Toronto 104 - Clippers 89 - Another Fourth Quarter Collapse
by Steve Perrin on Nov 13, 2009 11:20 PM PST
in Game Recaps
57 comments
It's difficult to overstate exactly how terrible the Clippers have been in fourth quarters this season, particularly down the stretch. They scored 10 points total in the fourth in losing to Oklahoma City Wednesday night. They scored 13 points in the fourth quarter against Dallas, zero in the last 4:30 and two in the final 710. Utah doubled them up, 28-14, turning a one point game into a laugher. They lost a seven point lead in the final six minutes against Phoenix. And they scored only 17 against the Lakers. With tonight's 104-89 loss to the Raptors, there is a common theme in six of the seven Clipper losses this season - the fourth quarter has killed them.
The truth of this game is that other than a stellar first quarter after which they led 34-17, none of the remaining quarters were particularly good for the Clippers. They were outscored 28-20 in the second, 29-20 in the third. But they reached deep and found that extra level of ineptitude in the fourth. They lost the quarter 30-15, and allowed the Raptors to run off the game's final 16 points over the last 6:45. They say that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Well, the Clippers scored 39 points in the first 13 minutes of the game... and none in the last 6. So take that for what it's worth.
Why have the Clippers had such trouble in the fourth quarter? Well, the answer is probably pretty simple. Good teams play their best when the game is on the line - and the Clippers are not a good team. At least they're not playing like a good team. It's no coincidence that they were able to outscore opponents like the Timberwolves, Warriors and Grizzlies in the final period - those teams are really bad, even worse than the Clippers. But against solid, or even non-horrible, competition, the Clippers are simply outclassed down the stretch.
I've got a big day of soccer coaching tomorrow - two games each for the two kids. So I need to get this wrapped up and get to bed. I'll leave you with a few random bullet points:
- When Chris Bosh was held without a field goal in the first quarter, there was a brief feeling of "Maybe Camby's got his number tonight." But deep down, you knew it wouldn't last. Bosh finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
- Jose Calderon, who has been having a bit of an off-year, was magnificent in the second half. He scored nine straight Raptors points in the third to single-handedly take the lead. Marco Belinelli can play some two.
- Milph kept talking about the third quarter, but it seems to me the game was lost in the second. After bulding a 22 point lead, the Clippers completely lost their intensity and at one point gave up a 14-1 run. With the lead down to manageable single digits at halftime, the Raptors went into the locker room with all the momentum. Building a big early lead is useless if you just give it all back.
- After seeing only spot duty and garbage minutes in the first 9 games of the season, Steve Novak got 17 minutes in tonight's game. I'm not sure if MDsr saw a matchup he thought Novak could handle defensively - it was strange that Novak ended up on Turkoglu several times, as that is certainly not a matchup you'd want. At any rate, Novak got the minutes that would otherwise have been going to Ricky Davis, and some from Rasual Butler as well. I must say it's nice having another shooter on the floor.
- Butler was cut back from about 38 minutes he'd played in the last three close games, to 31 tonight. Why? Because he can't shoot. He was 2 for 10 for the second game in a row, and 1 for 6 on threes. He's 21 for his last 74 overall and 10 for his last 40 threes. He's killing the team right now.
- Chris Kaman was great for three quarters - and then he disappeared. He was 8 for 10 at one point, and finished the game 10 for 16 for 25 points. Of course, this is part of the team's fourth quarter funk. Kaman is not really cut out to be a go to scorer. When he gets the ball in pressure situations, he feels it. Some guys thrive on that pressure - Kaman is not one of those guys. After his ugly 'jump in the air behind the backboard and throw the ball to the other team' play Wednesday against the Thunder, he actually came up with something worse. The 'get the ball under the basket, fake three times and flip an underhand airball into the air.'
- I haven't gone through game logs to check, but anecdotally, doesn't it seem like Baron Davis is getting 5 or 6 assits in the first few minutes of every game - and then 1 or 2 more the rest of the way? I know I heard Milph say that Baron had 5 assists midway through the first quarter of this game - he finished with 7. I'm fairly certain there have been other similar cases. So what's happening? Why is the ball moving so well in the first quarter, and dying later in the game? (Of course it's hard to earn assists when your teammates can't make any shots.)
