(Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
The LA Clippers are now on a three-game losing streak after dropping yet another game to a team under .500, falling to the Denver Nuggets 106-102 at STAPLES Center. This was a game the Clippers lost twice, as they overcame a 17-point halftime deficit only to blow a 7-point lead in the 4th quarter.
Top Performer: The Nuggets had 3 players drop at least 23 points, including C Nikola Jokic and backup SF Will Barton. But I have to go with starting SF Danilo Gallinari, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds while making 11-of-12 from the FT line. Gallinari didn’t take a shot in the 4th quarter, but he made the final 4 FTs of the game for Denver to put the game away at its final margin.
X-Factor: The Clippers really miss PF Blake Griffin (knee) and PG Chris Paul (hamstring) for many things, but their impact on the FT line really shows up in games like these. Denver made 3 fewer FGs than the Clippers did tonight, but they made 8 more FTs, connecting on 23-pf-28 FTs for the game (82.1 percent).
Major Moment: Talk about a game of runs! I have four for ya:
– 1st quarter until 7:20 left in 1st half: Clippers up 40-39 despite getting outrebounded 20-10. LA was shooting 53.9 percent from the field to the Nuggets’ 42.4 percent at this point.
– Last 7:20 of the 1st half: Nuggets outscore Clippers 24-6 to close the 2nd quarter. Jokic keyed the run, making 4-of-4 from the field, while the Clippers shot 3-of-15 (20 percent) with 4 turnovers.
– Start of 3rd quarter until 7:48 left in 4th quarter: Clippers turn around and outscore Nuggets 45-21, shooting 62.1 percent from the field while holding the Nuggets to 26.1 percent. Starting guards Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford combined to score 17 points on 8-of-13 FGs during this stretch.
– Last 7:48 of the game: The Nuggets closed the game on a 22-11 run, with Jokic again making 4-of-4 from the field while the Clippers made only 4 of their last 14 FGs (28.6 percent). The Nuggets also had 5 assists and no turnovers down the stretch, while the Clippers had 2 assists and 3 turnovers.
Key Lineup: The Denver lineup with backups Barton and PG Jameer Nelson in for PF Wilson Chandler and PG Emmanuel Mudiay killed the Clippers, outscoring them 18-8 while compiling a net rating of 59.4 in 7 minutes. The worst Clippers lineup featured Raymond Felton in with the starters in place of starting PF Wesley Johnson (Paul Pierce rested). The Felton/starters lineup was outscored 17-10 in 7 minutes, compiling a net rating of -37.5 while shooting 35.7 percent from the field.
The Definition: Without Griffin, Paul, and SG J.J. Redick, the Clippers showed flashes of competitiveness. However, they also showed severe inconsistency and once again failed to come through when the game was in the balance in the 4th quarter. LA started 14-2 before splitting the next 16 games; they’re off to a bad start if they are going to show they are more like the team from the first 20 percent of the season instead of the team from the second 20 percent.
Clippers started 14-2, then slid to 8-8 … starting with tonight's game vs Nuggets, what will next 16 look like for Clippers?
— ClipperBlog (@clipperblog) December 26, 2016
When Alvin Gentry gets fired by the Pelicans the Clippers need to make him the highest paid assistant in the NBA again.
Blake Griffin had the best year of his career playing in Alvin Gentry’s offense. Blake was 3rd in MVP voting and averaged 24.1 ppg.
Every year the Clippers move further away from the Alvin Gentry offense and closer to the Chris Paul offense that was used by Vinny Del Negro.
The Clippers are failing to maximize the talents of Blake and DJ.
The ballsiest move would be to trade DJ.
Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, and Portland are desperate for a player like DJ.
The biggest problem for the Clippers would be finding a 20 mpg rim protector to replace DJ.
That means it would have to be a 3 team trade. The best deal the Clippers could hope for would return Nerlens Noel along with a young wing player or a high draft pick.
Tied in the loss column with OKC.
Looks like the Clippers will limit the minutes of CP3 and BG when he comes back the rest of the year. Clippers are 5-7 seed. Time to deal with that.
The Clippers are 21-29 in the playoffs during the CP3 era. I’m going to keep writing this until the Trade Deadline.
These are just schedule losses! These are just injury losses! Who cares about the regular season anyway? The top seeds never win in the NBA!
The 2016-2017 Clippers are a 70 win team if you take away the schedule losses and the injury losses.
I fully expect them to sweep the playoffs. Get in line for the parade.
#ItTakesEverything to fail for the 6th straight year.
They change these lame ass slogans every year but won’t change the roster.
They changed the uniforms. They changed the logo. They changed the court. They created a mascot.
And they haven’t done one f**king thing to change the basketball problems.
After the game Doc was quoted as saying:
“We played at a slow, half-court pace tonight. And that’s just not us.”
I hate to break this to you, Doc, but your team is 17th in pace. Your team was 14th in pace last year.
Chris Paul doesn’t play high pace basketball. If you want to play high pace basketball change your f**king Point Guard.
Here’s where the Clippers ranked in pace during the CP3 era:
27th
19th
7th (Alvin Gentry offense) (CP3 shoulder injury)
10th
14th
17th
I have no idea what the f**k Doc is talking about. Chris Paul plays at a slow pace. Jamal Crawford plays at a slow pace.
I’m seeing Clipper fans talking about tanking late in the season to get the 7th seed.
And then what?
Don’t for one f**king second act like the Clippers are going to win all of their home games in the playoffs. That means the Clippers would have to win TWO ROAD GAMES against San Antonio, TWO ROAD GAMES against Golden State, and TWO ROAD GAMES against Cleveland.
Man, even the fans are annoying the f**k out of me.
If your plan to win a Championship is to hope other teams get injured, well, you had no chance to begin with.
Here’s a reminder that the Clippers are 21-29 in the playoffs during the Chris Paul era.
And here’s a reminder that Chris Paul will ask for 5 years and $210M this July.