The setting is modern day Los Angeles, inside a building begrudgingly shared by diametrically opposed basketball teams.

Exposition:

After playing three games in four nights, the Los Angeles Lakers are a bit weary. They are carried into the game by their aging yet rejuvenated superstar, Kobe Bryant, who has scored at least 40-points in three straight contests and has looked dominant doing it. Their opponent — the Los Angeles Clippers — are on a streak of their own after defeating the league’s best team in the Miami Heat. Even without sharpshooter Mo Williams, morale runs high leading up to the battle for Los Angeles.

Rising Action:

Our protagonists (Blake Griffin and Chris Paul) come out absolutely on fire. Griffin displays his versatility in the Clippers’ first two scoring possessions by striking from distance with a jumper and then by attacking the paint with a sweeping, jumping righty hook over Pau Gasol on the very next play. Griffin and Paul continue to alternate control for the quarter (they assist on or score every bucket except one), but not before Griffin makes a statement of sorts on the defensive end. As Lakers rookie point guard Darius Morris flies in for a dead-ball dunk after a foul on the perimeter by Paul, Griffin stands near the hoop waiting. He’s taken exception to teams shooting in dead-ball spots this year (he’s our Kevin Garnett, just face it already) and so when Morris soars in for the dunk, Griffin gives him a little shove in the ribs. Sort of like a “what are you doing, rook?” push, nothing malicious, but enough to make Lakers coach Mike Brown wig out and almost get tossed from the game.

With the intensity raised a notch, Chris Paul restores order in the quarter’s closing seconds by connecting with a running, fadeaway bank off the glass, plus the harm. Just as the Clippers have seized control, Morris rips it right back with a heave from behind half-court that falls in. 31-24, Clippers after one.

Comedic Relief:

Sensing the audience needed things lightened up a bit, the Lakers and Clippers let their benches take the floor. Although many others contend for the laughs, no one steals the show quite like Brian Cook. After hearing boos upon his arrival, Cook’s improbable rise to prominence comes in the form of a big ol’ swat on Pau Gasol’s fingeroll. Sadly, his fifteen minutes of fame wouldn’t last nearly that long, as one minute later he rocketed a 3-point attempt off the front iron. Perhaps sensing his time in the limelight was coming to a close, Cook went for the glory and drove baseline from the perimeter (yes, this happened), attempting an acrobatic, highly difficult reverse layup in the trees. Blake Griffin was at the scorer’s table before the ball made it’s descent back into this solar system, and just like that, Brian Cook’s brief, hilarious yet saddening performance was done.

Buildup:

As Chauncey Billups rained in shots (4-for-6 from deep), Reggie Evans hauled in offensive rebounds (6 offensive boards) and Caron Butler played lockdown defense (11 points on 3-for-12 shooting for Bryant in the first half), the Clippers lead grew to double-digits with a minute remaining before the half. And just like the first quarter, Griffin found himself yet again in the middle of the fray. After blowing an easy putback chance, Matt Barnes picked up a technical foul for complaining about a push from Griffin that wasn’t called. Chris Paul once again immediately seized control of the game following the technical by nailing a jumper to give the Clippers a 55-42 lead at the break. Only in the movies does a 6-foot-10 monster of a man pick the fights, then let a 6-foot-nothing, tiny little guy settle the score for him.

Conflict:

Red Panda (AKA Bowl Flipping Lady) was not the halftime act.

Of course, there would be no drama if the protagonists weren’t confronted by an antagonist. Awesome montages can only last so long. Matt Barnes, while incredibly annoying, was not threatening enough to fill the role. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are large and talented, but weren’t believable enough as villains. No — only one man would suffice.

You may be familiar with the work of Kobe Bryant. He routinely makes shots that are simply unfair — terrible looks that no player with a conscience should take. Ah, but that’s what makes Bryant so villainous — he has no conscience. He is ruthless, unbending, and at times, unstoppable.

As Bryant starts pouring in off-balance jumpers in the third quarter, the Clippers have no answer. Their stars (Griffin and Paul) can’t guard him. Caron Butler looks exhausted from chasing Bryant and can only do so much. The only answer is…

Randy Foye?

