So disgusted, I don’t even want to type. I cannot fathom, that final play was what MDsr had designed. I’m really sick of seeing BD hold on to the ball, dribble it around and huck up prayer shots in the final seconds.

Zach Randolph, didn’t get many touches in the final possessions, lonnnng drought. I am sick of these long droughts.

If I could script a game that would get a coach fired, this would be it.

i would rather think we have decided to tank the season for some weird reason…than to accept that we are capable of screwing a game in such an idiotic way…..i was gonna post : yesterday winning this game was key for a 3-1 trip, know winning game at houston is key for a 4-0 trip….know i think we will be lucky to get a 2-2 trip….lossing a game because they play better than you four 5 minutes is just wrong…blewing a 12 point lead in the last 5 minutes is just wrong..this is just depressing

I thought the team played fairly well, especially being shorthanded. I think the bench scored something like 7 points, leaving the remaining 91 points to the starters. Paul Davis did some good things defensively, but I think having Kaman in there would have certainly been an improvement.

In the fourth, the Clippers just stopped playing defense. Couldn’t get a stop. Why was Jason Terry still getting so many good looks? When a guy is that hot, at least foul him hard before he can shoot it. The coaches may want to look at the previous 5 games of their upcoming opponents to see who is in the zone. They would have seen that Jason Terry has been lights out lately.

Have to give the Mavs some credit here, too. They never stopped playing (once they started, anyway). Dirk knocked in some huge three’s late to get it close.

Why the Clips stopped going in to the amazing Zach Randolph, I do not know. He was brilliant when he was getting the ball. I kept hearing about how ZBo can’t pass and doesn’t play any D, but I saw some nice passes tonight (despite 4 TO’s), and he isn’t exactly getting killed on D. Plus, the dude can just shoot it. Period. Better than EB.

BD was simply unstoppable early. Jason Kidd is a washed up defender. He had no answer for Davis.

AT had another solid game. I like what I have seen lately. Attacking rather than settling, which actually makes his jumper better. He hit a few tonight.

EG had 3 blocks. Not bad for an undersized rookie 2 guard. But that late 3 that he missed shook his confidence, so that he hesitated on the next one. Believe it or not, I think that Ricky Davis may have been a little better in the late game situation. But hey, this is all good experience for the Rook.

Camby had another solid performance, but I do have a question about him. What is it with the inbound passing that is such a problem for a veteran? How many of these has he bungled this year? I kept hearing what a great passer he is, but I have seen some sloppy ones.

These are the games the Clips have to win if they are to make a playoff push. They played 45 minutes of really good ball tonight, good enough to hang with most teams. On the road, short handed against a hot Mavs team, I think they did ok.

Not that completely choking at the end doesn’t hurt.

Forget it…Stupid team.

is that they were behind by double digits. Teams typically don’t play zone defenses when behind by so much because zones burn up so much time. Even if they know the other team isn’t good against the zone. Teams that are losing by double digits can’t afford to burn time. Until they get desperate. Which is what happened last night.

I didn’t see the game, but I watched it unfold by stats at work. This team has the player tools to win (yes they were playing a short handed team, but they were on the road). Now it is up to the coach. Last night the team appeared unprepared to beat a zone. Clearly this coach is far more comfortable with offensive players that he can dump the ball into on isos like zbo. Doesn’t require much coaching genius or preparation. Zones (which are far more prevalent today than 10 years ago) require much more preparation and direction to beat. No more excuses.

Team played great, looked great, it was all good. It was pretty obvious that Dallas was going to have some kind of run, but a Clipper meltdown didn’t seem likely. There seemed to be a real esprit de corps as Zach Randolph—hey there, husky big fella, way to go—led the way and BD and Thornton got in the act. Gordon was quiet and played well in the third. This team is fun to watch. And then they just cut your head right off with a samurai ritual group suicide.

CS breaks it down very nicely. Yes, Gordon suddenly looked like a 19 year old. Where was the high post? Camby was out there setting picks against the guards, but he never got the ball at the free throw line. And what about getting it into ZBo’s hands by putting him out there. He can hit the shot, or have at least two guys open, because they would definitely double or triple team him. Instead he got no touches.

The other problem was the sub pattern during the untimely collapse. Novak came in and hit two shots. Obviously the 16-2 run started when he went out. And MD brought back Gordon, okay, but what about Taylor, who was more effective on Barea in the first half. And when they’re in the zone, just leave Novak out there and get somebody in the high post—Thornton, as good a game as he’s playing, isn’t going to be the most effective zone buster, and he’s much better when he’s not settling for jumpers.

But the big thing is that MD has an uncanny talent for losing games. I’m not sure that it’s such a big deal; it should work itself out in the long run, probably too late. But it takes a special helmsman to steer through the famous collapse against the Lakers, and to sail along through all of the epic droughts that we’ve seen this year already, and a just stunning 4th quarter meltdown after playing a near-dominant game last night. Dunleavy is just very good at something that is very bad. The Clips have to figure things out and get their mojo, and the new lineup is going to do that in short order, and then they’ll figure out how to make BDavis and others more effective in crunch time. First things first. I really like the personnel, the guys who are playing—sayonara TT, Cat, and don’t rush back, RDavis. Kaman, please rush back. Keep playing Novak and Davis and Taylor—Gordon and Thornton are great young players, but keep them going in and out and on their toes.

Wow, what magnificent frustration!