FULLY LOADED CLIPS

Chauncey Billups is hurt, he isn’t dead! The pregame intro music for the Clippers’ starting line up might as well have been a funeral march or Mozart’s requiem. The Clippers dragged their broken bodies up and down the court at the Q last night and just waited for lowly Cleveland to put them out of their misery. After the game coach Del Negro made no excuses and said that his team wasn’t ready to play. That’s your job man! You are to make sure your team is ready to play! If they’re playing slow and sluggish, you wake them up or play guys that want to play. Last week, coach Pop in San Antonio left his entire starting line up on the bench for the 2nd half (and ensuing overtime) on the floor for a big game against Dallas. Stars like Tony Parker and Tim Duncan became energized cheerleaders and it brought the team closer together. A road game in Cleveland would be the perfect place to try to light the fire under the starters by playing the end of the bench. Also, you can avoid burning out all your starters in the middle of this 6 game roadie.

The game itself was ugly to say the least. The Cavs played better than they typically do, but by no means were they shooting the lights out. The Clippers were killed on loose balls and hustle plays. Anderson Varejao killed the Clippers down low for 15 pts and 11 boards. The Clippers now boast one of the toughest low post rosters in the NBA featuring Reggie Evans, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, and Kenyon Martin, yet a fuzzy haired Brazilian rolled into the paint and owned L.A’s big men last night. 

Kenyon Martin was a small bright spot. His shot was flat, and he was caught out of position routinely on offense, but his enthusiasm made up for all that. He actually WANTED to play, which is more than I can say about the rest of the team.

Randy Foye has been given the unenviable position of filling Chauncey’s shoes. Foye didn’t play well and didn’t play poorly. Randy Foye played like Randy Foye. He’s a streaky shooter that can be very effective coming off the bench but he really doesn’t add much to the floor when he’s inked in as a starter. Foye is defensively average and he doesn’t offer much in the one on one game. 

One of the storylines that’s going to get more and more play as the season goes on is, the Clippers lack of perimeter defense. The Clippers give up a TON of open 3pt shots and thus far have survived them. The Clippers were making a lot of 3’s themselves which was neutralizing their opponents, but without Chauncey they could be in trouble. Long range shot’s create long rebounds. Long rebounds result in one of two things: a transition play for the defense resulting in fast break points or a fresh 24 secs for the offense. The Clippers have been concentrating on crashing the boards and keeping their opponents from making the tip-ins and put back dunks, but they’re not boxing out deep enough to prevent the long rebound disasters. In the Clippers’ wins the box score shows all those long transition rebounds through CP3’s large rebound total. Chris Paul’s only 6ft tall, he shouldn’t be getting any rebounds.

I hate to believe this game is going to come back to haunt the Clips, but in a shortened season EVERY game counts. And given the clustered standings of the Western Conference every game will count just a little bit more. Before Cleveland, the Clippers were prepared to head undefeated on their road trip to face 1st place Philly, followed by an easy one in Charlotte and finishing with Dallas. The really looked like a team that was going to go 5-1 on the road with a possibility of stealing all 6. Now after blowing the Cleveland game, they’re 2-1, heading into a VERY difficult match up against the 76ers, followed by a Cleveland-lite game in Charlotte, and then another ball crusher in Dallas. One stupid mental lapse in Cleveland could change this road trip from 5-1 to 3-3. 

In baseball there is a saying that momentum is the name of tomorrow’s starting pitcher. But in this chaotic 66 game season, with back to back games and wild road trips, teams have to find some kind of cohesive identity. Teams MUST win games against the lesser teams. Teams MUST protect their home court. Teams must come together and create confidence heading into the playoffs. Hopefully last night was just a blip on the radar, not the beginning of the end.

SO THERE WAS THAT.

