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Clippers 2010-11 Unpreview

Jordan Heimer — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:57:07 +0000

One of my favorite movie lines of all time is in Bottle Rocket, during a scene where Owen Wilson is trying to convince Luke Wilson to join in a planned heist. “Here are a few of the ingredients,” he says, ticking off elements of the plan on his fingers. “Dynamite, pole vaulting, laughing gas, helicopters…can you see how incredible this is going to be?!?” The joke, of course, is that it’s a terrible plan — long on pole vaulting, short on logic. The Clippers enter the 2010-11 campaign with a new coach, a new general manager and a whole bunch of new parts, including last year’s top overall draft pick, the Completely Cleared for All Basketball Activities Blake Griffin. And the question is: Has Neil Olshey put together a workable plan or will it be another season of laughing gas and helicopters?

The New
The Clippers offseason has been described almost universally as “disappointing.” Disappointing compared to what? It’s completely clear now that LeBron James was never coming to Los Angeles. He was never going anywhere but Miami. The entire “process” was, in fact, a charade. Ripping the Clippers (as some did) for presenting the shortest and least involved “pitch” is like criticizing someone’s 3-Card Monte strategy — how you play the game is irrelevant when the game is rigged.

This time last year, there was a growing Nation consensus that although Coach Mike Dunleavy clearly had to go, General Manager Mike Dunleavy had shown his savvy, providing much needed depth with the acquisitions of Rasual Butler, Craig Smith and Bassy Telfair. Well, if last season’s off season was a success, then this one was an unqualified triumph. Telfair proved to be a pass-first, brick-second back-up point guard who didn’t like to play defense. Olshey re-signed Butler and Smith at discounts, then used the draft to add excellent young talent at positions of need with Aminu, Bledsoe, Willie Warren and unsigned pick-up Marquis Blakely.

While plenty has been written about Ryan Gomes already — his knowledgeable and deferential approach, ability to guard bigger 3s (something the Clips lacked last season) and strong shooting from beyond the arc — back up guard Randy Foye has been the less discussed signing. Perhaps he’s regarded as something of a bust, relegated to a backup role only four years after being the seventh selection in the 2006 draft. In fact, Foye is potentially undervalued. Before the selection of John Wall made Foye an afterthought in Washington, Foye was being discussed as someone who deserved a Ramon Sessions or Jared Jack type contract — 4 years, at least 4 million per. Flip Saunders described him as “coachable” and “a good guy.” Along with Gomes and Butler, Foye will help spread the floor for an inside-out game, and provide offense off the bench.

These moves aren’t flashy, but they’re coherent. Foye, Gomes, Bledsoe, Smith and Butler aren’t names that sell season tickets … but they also aren’t Al Thorton or Ricky Davis. Last year’s squad often felt like less than the sum of its parts, in part because of all the possessions wasted by Thorton, Outlaw, and the Davises. (And though Mardy Collins was one of my favorite Clips the last couple years, he had a terrible habit of bricking layups). Shot selection is a zero sum game — every jacked-up, off-balance, low-percentage heave is a shot taken away from a more efficient player. By assembling a squad of efficient role players, Olshey is playing with negative space, helping to guarantee that this season’s most important shots will be taken by his best players, and that everyone in the developing young core will have adequate touches.

The Improved
The Clippers return three starters. There’s not much to say about Chris Kaman — he was an All-Star last year and initial impressions from preseason suggest he’s in great shape and ready to have another standout year. With Baron, frankly, there’s almost too much to say — or, at least, nothing left to add. Either you believe Baron can change or you don’t. Either Dunleavy was the problem or Davis is an inveterate coach killer. Either Davis is savvy enough to realize changing his game is the only way to remain relevant or he’s been practicing 20 foot jumpers in Africa. We’ll see soon enough.

Daniel Ikuta already did a nice job breaking down the impact of swapping Marcus Camby for Blake Griffin. This isn’t really another way to look at it, more an expansion on one of Ikuta’s points: Camby’s 12.8 percent usage ranked him 297th among qualified players last season, or, in other words, a mere 32 spots higher than Fabricio Oberto’s league low 7.2 percent. (An accurate measure of Camby’s offensive involvement would be even lower, since tip-backs account for a large number of his FGAs). Talk of Camby’s offensive efficiency is kind of beside the point – he’s an afterthought. The biggest difference between Griffin and Camby is that defenses will have to scheme for Griffin. There’s a critical mass to offensive weaponry in the NBA, and the best teams maximize the players on the court who can punish defenses for ignoring them. Also – this might be heretical – I’m not completely convinced Griffin will be a defensive downgrade. Camby struggled last season to stay in front of strong quicker PFs like Carlos Boozer, who took advantage of Camby’s slowing lateral movement. Certainly, Griffin won’t have Camby’s impeccable defensive instincts — at least not initially — but there’s not a power forward out there who will out-muscle him.