As Foye comes in to try and check Bryant, Kobe’s eyes get big and his jaw widens. The Blake Mamba has a mouse in the house, and it’s feeding time.

Butler checks out with 2:13 left in the period. Foye is left all alone with Kobe. So alone. So cold.

Kobe quickly rattles off 9 of his 21 third quarter points on Foye, and all of the sudden, the Clippers once seemingly insurmountable lead is down to four, 76-72.

Climax:

Kobe remains in the game — and so does Foye. Our protagonists (through no real fault of their own) look like they’re in an awful lot of trouble.

But then a funny thing happens. Reggie Evans chases down an offensive rebound (that’s not unusual) after a Randy Foye airball (that’s not unusual) and gives the ball to Paul with only a few seconds remaining on the shot clock. Most players probably don’t realize the situation, but this is Chris Paul. The Clippers have not had a single shot clock violation to this point in the season, and Paul doesn’t let them start now.

It’s a heave. Paul even does this funny leg kick, mainly because he’s chucking it from 34-feet. It’s just a prayer that Reggie Evans will run over three people and collect the miss off the rim or Blake Griffin will dive into the 17th row to save it and…

Splash.

It was a moment. Staples Center erupts, and the camera catches Paul turning to the opposite baseline, pointing and saying something. I have no idea what he’s actually saying, but I sat there wishing it’s like a kung-fu movie with terrible tracking and he’s saying, “I got this. Thanks for being patient. We’re not losing.”

Falling Action:

From that moment on, everything magically starts to click. Vinny Del Negro makes a great adjustment and has Foye front Bryant all the way around the court. When Bryant does receive the pass, the Clippers immediately double on the catch. Bryant, after all, is the adversary who still needs dispatching.

Tonight though, Bryant is not the hero — Paul is. When Paul gets switched up defensively and finds himself guarding Bryant in the corner on one possession, he puts his chest right into Kobe. He is going nowhere. He is all the same things Kobe is: relentlessly competitive and fearless. But what Bryant and Paul don’t share is the same tragic flaw. Instead of deferring or trusting anyone else to make a play, Bryant decides to do it himself by lowering his shoulder down and moving Paul out of his way. Offensive foul.

Right on cue, Paul delivers the dagger with a 3-pointer on the very next possession.

Of course, since Bryant is a vampire (blood transfusion in eastern Europe? Yeah, okay.) he needs a wooden stake drove through his heart, not a dagger. Bryant retaliates with another series of jumpers, but Paul and Griffin do the work on their end and finally put Bryant and the Lakers away for good.

Resolution:

Although he escapes as the winner, Paul doesn’t leave the battle with Bryant unscathed. He sits out the last few minutes with a pulled hamstring, but doesn’t leave the court until he knows the job is done.

Griffin, meanwhile, miraculously avoids another dust-up with the Lakers and finishes the night without feinting (45 minutes played). He proves yet again to be the perfect complement to Paul, carrying the Clippers offense with energy (22 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists) for the majority of the game, allowing Paul to do what he does best in end of quarter situations.

The Clippers win over the Lakers has plenty of significance, but it wouldn’t be Hollywood if this rivalry wasn’t “to be continued.” In fact, I bet they’ll make this a trilogy. And you know what? The Empire will probably Strike Back. Maybe Kobe will recruit a new adversary and the Clippers will have to scour the galaxy for more Reggie Evans ewoks.

Regardless of all that though, the Clippers (and their fans) deserve to celebrate. They struck a decisive blow tonight. No — the Clippers will never have the rings and money and banners and everything else the Lakers have, but what the Clippers do have is a new hope.

Special guest Brian Kamenetzky from Land O’Lakers Blog and I talk ball about tonight’s teams and matchup.

Know thy opponent:

Breene Murphy: The Lakers front line is thin right now, Pau’s playing lots of minutes, so how have they defended opposing bigs? What has been their weakness? How has it affected the defense as a whole?

