Blake Griffin hedged on the screen and crouched, Kevin Durant swinging into focus. Durant recognized what most would have considered a mismatch, and tried to take Blake Griffin right to the rim. Only Blake quickly moved his feet, the ball poked between Kevin Durant’s legs and Blake threw the pass down to a bolting Jamario Moon for the quick jam. Blake also drew three charges (2 on Ibaka, 1 on Maynor) and stole another in the back court from Daequan Cook. Which begs the question, how good can Blake be on defense?  More...

The Clippers’ dysfunction and bad chemistry have been well-documented, and the cultural issues that surround the club must be addressed before the 2009-10 season opener. But even if the Clippers return to training camp as a svelte, rededicated bunch, there are some fundamental weaknesses that extend beyond things like effort, coaching, and alchemy.  More...

The Clippers are parachuting into Denver without Al Thornton, Chris Kaman, and Marcus Camby, so I don’t expect tonight to be much of a game. The Nuggets’ frontcourt rotation is composed of legitimate big men — Nene, Kevin Martin, Chris Andersen, and Renaldo Balkman.  They don’t engage in a lot of smallball, despite what their 5th ranked pace number might suggest. At times, Linas Kleiza will assume the 4 spot in the second unit, particularly with Martin still recovering from a back injury, but they generally have two big bodies out there at the 4 and 5.

Along with Chauncey Billups, these bigs are a primary reason the Nuggets rank 8th in defensive efficiency.  On Thursday night, they held Utah to a mere 104 points in 107 possessions.  X’s & O’s of Basketball watched the game, and illustrates Denver’s effective pick-and-roll defense.  Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company made some similar observations a few weeks back.

X’s & O’s has a video clip of a particularly good defensive set where Denver traps Deron Williams:

I just like this defensive/offensive sequence from the end of the first quarter. The Jazz are in their ISO and high PNR set for Deron Williams, the Nuggets do a great thing by trapping the ball screen, then zoning up, forcing the 24 second shot clock violation…I really like [trapping the screen] because it takes the ball out of the offense’s best playmaker. You might give up an open look, but I think when you play against a team with a great playmaker, the key is to force the other players to make a play, create their own shot. In fact, even if the Jazz didn’t run a high ball screen, I would’ve doubled Williams anyways to get the ball out of his hands…

There’s no question that S/R defense is the linchpin of any NBA defense, but X’s & O’s reveals a point that often goes unsaid:  The two guys defending that action are vital, but the three guys covering the rest of the floor are just as important to a defensive stop.

Carmelo Anthony, Linas Kleiza, and J.R. Smith aren’t anything special as individual defenders, but they do a great job here of blanketing the floor, accounting for Utah’s perimeter people, and ultimately rotating while Chauncey Billups and Chris Andersen work against the S/R.  In doing so, those three guys buy Andersen enough time to get back to the basket area, where he’s most useful as a defender [and where he blocks Andrei Kirilenko's layup, resulting in a shot clock violation].

Remember that Clippers’ #8 ranked defense of 2005-06?  As individual defenders, they weren’t all that much, but they did this sort of thing remarkably well — which goes to show that alertness and chemistry account for a lot.

At the outset, the Clippers play one of their strongest quarters of the season. Their defense stifles Charlotte out of the gate.  They defend Charlotte’s high S/R with energy and precision [is that Ricky Davis blocking Raja Bell's 20-footer on the recovery in the closing minute?].  The only clean looks the Bobcats muster are on a couple of pin-downs for Bell [1st, 10:32; 1st, 7:15], but those shots aren’t falling. Offensively, as well, the Clippers play a very heady game in the first quarter.  Al Thornton hits only three of his seven from the field in the period, but with one exception, all of his attempts are on assertive moods to the hole, or inside of 15 feet.  Baron Davis posts up Raymond Felton [then later D.J. Augustin] to good effect.  Marcus Camby flings a perfect 70-foot outlet pass to Ricky Davis, who gets fouled for two shots.  And Mike Taylor gets out into the open floor on the break, weaving his way through traffic to finish with a circus layup.   The Clippers win the quarter 29-17 [114.5/73.9].  More...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While it’s always frustrating when a game isn’t televised in Los Angeles, rest assured that those of you without League Pass missed one of the least telegenic games of the season.

Those low double-teams that fueled the Clippers’ ball movement in Atlanta on Saturday are entirely absent tonight, as Larry Brown employs a more stay-at-home brand of defense (with some exceptions when the help is cheap).  The Clippers’ shooters have trouble finding open space both high and low, and their offense stagnates as a result.  More...