On a related note, Eric Gordon’s usage percentage was an (essentially) league average 20.2 percent. The hope in Clipperland this summer was that EJ “learned” something playing for his Team USA, that it finally “all clicked.” Usually, I’m skeptical of athletic epiphanies. Nine times out of ten, guys are held back less by “a lack of confidence” or “poor decision making” than a lack of talent. But Gordon’s USG percentage proves what Clipper fans already knew — he’s the rare player who would probably improve his team simply by hogging more of its possessions. What impressed about Gordon’s play in international play this summer wasn’t only his streaks of made 3s, but the way he continued to take open shots decisively even after he had missed a few. Gordon’s new confidence means fewer hesitations shooting open looks, and a less selfish surrounding cast will ensure that his opportunities come more consistently and more often.

The Brains
There’s been a race to the thesaurus, as basketball writers try to find new ways to describe Vinny Del Negro as an unknown quantity. So yes, we’re all in agreement — Del Negro is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, couched in a riddle, hidden in a conundrum. His strong playoff runs in Chicago have been widely cited as proof that he gets the most out of his players, that he “wins games when they count most.” Another way of looking at it is that for the better parts of two seasons he coached a pretty talented Bulls team to a losing record. Potato potato, as Christopher Walken might say. It’s all bland generality until we see what Vinny rolls out against Portland on opening night.

But I do know this — he’s not Dunleavy. Whatever merit Dunleavy’s basketball philosophies may have had, by the end Dunleavy had become a caricature of a losing coach: sweaty and red-faced, gesticulating maniacally in one of his tan-on-tan suits. More than once, I watched fans at the Staples Center conspiring to organize “Fire Dunleavy” chants behind the Prime Ticket postgame, hoping the audio might leak on-air. Dunleavy’s oft-quoted complaint that fans don’t analyze the game the same way coaches do was undeniably true; it just didn’t matter. Perception is reality, and the perception was that the Clippers couldn’t win with Dunleavy as their coach. Dunleavy may well have been holding together an overmatched team with x’s and o’s – but Clipper fans had passed that point of no return, beyond which fans only notice facts that already fit the conclusion. We knew Dunleavy was terrible, so all we saw were the erratic substitutions, the head-scratching time outs (or lack thereof) and Baron’s lackluster efforts.

In the long term, Del Negro will be judged on how successfully he transforms the theoretical into the actual. We don’t know how what offense he’ll run or how he’ll manage his rotations.But “not knowing — and perhaps being pleasantly surprised — beats “doomed to failure” any day. Perhaps our new coach will tailor a system to suit the talent, instead of demanding that the talent squeeze into the system – in which case, unknown will turn out to have been a blessing.

The Boss
Of course, the Clippers could have Red Auerbach leading the ‘92 Bulls onto the floor, and there would still be a vocal minority insisting that the team will never win as long as Donald Golden Sterling is still the owner. They insist that the Clippers will never be winners until there’s a change in ownership. Well, to those people, I say — Congratulations! It’s already happened.

I lived in New York in the late 80s and early 90s, when Yankee fans widely considered George Steinbrenner a cancerous owner — an owner who “could not” win. He meddled with personnel decisions, fired managers annually, and hired thugs to dig up dirt on Dave Winfield. Overnight hosts on WFAN 660 encouraged fans to mail back season ticket renewal requests with “NOT UNTIL GEORGE IS GONE” written on the backs of the envelopes. And yet, when he died recently, he was almost universally heralded as a “great owner.” How did the transformation occur? It wasn’t that George became such a nice guy. Throughout the 90s he continued to snipe at his general manager, criticize Derek Jeter’s social life, and insult Japanese free agents. But… 1. He began to let baseball people make baseball decisions. 2. He opened his checkbook when said baseball people asked him to. 3. The Yankees won. George’s occasional rantings were lost in the din of championship parades.

