Nice work, and love the links too. Agree on every point. Thornton is being brushed aside a bit (I just did it myself, trying to figure out what the Clips’ needs in the draft might be) with all of the recent focus on Gordon.

Tonight would be a good night for Thornton to step up and play well and help out. Let’s see if he can respond in a positive way to this new (temporary but emerging) order of Gordon as primary option. In CS’ excellent preview, he notes how Gordon is going to get to see what it’s like to be a primary option against a highly evolved elite team defense, as he tries to be the first rookie since Iverson to have three consecutive 30+ games. This is actually a great opportunity for Thornton to step up, and if he can get going it will relieve some of the pressure. Like CS, I haven’t seen much of the Clippers for awhile, and I’m looking forward to watching them play tonight.

Last year Thornton had some monster games but he also had some very empty nights as well. Gordon is more skilled and polished, he has that beautiful shot and he does all sorts of other things as well, so the hope is now that he’s going that he has very few games where he comes up completely empty, if any. And as I just said, this would be a good time for Thornton to find some mojo and have a big night.

Its as simple, and I mean simple as in simpleton, as that.

If their PPG are right by the time selections are made, they will be in.

This is where our attention should be, great stuff.

What’s interesting to me is the dynamic between EJ & AT on the court. After the Detroit game, Al was quoted as saying ""Eric was hot all night. It’s just too bad his last shot didn’t fall…" It made me wonder if Al isn’t ready to defer to the rookie just yet. Shot attempts v.s. Detroit: EJ 21, AT 11

In the next game against Dallas, Thornton takes 24 shots, while earning 3 trips to the line, 25 points. EJ needed only 18 shots to score 32 points, earning 7 + trips to the stripe.

Hopefully the two of them can help eachother out instead of competing against one another to lead the team in scoring. We don’t have to worry about EJ in that regard, but how Al responds to EJ’s emergence will go a long way in deciding if he’s to remain a Clipper. And hopefully Al can learn a thing or two about scoring while taking fewer shots, and how to play some tough defense from the rook.

All-Star game nods would be nice, but it’s all about the ROY race right now. Rose & Mayo are of course the heavy favorites, but as a Clipper fan you can’t hate the role of the underdog.

Covers the Al Thornton question in very good detail today.

I would link, but I’m a doofus. Instead I’ll point out that our favorite fancy professional writer fan and exquisite stylist misuses “complementary” in his piece.

If Al is smart he will have a long and successful career alongside EJ with the Ciips.
He just needs to trust EJ and his skills as they both grow together. I have watched EJ since he was a freshman in High School. Clipper and NBA fans have yet to see the total package this kid posesses.He WILL compliment Al and make him a better player if Al is patient and willing to accept EJ and his unique skill set. EJ will get him the ball in the best postions to score. All players have egos and I hope Al does not get upset with all the the attn. EJ is getting these days. It is also obvious he is Dunleavy’s pet player.
EJ by the way is also a very modest soft spoken kid playing with some very strong personalities that may not embrace his success of late while they are sitting out.

OOPS! I forgot Baron Davis is coming back soon. Forget the above. It can’t happen if Davis is running the show with his own agenda.

….defense.

To me, defense determines someone’s determination and how hard they play.