Golden State 121 - Clippers 103

by Steve Perrin on Nov 15, 2008 5:01 PM PST in Game Recaps

One thing is certain. Fringe players throughout the NBA are, as we speak, checking the schedule and circling the dates against the Clippers. Because it's their best chance to score a career high, and probably go for 30. Starters too are interested in the LA date - it's a chance to take a day off, knowing full well that their backup - pretty much no matter who it is - can more than handle the job.

The Lakers second team is very good and is going to beat plenty of teams this season, so the fact that Kobe Bryant has barely broken a sweat in two games against the Clippers isn't too surprising. Then it was Paul Millsap keeping Carlos Boozer on the bench for the final 14 minutes of the Utah game, scoring 15 straight fourth quarter points on his way to 24. The next game, Luis Scola and Carl Landry combined for 34 points and 16 rebounds. Wednesday night it was Beno Udrih, rescued from the waiver wire prior to last season, scoring a career high 30 points for the Kings playing without Kevin Martin. Udrih made 13 of 20 shots in that game. Not to be outdone, undrafted rookie free agent Anthony Morrow scored 37 points on 15 for 20 shooting in this game. It was the first time in his career he'd scored over 30. And the first time he'd scored over 20. And the first time he'd scored in double figures. When you include his 4 three pointers, Morrow's eFG% for the game was... wait for it... 85%.

So, I'm just saying, George Hill and Roger Mason and Anthony Tolliver are flat salivating at the prospect of coming into Staples Monday night.

This loss may be even more disheartening than the one against the Kings Wednesday, and that's saying a lot. Because the Clippers, after falling behind at the outset 13-2, actually played well enough to take a 4 point lead in the third quarter. At that point, they had the momentum, playing on their home court, and had seemingly withstood a quick start by the hot-shooting Warriors. So to turn around and get outscored by 22 in the final 18 minutes is... is...

OK, I have a pretty good vocabulary. And I want to use unacceptable, but I used that after the last game, and frankly, what is the point? Unacceptable to whom? Do I even have the option of accepting this or not accepting it? Inexcusable? That's good and appropriate and applicable - there certainly is no excuse for playing this way. But is it strong enough?

Because, you see, in the Kings game the Clippers never showed any life. It was maddening and pathetic, but there was some tiny sliver of twisted reasoning that said "Oh well, they just never had it in that game. They came out flat, never got going, and laid an egg. It happens." But to play good defense for half a quarter, to turn an eight point deficit into a four point lead, and THEN to disappear against a mediocre opponent? How does that even happen? (By the way, it occurs to me that die hard fans are the 'enablers' of bad basketball teams. When I make excuses for the Clippers, is it a little like Courtney Love buying some more heroin for Kurt Cobain, or is that going a little too far?)

You can't allow teams to shoot 51% and expect to win. You certainly can't do it while you're shooting under 40%. (It's bad enough when the opponent shoots 49% and you shoot 40%, but how much worse does it feel when they're in the 50's and you're in the 30's?) And yet again the Clippers were outrebounded.

If this team can't rebound and can't defend, what exactly CAN they do?

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Can't shoot....

….can’t rebound…….can’t defend…..can’t hold onto the ball…….I can’t think of anything positive this team can do. The coach certainly has no positive effect on the team. I’m at a loss for words.

by saxmanager on Nov 15, 2008 5:42 PM PST reply actions

what if baron got injured?

by highriser on Nov 15, 2008 5:56 PM PST reply actions

Watching him on that play loud commercial sounds like Dunleavy’s blaming the fans for the team’s poor play.

After 9 games the season is over. No one is buying into Dunleavy’s system and he made moves for the wrong combination of players. This is ALL Dunleavy’s fault and he needs to go as coach and GM. He should be fired tonight.

TT, Eric Gordon’s limited mins today, no power forward that can get rebounds, everyone looked bad. Maybe the cheerleaders and dance during the game so the fans can watch something.

Dunleavy is gonna blame the players now, and trade Camby and their draft pick for someone terrible.

by FireDunleavy.com on Nov 15, 2008 6:06 PM PST reply actions

I can't watch the games....

….they aren’t as enjoyable anymore. In fact they are down right stressful. They look lost out there on defense, I find myself screaming at the television not of joy, but out of frustration. I’ve been like a broken record, but I’m just utterly disgusted at the moment. Hopefully, I’ll stop watching for a month or two and when I come back they will be 500. Here’s to dreaming.

by Newton Pham on Nov 15, 2008 6:16 PM PST reply actions

i hope DTS will figure dunleavy = money to baron davis = losing = no attendance (even down from last year) = new coach ! im not trying to say its dunleavys fault because its not but i just think a change of scenery could help this team (yes 9 games in and its time for a change of scenery). Look what mike dantoni could do in ny. maybe thats more isaiah washington than dantoni but whatever. This might end up like the Byron Scott situation in NOLA.