Note that Marc Stein reported earlier today that Donald Sterling "has already flirted seriously with the idea of dismissing Mike Dunleavy immediately." With the team losing a 22 point lead and the fans loudly booing by the end of this one, one would think that we'd be moving past flirting at this point.
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Ralph had some strong comments
in the post game radio show…basically said he spoke to dts and he (and roser) is looking to shake things up to save this season…didn’t go so far as to say he would fire mdsr, but he went on to say he thinks something needs to change.
Roger Sterling: To my knees, Don. They're bringing to my knees!"
FYI the highlight of the game...
…was seeing Clipper Spirit Taylor sitting for a few minutes in the first few rows on the baseline near the Clips bench. She continues to look sensational. I smell comeback.
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" – Albert Einstein
by Another son of Mike Smith on Nov 14, 2009 12:40 AM PST up reply actions
Oh, my two highlights were slightly different
One was seeing Baron dunk the ball and hang on the rim.
The second was DeAndre’s first FT that was 2-3 foot short of the rim. A 7 year old could do better than that. Disgraceful but made me laugh/cry.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
good luck to you clippermax and clipperzoe tomorrow!
Roger Sterling: To my knees, Don. They're bringing to my knees!"
If I had to
sum up our 4th quarter ineptitude in just one problem, it would be “predictable play calling.” Everyone knows we are going to Kaman on the right block and that Kaman still can’t consistently deal with a double team. This leads to either Kaman TOs, forced Kaman shots, or poor Kaman kickouts that break the play and cause chaos on the perimeter, resulting in a contested 25-footer. And then the opponent is on the break.
by Dunleavy is an Idiot on Nov 13, 2009 11:34 PM PST reply actions
That's what I was saying too..
Good call. I was at the game and blurted out that we’ve been way too predictable.
I agree, something needs to change. I understand if it was the same 5 players on the court when they lost the 22 point lead, THAT is when you can blame the players. But when you have an 11 man rotation going, and ALL 11 PLAYERS lose that lead, that’s no coincidence. There’s no way 12 NBA players (pretty good NBA players, to boot) will lose a 22 point lead. Maybe if the same 5 were in the game the whole time during the 22 point giveaway, you can say that 3 of those 5 were doing horrible, thus dragging the team down. But 11 players? There’s no way that all 11 players did so badly that we lost a 22 point lead.
I’m going to honestly throw this one at the coaching staff.
"It's over ladies and gentlemen. The Clippers have upset, have shocked, have STUNNED the Boston Celtics!"
-Ralph Lawler
by TheCalmInsanity on Nov 13, 2009 11:38 PM PST up reply actions
see my post in each of the last two game threads!
Roger Sterling: To my knees, Don. They're bringing to my knees!"
by Lawler's Law on Nov 13, 2009 11:41 PM PST up reply actions
Indeed
Credit to you. Apparently the only one to whom this problem is unknown is Dunleavy.
by Dunleavy is an Idiot on Nov 13, 2009 11:47 PM PST up reply actions
Also
When you keep rotating new players in (with the same coaching strategy being implemented throughout) and the results don’t change, the fault is pinned on the coaching staff, not the players.
In other words if it was the players’ fault, then when those “faulty” players were subbed out and replaced, the newer, “non-faulty” players would fix the mistakes (given that the coaching strategy is good). That would prove that the coaching is good, given the right combination of players. Meaning, if that happened, there’s nothing wrong with the coaching, but just something wrong with those few players on the court that were doing bad.
"It's over ladies and gentlemen. The Clippers have upset, have shocked, have STUNNED the Boston Celtics!"
-Ralph Lawler
by TheCalmInsanity on Nov 13, 2009 11:42 PM PST reply actions
i think dunleavy needs to see how much people want a change and he will kindly resign himself from his position looking at his failure and leading clippers to a drought. we obviously need a better staff, but i think the players have a lot to learn players need to know not to give up their confidence even if they’re comin g back from a 22 pt lead
Clips' Nation
Eagles!