Brian Kamenetzky: It hasn’t necessarily been bigs hurting them thus far (though in Minnesota, Darko Milicic completely went off vs. Pau, which was a little disconcerting). Generally speaking, the Lakers have been able to match up well with whatever size on the post they’ve seen with Gasol and Odom, and a few double teams here and there (though not an overwhelming amount). Where the minutes really seem to hurt, in regards to Pau, is in how he protects the rim against penetration, and his recovery in the halfcourt against the pick and roll. As a team, their rotations have been poor, as well, leaving gaps for the opposition to exploit… and too often they are. The lines of attack have come from outside-in, rather than throwing big bodies at an under-manned front court.

There’s a fatigue factor at work for Pau, particularly after the Lakers play a few games in a few days. That makes a difference.

But honestly, when it comes to Gasol’s defense, the biggest problem coming with Andrew Bynum’s absence this season and the early injury for Theo Ratliff isn’t simply minutes, but the fact he has no real backup, and can’t afford to pick up fouls. Not that Pau is exactly Rick Mahorn underneath delivering “message” fouls, but it’s very difficult to aggressively challenge players around the rim when you know putting yourself in foul trouble would do serious damage to the team. Either way, the Lakers would be forced to go smaller, with Odom and Derrick Caracter, or by sliding Odom to the five and Ron Artest to the four.

The matchup issues when that happens are significant. Tonight, I’m very interested to see how the Lakers respond to Griffin’s activity. I doubt they’ve seen anyone with his size, spring, and motor (mostly because I’m pretty sure such a player doesn’t exist outside of Griffin himself). I assume L.O. will draw him a lot, but Artest might get him here and there, and I’m sure Pau will as well as possessions evolve and the defense is forced to switch.

BM: Like Eric Gordon, Lamar has played impressively since the FIBA Championships. What has been the biggest difference? Is it just starters minutes or is it something else (diet, mentality, etc.)?

BK: We spent most of the summer talking about how playing a leadership role could change how he functions on the Lakers. Important stuff, I’m sure, but in trying to focus on the intangibles, I think many (myself included) missed the bigger picture. Odom showed up in great shape, his skills honed thanks to a summer of high level play. Plus, and this might be the most important thing, he spent his FIBA days playing the five, which forced him back down into the paint where he is at his best.

Too often last season, Odom found himself floating around the perimeter, taking too many jumpers. If you look at his shot breakdown from two years ago, when he was a plus-minus monster and almost always was a positive force on the floor and compare it to last season when his influence wasn’t so steady, the difference is stark. Last season, his percentage of shots from deep in the paint plummeted, while the jumpers rose. Not that Odom can’t hit a three here and there, but it’s not his game. He’s unstoppable moving in space near the basket, or operating in the open floor and attacking the rim.

This year, he’s doing much more of that sort of thing. Three’s are down, and his attempts inside 10 feet are up. A lot. The results show.

BM: The Lakers have been in a bit of a funk (for them) recently, has there been anything the opposing teams have done well defensively? Offensively?

Tuesday’s game against Washington was a great example of how the Lakers often get away from their strengths as a team. In the first half, the player and ball movement was spectacular. Kobe Bryant was finishing plays after running off screens and three, four, or five passes were made to get him the ball. Pau Gasol was an effective fulcrum for the offense. Overall, they generated assists on 22 of 28 first half field goals, which is more or less absurd, and ran up 69 points. Yes, the Wizards are a wretched defensive team, but those are pretty staggering figures.

In the second half, against the same defense (lots of zone), the Lakers had four assists, and managed to score only 18 points in the third. What changed? Ball movement. As Derek Fisher pointed out, they were just a beat slower making each pass, guys weren’t as sharp in their cuts, shots came one or two passes earlier in possessions. They were looking at times for that knockout punch, instead of continuing to do what worked in the first place.

When they’re bad on that side of the ball, it hurts them in transition, because the John Walls of the world get easy run out opportunities. Not to say their halfcourt D has been spotless- teams have been effective on the pick and roll, taking advantage of the aforementioned rotation issues, but more than anything the Lakers suffer when they can’t get themselves set in the halfcourt, have to scramble and cross-match.