Granted, until the Clippers begin to win the rest is academic, but Sterling has already met points one and two. This isn’t the Donald Sterling of the early 90s who let Ron Harper walk, wouldn’t pony up for Danny Manning, and basically went a decade without a major free agent signing. In the last five years, beginning with the signing of Cuttino Mobley, Sterling has signed Baron Davis, attempted to re-sign Elton Brand, and built a state of the art practice facility in Playa Vista. These moves haven’t resulted in a consistent winner yet, but they do show that ownership has the will to win.

Sterling isn’t Sauron. His very presence does not cast a shadow of mediocrity over the Clippers. He may well be a troubled human being, prejudiced, reclusive, and strange, but I don’t think it’s too cynical to say most sports fans aren’t rooting for the morality of the owner. Once in a while he is going to open his mouth on record; often, the result will be something head-slappingly stupid. When Sterling admitted he couldn’t name his two new free agents, and questioned the window of the signings, Clipper fans were understandably appalled. Classic Sterling, went the thinking. Gomes and Foye hadn’t even had a chance to sign leases and they were already subject to the indignities of the Clipper experience.

Hyperbole aside, Sterling’s remarks were really more tacky than destructive, more crotchety than malevolent. It’s a sign of how detached Sterling has become from the day to day running of the team, kind of a basketball owner’s “Let them eat cake.” If Gomes or Foye turns out to be ineffective, it won’t be because he’s worrying that his owner doesn’t know his name. Unless you really believe that karma affects the outcome of basketball games, Sterling is playing the part of a good owner. The Clippers may continue to lose, but if they do, don’t blame it on the owner.

Optimism comes easy in October — and the more that needs to go juuust right, the more vulnerable it is. If this team goes on a losing streak, or suffers any significant injuries, it’s not hard to imagine meaningless February games dominated by Baron’s patented stop n’ pop 3-pointers. But in the meanwhile, there’s a plan. It’s not fool-proof, but it’s not just dynamite and pole vaulters either. The kids are the future, the adults are in charge. It’s your 2010-11 Los Angeles Clippers.

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Afternoon Roundup

D.J. Foster — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:43:44 +0000

Our friends at ClipsNation.com are having a big sponsored game night Saturday, April 10th against the Warriors. After reading Steve’s teaser, it’s hard not to get excited. All the information about the event can be found here. I’ll definitely be there – should be a very fun evening.

Lisa Dillman at the Times introduces you to new new General Manager, Neil Olshey.

Since Mike Dunleavy stepped down as coach and Marcus Camby was shipped to Portland, the Clippers have had only two games where they’ve posted a defensive efficiency number under 100. Even worse, both were against bottom dweller Sacramento. Remove the head, and the body will still flail around a bit. Remove the head and the body, and what are you left with?

Adrian Wojnarowski of Y! Sports talks about Donald Sterling: “Donald Sterling has always talked a big game, but he’s never gone after a star GM in his prime. Dunleavy leaves the franchise set up in some good ways, but Sterling doesn’t understand that winning in the NBA doesn’t come from empty words in absurdly worded press-release firings, doesn’t come with throwing red meat to a fan base that wanted the old GM embarrassed and fired on the spot.”

Bill Plaschke, doing some true California dreamin’: “Now introducing, Clippers forward LeBron James and two of his high school chums as general manager and coach. Crazy, too, but that’s the thing about what happened Tuesday. The Clippers didn’t lose a general manager, they gained a world of possibilities.”

Afternoon Roundup: Interview Edition

D.J. Foster — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:09:52 +0000

Marcus Camby on his new situation: “Anytime you get traded it’s always an awkward situation, especially when you’ve been in a place for a couple of years, you’re used to your surroundings, you know, you enjoy the situation that you’re in. But then to find out you’re traded and you have to move on to new surroundings, it’s always difficult. But once you sit back and digest the situation and take a moment to yourself to analyze how things are – where you’re at and where you’re going – it’s a no-brainer. The Clippers are going in opposite direction than what I would have liked in my career. Coming to Portland and being surrounded by the great players that we have – Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge – it was a no-brainer. I definitely welcome the situation to be in playoff contention again, and I definitely can’t wait to get started.”

Mike Dunleavy speaks about the possible return of Marcus Camby: “We love Marcus as a player. Everything about his game and what he does for this team. Like I said, we’ll see how things go forward. Marcus is a free agent. We have a lot of cap space this summer — and you never know how things work out.

Chris Kaman riffs on roster turnover: “That’s why I trust, I have to trust, that the decisions they make are the right ones for the team long term. Obviously we didn’t perform the way we were capable of this season. I’m not saying that it’s over but it’s going to be tough to come back and win games when everybody is on different pages and new players are shuffling in and out of the locker room and in the lineups…and Kim is having to deal with all that. It’s just tough.

