Ed Note: I’ll spare you guys the Star Wars comparisons this time. You can hear me Jar Jar Binks the whole thing in the last segment of ClipperBlogLive. It was as awful as it sounds, but hopefully still entertaining. — D.J.
How you view this game largely depends on whether or not you’ve fully adapted to the new Clippers psyche. Let’s break this thing down with the two different viewpoints.
With Chris Paul back in the lineup, the Clippers lost 96-91.
ClipperBlog’s Kevin Arnovitz and Jovan Buha answered some questions on the revitalized rivalry between the Clippers and Lakers in a feature on ESPN.com:
Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: (1) Chris Paul. (2) Kobe Bryant. (3) Blake Griffin. And I feel ludicrous leaving Pau Gasol off the list because he’s one of the best reasons to watch basketball in Los Angeles. The point is that if you have the next six months free and unlimited resources, rent a place within five blocks of Staples Center, buy two sets of season tickets and die happy.
There is an air of finality which pervades over this Spring’s NBA Playoffs. Looming behind record television ratings lie the uncertainty of the new collective bargaining agreement, which has the potential to alter the league’s economic and regional power balance. On the court, the time for the heirs of Jordan seems to be coming to a close—as Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett—the men who once played against his aging Airness, prepares to leave the stage. Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Dirk Nowitzki are poised to seize the throne, and right on their heels are the league’s youngest stars; Durant and Rose, eager to jump the line. For most Angelenos, the annual Spring basketball fever that grips the city have come to a premature and inglorious end with the Lakers embarrassing meltdown. And for some Clippers fans, the end of Phil Jackson’s era one week after Blake Griffin’s unanimous selection as Rookie of the Year has instilled hope that the ground is finally shifting between LA’s two NBA franchises.
Hours before the Clippers knocked off the Lakers on Wednesday, I asked Mike Dunleavy how a coach can tell the difference between real, permanent growth and the fleeting illusion of improvement.
“You ask yourself, ‘Is the team able to do what it wants to do?’”
Wednesday night, the Clippers got most of what they wanted offensively courtesy of Baron Davis, who is playing his most prolific stretch of basketball since he arrived in Los Angeles.
What accounts for that uptick? It’s probably a combination of factors.
The devastating combination of length, agility, and passing ability among the Lakers’ bigs makes it difficult to be too frustrated by their dominance over the Clippers up front. The Lakers score 70 points in the paint tonight, the majority of which belong to Andrew Bynum, who finishes with 42. It’s not as if Bynum pushes his Clipper defenders around on the block. Instead, he works himself easy shots through motion, mismatches, second chances, and active work around the rim.
Bynum gets his first bucket of the night exploiting a mismatch down low against Thornton courtesy of a high S/R with Luke Walton; the second basket comes on a putback; the third on a pass from Kobe Bryant out of a triple-team when DeAndre Jordan leaves Bynum to help; the fourth on a back door cut from the left wing. The fifth when Pau Gasol hits the diving Bynum between two defenders [Brian Skinner leaves Bynum to help] ; the sixth on another back door cut.
The Clippers leave Bynum unattended far too frequently — and should be faulted for doing so. But the spaces on the floor change so fluidly in the Lakers’ offense — to say nothing of the ball movement — that it’s unreasonable to believe the likes of Skinner, Jordan, and Thornton can execute a defensive scheme that could contain Bynum. If it weren’t Bynum, it would’ve been Gasol.
On the other end, DeAndre Jordan has a breakout game: 23 points, 12 rebounds [six offensive], four blocks, and only one turnover on 89% TS. Jordan is on the receiving end of a bunch of alley-oops. He also collects a fair amount of garbage. But he shows some skills:
Jordan displays a freakish level of athleticism, soft hands, a good handle, and a nose for the ball. Can you imagine if he cultivates a face-up game from 12 feet?
Steve Novak continues his torrid January. This month, he’s now 21-40 from beyond the arc after tonight’s 4-5 3PA performance. Unfortunately, his liabilities are apparent tonight. Despite his 14 points in 24 minutes, Novak finishes a -11. He simply can’t match up defensively against the Lakers’ long 4s — specifically, Lamar Odom.
Kobe Bryant was in a deferential mood all night, but Eric Gordon doesn’t get off easy, but does solid work defensively. Two sets to examine in the second half:
Bryant finishes 5-15 from the field, with three pairs of FTAs. Tonight he’s a facilitator, not a scorer [12 assists, one shy of his season high], and it serves his bigs well.
Ultimately, the Clippers lose the game on the glass. There are 35 rebounding opportunities beneath their basket. The Clippers grab 18 of them…but the Lakers take 17. That’s a 54% defensive rebound rate. Anything in the low 70% range is pretty awful. Below 70% demonstrates a Golden State-level of rebounding incompetence.
There’s something a little unseemly about rationalizing the team’s sorry state, but it’s indisputable that if the Clippers’ principal frontcourt were healthy, DeAndre Jordan might be playing down in Anaheim. Instead, we’re seeing a raw talent gradually refine his skills against the league’s best players, and the upward trajectory of his confidence offers real promise.