If I’m the Clippers tonight, I push, push, push. The Lakers are actually very good playing up tempo- even when they don’t score on the break, they get into their offense so fast it’s hard to defend them- but it’ll be a serious test for the Clips to contain the Lakers in the halfcourt if the Lakers are sticking to their offensive principles.

BM: Last question. How often does Lamar reminisce about his time with the Clips?

BK: Not a ton, but he does look back at those points of his career as formative, and still feels like he cost Alvin Gentry his job. He just wasn’t as mature a player and person as he is now. I don’t think he wishes he was still in red, white, and blue by any stretch (would you?) but I do believe he wishes quite strongly he’d handled things differently in his time there.

Know thyself:

BK: What’s the difference on the floor between a Baron-led Clippers offense, and the Bledsoe version?

BM: The Clips are still operating within a pretty simple Vinny Del Negro pick and roll offense but there are acute differences between the offense when Baron or Bledsoe are on the floor.

Truthfully, it’s more of a difference between a Bledsoe-Gordon led offense and a Baron led offense. When Bledsoe is in the game, VDN lets Gordon handle the ball a lot, which is one of the reasons for Gordon’s spike in assists this year. I think this has had an adverse effect on Gordon’s three point shot but has also been an impetus for him to go to the rim more (9.3 FTA).

That said, Bledsoe does a nice job running the offense, especially for a 19 year old rookie that didn’t play point guard in his lone season in college (due to John Wall). He is at his best on the fast break, he’ll give any player a run for their money on speed with the ball and he’s an above average finisher. Even in the half-court, he uses his speed to blow by opponents and get open looks for his teammates, although he has to learn to use his speed so he doesn’t just probe and dribble out. He’s cutting down on unforced turnovers from over-penetration (still has significant problems) but the probing often forces the Clippers into re-initiating the offense with 12-14 seconds. This is not enough time to run the offense and the Clips will look for a bail out play from Blake, Gordon or Bledsoe instead of really passing the ball.

This is where Baron excels. While he’s slower, he still has one of the best eyes for passing in the league and the offense does a better job of rotating the ball from weak to strong side early in the clock. He uses the Blake pick much better and he his kick-outs to Butler, Gomes and Gordon get them the ball in a better position than Bledsoe’s passing and allows them to shoot better from behind the arc. Also, Baron throws much better lobs to Blake and DeAndre.

Still, Baron is a terrible shooter and since coming back from injury, the Clippers have seen him become more and more comfortable taking his own shot. Not a trend that the Clippers want to see as Baron is one of the worst shooters in the NBA. There are only five players in the league with a worse true shooting percentage (Troy Murphy, Damon Jones, Jeremy Lin, Jawad Williams and Kyrylo Fesenko). So there are large problems with either point guard and big positives. Good news is that both Bledsoe’s problems and Baron’s are correctable. Although Baron hasn’t ever shown the desire to improve his shot/take better shots, so no one expects him to change. Bledsoe could, though.

BK: The only real tangible excitement around this team is with Blake Griffin. Offensively, we’ve seen the explosiveness and the dunks. What has surprised you about that half of his game? Defensively, how do you expect a matchup between him and Lamar Odom to play out?

BM: First, I want to clear something up. The only real tangible national excitement around this team is Blake Griffin. For those following the Clippers, Eric Gordon’s emergence as a potential All Star has been inspiring. Since the FIBA Championships, he’s been on a tear, averaging 24 points, 4.5 assists and, most impressive, 9.3 free throw attempts. He’s finally using his speed, strength and herky-jerky dribble to attack the basket. The result? He’s evolved into the Clippers undisputed closer. He scored 13 fourth quarter points against the Kings and 9 in the last 3 minutes to lead the Clippers to victory. And in Utah, on a last second possession, needing 2 to tie, he sliced through the packed paint for a slam dunk to even the score. And he hasn’t even found his 3 point shot yet. Good reason for excitement.