Kim Hughes gives some insights on Chris Kaman emotions in his first pre-game interview: ” I’ve talked to Chris, and let me preface this by saying Chris is retarded. …He’s really not. He’s emotionally handicapped, actually. Chris is a wonderful, caring person.”

Byron Scott on the Clippers job: “Man I will tell you what… You have seen me there every day. I am at the gym and having a great time. It is the first time since I have been playing or coaching that I have had this type of time where I can enjoy my family, my wife she goes to the gym everyday as well, and kind of just relax. To be honest with you for the past two months I really haven’t been thinking about coaching or anything like that until the last couple of weeks. You get that itch, especially when it gets close to playoff time. I am just going to kind of sit back until April or May and survey what is going on out there because there is obviously three jobs available right now. One I already had obviously in New Orleans and you have got Jersey and you have got the Clippers… There is going to be three or four more when the season is over that is going to be available as well. So I am just going to kind of sit back and take a look at the teams, do a couple of interviews and just kind of pick the team that is the best fit for me. I do think the Clipper job is a pretty good job for me. They have got some young talent. Obviously they are going to have a lot of cap room and another lottery pick coming in. So I think it is a pretty good job. I am just going to sit around and just kind of evaluate everything that is going on and try to make a decision I think that will be best for my family.”

Reactions Around The Web

D.J. Foster — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:12:25 +0000

Arnovitz and Abbott discuss the deal on TrueHoop: Arnovitz: “In that spirit, I’d tell disappointed Clippers fans something else: They’re going to see a lot more of DeAndre Jordan, and I think that’s a good thing. Jordan will take his lumps and occasionally embarrass himself, but his development is vital for the team’s future. The void left by Camby will potentially give Jordan an intensive two-month boot camp as a rotation NBA center. They’ll also see a bit more of the irrepressible Craig Smith, who can score 1-on-1 from the block in bunches.”

Dave from BlazersEdge explains what Camby brings to the table: “Camby will help cement the Blazers into a lower playoff seed, a crucial achievement for this young team. Outlaw and Blake would not have done that. It’s a no-brainer in that sense.”

ESPN’s John Hollinger likes the trade for the Clippers (Insider): “…(The Clippers) don’t come away from this without assets. Steve Blake is a free agent and presumably won’t be back, but having Travis Outlaw’s Bird rights is a worthwhile asset. There is going to be demand for him on the free-agent market and the Clips, at the very least, can include him in a sign-and-trade deal and get something back in return. He might stick around too. Outlaw wants to go somewhere he can get minutes and shots — i.e., not Portland — and L.A. seems as good a place as any right now.

Advanced statistical expert Wayne Winston gives TrueHoop his impressions: “Winston has his own measure of how a player’s performance affects wins — it rewards, for instance, crunch time performance. He calls it Impact. ‘In Impact rating Blake has been great: ninth in League. Camby is 80th. Past two years Blake averaged +3 adjusted plus/minus and Camby +2. Outlaw averaged -1 adjusted plus/minus last two years. I like this trade for both teams because Blake knows how to win games (good impact) and the Clippers need that.’ ”

Kelly Dwyer over at Ball Don’t Lie: “It’s a lazy trade. The trade deadline isn’t until Thursday, and the going rate for a 7-footer who can dominate on one end and hold his own on the other (to say nothing of his rather helpful expiring contract) should be through the roof. Camby should be amongst the most sought-after assets in this market, despite the paucity of buyers, and yet the Clippers are about to send him to Portland for something they’d already get even if Camby stuck around past the trade deadline – contracts that expire in June. And some cash.”

Trade Becomes Official, Ricky Davis Waived

D.J. Foster — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:20:57 +0000

From Clippers.com:

The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired guard Steve Blake, forward Travis Outlaw and cash considerations from the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for Marcus Camby.

Blake, 29, is in his seventh NBA season and is averaging 7.6 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 51 games in 2009-10. In his career, the former University of Maryland star has appeared in 470 NBA games, making 289 starts with career averages of 7.6 points, 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds. Originally drafted in the second round (38th overall pick) of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards, Blake is a career 39 percent three-point shooter and has played for a total of five teams, spending time with the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets as well as the Wizards and Trailblazers.