Well, that's it for me
I’d love to stick around and chat with you fine folks but I am waking up early to watch USA-Slovakia soccer friendly (although I’d rather watch Ireland-France playoff. Stupid TV networks.) Peace.
by Dunleavy is an Idiot on Nov 13, 2009 11:57 PM PST reply actions
I disagree with this comment:
“It’s no coincidence that they were able to outscore opponents like the Timberwolves, Warriors and Grizzlies in the final period – those teams are really bad, even worse than the Clippers.”
Those teams are not worse than us. As a matter of fact, as presently constituted, those teams will kill us right now. Without Gordon keeping defenses honest, we won’t be able to win any games. Teams like Houston and even Sacramento finds way to win even with their key guys injured. They are greater than the sum of their parts. We are much LESS than the sum of our parts.
The only team that we might be able to beat right now is the Nets, and even that is a toss up.
If I read my phone correctly, Kaman was 10 for 14 at one point. By the fourth quarter, Raptors collapsed on him every time he touched the ball and they practically dared everyone else to shoot. Other than Novak, nobody put the ball in the basket with any consistency, which certainly explains why Novak got some burn.
Few more observations from the fourth row: Camby seemed far less willing to shoot from the top of the key than in prior games. Crowd exploded into cheers when DeAndre finally made a free throw and teammates were giving him grief when he checked out (he smiled rather sheepishly about it). In the last minute of the game, it was the most sustained booing that I can remember while Bosh was visibly pumped that they had fought all the way back.
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" – Albert Einstein
by Another son of Mike Smith on Nov 14, 2009 12:49 AM PST reply actions
Coaching
I was unfortunately at the game tonight, and was not at all surprised to see the 22 point lead vanish. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter is when I really got annoyed at Dunleavy though. Jay Triano, like a smart coach, called timeout, took out Bosh and Calderon with a little over a minute left in the 3rd and gave them substantial rest until about 8:30 left in the 4th. On the other hand, Dunleavy played both Al Thornton and Chris Kaman the entire 3rd quarter! My favorite was how he attempted to get Craig Smith in the game for Kaman with about 25 seconds left in the 3rd, while Toronto had the ball and a 24 second shot clock. Now I know Kaman is in better shape this year, but there’s a reason he becomes Mr.Flippy in the 4th.
So now, instead of having our starters decently rested for the fourth, Dunleavy attempts to give them a quick cool down and expect them to go back out and finish off a close game. Also, Al Thornton played 17 straight minutes to start the second half, thought he should have been rested to finish off the 4th strong as he was actually having a decent game. Sebastian Telfair played from the beginning of the 4th until 4:00 minutes left, not the time you want your #2 pg playing (scored 0 points).
Right before the 4th quarter started I turned to my friend after being fed up with Dunleavy’s inability to give Kaman a rest in the 3rd, and said, “Watch, now because our rotations are so messed up, our 8th unit is going to have to play a lot of the 4th quarter and Toronto’s going to run away with it. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m a knowledgeable Clippers fan.” Man, was I right.
yeah
if what i heard on tv was right, baron played the whole second half.
that’s just ridiculous.
by baron davis' beard on Nov 14, 2009 6:08 AM PST up reply actions
No Motivation
Camby and Thornton are both disppointing tonight. It seems both lack the intensity and firepower. Kaman ran out of steam? The indfferent attitude is pathetic. Unfortunately bench is terrible and it didn’t matter until Griffin and Gordon return from their injuries.
I gottta say
I can see next mornings headline saying Dunleavy got fired, especially since Scott just did as well
LOL @ Kaman
This collapse was so absurd that is actually more funny than depressing and Steve your comment helped lighten my mood a little bit. "After his ugly ‘jump in the air behind the backboard and throw the ball to the other team’ play Wednesday against the Thunder, he actually came up with something worse. The ‘get the ball under the basket, fake three times and flip an underhand airball into the air.’
But seriously, even the effing Sacramento Kings are 5-4 this season! If this team could learn how to actually close out a game then they could easily be 6-4 instead of a pathetic 3-7. At least they are on pace to break the 19 wins that we had last season.
you’re absolutely right about Kaman.