A word on “The Dunk”

A lot of times people get too excited about the Slam Dunk in basketball as it only counts for two points. Boring, efficient-shooting teams lulled the high flying Clippers into submission last year in route to another playoff-less season. Last night didn’t fall into that category. Sometimes dunks count for more than two points. Sometimes dunks can change the ebb and flow of a game. Sometimes dunks can change the confidence of a player. Sometimes dunks can get a player noticed. And sometimes a Blake Griffin Dunk can disturb the rotation of the earth on it’s axis. Last year when Blake set his testicles on Timofey Mosgov’s head and threw the ball through the cylinder, his career was forever changed. That dunk paved the way for the rookie of the year award, the all-star birth, and eventually a deal to jump over a Korean car during All-Star Weekend. Last night, something happened again. Around 4 minutes into the 3rd quarter CP3 sent a bounce pass to Blake as he had a full head of steam. Seconds later, Blake Griffin and Kendrick Perkins became forever linked. Perkins was widely known and respected around the league as a “tough guy” and many people have blamed the Celtics’ woes on his absence. So when Perkins pushed a airborne Blake Griffin away from the hoop, the natural reaction would be too assume two shots at the foul line and we’ll move on with life. Blake Griffin dunks don’t work that way. To borrow a horrible line from Yakov Smirnoff, “In Soviet Russia, you don’t dunk, Blake dunks you”. Again this was only one play, but the importance of this play has not fully been realized. Is this the play that gels the Clippers team to go on a serious playoff run? The Clippers have been searching for that moment that sheds the Charlie Bucket moniker of “we’re just lucky to be here.” Does Blake finally transform into the hybrid of Karl Malone and Charles Barkley we’ve been hoping for? What happens to Kendrick Perkins? Do Durant and Westbrook not trust their team to the point that they try to score 80 every night and ruin the chemistry? Who knows? We’ll find out as time goes on. Now to the games…

Lots of Billups Left in Clippers Gun: Clips 109 ShitNuggets 105

Sometimes it’s hard for television networks to find something to hype about a late game on a Sunday night in the middle of January, so they come up with some mundane  plot line about a “player’s homecoming”. I guess Chauncey Billups went to Colorado, so it was his turn to hear the fake hype. I’m not sure if the television audience bought it, or even the play by play guys, but the only guy it surely mattered to was Chauncey. Billups scored 32 points and electrified the game with his reckless, yet effective shooting. At times Chauncey can go into “fuck it” mode and just start launching shots from anywhere on the court at anytime on the shot clock; Sunday night was one of those times. Lucky for the Clippers, Billups was on fire. Billups acquired some of that can’t miss mojo that Mo Williams has been walking around with for the last week and proceeded to shoot the will out of the Denver team. This was a huge win for Los Angeles, as the have struggled on the road mightily thus far, and Denver is definitely a team they will be hearing from again. It was another nervous game that Clippers fans never felt good about until the final horn sounded, but a win is a win and Chauncey ain’t done yet.

“Welcome all my friends to the show that never ends, I’m so glad you could attend, step in side, step in side.” -Blake Griffin 

Clippers 112 Thunder 100

I truly don’t believe it would be hyperbole for me to write that this was the single best game I’ve seen the Clippers play this year. The Clippers came out firing on all cylinders, shooting hot and playing good defense, and then settled down to weather the storm. Clippers teams in the past, particularly last year, have made the big highlight reel plays and made runs to get giant 1st half leads, but they’ve never had the intestinal fortitude to hold it together. My mother (a Clips fan) always jokes that the Clippers need to have a 25 point lead going into the 4th quarter to win, because she’s so used to them pissing it away. 