Outlaw, 25, was drafted by Portland with the 23rd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and has been limited to 11 games this season after undergoing surgery to repair a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on Nov. 18, 2009. Currently fourth on the Blazers in scoring in 2009-10 averaging 9.9 points per game, the six-foot-nine forward has appeared in 377 career NBA games, starting 26 with career averages of 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists.

Camby leaves the Clippers in the midst of his second season with the club after coming to Los Angeles in a trade with Denver on July 15, 2008. A 13-year NBA veteran and former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Camby has appeared and started in 51 games for L.A. this season, averaging 7.7 points and 12.1 rebounds – the second highest total in the league.

In a related roster move, the Clippers also waived combo guard Ricky Davis.

Davis, 30, in his 12th NBA season is averaging 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 36 games in 2009-10.

The acquisition of Outlaw and Blake required the Clippers to waive one of their 16 players to get below the roster size limit of 15. Veteran swingman Ricky Davis was the odd man out, and will now look to catch on with a playoff contender down the stretch run.

The cash considerations in the trade are reported to be around 3 million dollars, but that has yet to be confirmed. We’ll have updates on that as soon as possible.

Pros and Cons: The Trade

D.J. Foster — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:03:35 +0000

It’s not official yet, but let’s take a look at the trade as it stands now and break down the pros and cons of the deal.

Pros:

Money. First and foremost, that’s what this trade is all about. We’re not sure how much the Clippers will receive in the deal, but that’s likely the prime motivator behind it.
Player Development. DeAndre Jordan needs floor time and consistent minutes to grow, and he’ll get that with Marcus Camby’s 31 minutes per game going by the wayside. At the very least, DeAndre can further showcase his potential and increase his trade value around the league.
Politics. When Sebastian Telfair eventually returns from injury, it would look peculiar if Bobby Brown were getting minutes over him. Steve Blake, while not a world-beater, is a serviceable point guard who has shown he’s deserving of NBA minutes. Essentially, Steve Blake allows Kim Hughes to sufficiently bury Sebastian Telfair. Remember, Telfair’s contract has a player option next year, meaning it’s up to him whether he stays or goes. Think he’ll be more inclined to leave if he doesn’t see any burn for the rest of the season?
More Politics. Marcus Camby is apparently upset with the news, but that will likely change once he’s logging playoff minutes for the wonderful fans in Portland. Ultimately, it makes the Clippers look good as an organization because they’re letting a veteran chase a ring. I’m not saying Kevin Pritchard “owes” Dunleavy one after this, but it’s not a bad idea to get on the good side of one of the more active GM’s in the league.
A Free Look. No one thinks Travis Outlaw is the long term answer at Small Forward, but if he impresses and the Clippers strike out in free agency, who knows what can happen? There was essentially no way that Marcus Camby was being retained this Summer, with that likely being a mutual decision between player and team. Could Outlaw or Blake come back next year? It’s not likely, but it’s not improbable either.
Bird Rights. The Clippers can now go over the cap to retain Outlaw or Blake next season without being charged luxury tax. What are the chances a Donald Sterling owned team goes over the cap ever, especially in this economy? Pretty slim. If it does happen though, you could do worse than filling out your bench with Outlaw and/or Blake. Although the Clippers had Bird Rights with Camby, the team likely would have renounced him (and the rights) so they could have the space cleared to make offers to other free agents.

Cons

The Haul. Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, and cash savings are probably not what Clippers’ fans had in mind for Marcus Camby. As one of the more attractive players and contracts on the trade market, you’d expect the return could have been more substantial. If there were no available trades for big pieces, it seems the Clippers could have at least picked up some draft picks in a deal, even though a first round pick does equal another guaranteed contract. Basically, this trade implies that cash has a higher value than draft picks, which may be tough for some to swallow.
Chemistry. By all accounts, Marcus Camby was the “big brother” for a lot of these guys, and there have already been some reported grumblings in the locker room about Camby being moved. This season is shot, but finishing with some positive momentum may have helped aid the reloading process next year.
On Court. It’s tough to tell the effect Outlaw and Blake will have, but one thing we do know for certain is that the Clippers were a much, much worse team with Marcus Camby off the floor. From strictly a basketball standpoint, the Clippers appeared to have downgraded quite a bit. In some ways, that could be listed as a pro…if you catch my drift.
Timing. This deal, or one similar to it, would have likely been available for the Clippers come Wednesday. Why move before any of the other pieces had fallen? Was this rushed, or does Dunleavy have more moves in mind other than just this one?
Lateral Movement. By not including Sebastian Telfair or Al Thornton in this deal the Clippers remain incapable of offering a max-contract this offseason. Their best shot at pawning off one of those undesirable contracts to get further under the cap? Marcus Camby.
Market Value. We’ll see how the trade market plays out, but it certainly feels as if the demand for Camby should have been a bit higher. The Clippers acquired no future assets outside of cash in this deal, which isn’t exactly the ideal return for one of the league’s best rebounders and defenders.

