The "JV Team" v.s. The "Real Clippers"

It's pretty crazy to think about, but I really think that we've been watching a team closer to the actual Clippers than a JV team these last few games.  The JV team has just recently played a decently competitive game against the Lakers, actually finishing a margin better than the Spurs or Cavs have managed.  They've also been able to notch a couple actual wins, which is big for any Clipper team this year, and last night we watched them play the Trailblazers tough for 3 quarters, coming off a back to back w/ a short flight sandwiched inbetween.

A big reason the JV Team hasn't been a joke is that the Point Guard play has really stepped up in BD's absence.  Mardy Collins for a while, and lately Fred Jones has really been knocking down shots. With as bad as BD was playing this year, have we really been losing much here?  Trump card of course is that BD finds his past form, or at least something much better than what we've seen. 

DeAndre has also done a pretty good job filling in for Center.  He's no where near as reliable and steady as Camby, but he can make some pretty explosive plays that neither Kaman or Camby can.  And for all the wacked out stuff we see from DeAndre, don't a lot of those mistakes often remind you of another Clipper Center on our roster?  Hint: He's the longest tenured Clipper.

And Novak has been a huge boost offensively, and wouldn't have been getting this playing time otherwise.  Crazy as it sounds, I'd say the difference in those positions are pretty negligible.

Hands down the biggest difference in this JV Team we've been watching and the Real Clippers is Zach Randolph.  We've all seen we're a different team with him establishing a pecking order in our offense. 

And obviously, we'll have plenty of depth to look forward to once the Real Clippers are back in action...maybe we can even spare ourselves of an alleged (but highly suspicious) nba point guard currently on our roster. 

What the hope is though, is that the JV Team will have learned something from their experience fending for themselves.  EJ & AT will hopefully be better players for it, and be somewhat overqualified, or just better qualified for their roles.  Novak will be a regular contributor, our back-up point guard spot will be plenty robust, and project DeAndre status' might be changing to useful DeAndre.