This game was a GREAT game for the Clippers. It will forever be remembered as a Blake Griffin game, but it was a more important game for the rest of the team. This was the game that Caron Butler started to figure out his role and find his shooting touch. This was a game that could vault Mo Williams into winning the 6th man of the year award (he’s got my vote). This was the game that further proved Chauncey could become the perfect 2 guard for the Clippers as his career winds down. And this, THIS, was the beginning of complete CP3 dominance. I’ve made note of the Clippers record this season and been completely pleased and overwhelmed by not staring up from the bottom of the standings, yet I’ve been troubled by the lack of the “wow” factor from CP3 this year. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been brilliant, and he’s played better than any Clipper PG I’ve EVER seen, but where’s the guy some have said is one of the best PGs in HISTORY. Last night, I got to find out. 26 points, 14 assists, and 35 “Kobe” or “Jordan” plays where he wills his team through a possession. In the NBA, plays break down, shots don’t go in, momentum swings, but certain players have the salmon-like ability to swim upstream and drag their whole team with them. Last night, Durant and Westbrook were “on”, but every time the Thunder mounted a charge CP3 took it upon himself to make sure this was NOT going to become a close game. Chris Paul has already changed the culture of losing on this team to such a degree that Ralph Lawler (voice of the Clippers) claimed the game was over with 8 minutes left in the 4th. Mike Smith pleaded with Lawler that the Thunder was the best team in the Western Conference and it was a bit too early to be confident. Lawler persisted: The game was over.

As any Los Angeles Clipper fan knows, the Clippers hate you. Sure, they want to win games, but you don’t get the joy of bragging to other bar patrons during a 30 point blowout. No, Clipper fans have to sweat. Clipper fans have to loathe. Clipper fans have to enduring the gut-wrenching nausea of a 4th quarter squeaker. Last night was, unfortunately, no different.

The Clippers took one step forward by beating the Grizz at Staples last night, but the game’s flow could be two steps back. The half court offense is becoming embarrassing and the mental lapses are becoming more and more frequent. After the Clips came out to a very productive and energetic first quarter, they immediately threw on the brakes and threw out their brains eliminating their hard-earned double-digit lead.  Clearly, this season is going to be a work-in-progress and one can’t be pessimistic about making the playoffs, but if this team is to make any real noise in the Western Conference, they need to get their heads right and find a real coach.

I’m not totally convinced that coach VDN is a retarded person, but his lack of adjustments and creativity is making Clipper Nation very nervous. The leadership abilities of CP3, Chauncey, and Mo Williams are assets, but without an offense beyond a high pick and roll, the playoffs are going to be short lived. The various NBA analysts around the league are criticizing the Clip’s lack of bench depth, but in reality it’s the lack of coaching creativity that’s killing them. If Blake Griffin is not on the floor, the pick and roll becomes useless and the game devolves into an isolation fest with our bevy of guards. The Clippers have great PGs (and a lot of them), but without a low post scoring option, they’ll become one dimensional and easily defended. 

Sunday begins a nasty stretch of games including Denver, OKC, and Utah. The Clips will NOT fare very well in these match ups until they get their offensive and defensive sets in order. Knowing that the Clips won’t run the table in these games is not what concerns me. I’m worried that the coaching staff won’t learn anything. The team will obviously get better as the year goes on, but so will the rest of the league. If the Clippers don’t catch up, they’ll be left behind.

There are games of what could’ve been, what should’ve been and what is. This game is what it is. The Clippers are an inexperienced team (save for Chauncey) and 4 quarters of boring (yet intense) playoff basketball is foreign to them. The Lakers were fully prepared to give the Clips their best shot. Kobe has been pissed off all week. Pau was complaining about not scoring. Mike Brown was starting to hear rumbles about his hiring being a mistake. The Lakeshow couldn’t survive a “home” loss to the Clippers on Wednesday night. All of that being said, the Lakers still got lucky. The Lakers shot the ball at a percentage in the 4th quarter that will be hard for them to repeat. Pau got hot. Kobe got real hot. Metta World Peace made his trademark “NOOOOO, YES!” 3pt shot in front of his nervous home crowd. Derek Fisher came back from the dead for 10 minutes or so. For one quarter, everything broke right for the Lakers.

Where do we go from here?

The Clippers have a very difficult February road schedule and they’re going to need to show that they can weather the storm. In truth, the Clippers are in a very good position to make the playoffs and will make many teams nervous in the process. The league seems to be evolving and from what I saw last night teams like the Lakers are getting left behind. The Lakers are tall slow and old. The Lakers’ Jimmy Buss appears to have pushed all of his chips to the middle of the table on the oft-injured Andrew Bynum. Early returns suggest that fast, skilled teams are the look of the future. Kobe can probably beat you in the 4th quarter if you let the Lakers stay too close, but over a 7 game series they won’t be able to out score you. The Mike Brown, defense first experiment will ultimately fail.