There are still a lot of unknowns, but your initial opinion of this proposed trade likely hinges on something we’ll never know: Could the Clippers have received more for Marcus Camby?

Marcus Camby Dealt?

D.J. Foster — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:17:05 +0000

From Ric Bucher’s Twitter:

“Source says Clippers have dealt Marcus Camby for Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake. Details and deeper confirmation to follow on the mothership.”

Here’s how the trade looks, assuming (most likely incorrectly) that there are no other moving parts involved. According to The Oregonion and Rotoworld.com, Outlaw is optimistically pegged to return to action (foot surgery) later this month. Outlaw averaged 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds in 21 minutes a game before falling to injury 11 games into the season. Journeyman Steve Blake has been one of the few Blazers to stay healthy for the full year and has averaged 7.6 points and 4 assists in 27 minutes a game. Both players are on contracts that expire this season.

UPDATE: This trade has not yet been made official. The inclusion of cash going to the Clippers has now been mentioned by various sources. The Clippers will retain the Bird Rights to both Outlaw and Blake once their contracts expire.

A few things to keep in mind:

If the trade stands as currently constructed, the Clippers roster will be over the limit at 16 players, all of which are on guaranteed contracts. This could mean there is another trade in the works, or more realistically that someone will be bought out of their contract or waived.
The Clippers did not hold the bird rights to Marcus Camby (Ed Note: Please see below). If this trade goes through, they will hold the Bird Rights for both Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake for next Summer.
The details are still fuzzy, but the Clippers stand to make money off the trade even if cash is not directly included in the deal.

Check back for more details as they become available.

Ed Note: The Clippers actually do have the Bird Rights for Marcus Camby, but they would be unlikely to exercise them. Unless the Clippers renounced the the rights to Camby, they likely wouldn’t have the room to make a max offer. You can read more on Bird Rights here.

New Jersey 103, Clippers 87

Kevin Arnovitz — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:20:41 +0000

“This is humiliating. It is absolutely embarrassing.” — Ralph Lawler [4th, 0:59.2]

With Devin Harris and Courtney Lee not suited up for New Jersey, the Nets have precious few places to go in the halfcourt. Brook Lopez on the block provides the Nets with a viable option, but there’s little else on the floor provided the Clippers do a reasonably good job depriving shooters of clean looks. Since the Nets have few offensive weapons who warrant auxiliary attention by help defenders, a passable defensive effort by the Clippers should get the job done.

The Clippers’ rotations and decision-making defensively are atrocious from the outset, which is how Kris Humphries gets what’s essentially an open foul shot at [1st, 3:39, Craig Smith/Baron Davis], and why Chris Quinn gets a wide open look from beyond the arc at [2nd, 8:32, Al Thornton], and why Yi Jianlian gets an uncontested jumper from 18 feet [2nd, 5:35, Craig Smith].

The Clippers do a marginally better job patrolling the perimeter in the second half, but they completely neglect the interior and get lazy in transition. The ugliest example of the Clippers abandoning the paint comes with the Clippers trailing by four points, with under 9:00 remaining in the game. What happens to Craig Smith on this possession?

Once Smith commits to the trap on Quinn and Ricky Davis rotates over onto Yi, Smith’s original assignment, he’s responsible for cutting off the drive by Williams.

So far as the lackadaisical transition defense, here’s some incriminating evidence:

You can appreciate Smith’s instincts to get in front of the ballhandler, but (a) Bobby Brown has recovered (b) he needs to shade to the side of the floor where his man, Kris Humphries, is filling the lane.

Offensively, the Clippers muster only 87 points on 93 possessions against one of the worst teams in the NBA’s recent history. They waste about 20 percent of those possessions on turnovers. A wasted possession is a wasted possession, but there are nights when the cringe factor of those miscues is spectacular:

There are turnovers, then there are the kinds of plays that kill a team’s spirit. Watch Rasual Butler on this possession. He’s at the bottom of the frame — and he’s wide, wide open beyond the arc. Kaman sees him but still opts for the semi-contested jumper.