He was out of gas and should’ve been rested between the 3rd and 4th quarter for a couple of minutes.
But Dunleavy just let’s him play all the time and is not just risking to tire him out, but also another injury, cause that’s what happens when guys like Kaman, who aren’t 40 mins a game type of players, get played too much.
BTW: That two point guard lineup of Telfair and Davis has got to be a joke as well.
Both of them need the ball in their hands to be effektive and neither of them can consistantly hit a jump shot. That’s just not going to work and i also don’t get why Baron didn’t get a rest as well.
Anyway, hopefully the coach will be gone soon, cause without that we’re doomed yet again.
Why is MDSr not resting the starters more?
That would be a good question to ask him. I guess he doesn’t trust his bench. I don’t think he has any choice. He’s got to play the bench.
Doesn't matter
As John R stated:
the effect of the coach is probably about the same as the effect of luck in terms of size on the result of a given outcome.
:)
by Polish Rifle on Nov 14, 2009 7:45 AM PST up reply actions
To be fair ...
Kaman was given the ball behind the backboard, in a crowd. A pass, assuming somebody was open and could actually shoot, would likely have hit the backboard’s backside. Baron’s job is to get Kaman (and others) the ball where needed to be effective; behind the backboard, and at the top of his shoes (another Baron pass, which Kaman didn’t field),don’t qualify.
Watching these sort of bungles by Baron, and also watching Calderon humiliate him, and also seeing when Telfair was PG that Kaman was triple-teamed, I hesitate to lay it all at Dunleavy’s feet. He’s got a sharpshooter who can’t be relied on for defense, two defensive-minded guards who can’t shoot reliably, a backup center who invites fouls, a PF who really isn’t comfortable defending the perimeter, or scoring very much either, an SF who’s seemingly learning to think about his game for the first time, and a center who’s got this whole craptacular mess dumped on his shoulders. Aside from insisting that the guys try to execute the way they should, he hasn’t got a lot of options.
Also, DJ — try a different way to shoot free-throws. It can’t be more ineffective than what you’re doing now.
You seemed to have looked down on the players more than you should have;
if put in that kind of context, yes, we seem to have an overachieving roster. But when put into a guard who was two times all star, a center who averages 20 and 10 on 54% shooting, a guard who averages 19 points on 13 touches, defensive player of the year with the ability to change shots, 2 shooters.. and ricky davis, we have a pretty decent team. Its not that Dunleavy doesn’t have anything to work with, he doesnt work with what he’s got. He doesnt rotate his lineup effectivly enough. When the other team has made a change and has cut our lead a bit, its time for us to make a change because the lineup we are using just isn’t working anymore. But instead, Dunleavy decides to overplay our starters, and our starters looked very tired, in which Toronto was capable of taking it by 10 points. Maybe its time for Dunleavy to realize that passing it downlow to the block every single play won’t work all the time. Nobody is stubborn enough to run the same play like Dunleavy, especially when we know our center seems to be incapable of handling the double team.
Btw, where’s the pick and roll? Why aren’t we trying to get Baron free? Dunleavy made this roster, I think its time for him to play it to its fullest or leave.
The way I remember it --
- is that it was when the starters were out that Toronto began clawing back. like the guys on Toronto.
Also, I don’t think a pick and roll requires Dunleavy’s intervention. Baron and Kaman (or Novak) can do that on their own. Kaman runs down, gets on the block, then moves out and sets a pick; Baron runs past it and hits Kaman (or Novak, for that matter). Not that complicated, and I’ve seen them do it. Of course it helps if Baron (or Telfair) is a legit threat outside (questionable), And I think a two-time all-star guard is supposed to be able to get himself free. In fact, Baron made very nice moves to the rim; I think he made one shot from outside.
The defensive MVP is still 36; he rebounds well, he blocks shots from the weak side, but outside shooting big men are his downfall -
Yes, Dunleavy built the team, but we all knew it had weaknesses, and losing Blake and Gordon and Butler’s shooting ability cripples the team. Might other coaches have done better? Sure — and I’d like to see a different coach. But changing coaches won’t heal Griffin or Gordon, and shouldn’t help Butler’s shot. It will probably help Baron’s game, because he’s not a professional.
