect shooting form? Trolls on Clipper comment boards refer to Blake’s woes from the charity stripe as “free throw despair.” To his credit, Griffin continues to attack the rim regardless of the frustrations that await him at the line – but their ineptitude will inevitably cost them a game sooner rather than later.

John Krolik, Cavs: The Blog: I’m going to get cute and suggest that Blake and DeAndre work with Rick Barry this off-season and bring back the underhanded free throw, especially for DeAndre, whose arms and giant hands are going to make it tough for him to become a good “conventional” free throw shooter. Some of Blake’s free throw issues are mental, and I think he’ll get back to 60-65 percent when his confidence comes back, but I’d love to see him make the underhanded free throw cool again — I’d like to meet the fan or player who thinks that shooting free throws underhanded is more emasculating that being on the wrong end of one of Blake’s throwdowns.

Breene Murphy, ClipperBlog: Can we get Blake to take some rhythm dribbles? At least one? I like that he’s trying to “react” as much as possible in his free throws, but it’s not like he’s a good jump shooter to start with. DeAndre, however, will probably always be a bad free throw shooter. Maybe the rest of the Clippers just have to ignore Blake and DJ’s free throw mojo for now.

Sooner or later the Clippers were going to get burned. It’s not that they’ve been playing poorly as a team, it’s just that their way of winning games felt a little unsustainable. To use our most recent popular term here (move over, glue guy!), the Clippers offensive performances without Chris Paul have been a little bit of “fool’s gold.”

The Clippers are a jump-shooting team. That’s their identity right now. According to HoopData.com, the Clippers lead the league in shot attempts beyond 16-feet. It’s what this roster is built to do. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it does put the team in an awkward position when the shots from the perimeter stop falling.  More...

ClipperBlog contributor Michael Shagrin answers three questions from last night.

Q: What really happened at the end of the 4^th Quarter?

Chauncey Billups brings me to hell and back. So he made the final shot of the game in the last second and confirmed his role as “Mr. Big Shot.” What about his play during the prior 55 seconds of the game’s final minute? He turns the ball over. He takes a bad shot. He turns the ball over again. What was going on with him? These issues could be a product of a few things:  More...

There are a bunch of different things to talk about from tonight’s game, a hundred different moments worth reliving, and plenty of stats worth poring over. But the one thing I keep coming back to is an immeasurable, a subjective thing, something you can’t really pin down.It’s frustrating — I want to talk about the brilliance of Chris Paul, the dominating defense down the stretch, or even Caron Butler’s second half offensive explosion. But I can’t, because all I can think about is toughness.  More...

The Clippers made some big moves yesterday by claiming Chauncey Billups and resigning DeAndre Jordan. We’ll be breaking down Chauncey’s game shortly, but for now check out what everyone else is saying about the moves:

• ESPN’s John Hollinger rating the Chauncey Billups pickup (Insider): “Billups is big enough to play off the ball with Williams at times, and with Eric Bledsoe injured for the opening weeks of the season it was crucial for L.A. to get a backup point guard. With this move, the Clips have set themselves up to make a playoff push, even if Chris Paul never comes their way.”

• Steve Perrin over at Clips Nation analyzes the Chauncey Billups deal: “The Clippers were very interested in adding Tayshaun Prince to their roster this summer for his playoff experience – now they’ve gotten the team leader from Prince’s Pistons. That’s a big win. Of course, it all depends on Billups attitude about the situation – especially since the Clippers are doing this in large part for Billups’ leadership. They’re counting on Billups’ professionalism, plus the promise of a very talented roster, to bring out the best in him.”
• The Chris Paul talks are back on. Not too much of a surprise here, even though the Clippers will say publicly that they’re moving on and ready to go with the roster they have. The fact of the matter is that Stern’s henchmen will have to backdown from demanding the Clippers five best trade assets. At this point, with Billups on board, it doesn’t seem likely the Clippers would forfeit the Minnesota pick and Eric Gordon in trade.
• Vinny Del Negro defends the DeAndre Jordan’s new four-year, $43-million dollar contract to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLA.com: ” ‘The expectations are so high at those type of numbers, but if you really know the game and understand that DeAndre brings a defensive presence for us. Shot-blocking, he runs the court well,’ Del Negro said. ‘He’s very young still, he’s only going to get better. Blake and him play off each other well. He brings you an athletic, big dynamic that we’re fortunate to have.’ “
• Maybe the best move the Clippers made yesterday was the one they didn’t. Here’s Sebastian Pruiti taking a look at how Eric Gordon can become a superstar in one of his patented visual breakdowns: “Last year, we saw Gordon take a step in the right direction. He became a very good ball handler and decision-maker when coming off screens, and he became a spot-up shooting threat. However, if he wants to continue to develop, he must learn to play effectively off the ball.”