Which shot do you suppose has the higher effective FG percentage? Butler, who has an eFG of 50 percent as a 3-point shooter (and who’s wide open) or Kaman who has an eFG percentage of 40.8 as a jump-shooter (and has a moderately contested look here). If you want to understand why a team ranks in the bottom third of the league in offensive efficiency, this is Exhibit A.

Virtually every member of the team plays to his weaknesses. Baron Davis shows shades of 2008-09. He takes seven of his 10 shots from outside the paint, converting only one of those attempts, before leaving with a sore knee toward the end of the third period. The two might very well be related. Craig Smith has an efficient game offensively. He scores 18 points (6-for-8 from the field) and collects eight rebounds, but is dreadful from the stripe (6-12 FTAs) and hurts the team defensively. He commits five fouls and is rarely where he’d be most useful in the defense. Those hopes that Gordon will evolve into a playmaking 2? They seem awfully remote tonight. Butler misses seven of nine from long range and doesn’t give the Clippers much else. Apart from Smith — who’s a virtual starter after Marcus Camby departs with bruised ribs seven minutes into the game — the bench contributes little. The team shoots a collective 64.3 percent from the stripe and gets outhustled on seemingly every loose ball.

The short end of a hard-fought squeaker can cost you sleep, but the symbolic nature of a loss to a 3-40 team is impossible to swallow. The Clippers’ incompetence inspires a team that had previously been uninspirable.

Clippers 104, Chicago 97

D.J. Foster — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:02:54 +0000

Five thoughts from tonight’s game:

Bench Play – After a sloppy first quarter from the starters, the Clippers bench came in and made an immediate impact, accounting for 22 of the team’s 50 first half points. Al Thornton’s role becomes more and more defined as the season moves along, and again tonight he proved what he’s capable of doing when healthy. Thornton went 7 for 9 from the field for 17 points in 17 minutes of play by winning his one on one battles and attacking at every opportunity. Ricky Davis flirted with a triple double with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in his 27 minutes. Craig Smith didn’t get to double-digit points again tonight, but he did have the game high +/- mark at +12. The bench may need to continue their hot play, as both Gordon and Telfair went down with injuries late in the second half tonight.

Bulls Offense – It’s no real secret that no one on the Bulls roster can score in the low post. Since that’s the case, the Bulls are forced to shoot a ridiculous amount of jumpers in the halfcourt setting; they actually lead the league by an overwhelming margin in attempts from 16-23 feet, which also happens to be the least efficient area on the basketball court to shoot from. Point being, if the Bulls are missing their perimeter looks in the halfcourt, they’re likely going to lose. Part of the reason the Bulls were able to jump out to an early lead was because they avoided their halfcourt offense like the plague. By constantly pushing the ball and turning the game into a track meet of sorts, the Bulls were able to jump out to an early 26-19 lead. When the tempo finally settled down, the Bulls offensive deficiencies became more clear. They had no one to dump it into on the block, so instead they settled for lots of Hinrich and Rose jumpers. The pair of guards combined to go 13 for 38 (34%) from the field. You live by the jumper, you die by the jumper.

Clippers Bigs vs Noah – There may not be a player in the NBA who more closely resembles Camby’s unique style of play than Joakim Noah. Both attack the offensive glass incredibly hard, both are very good defensive rebounders, both have hideous jumpers (although Camby’s is effective while Noah’s is not), and both play with an incredible amount of energy. Tonight, Camby pulled in an obscene amount of rebounds (25) while Noah posted yet another double-double (14 points and 15 rebounds). Chris Kaman struggled a bit when matched up against Noah, and found most of his success (surprisingly enough) taking Noah off the dribble. Tonight’s game really served as evidence to the maturation of Chris Kaman. Instead of banging his head against the wall and continuing to fire up jumpers against a phenomenal and lengthy defender in Noah, Kaman put the ball on the ground and forced Chicago to send him to the line. Noah is one of the better post defenders Kaman will see all year, and to put up 20 points against him and a strong Chicago defense is impressive.

Offensive Versatility – Individually, the Bulls have a ton of defensive talent spread across the floor. Hinrich is a tough perimeter defender, Noah is emerging into a premier post defender, and Luol Deng can more than hold his own against most small forwards. Ideally, you don’t want to attack these defenders in one on one situations. As soon as the outsized Jannero Pargo got on the floor though, the Clippers attacked their new found mismatch. It didn’t always yield points, but more often than not the Clippers offense felt “smart” tonight in the halfcourt. If opposing coaches want to play specialists, smaller guards or general defensive liabilities, Dunleavy will always call sets to attack those players. More often than not, it works.

