Six things to keep in mind for tonight’s game:

• The Lakers have won 9 straight against the Clippers, averaging an incredible 20.1 point margin of victory in those 9 games. The 9 game winning streak for the Lakers is the third longest in the rivalry’s history.

• Surprisingly, the Clippers actually shoot a higher team field goal percentage than the Lakers. Coming into tonight’s game, the Clippers shoot 46.6% from the field, while the Lakers shoot 46.2%. Despite this, the Lakers average nearly 9 more points a game than the Clippers. The main reason for the large point differential? The Lakers take care of the ball much better, but also play at a much quicker tempo. The Lakers rank 7th in the league in pace factor at 94.7, while the Clippers are one of the slowest teams in the league (23rd) with a pace factor of 91.8.

• The Lakers are a perfect 14-0 against teams that are below the .500 mark this season.

• You would think the Clippers’ big advantage would come from having a better bench than the Lakers, but the numbers tell a different story. Scoring wise, the Clippers rank third lowest in bench points (23.5 PPG) among all NBA teams. However, in the first meeting between these two teams, the Clippers bench outscored the Lakers bench 29-9. They’ll likely need to have a similarly strong performance tonight for the Clippers to have a chance at the upset.

• Pau Gasol is unlikely to play, but if he does the Lakers are extremely tough to beat with him in the lineup. Stretching back to February 5th of 2008, the Lakers are 105-25 (.808 win pct) with Gasol in the lineup. They’re slightly more vulnerable with Gasol out of the lineup, posting a 14-7 record in 21 games (.667 win pct).

• Who gets the majority of the minutes at small forward tonight? Al Thornton is still battling the flu, but he appears to match up best against the massive Ron Artest. Both Rasual and Thornton struggled mightily in the first meeting against the Lakers, shooting a combined a 6 for 17 from the field. Do the Clippers ride the hot hand in Butler (14.4 PPG over the last 5 games), or play the better physical match for Artest in Thornton?

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:

• [2nd, 6:34]  Freddie Jones and Jordan execute a pretty drag screen.  Jones dribbles left, and Bynum tracks him.  But this leaves a clear path for Jordan to dive to the hoop.  Jones deftly threads the needle to Jordan at about 10 feet.  Jordan is in high gear as he catches the ball, but is met by two Laker defenders [Lamar Odom & Trevor Ariza].  What does Jordan do?  Dance his way between both defenders with a pretty stutter step, then lays it up and in.

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:

• [3rd, 2:42] On the left wing, Bynum comes high to set a screen for Bryant that doesn’t bother Gordon much.  EJ manages to stay close to Bryant along the left sideline, walling off the lane.  At the baseline, Bryant turns the corner, but he’s far underneath the basket.  For 99% of the league, this would be an impossible angle.  But Kobe switches hands and flings a carnival reverse layup off the window.  What to do?
• [4th, 2:20] Same set.  Bynum’s screen is marginally more effective this time.  Again, Bryant dribbles along the sideline, with Eric managing to stay in front of him.  Rather than turn the corner at the baseline, Bryant backs Gordon in at the low post, then launches a quick turnaround jumper over EJ.  It’s no good.

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.

During his tenure as the Clippers’ head coach, Mike Dunleavy has always preferred a more controlled offense. To a large extent that’s due to his natural inclinations, but it’s also been a function of the Clips’ personnel.  There wasn’t a member of the Cassell-Mobley-Maggette/Ross-Brand-Kaman core of 2005-2006 that didn’t benefit in some fashion from a set-oriented offense — be it the two-man game of Cassell and Brand, or the iso drives for Maggette.  The Clippers short-lived success was due, in large part, to the fact that all the notables on the roster were oriented toward this style of play.  But as I mentioned in the wrapup post last night, this Clipper team is a strange amalgamation of styles.

Mike Dunleavy is probably more aware of this reality than anyone and it’s his job to sculpt the team’s attributes — whatever they are — into something coherent.  That’s a process that will take time, given the team’s lack of familiarity with one another, to say nothing of the coach’s lack of familiarity with his roster.  As a Clipper fan, watching this process will be extremely frustrating, precisely because it will demand a lot of trial-and-error.  But as a basketball fan, it will be fascinating to watch.