As for the Clippers, they NEED flight time. Chris Paul HAS to stay healthy for the remainder of the season. Coach VDN needs to try a little coaching so this team will appear to have an actual half court offense. Blake took a huge step forward last night abusing Pau and continuing to use his low post game to dictate to the defense. Mo Williams has been the most impressive Clipper of the last two weeks, but I’m concerned the Clippers offense is becoming a game of “who’s shooting it well, gets the ball.” Caron Butler had his turn of being the hot shooter last night, and Chauncey launches up 3 to 5 heat check 3’s per game. Chris Paul’s health will be the most important factor this season, because right now the team looks like 5 talented guys that don’t know what they’re supposed to do. Talent can only get you so far. Miami showed last year that without a true offense and a strong coach, the players can get lost in the 4th quarter. With the addition of a hall of fame caliber PG like Chris Paul, the team should eventually figure it out, but it’s gonna take time. The good news is, the Clippers will be a much better team in April then they are in January (if they can stay healthy).

So don’t kill yourself quite yet Clipper fan, but consider it if they lose to the Grizz tonight.

Live from the nose bleed section, I witnessed the dismantling of the Toronto Raptors. The game was billed as being the big return of CP3, but since he was ruled out a few minutes before tip off, it became the game before the return of CP3. This game was over shortly after morning shootaround. The Clips took their foot off the gas occasionally but never realistically let the Raptors back in the game. Toronto was short handed as well and it’s never a good thing if Barbosa and DeRozan are leading your team in scoring. Mo Williams continued his hot play and even managed to not get ejected on Sunday afternoon. My player of the game had to be DeAndre Jordan. He went for 16 and 16 on a day filled with dunks and foregone conclusions. 

The most important thing to take away from the victory was simply that, a victory. The Clippers have a huge game on wednesday “at” the Lakers. In years past, the Clips would’ve shit the bed and looked ahead on the schedule at the Lakers. Good teams need to beat the Raptors. I’m not sure how good the Clips are, but they certainly beat the Raptors. A win at the Lakers on wednesday would be huge, but each win counts the same in the standings. On sunday afternoon the Clippers proved just that, a win is a win and they won.

At 7:30 pacific time, the Minnesota T-wolves will tip off against my beloved Clippers in a match up that appears to evoke feelings of the Clippers’ past. Young PG Ricky Rubio has been pared with rebounding savant Kevin Love to make one of the brightest young duos in the league. The Clippers have seen this all before when a young Shaun Livingston was pared with Elton Brand to create optimism for the LA future. Shaun’s knee cap left town and soon after, so did Elton Brand. In today’s NBA teams are not really rewarded for building through the draft. Most teams need to get lucky in the draft and then sign those big name free agents. This is the first year in the history of the Clippers that they have landed some of those big fish. 

Minnesota is a young and pretty talented team that is not nearly as bad as their recent history would suggest. The Clippers need to hold serve at home with their next two games against these Timberwolves and the Raptors on Sunday. The Clippers have made a habit of playing well at home, but coming off those big games against Dallas, the Heat, and the Lakers, I certainly hope we don’t see any lapses in effort or concentration like we did in Utah. 

The T-wolves have won 3 of their last 4 including a nail-biting loss at the Hawks. The Clips on the other hand have won 4 of 5 and need to take care of business before the road schedule bites them hard in February. Look for Vinny Del Negro to play the starters for big minutes in the first half leaning heavily on Chauncey Billups and Mo Williams. DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin will have their hands full trying to control the glass with Kevin Love setting up shop down low. This should make for a fast, physical, turnover-fest, that the Clips should have under control by the start of the 4th quarter. Make some 3s, don’t let Love dominate, and don’t get caught up in all the slop, and we should take another home W into Staples Center for Sunday at noon.