Baron Davis, Dagger Provider – The Clippers’ bench built the lead to 14 at the 6:35 mark of the fourth, but the Bulls came roaring back behind some transition opportunities and quick pick and rolls early in the shot clock. After a Noah dunk at the 4:09 mark of the fourth, the Clippers lead was suddenly down to four. Enter Baron Davis. A cringe inducing three point attempt fell first, then a 19-footer the next possession, then a heady pump fake to draw the foul on a three point attempt. After knocking down 2 of 3 from the stripe, the Bulls continued to answer and didn’t go away until Baron hit a runner and eventually iced the game with two free throws late. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s 11 huge points in the final 4 minutes. Baron’s play down the stretch was clutch scoring at its finest.

Clippers 106, New Jersey 95

D.J. Foster — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:31:31 +0000

Coming off uniquely heartbreaking losses to two of the best teams in the league in the Lakers and Cleveland, the Clippers looked susceptible to playing victim to the infamous trap game. Aggression tends to be the key for a team wanting to avoid the dreaded letdown game. Counter-punch and let a team stay in the fight, and they might land a few haymakers late and pull off an upset.

“That’s been our problem the whole season”, Gordon said. “Whenever we play a good team, the majority of the time we beat them, but whenever we play subpar teams we tend to play at their level, have it be a close game, and sometimes lose at the end.”

Luckily today for the Clippers, the Nets don’t offer much in the way of defensive resistance and allow the Clips to practically get whatever looks they want.

Gordon leads the charge early with his aggressiveness on the offensive end. In the last three games Gordon has become noticeably more assertive — he’s penetrating against off balance defenders and pushing the pace on the break more often. Gordon’s tying his career high in assists for a game (7) didn’t come today by accident or dumb luck — his attacking off the dribble, particularly early in the shot clock, put him in position to be a distributor against scrambling defenses.

“I’m just trying to be more of a playmaker, that’s all”, Gordon said. “I’m still a combo guard now, just like I was in college.”

Gordon isn’t the only one today struck with the sharing mood. In the first quarter (when the game is virtually decided), the Clippers post an impressive 13 assists on 16 made field goals, and perhaps more importantly, zero turnovers. The number balloons to a final total of 17 turnovers by the time the game is over, but the Clippers are crisp and efficient when it counts.

Craig Smith rattles off his third straight double-digit point game (14 points) by diving with reckless abandon to the hoop on a variety of pick and roll sets. Smith had a rough stretch earlier in the year where he wasn’t producing offensively, but he appears to be back in the regular rotation for now. Smith’s chemistry with Telfair was evident from all the way back in preseason, but there’s a developing relationship on the court between him and Baron as well.

When asked which two teammates he would take into a 3-on-3 battle, Smith answered with no hesitation.

“I’d definitely take Sebastian, and I’d take Baron”, Smith said. “We could do some damage.”

Smith obviously sees the importance of having a good relationship with the guys who feed him the ball. Smith’s offensive game is built around a mysterious combination of moves, but it’s his value as a screener and that relationship with his guards that enable him to have so much success. DeAndre Jordan and Marcus Camby aren’t much in the pick and roll, but Smith always clears out his attended target and usually times his roll perfectly. He’s a legitimate offensive weapon.

The Clippers overall aggressiveness as a team tonight can be seen in their free throw totals. The Clips went to the line 29 times for the game, and shot almost exclusively from the paint in the second quarter.

The increased pace today worked to the Clippers benefit, but the wing players’ tendencies to leak out may eventually start to take its toll. Against the Nets it may not hurt you so much, but tonight Rasual Butler and Baron Davis combine for 1 rebound in 66 combined minutes when there were plenty of misses to go around. It’s hard nitpick in such a convincing victory, but the habits being developed by the Clippers’ backcourt are a little worrisome. Take away Marcus Camby and the Clippers would find themselves on the bad end of the rebounding margin most every night.

Having Chris Kaman back covers a lot of weak points for the Clippers. When Marcus Camby checks out of the game, Chris Kaman operates at the high post and stretches the defense with his midrange jumper which is true most of the night. Without Kaman, Camby is the only big that can operate efficiently at the high post. Kaman’s return today re-establishes the much needed harmony and flow to the Clippers’ halfcourt game.