But I’m weary of reading that Dunleavy’s a fool for playing the starters too much, and for playing the subs too much; for being too limited, and for not seeing to it that the plays are executed well; for yelling all the time, and for missed assignments. It’s a young core, and the supposed field general is not much of a leader. Dunleavy’s fault? Sure, but bear in mind, the guy is a two-time All-Star, and Dunleavy brought him in anyway, fully aware that their styles were different. I’ve seen movement from the coach; from Baron? Not so much. Bad passes and unthinking performance after the first quarter.
As Don Nelson has shown, even an uncoached team can win, if the guys plays hard and smart.
BTW, who’s the guard who scores 19 on 13? That’s not the guy with the groin pull, is it? Because I didn’t see him there last night.
Sorry --
I didn’t mean to line through the first part; stupid cat was walking on the keyboard and it didn’t show that way ’til I posted.
Utterly Predictable Plays
The same thing keeps happening.
Players play free in the 1st quarter. They do some freelancing mixed with Dunleavy’s offense and things look alright. 2nd quarter: Dunleavy starts screaming from the sideline.
By the 3rd and 4th, after the Clippers have run the EXACT SAME post up plays to Kaman countless times, the opponents have caught on and their defense takes it away.
Lawler Calling for Major Change
I did hear Ralph on the drive home and he was about as mad and despondent as I’ve ever heard him, flat out saying several times enough is enough and the team needs a major change right now or the season will be lost. When asked what he meant by major change he hedged, saying he didn’t know if they needed a coaching change or a big trade, but that the blame started at the top of the organization and went down to the ball boys, everyone but the broadcasters. He also stated the mood of the Clipper fans was as bleak as he’s ever seen it and that unless something is done quickly he’s afraid he’ll be coming to work to an empty building.
by Clipster Hipster on Nov 14, 2009 7:47 AM PST reply actions
I did notice, as Steve pointed out,
that Baron, in a lot of these games, comes out with 5-7 assists in the first half but finishes the game with only 2 or 3 more. You can clearly see the change of the offense and I really don’t know if that’d BD’s fault (not commanding the troops) or Duns fault for not keeping his team organized.
I hate saying it but without EG and Blake, this team doesn’t have a lot of intimidating presence. At this current point, Kaman and Eric are our best players and Blake is un upgrade over Camby, at least offensively. He’ll bring attention to himself, the way Chris is now. Kaman and Eric create that nice inside outside game which helps keep off the doubles on Kaman. Seems they’ll risk leaving Butler to double Chris as he just hasn’t been making shots. We definitely miss EG’s outside shooting (which is why Novak probably got some burn). Butler is making 1 out of every 3-4 3pt attempts and it’s killing us.
I want to promise that when EG and Blake are back, this tea will be going on winning streaks (though I know better with this team) I mean the extra 9 points that Eric gets from the outside is huge not to mention his remaining 12 points he gets from the field and the line. He’s gets us at least three 3balls nearly every game, and effectively too (46%) and he’s shooting 50% from the field. That kind of productivity is hugely missed as we can see.
PS. What is up with those Kings?!?! 4 game winning streak beating some pretty darn good teams. All without K-Mart. It’s funny they’re the only team in the top 8 in the negative for points scored vs points allowed (though it’s only -0.4)
by dulciusEXasperis on Nov 14, 2009 8:18 AM PST reply actions
it's called good coaching...
kings, spurs, rockets all winning with major stars being out…
Roger Sterling: To my knees, Don. They're bringing to my knees!"
by Lawler's Law on Nov 14, 2009 8:40 AM PST up reply actions
I guess that's what it really boils down to...
I wouldn’t know but is Dunleavy really getting these guys to play well in the first half and then goes numb in the second? Or are the guys playing well but when things start getting ugly Dunleavy doesn’t know how to get them back on track? I mean the ball movement was terrific the first quarter and it never looked the same again. What the hell happened? Could argue the players have mental lapses as well but I suppose that’s the coaches job to keep them focused and create a game plan to keep the positive momentum going…..not fall farther.
by dulciusEXasperis on Nov 14, 2009 8:49 AM PST up reply actions
I hvae to concede this point though....