Keeping in mind that Marcus Camby wasn’t on the floor and that his absence is considerable, what can we glean from last night’s game?   Let’s take a look at what Dunleavy ran to start the season:

• [1st, 11:35]  The new Clippers begin their season with a spread floor, then Tim Thomas moving into position for what looks like some elbow action just in front of Baron Davis.  Baron dishes the ball to Kaman, who is at the top of the perimeter, then dives to the hole.   But when Kaman realizes that Andrew Bynum is 15 feet away from him patrolling the paint and he’s got a direct line to the hoop, Kaman wisely puts the ball on the floor and drives hard to the hole — which is what you’d want him to do.  Only problem: Bynum recovers nicely and Kobe leaves Mobley in the right corner to help.  If Kaman had peripheral vision, he’d dish it to Mobley for the uncontested wide open 3PA — but instead he leans into the double-team and gets stuffed.    This is a broken play — again, a good opportunity for Chris to take advantage of his quicks — but he ultimately fell victim to his court vision…or lack thereof.
• [1st, 11:05]  Probably not what Dunleavy has in mind, but something he’s going to have to live with unless he’s prepared to wage all-out war with his best player.  Davis comes down, crosses over, steps back, and launches a contested 25-footer against Derek Fisher.  The ball clanks off the rim out of bounds.
• [1st, 10:35] Floppy Action.  Mobley crosses underneath and pops to the far wing, while Davis delivers the ball to Thomas on the perimeter.  Thomas has always been able to drive left with proficiency, and here he handles Pau Gasol off the dribble with ease.  Radmanovic steps in to help, but TT is already at the rim.  FGM
• [1st, 10:00] This looks like the same set that started the game.  Only this time Bynum is up top to guard Kaman when Davis dishes the ball off to CK and makes his dive past a TT elbow screen.  Gasol isn’t fooled, and TT isn’t able to get any space for himself when he receives the ball up along the arc from Kaman.  It’s worth mentioning that the Lakers have defended the S/R to perfection during their first two games.  It’s impressive.   So we move into the second phase of the set.  Kaman sets a nice elbow pin-down for Baron Davis, who pops back out.  Fisher fights through it, and recovers somewhat – but Davis has already taken a hard dribble up the gut of the lane.  When the Lakers converge on him in the paint, Davis kicks it out to TT, who gets a momentary look from the arc at :10.  He passes up the shot and, instead, drives left.  Radmanovic stays with him, so TT delivers a skip pass out to Mobley at :06.  Mobley drives, almost gets stripped, regains his footing, but puts up an awful, off-balanced shot at :02.TT collects the garbage and puts it up and in.Overall, the Clippers timing and execution left a lot to be desired.
• [1st, 9:12] This is a basic post-up for Mobley off the right post against Kobe Bryant.  Bryant is far too active for Mobley to work anything meaningful, so Cat kicks it back out to Davis, who launches it from…let’s call it 26.  No good.   Did the Clips have anything else?  Other than :11 seconds, nothing.
• [1st, 8:41]  The Clippers in a 3-on-2 transition.  It goes to Thomas, who’s the trailer on the play.  His dunk draws the back of the iron, but he’s fouled.  Thomas misses both and finishes an abysmal 2-8 from the line on the night.
• [1st, 8:22] Tough to tell because KTLA is tight on Radmanovic following his 3PM as the Clips get set up, but it looks like floppy action with Thornton crossing underneath to collect the ball from Davis on the left wing.  Radmanovic — who has looked solid defensively at the outset — gives Al nothing.  Al wisely returns the ball to Davis, and reposts.  Credit Baron for being patient here.  He’s going to need Thornton this season and once Al reports against Vlad, Baron dumps it back into him.  Unfortunately, Al still has nothing against Vlad’s length.  The Lakers almost appear as if they’re in a 2-3. Whatever the case, Gasol has allowed Thomas to float up to the top of the arc unfettered.  Al finds TT, who nails the uncontested 3PA. Good recognition.

Game 1

KTLA 5
ESPN
KSPN 710

• No team is returning fewer roster members than the Clippers.  Can you name the five guys in uniform who logged minutes for the Clips last season?
• Four olympiads from four different countries are on the two rosters.  Name ‘em.
• Kobe Bryant, Baron Davis, and Derek Fisher played in all 82 games in 2007-08.  How many NBA players managed that feat last season?
• Vlad Radmanovic and Lamar Odom have played for both the Clippers and the Lakers — two of only three NBA players who can make that claim.  Who is the other?
• Mike Dunleavy is now both GM and head coach for the Clips. Only two NBA teams had the dual-role of coach and general manager last season.  Who were they?
• BONUS QUESTION: Notice anything new? This is Clipperblog 3.0. A different look, but same great taste. We hope you enjoy the new bells and whistles and functionality.  If you need access to past threads, all of our permalinks will still be available (Mike is working on this right now) The archives are currently working.  Here is a link to the old Clipperblog 2.0 — may it rest in peace.