As for Blake, he’s been transcendently exciting, I mean, he’s changed Mozgov from a proper noun into a verb. It’s definitely more than dunks, though. He can pass and while it’s not refined, he has an effective set of post moves (right hook, fadeaway over his right shoulder, a spin move and an adequate jumper). The most surprising though, is his ability to handle the ball on the break. My favorite highlight of Blake this year was in the Knicks game when he was on the break, with Gallinari guarding him closely. Instead of doing what most power forwards would do and pass it off to a wing and re-establish the play, Blake pushes to the basket harder, forcing Gallo to commit and then he does a spin move and tomahawks the ball through the hoop. Incredible. And none of that would be possible if it weren’t for his handles.

However, this ability among power forwards is rare, not singular. Lamar Odom is more than adept at leading his own break, too. This is worrisome for the Clippers because not only is Blake is a below average defender in general, but he’s even worse on the fast break (former Laker Brian Cook is usually his defensive replacement, although Cook is suspended for the Clips/Laker game). Blake can lapse into running back on defense without paying attention and with Lamar’s handles and propensity for the driving lefty swoop, Blake could get burned. The only saving grace on defense so far has been Blake’s rebounding ability, granted it’s a pretty big saving grace.

While the majority of the league has struggled to contain Blake on offense, he has struggled against longer, taller defenders. Tyson Chandler, Brook Lopez and Tim Duncan have had varying degrees of success against Blake. Lamar isn’t built like those guys, but Pau is. I suspect that Blake will still have some impressive moments, because he’s so much more athletic than Lamar, but it could get interesting if Pau switches over or doubles off of DeAndre.

BK: The record doesn’t seem much different. What has changed for the Clippers from the Dunleavy to the Del Negro eras?

BM: Energy. Hope. An organizational philosophy. Blake Griffin.

The Clippers record is terrible but they are more fun to watch than most of the teams in the league because of the effort of the young guys. The reason they are losing games has more to do with efficiency and chemistry, in a “the teammates are all new, where are they going to be” way and not the “the players don’t like each other” way. They turn the ball over, shoot poorly from the free-throw line (ahem, Blake, ahem, DeAndre) and they have no idea what they are doing collectively on defense. But those are all characteristic of young players, and that should be expected with a team that has no starters older than 22. They do play hard though, and that effort often pays off in spectacular dunks not just for Blake but for Eric Gordon, DeAndre and Aminu.

That young starting five, after a horrendous opening to the season, is starting to gel. They are 4-1 in their last five at home and are starting to find a semblance of cohesion while planting the seed of hope for the future. The road is still a nightmare, but that is normal for a young team (the Wizards have struggled on the road, too). But the wins at home have been strong, they’ve beat the Spurs and the Hornets recently, as well as the Thunder earlier in the year. Those wins have displayed the promise of the team.

An underrated surprise has been the heady decisions of the front office this summer. Maybe it’s because the management isn’t as fractured between Sterling’s crew and Dunleavy’s, because I suspect that the Clippers would not have drafted and signed free agents as well even a year ago. The unifying factor: bringing in character guys as well as good players. I feared, as I’m sure many others did, that the Clips would blow their cap space on an overpaid free agent a lá Rudy Gay or Joe Johnson or they would overflow their cap space like Bucks this summer or the Piston the year before, but such was not the case. Sure, they needed more than Ryan Gomes, Randy Foye and Rasual Butler to help the team, but they didn’t need another large contract, like Baron’s, that would prevent them from keeping their young core together in the future. And none of the signees have bad contracts like Josh Childress or Wesley Matthews. The biggest one was 3 years, $12 million to Ryan Gomes. Even if they don’t work out (and they haven’t so far), it’s not crippling.

Again, all of this comes back to Blake. I think the beauty of a player like him is that he’s simple and unifying. There is no worry about him clashing with coaches or players. He works his butt off and he’s so talented. It is so easy to want to build around him with players that fit (similar to Kevin Durant), because he, along with Gordon, is the future.

Thanks, Brian!

Injury notes: Kaman is out with a sprained ankle/bone bruise in his foot, Foye still has a strained hamstring, and Cook is suspended. Looks like Baron will play.

Note: If anyone feels like chatting, I’ll be on ESPN’s Daily Dime Live tonight, pretty much the whole time from 4-10 pm PT.

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.