It isn’t all about the coaching, there seemed to be some good looks that players missed. If players missed shots over and over is it the coaches fault?
Maybe the team is just not as good as we thought.
Personally I am a bit scared to lose Dunleavy
He’s the only one that injected a “want to win” culture in this ball club. His execution is coming up a bit short, but the guy is trying to win. DTS now has his checkbook open….
…but lets say MDsr gets fired and we get a new coach, then continues to lose. What then? Will DTS just say forget it….close the check book and we go back to the “who cares about winning days”?
I feel similarly
Dunleavy is not a great coach by any means, but he has done some great things for this organization. When you look at successful franchises in all sports, they usually have a culture, history, fraternity like structure. Just the other day, you hear Byron Scott say “I still bleed purple and gold”. If you look at the Celtics, you will see how many of their greats are still involved 40 years later. We don’t have the successful history to have all of that, but it needs to start somewhere. I know that I have already scared everyone away by mentioning Dunleavy and success in the same breath, but he has gotten Sterling to open up his pocket to begin paying for talent (I’m referring to basketball talent btw) and building a state of the art training facility. He likely wouldn’t have done that before, so for those 2 things I am thankful to Dunleavy for.
I do believe that we need a different voice handling the coaching duties. He hasn’t been able to get the job done in that regard, but he has made some savvy moves that an adequate coach would have more than taken advantage of.
He does have a nice sized ego, so I have my doubts that he would be able to step back from coaching and only assume GM duties.
This team needs established and respected personnel on this team. The players need a reason to play hard night in and night out. Obviously money isn’t enough. It’s respect for themselves and respect for the organization as a whole. If the Lakers or Celtics lose in the playoffs, they (the players) are going to feel like they let themselves, the fans, Buss, Magic, Kareem, West, Bill Russell, Hondo, Danny, Tommy, etc. all down. There’s a pride that they play with. There hasn’t been a Clipper pride, only shame. That’s why guys want to peel out as soon as their contract is up, because there’s not a feeling of wanting to belong or to be tied to such an organization. Everybody needs to be in it to win it. Other teams are proud of the name on the front of their jerseys. That’s what we need to be about. Players feel like they have been exiled when sent to the Clippers (“what have I done to deserve this?”)
Dunleavy has helped in some aspects. The players need to do their part on the court. The coach has to play his role. Obviously Sterling is the biggest to blame, but teams have won even in bad ownership before. It’s just much harder when you have that working against you.
To sum it up, there needs to be a positive shift to change what this organization and its players stand for. Not only a new identity of how the team plays, but how the organization is run. Some things have changed, but the general public continues to make the same tired and (now) inaccurate misconceptions about what kind of moves we make. Continual improvement needs to be made if we are ever going to shake that stigma.
by Lawler 4ever on Nov 14, 2009 5:26 PM PST up reply actions
As the GM dunleavy needs to do whats best for the team
and step down as coach, he has one good season since he has been here. other than that its execuse after excuse of not having a healthy roster. The guys dont respond to him and his winning percentage does not warrant him keeping his job, step down let lucas or kim hughes take over. Also who is the next sam cassel that we can get to change the teams mindset on how to win games and close teams out. a player like cassel would never let this happen, baron could learn something from a player like sam who was nowhere near as talented but gout everthying he could out of his talent and won alot of gms.
Big difference between Baron and Sam are
ability to consistently hit the mid range jumper….crucial for the current team.
yea me and my friend were discussing possible guys who could be the next cassell,
and we ended up talking about the ex pistons of billups, rip, and tayshaun, obviously billups is going nowhere, but i like both prince and rip, just not sure rip could play the 3, which is the weakest spot right now, but i would trade camby for either one of those guys if possible.
cassel, to coach
maybe we should just bring him to be head coach, i think he is an assistant w/ the wizards, but we need him back here, the best leader in LAC history
Ins't Prince having some significant back problems right now?
