Clippers 117 - Indiana 109

by Steve Perrin on Dec 20, 2008 12:49 AM PST in Game Recaps Comment 12 comments

There is not much positive to say about this game. I didn't watch the first half, and I thought the second half was incredibly poorly played. Then I heard Milph talking about how much better it was than the first half. Yikes.

Playing against a team missing arguably their four best players, with a fifth one just back from an injury, the Clippers required double overtime to win the game, and had to get a couple of huge breaks at that.

The missing Pacers were Troy Murphy, Marquis Daniels, and leading scorer Danny Granger, all in the hospital with a viral infection, and Mike Dunleavy Jr., who's been out all season. In addition to them, TJ Ford was returning from a groin pull, and was supposed to have his minutes limited.

The breaks were a big three from Al Thornton to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation, and a huge mistake by Jarrett Jack when the Pacers had a chance to hold for the final shot and a chance to win the game at the end of the first OT.

Certainly a win is a win, and we'll take it. But if there is such a thing as a moral victory, then there must also be a moral defeat. And this was a moral defeat.

And it has at least some concrete repercussions as well. In the midst of four games in five nights, with a razor thin bench, the Clippers starters all played between 48 and 50 minutes. According to ESPN.com and the Elias Sports Bureau, it's the first time in the shot clock era that a team has had five players all play at least 48 minutes. How's that going to feel tomorrow night in Milwaukee? Midway through the fourth quarter Mike Smith was complimenting Baron Davis for conserving his energy - and all I could think was, you better start effing playing or you're going to lose this game, and then you won't feel so energetic. Double overtime is another consequence I hadn't even considered. By the way, the Clippers have now played 5 extra periods in their last 5 games - two double overtimes and a single overtime. It's got to be taking a toll.

Good stuff... Good stuff... What good stuff happened in the game?

Zach Randolph went for 34, making it 4 times in 5 games that he's scored 30 or more. Of course, he also had 6 turnovers, so that's not so good.
Al Thornton hit the biggest shot of his pro career, sinking a three with about 7 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
The starters all scored in double figures for the fifth straight game. Then again, if you're logging 48+ minutes, you kind of need to be getting at least 10 points.

That's about it. I could go on for pages and pages about the bad stuff. But I won't. Just a few important ones.

The Clippers defensive energy in this game was non-existent, at least in the second half while I was watching. The stops they got were from sheer ineptitude on the part of the Pacers. But the defense was just awful - going under screens, failing to rotate, failing to close out on shooter. Let's hope it's an aberrance; the team had been starting to play pretty well on defense.
The bench got thinner when Mike Taylor left the game with a broken thumb. I have no idea how long he'll be out. We will see a lot more of Jason Hart for the foreseeable future, and we may see some Eric Gordon at the point.
The bench scored a measly 5 points tonight. Of course, they barely played, and only took 6 shots.
Baron Davis continues to be almost futile shooting the ball. 5 for 18, including 0 for 4 on threes in this game. If this is a slump, it's showing no signs of letting up.

The trip ends tomorrow night in Milwaukee. Although the Bucks are far from great, they're much better than the Pacers team the Clippers faced tonight. LA will have to play much better - particularly on defense - to get a win there. 3 and 1 would be an acceptable trip; 2-2, given the circumstances, would have to be considered a disappoinment.

0 recs | Comment 12 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

We need some bench help

Maybe its time to use that extra roster spot and sign a guard. Our backup PG, SG, and SF now consists of Hart and Mardy Collins. It’s incredible how thin the bench is. TT is sorely missed. Tomorrow is going to be a tough. Luckily or not, we should be treated to a lot of Collins tomorrow…as Redd and Jefferson will be a tough cover for both Thornton and EJ.

I love LAC.

by oasisman on Dec 20, 2008 1:52 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Unbelievable

I can’t believe that some one just wrote “TT is sorely missed” on this blog. I know the bench is thin to the point of being nonexistent, but just remember that TT would have been starting for all of these games that Kaman has been out. How ugly would that have been? Don’t get to have it both ways. The proper statement is “the Clips really need to get Kaman and Davis2 back.”

by citizen zhiv on Dec 20, 2008 8:55 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Using the bench

A win is a win. I’ll take it even if it’s ugly. Mike Dunleavy also needs to start using the bench more. It’s his job to utilize what he has and do the best he can with what he’s got. If the bench players aren’t getting the mins for a chance for some confidence building they will always underperform. At least put them in enough so that the starters aren’t running out of gas by the 4th quarter. After the last few games with so many overtimes he’s got to manage his mins better or all his starters will get worn out or get injured.

by zac4president on Dec 20, 2008 2:22 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Not proud of it, but keep it in perspective...

The Lakers lost to Miami tonight, and the Kings recently. We played a bad game tonight, but still managed to pull out a win that we had no business winning. If you ask me, it’s a lot better than losing a game we had no business losing. The team needs to be able to win close games, so it’s nice to see it happen.

I’m sure the starters were trying to win the game while using the least amount of energy possible, and it back fired. Playing down to the competition isn’t so uncommon. Because Granger, Daniels, & Murphy were out, other guys got a chance. Jack, Rush, Hibbert, & Ford are all quality players and they played their asses off defending their home court. We thought we could coast and win, but that just doesn’t happen.