I think the real killer is that Davis hasnt made this an enjoyable team to watch. Its very easy to root for a winning team. Its not hard to root for a fun team. Its hard to root for a team thats boring and bad. Somehow this is worst than watching last years season. Maybe because this team actually has some talent. Andris Beidris 8 offensive rebounds ? Wernt Camby and Kaman supposed to be one of the best rebounding duos in the nba ? What happened to Kaman anyways ? He dissapears for games at a time. We saw how good he could be in a couple games. He travels at least 2 times a game, 4 feet from the bucket and he completley misses a pass at least once a game.

Al Thornton, when his shot isnt falling hes a black hole. He grabs the ball he’llswing it down a couple times pump fake and take that iso shot OR he’ll dribble a few feet any direction and take that leaner or even worse when he takes the double clutch reverse layup instead of 1. making the shot or 2. getting fouled.

Eric Gordon needs more PT. Maybe not today because mobley was on fire for a few possesions but 7 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes. He needs more pt.

Positives
Eric Gordon
No Hart
High Draft Pick
2010 cap space
minnesota owes us a 1st rounder

by andrewexd on Nov 15, 2008 7:25 PM PST reply actions

How is it not Dunleavy's fault when he's coach and GM for 6 years?

by FireDunleavy.com on Nov 16, 2008 11:09 AM PST up reply actions

CS - die hard fans aren't necessarily enablers

by Jax on Nov 15, 2008 8:29 PM PST reply actions

The Legend of Anthony Murrow...and Udrih...and Millsap...and Landry...and

Well, we were so bad today, that it was fitting that we lost by 20 points. Actually, we deserved to lose by at least 40. And if Monta Ellis and Al Harrington played, we might have. Asides from a brief sign of life in the third quarter where we forced some turnovers and the all around heady plays of EG, we stunk it up yet again. We never showed any life on the defensive end (except for a brief spurt), we blew so many layups Mr. Flippy style, we ran so many isos that resulted in contested fadeaways that I lost count, we gave the Warriors all the second and third chances they wanted, and Ricky Davis waived that Morrow kid through the lane so many times it looked like he was trying to clear the path for the kid so he can rack up 40 points. Apparently, Ricky Davis failed at that too because the kid only scored 37 on us.

Maybe this undrafted Morrow kid will become the greatest basketball player the world has ever seen. He will make us forget MJ and the logo. We will be able to tell our grandkids one day that yeah, we were there that afternoon when the unknown, undrafted kid named Anthony Murrow scored 37 on the Clippers in his NBA starting debut. Of course, none of us knew then that Murrow would average 60 points for his career, and that Saturday afternoon would herald the unstoppable force of nature that he would one day become. Then we would be able to tell them about the legendary Beno Udrih and the relentless tenacity of Paul Millsap. Either that, or we just suck and our players and coaches just don’t give a damn. I’m leaning toward the Clippers sucking theory, as I’m still not quite convinced on the prodigal talents of Anthony Murrow, Udrih, and Millsap.

by MichaelCage on Nov 15, 2008 11:54 PM PST reply actions

Panic Time

Clipper Nation is definitely in panic mode, and how can you argue that we shouldn’t be? If it keeps going this way, Sterlings hand may be forced by mid-season if not earlier. But hopefully Dunleavy can get this team to at least know what they’re doing. Right now, they have no clue.

I went to the game yesterday and couldn’t believe how lifeless we started out. A big part of that was Kaman completely blowing it in those first few minutes, and then of course, whenever you see Thomas in the starting lineup, you have that sense of foreboding. If Mobley doesn’t get hot early, this one could have been really, really ugly. As it was, we were able to get back in the game and make it competitive for most of the game. Unfotunately, the team has been reactive instead of proactive. We start getting down, then we have that sense of urgency. A better plan, might be to set the tone before digging a hole. Alright, role call.

Baron Davis – He’s putting up numbers without really trying. Maybe he’s decided he wants Dunleavy out and wants things to blow up but under disguise? I almost got the vibe that he was pulling a Kobe at times yesterday, feeding the other guys without trying to create for them.

Al Thornton – Kaman may have had the ugliest plays, as usual. But Al Thornton was the silent killer last night. Without one of his easy dunks, he was 2-12 shooting. Someone needs to tell him to stop forcing contested shots. This isn’t last year anymore. He could stand to learn a thing or two about defensive intensity also.

Eric Gordon – Definitely knows about defensive intensity. He seems to be the only player unaffected by the teams early struggles, or if anything, it’s making him try harder. His 2-7 shooting line is deceiving. On one play, he missed a layup, and got his own rebound, twice. That 1-3 sequence was really, 1-1, making his line 2-5 w/ a three, getting to the line for two, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, and 0 turnovers in 19 minutes. I should also mention that one of the steals was a crucial early play to help get us back in the game, and that one block on Morrow was probably the last spark we had that had you thinking we could get back into it. It’s going to be fun watching this kid develop. Thank god New York passed him at #6.

Kaman – As with Thornton, he’s up, he’s down. The problem is, his miscues really kill our momentum. It’s not just an ordinary turnover, missed layup that could have been a dunk, it’s kind of an embarassment. Being our only low post option, he really needs to pick it up in that regard and show some decisiveness. He may never develop the consistent intensity, that mean streak that we all want to see. I love the guy, but I’m as frustrated as anyone with his inconsistency. Hopefully he can get it together to where we can sell high on him in a trade, or that he’ll be a viable option going forward.

Camby – He does his thing, he’s about what we all expected. He makes trading Kaman an option. We’ll get to see him on the floor with Kaman for a while longer, but the early returns don’t look so good. Maybe they cancel each other out more than we thought? Maybe what the team needs is a power forward with a low post presence?

Mobley – He’s an average player. Sometimes, the shot drops and that’s great when it does, but you have to cringe when he holds the ball too long and forces up a shot. I like shooting the open three in the corner, and driving decisively once in a while.

The Bench – Thomas & Ricky Davis seem like they don’t give nearly as much as they take away. Basically, other than the rookies, our bench isn’t a plus bench. It’s deep, but it’s deep in mediocrity.

What the team needs: Decisiveness & Flow on offense (which we actually saw a little bit of yesterday at times), and intensity on defense. So basically, how the team plays will depend on BD’s mood, and on whether Kaman & Thornton can continue to develop, and show more consistency. I don’t think Dunleavy’s going anywhere anytime soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone by mid-season or before. I’m open to a change, but i’m just really curious how all this is going to shake out.

by ghost_ride on Nov 16, 2008 12:29 PM PST reply actions

Meh

The players play the game.

Each and every game this season the Clippers have been in a position to win and they have failed.

If you change course now, its over. And I mean OVER.

What coach would come here? What GM would come here? What player would come here? What player here would try for the rest of this season?

All of the players are being compensated fairly. They all knew the organizational situation when they came in. The players have no excuses.

I think the problem is BD and Camby don’t care. If that’s actually the problem, its a big problem. It means the Clippers are still the Clippers and there is no point to trying.

If the Clippers are still the Clippers, they will always be the Clippers. Might as well quit.

Get me BD and 75 and I'm in

by John R on Nov 16, 2008 3:37 PM PST reply actions

The coach is ultimately responsible for the team

This is MDSr’s team. He’s getting paid $6M per year. Coaches aren’t given so much money for nothing. He’s responsible for determining personnel as GM. He’s responsible for motivating the players. He’s responsible for running an offense that works with the players he has. If certain players don’t care, and I don’t know that this is the case, then we must ask why. The players do play the game, but the coach should put them in a position to win.

Despite that, unfortunately, John R’s right about one thing. We can’t realistically change this horse in midstream. So we are just going to have to keep struggling, wondering why they weren’t able to resign their All Star, why they didn’t resign Corey, why they thought two centers would work and a host of other questions. And hopefully if MDSr is as good as John R repeatedly tells us he is, and if the team turns it around as John R says it will, all will be ok.

by Jax on Nov 16, 2008 6:38 PM PST up reply actions

I'm not a big MDSr. fan as a coach

but if the players aren’t motivated by their million$$$, I’m not sure that the coach is entirely to blame. It does not appear that the players are in open rebellion agaisnt their coach (yet). Even Baron Davis is saying all the right things, and Dunleavy is saying that he wants to run.

I do happen to think that he has been a pretty good GM. He has made some good trades, and assembled a pretty good roster (on paper) this offseason. It just hasn’t come together yet. Davis has a great assist/TO ratio, but he is shooting 38%.

The Clips are getting killed on D and on the boards. As has been mentioned, those are the effort parts of the game.

I am still holding out hope for this season. If it does end up being a complete disaster, I think Dunleavy should fire himself and hire a new coach.

F-Elton!

by mikey p on Nov 17, 2008 7:07 AM PST up reply actions

Is it too late to switch my allegiance to a different team?

Man we suck. I didn’t see a single positive thing on Saturday. On a side note I’m pretty happy I only bought a partial plan instead of a full season, I would lose alot of sleep watching this team play night in and night out.

Ricky Davis is awful, Tim Thomas will get off to a quick start and then come back to earth quickly. When Baron is in the game we can hang tough, once he goes out all hell breaks loose.

I’ll play this year out but I’m starting to really consider cutting ties to a team that just doesn’t seem to care.

"Its official, I'm a Clipper, and it feels great!" - Baron Davis

by ClipperChuck on Nov 17, 2008 1:42 PM PST reply actions