Last thing we need is another injured player.
by dulciusEXasperis on Nov 14, 2009 11:04 AM PST up reply actions
No I wouldn't expect them to make that trade either
And yeah he has been solid for many years but it just takes one injury to set things in motion. back problems is a pretty big deal for a sports athlete. Though I don’t know the severity of the injury, it could easily become a lingering problem (if not minor)
by dulciusEXasperis on Nov 14, 2009 2:26 PM PST up reply actions
It's time for the Jon Lucas era
MDSR needs to step down, I know DTS will have to eat $10M by letting him go, but we will essentially throw away $20M in BD and Camby’s salary if something doesn’t happen soon, I’m guessing they will mail it in if things don’t turn around fast. We saw it last yr, those guys are notorious for having nagging injuries, if we are an obvious lottery team, these guys will shut it down.
Veteran leadership, I would love to see a Tayshaun or Rip added to this team, they could have a Bobby Abreu type impact on the clipps.
by The Blake Griffin Era on Nov 14, 2009 11:06 AM PST reply actions
Vlad to the Rangers
I hate to admit it, I don’t see him coming back.
by The Blake Griffin Era on Nov 14, 2009 11:50 AM PST reply actions
My take on our 4th quarter collapses is that we currently
dont’ have any go-to players. Before you jump to any conclusions, please read what I mean.
Look at our rotation players. Kaman,Camby, Smith, Thornton, Butler, Gordon, Baron, Seb and soon, Griffin.
From those players, Kaman is good but not a closer – he panics when quick double teams rush him. Camby never is/was. Craig Smith and Rasual are rotation players who have had starting roles in their previous teams in only the last year or so, aren’t are consistent shooters at the best of times. Seb also fits that inconsistent shooter role.
You are looking for someone who can make key decisions under pressure. That is what we pay Baron for but his shot selection is always somewhat tainted so we are really looking for him to create in that crunchtime.
That leaves Griffin, someone who hasn’t even played an NBA game yet, Thornton and EJ.
Now to become a good go-to guy takes time in my opinion and to expect Griffin and EJ to be able to do this in their first/second seasons would be unrealistic so there are times (when they finally play together) that they will finish games well and times when it goes wrong. But that experience will help mould them as that go-to option in the future.
As those two are injured, that leaves Thornton. It may seem ridiculous, especially after some of his performances this year but I’d rather see Al get the ball 1 on 1 in the last few minutes and try to create something for himself off the dribble than watch Baron throw up a poor 3 or Kaman turn the ball over straight out of a double team.
Novak? Hard to expect if he’s cold but Toronto knew we were looking for him last night and played him well on D.
Becoming a go-to guy will take time but it’s just a case that our two are inexperienced so I think we can expect some more close 4th quarter games go against us in the future.
By the way, I’ve not spoken about the piss-poor coaching from Dunleavy who seems to watch his team play cluelessly in the 4th quarter whilst he’s happy for them to run his massive playbook for the rest of the game!
Just my two cents as I’m getting real fed up this season and I’m normally a member of Zhiv’s club.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
i've been a party to some of the worst clippers teams ever...
but i just can’t take it anymore…something’s got to give…mike dunleavy is considered a basketball genius but he’s so predictable…throw it to the post to kaman…again, rinse, repeat, rinse repeat…..i just dont understand…
by whyamiaclippersfan on Nov 14, 2009 5:36 PM PST reply actions
I don't understand
those who have a crush on Novak. What’s so good about this guy? We’re talking about a career bench player.
He's there to give us points and nothing else.
Gotta hand it to him though, he can shoot the ball very well but is a pretty huge liability on defense. It’s ludicrous that some posters want him to play SG. He’ll get blown by again, and again. I understand throwing him out there to compliment Kaman, especially with Butler missing 9 times out of 10. We’re running out of options. Butler SHOULD of been able to hold down the fort with Eric out. Might as well throw Ricky out there. Probably plays better D than Butler and will most likely make a 3 in less attempts then Butler.
Novak is the best shooter we have on this team, maybe even better than Eric. He requires his defender to stick to him or pay. It’s a nice commodity to have but no more than a 5 minute a game player, if even, on a healthy team.
by dulciusEXasperis on Nov 14, 2009 6:10 PM PST up reply actions
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