All the minutes are obviously a big concern for the starters, but you have to think that that six day break coming up on tuesday with the promise of reinforcements being on the way when they come back has to be bouying them.

I see some exciting things for this team if BD can wake up and if Kaman & Davis(2) can bring their career averages to the table. This is an interesting season, because there’s no telling how good or how bad it will get.

by ghost_ride on Dec 20, 2008 2:29 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

The Matador

That’s how BD plays defense. Jarrett Jack looked like freaking Tony Parker out there. BD doesn’t even put his hands up, he just tries to poke the ball away every once in a while. It’s no wonder Camby gets so many blocks, he gets a lot of opportunities to negate BD’s lack-of-concern.

Watch the games. Pay close attention to Baron. He’s not giving anywhere near 100% on either end of the court.

by supac on Dec 20, 2008 2:41 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

I agree completely

It becomes even more disturbing when you hear Milph say that he is the dominant personality and the obvious leader. When watching, you often get the feeling that he doesn’t give an ess, unless of course he knocks down a big shot, and then he is jawing at everyone to get into it.

I would love to see a guy like Camby be the dominant personality and the leader, because he certainly leads with his effort every second on the floor. Z-Bo wants to win and it shows also, but lacks the defensive skills (or effort) to be the leader.

Baron should be the leader. How do you light a fire under the guy?

by oneight on Dec 20, 2008 8:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

What about Novak?

The thing I don’t get is why Novak, a guy who can hit a shot and stretch the defense, isn’t playing at all when you’re getting no scoring at all from the bench. Especially with the inside game with Randolph going so well. If you’re going to pull Davis3 so quickly—and he has looked really bad the last couple of games, so that’s got to be done—, and you see that your bench is getting absolutely no scoring, wouldn’t you play Novak? I know that MD loves Mardy Collins and his defense, but is it that important to keep Brandon Rush from getting going when he’s missing shot after shot?

It’s great to get an ugly win and make a game-tying 3 to go to overtime, but the Clips need to do that at least five more times to make up for the games that they’ve given away—I guess they could throw in a couple of down by 10+ in the 4th comeback wins too, while they’re at it.

A big part of this game is playing down to opponents. Good teams don’t do it. But we know that the Clippers aren’t a good team. They have some nice pieces and are trying to become one, however, and despite the win this has to be seen as a setback. It’s a set up for a more important game tonight, when they have a chance to redeem themselves.

The bench problem is really all about getting Kaman back. Davis2, assuming he can be healthy and about 100 times more productive than he was in the beginning of the year, is crucial but secondary. And the third part would be to figure out how to use Novak, maybe get Davis3 going a little bit. Taylor’s fall off and injury could be a significant problem. Having Collins and Hart on the floor at the same time is a nightmare—just the same as last year’s, with Brevin Knight and QRoss.

by citizen zhiv on Dec 20, 2008 9:05 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Novak

I’d definitely like to see a little more Novak myself, especially when EJ’s shot isn’t going down. Of course, Dunleavy seems to want Mardy out there.

With Taylor out for who knows how long, hopefully we’ll get to see a guard rotation of BD, EJ, & Davis(2), w/ EJ spelling BD at point guard and Davis(2) spelling EJ at the two. Still no clear timetable for Ricky to come back though…

by ghost_ride on Dec 20, 2008 10:56 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I was also thinking

early in the game that Boston or the Cavs or Lakers would be obliterating this team right now. Most of the league would have done so. Very troubling that they played with so little intensity early. How does MDSr. figure into that considering that he tried to prepare the team by not letting them know about the illness? What can he do to fire up the team once they have taken the court?

by oneight on Dec 20, 2008 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Novak might see time tonite

RJ and Redd are by far the best SG/SF combo on this road-trip, so foul trouble to our starters is a very likely possibility. Nonetheless, the guy can’t guard anyone. MDSr is a defensive coach, so Collins will always be ahead of Novak on the depth chart. As you have noted several times, he’s the new QRoss, without the pressure of being a 20 ppg in College.

Let’s hope that Davis2 is at least decent coming back OK. That would solve a lot of problems at the thin SG/SF positions…..if he’s producing…which is a big IF. At this rate, I don’t think he’ll be opting out of his contract at the end of the year.

In terms of TT, i’m sure the Clips miss him as a 6th man. Obviously ZBo is a big upgrade, and that trade was a stroke of genius. Nonetheless, TT is a skilled player and scorer. He’s just not a guy that should be the #1 or #2 options on offense.

I love LAC.

by oasisman on Dec 20, 2008 12:32 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Fair enough, Oasis

I don’t mind TT on the roster at all along with Zach, if that’s the deal. But I’m giving up TT in NY heartbeat to get ZBo, a “stroke of genius”—well said, amigo. Hard to have it both ways. Instead, it being the Clippers, we’re in the twilight zone, where we get Zach but Kaman is hurt. So let’s not judge this team, no matter how many opponents are in the hospital, until the full complement is out there complimenting each other on their skills and fine play. Gordon and Thornton getting huge minutes, and BD making JohnR nutz with his funky bad self, just hanging in until Santa brings Kaman back.

by citizen zhiv on Dec 20, 2008 5:01 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs