Clippers 106 - Denver 99 - That's Why They Play the Games
by Steve Perrin on Nov 21, 2009 12:14 AM PST
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PrintI don't think anyone saw this coming. The Clippers had lost two straight games to teams with losing records. The Nuggets had been looking like one of the elite teams in the league, and after dismantling the Lakers last Friday on ESPN, were fully expected to do the same to the Clippers tonight. With no Milph on Prime Ticket, I decided to watch the national broadcast to see what they're saying in Bristol about the team. When Carmelo Anthony scored 17 first quarter points on 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line, helping the Nuggets build an early lead, this game was nicely following ESPN's proposed pre-game narrative. The Nuggets are contenders, Carmelo is an MVP candidate, the Clippers are tonight's victim.
And then something strange happened. After Melo's last points of the first quarter gave Denver their biggest lead of the game at 12, the Clippers proceeded to score 19 in a row, turning a 12 point deficit into a 7 point lead three minutes into the second period. They never trailed again, recording their biggest win of the young season 106-99.
Not that they didn't make us worry. They eventually built the lead as high as 19 points. But after Anthony's three trimmed it to 15 to close the third, the Clippers came out flat in the fourth and Denver quickly began to cut into the lead. It's hard to fault the second unit too much in the fourth quarter - after all, these are the same guys who turned the game around for the Clippers in the second quarter - but it got pretty dicey there for a moment. As has happened in so many other fourth quarters this season, the Nuggets turned up the defensive intensity, and the Clippers seemingly had no answer. A 20 to 4 Denver run cut the lead from 18 all the way down to 2.
On the Clippers first possession with the lead down to two, Rasual Butler hit a three. After getting a stop, Baron Davis hit a three. So after scoring 4 points in the first 6 minutes of the quarter, the Clippers suddenly hit six in about 30 seconds, and the lead was once again 8. To their credit, the Clippers continued to make plays down the stretch to hold on for the win. I really want to emphasize that Butler three. The Clippers, although they did give up a 20-4 run, never gave Denver the chance to tie or take the lead. Although the lead got down to two, by the time Denver got the ball back it was up to 5, and the next trip it was 8. Psychologically, Butler closed the door on the Nuggets with that three. It had taken a lot of effort on their part to climb back in, but I think that three really hurt them.
Anthony finished the game with 37, but arguably the Clippers played it just right - they didn't let anyone else beat them. J.R. Smith was scoreless in the first half, and finished with only 9 points on 13 shots. Chauncey Billups was 1 for 5 and scored a mere 5 points. Credit Rasual Butler and Baron Davis with outstanding defense on those two.
Meanwhile on the offensive end, the Clippers much-maligned wings both came through. Butler had a season high (and therefore his high as a Clipper) 27 points to lead the team. He was 8 for 15 from the field and 4 for 9 from deep. Al Thornton had 18 points on 6 for 10 shooting. The production from Rasual and Al was welcome - we've been saying that Chris Kaman and Baron Davis would have to carry the load, and frankly it's probably just too much for them to do night in and night out. With Butler and Thornton providing scoring punch, it provided much needed help to Baron and Chris.
At first glance, you may think that Kaman had a particularly bad game with a season low 13 and 4 for 10 shooting (how about that - after 14 games, his season low is a couple points higher than his career average). But in fact Kaman played very well. Kenyon Martin is a very good low post defender for one thing. For another, when the Nuggets did double team, Chris handled it as adroitly as I've ever seen him. He had 6 assists in the game, one off of his career high, and it was no accident. He established position, was patient and didn't rush things, and when the double came, he made good passes out of it, many times leading to baskets.
It's tempting to hope that this game will create a little momentum for the team. They should be getting Eric Gordon back for the next game. They still have a bunch of winnable games coming up, starting with Minnesota Monday. It would be really great to string a few games together here playing like they did against Denver.
But who knows if it's going to happen? You just never know what you're going to get with this team. After all, no one expected them to beat Denver.
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According to Eric Pincus
They were off b/c of “comments” made at the memphis game, I don’t know if this is true. Can someone verify this?
I laughed
They had to sit out a game for saying what everybody at home was thinking. Personally I laughed but being a minority of sorts myself I get it. I think it’s lame and people complaining and wanting to make something out of nothing, but I get it. They were really missed, the ESPN announcers blew chunks and dismissed the Clippers even when they won.
That was fun Let's enjoy it
For today only: I love MDSR, the lion can sleep with the lamb, John R. and Jax can join hands and sing We are the World, Lawler’s Law actually applies when the Clipper’s score 100 first, and Butler looks like a steal.
I had a great time at the game despite taking my wife(joke).
I decided not to go on last minute
in fear of that the game was going to be a blowout and would have just rather listened to Lawler. Man, both failed.
At last!
I needed to see some good basketball from my chosen team… Glad to get our first good win of the season against the same team that manhandled the Lakers…
Damn you Dunleavy
He never cost us a loss, I wanted a blowout. Freakin’ Dunleavy.
I’m just kidding.
Still feels good to have a win
Feels great for a W finally, especially against a contending playoff threat. Wooot! What a game, jumping all over the place in front of the TV was exciting after every point. Finally….! Great job today at both ends using Kaman for the double and kick out! Rasual for the win and so with Baron playin smart. Good job at playing aggresive on Melo.
Clips' Nation
Eagles!
How long is EJ out?
I saw on clipperblog he’s out more games and griffin will be back on dec 15?
Some notes from the fourth row...
A shout out to Mardy Collins. I watched him closely and he played solid defense on Carmelo. Melo got his, but Mardy often made him work for it. I hope he gets more burn.
Telfair was lightning quick at times in the second quarter when he turned on the after burners. His decision making is inconsistent but he is generally a great backup PG.
I don’t know if I’m simply imagined it, but TV timeouts seem way longer for a nationally televised game. More commercials, I guess.
Craig Smith is SOLID – he just does all of the little things down low. I want him back next year.
This team plays so much better when they create turnovers on the defensive end. It just makes the offense so much more effective in transition.
We play down so often to inferior teams, so it only makes sense that the reverse would be true for us. Going forward, if our record improves in spite of the fact that our opponents are tougher, perhaps this will be one of the reasons why.
National TV is a great motivator.
Although I thought that 360 layup by Smith was the beginning of the end, we bent but we did not break. It’s really the first time we have passed that test this year. Major milestone in that regard.
I don’t know if they were talking about it on ESPN, but Baron was just hosing Lawson in the second half on the post ups. You could really see where Baron’s size mattered.
It was way more enjoyable to watch the game with 18,000 (although I’m guessing about 15-20% were Denver fans). For the first time this season, it felt like a real game.
Both Griffin and Gordon were dressed in the most dapper suits I’d seen from them all season. I’m assuming somebody told them to look good for national TV.
"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 21, 2009 12:54 AM PST reply actions
Were there REALLY 18000 there?
That’s amazing. If 80% were Clip fans, that’s still amazing. There was so much talk of boycotting… or just staying away from the slaughter.
I want to second that shout out to MCollins. His defense was noteworthy, and it was also nice to have an additional ball-handler out there. I thought Ricky started the game with good energy and all, but had Collins been out there instead, I don’t think we would have been as far down mid-way through the first. They weren’t calling plays for Ricky anyway, so why not have a better defender?
New formula when EJ’s out?: Start Mardy, bring in Butler after 6 minutes, and give Ricky some shots in the 2nd unit.
BTW, according to ClipperBlog
EJ will miss at least a few more games… so we’ll get a chance to experiment some more.
did you expect anything different?
When was the last time a Clipper came back from an injury within the specified time table?
by Newton Pham on Nov 21, 2009 10:52 AM PST up reply actions
Years ago maggette was comIng back way before expected. I was always crediting that to his great shape. Another reason why I expect Blake back sooner. Kaman also came back from that appendix surgery much sooner.
by Takebb909 on Nov 21, 2009 1:03 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Everywhere Ive Read
Says that Gordon will be back on Monday or at the latest Wednesday.. Clipperblog might be wrong
Good notes
Was Mardy Collins the deciding factor? It sure seemed like it. He had great defensive energy and things seemed to be bouncing his way. His savvy ballhandling, which we’ve seen before, was impressive. Because he’s not looking for his shot he keeps the ball moving, and his strength and penetration are valuable. Part of it was that he just had a good, active game where he was around the ball a lot. He was probably happy to be out there getting minutes and a chance to do something.
Where was this guy when Rudy Gay was killing the Clips? Any other lame losses, especially since Gordon went out, where he might have helped the cause? Can’t even think about them, they’re all too painful.
It’s not just that he helps the defense. He played well last night and didn’t make mistakes, and the Clips have needed steady execution and just more solid, savvy play.
I didn’t mind Ricky Davis and his efforts. After being hot in the 4th quarter garbage time against Memphis, he wanted to come out and do some damage, and it was a decent attempt. It’s just that the times he’s going to be hot and effective are relatively rare, it seems. His leash was pretty short last night, so it was okay.
But in this game, with Rush gone, Collins finally got his chance and it was impressive. Very nice work by MC, about as good as we could have hoped for, and critical to the turnaround and victory.
by citizen zhiv on Nov 21, 2009 12:11 PM PST up reply actions
Good to see Collins in the game
What I liked most was that Dunleavy is willing to keep trying different things until he finds what works. He is acknowledging that there’s a problem with the status quo and throwing other guys in there to try to create a spark. I noticed he did that with putting Novak in early in the game a few nights ago and last night he put in Mardy with his fresh legs and high energy level. The team still has a ton of problems and I’m sure that we will be disappointed again in a few days when the Clippers lose to Minnesota or Indiana, but as Clippers fans we better celebrate the small joys whenever we can!
DeAndre for MFP - Most Funniest Player
i have this feeliong we are going to lose to minnesota
however i think if we defeat minnesota we are gonna go on a big streak
I was wondering about that, too (after the game)
Rasual came in and knew what to do.
Or maybe he was just too fed up to stay psyched out. It was as if, by seeing the Clips immediately go down by 10 or 12, he thought “Hell, let ME shoot the ball…” We should give up early buckets every night, then, and send our exasperated Phoenix in to clean things up.
Whatever it was, tonight he looked completely different. Do it again, Rasual!
Butler seems to be better as a spot up shooter...
He seems to be most accurate when he squares up. It was Kaman’s kick-outs that were the key in that regard. And more kudos for Mardy Collins. He really seems to have that elusive basketball IQ everyone else seems to be missing.
Good use of Subs
I felt MDSr had been overusing his starters way too much recently. He trusted guys like Ricky Davis, DJ and Mardy today, and it worked wonders. Mardy had great hustle and playmaking last year..it was a shock he was buried in the bench, even with EJ out. I think he showed tonite his defensive value, and could play a meaningful 10-15 min every night. The 2nd unit is more run-and-gun, so having a Mardy gives them defensive balance. Defense wins basketball games.
Overall, great, great game. The Clips played with great heart, even after yet another slow start.
This is going to be my team, and we're going to rise together.
-Clipper Darrell
The Butler 3
Totally agree, he closed the door. Huge, huge shot. And really, his 3’s in the first quarter made the comeback possible.
Im Sorry Steve, BUT
I did see this coming. No matter how many clipper haters there are out their, i always have faith in this team. ill bet for them to win any night. Thats what a true fan does
A true fan sticks with his team through thick and thin
Someone who bets on the Clippers to win on any night has a different name ;)
Good shout if you saw this result coming, I thought we would get battered.
I won’t get to see the replay for another 6/7 hours but well done team and coach on a good win.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
i didn't saw it coming
but wasn’t surprised, i guess some part of me is used to amazing unexpected results like boston win last year
I expected them to fall apart
My prediction was that they’d keep it close for 3 quarters and then Denver would crush them in the 4th. I was pleasantly surprised that they kept it together (with a little help from the refs). Those 3-point shots from Butler and BDavis were the key difference between the win and the usual unraveling that we normally see. And their sustained energy level through the end of the game.
DeAndre for MFP - Most Funniest Player
Great Game Clippers!
I hope that the Clippers can build off this win and the return of Eric Gordon and get a hot streak going. The playoffs are there for the taking. The team just has to really committ itself to defense and pretend that every game is on national television, if that’s what it takes! But, like ClipperMyth, I’m with them win or lose!
WOE TO THE CLIPPER'S CURSE!
“The last of the Clipper’s Curse was seen last night. The Curse delivered it’s heaviest blow and cost the Clipper’s Nation to miss their two most beloved TV commentators. Who ever heard of TV commentators being suspended! Only the Clipper’s Curse could do this! The Curse hoped to deal its final blow to the Clipper’s Nation by timing the suspension with the Denver game, bringing the most feared team in the West who dismantled the Lakers previously. The Clipper’s Charm came to rescue (AT LAST!) and kicked the Curse’s butt hard.
Last seen, the Clipper’s curse was scampering, running towards the Laker’s lockers
fearful of the Clipper’s Charm and perhaps, perhaps looking at it’s next target -The LAKERS!
Thus the Clipper Nation has seen the last of the Clipper’s Curse and the Clipper Nation lives happily ever after!
Go Clippers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Milph give themselves up for the team
And for being a collective doofus too, of course.
I thought the exchange the other night was odd. They didn’t have a malicious intent, but the suspension was a good move and makes a nice statement. Raise the collective consciousness a little bit.
Ralph was just mispronouncing Iran, and then he went to the area of ironic shock that an Iranian was making plays. Uncle Ralphie is getting up there and he makes his share of miscues. It was Mike Smith who played the Borat card and then at least he mentioned Sasha Baron Cohen to make his point, but it was his toe that was on the line.
And in every game, in all of these losses, Smith has jinxed the Clippers by talking about how the Clips are dominating every matchup, how they can’t help but come back from unnecessary deficits, whatever it is. If he had been calling the game there’s no doubt that the Nugs would have blown past the Clips in the 4th and won easily.
Sorry to mix the absurd (jinx) with the semi-serious (racial sensitivity), but hey, it’s the Clippers, and they’re wacky.
by citizen zhiv on Nov 21, 2009 12:00 PM PST up reply actions
The suspension was ridiculous
Sorry, Zhiv, but I can’t agree with you and the rest of the PC Police here. They said nothing that should earn them a suspension. Does this mean an announcer should be suspended if he mispronounces Namibia or Luxembourg? Or if he mentions that Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum resembles Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” or that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin resembles Dr. Foreman from “House”? The reason they were suspended is that an Iranian-American who’s a VP and general counsel at a major TV network complained. One complaint! If that single, solitary complaint had come from an average Joe without the clout to make trouble, no way Fox would’ve overreacted like this.
Borat
The only thing I found strange was the Borat comment. Haddadi looks nothing like Borat, so it all just felt like good old “all them foreigners look a like” stuff. But the Iran talk was not significantly different than their discussion of Sefolosha being the only Swiss player in the NBA. Smith at one point said he was “neutral” – a nice joke, but does some Swiss person somewhere feel insulted to be stereotyped as always neutral?
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
by Steve Perrin on Nov 21, 2009 1:45 PM PST up reply actions
Bingo
You’re right, it did all sound a lot like the Sefolosha exchange. IMHO, the Borat reference seemed clueless/silly but not particularly offensive. But if that is indeed the one thing that crossed the line, then it seems like at least Ralph was unfairly punished, since he had nothing to do with the Borat stuff — that was all Mike.
Like I said
Brilliant self-sacrifice on the part of Milph. They turn around the season and get a surprising victory. Well-played.
by citizen zhiv on Nov 21, 2009 2:34 PM PST up reply actions
And yes, I get that it's not OK to mispronounce Nigeria
I just don’t see how EYE-ran v. e-RON can possibly be the same sort of deal.
I have nothing but respect for Smith and Lawler
We have the ability to turn off the TV on nights when the Clippers are terrible. Smith and Lawler have to suffer through it and come back the next day with a smile on their faces. I am sure that we all agree that they had no bad intentions whatsoever in their comments. Personally I think it was an overreaction to suspend them but also don’t think it was necessarily wrong of the league to do so. But I also think that those guys are just trying to keep their sanity and get through some of the particularly awful games with some lighthearted bantering. I mean, the Clippers’ performance against Memphis was absolutely abysmal. If anyone should have been suspended for inappropriate behavior that night, it should have been the entire Clippers team and coaching staff. If the Clippers had played even slightly better, Haddadi would have never been put into the game at all and Milph would have never been loopy enough to make those comments. They would have been busy calling the game.
DeAndre for MFP - Most Funniest Player
Some announcers/journalists compare Kaman's looks to an ax murderer.
Is that offensive?
Yes.
To Kaman, that comment may be offensive. But the comments by milph may have offended many people of Iranian ethnicity, not just one person. Most people on this blog probably don’t have a clue what it’s like to be considered “different” by the majority of others in the society in which you live. So I can understand why you don’t get it. But I know it must be frustrating to Iranian/Persian Americans to see and hear nothing but negativity about their place of origin in the news media and then to not even get a break from it when watching a basketball game. I like Mike and Ralph. But they did go a little too far that night.
"Excellence...is not an act, but a habit" Aristotle
by Cliptomaniac on Nov 22, 2009 1:33 AM PST up reply actions
That comment
could be offensive to all ax murderers. I don’t think anyone wants to piss those people off.
Clippers match up well with the Nuggets
looking at the box score, it is not readily apparent why the Clippers won this game. The things that stand out are the 49% shooting, 7 threes, and 28 assists. That is a high number. But they still got out rebounded (hopefully Blake changes that). Denver did brick a lot of threes. That always helps.
Baron’s 9 assists look good, and make up for the 3-11 shooting. Billups only took five shots, which is odd. Clippers bench was solid. Especially Butler. Starting Ricky Davis must have chapped him.
Nice win. Shows they still have life.
Do not worry. (Matthew 6:27)
The PG match-up
Yea, where was Billups? Baron was playing good D, but was it THAT good? How could Billups only go 1 for 5?
And most of all, I find that I don’t mind Baron’s 30% shooting nights, as long as he keeps his attempts to around 10 and does all the other stuff. He’s athletic and tenacious, and in all fairness, a few of his shots each game are heaves to beat the shot clock, which is more of a team issue, combined with the fact that he’s the one the players look to in a pinch. He also has a little habit going of making big shots, such as that 3 last night.
It’s his occasional lazy pass, usually for a turnover, that irritates me the most. But I only saw 1 or 2 last night, along with a whole bushel of sharp playmaking. If he can keep up such a ratio, I’ll definitely take it.
Camby Out?
They were saying all day long on the radio that Camby wasn’t going to play. I finally got to a TV midway through the 3rd quarter and there was Camby, playing hard defense. Did he start? Maybe that surprised Denver enough to throw them off.
He started
and played a full game. It didn’t seem like they wanted/needed to limit his minutes
by Michael White on Nov 21, 2009 9:35 AM PST up reply actions
Great game, was able to catch the 19-0 run before I had to leave
I find DJ electrifying, I like it when he does stuff right. The way he throws it down gets me pumped up.
I’m not sure about the momentum thing, I never feel at ease when it is the Clippers.
This quote especially scares me:
They still have a bunch of winnable games coming up, starting with Minnesota Monday.
“winnable game”
Really, if you look on paper, the Clips as good or better at every position other than Melo.
It’s just that Melo makes up for a lot. Clips owned this team in 2005-2006. While Denver is better now than 2005-2006, Clips will be better (and deeper), too, when they get Gordon and Griffen back.
Chauncy > Baron = wrong, (really does depend what type of player you like though)
Great game. I looked at the score and had to like twice to figure out we actually won. I agree with Jerdog I think we do match up well on paper and this is the first game that has actually showed us that.
No way. Chauncy is > Baron
Chauncy had won a championship (while being the leader of the team). He’s more consistent. He knows when to start shooting (unlike Baron who shoots when he feels like it). Chauncy doesn’t need the ball to lead his team to a win. I can go on and on.
by RockyMountain on Nov 22, 2009 8:33 PM PST up reply actions
not to change the subject but...
does anybody know if or when the clippers game would be televised again on regular tv like ktla ?? ………….. GO CLIPPERS!!
by mujicas_clippers on Nov 21, 2009 11:09 AM PST reply actions
If I recall correctly
there are no games on basic cable on TV. All on FSN or ESPN.
by Michael White on Nov 21, 2009 11:16 AM PST up reply actions
This game proves that we are a good team
but it shouldn’t have taken a huge fan uproar for them to play good
General assessment
That was a great win. It cuts right through the clouds of Clipper Despair, even if it’s just a brief respite and moment of sunshine, up on deck. No better time to look on the bright side.
The ability to win a game against a team like that just makes the losses to inferior teams more tragic. Okay, that’s not such a bright and sunny thought. Moving on. Kaman’s assists against a team with a strong center and inside presence are a nice addition to the scoring ability he has showed. Even on a moderate night he’s stroking his shot up there in great form on a number of occasions. 3.0 is still the best news of the season. But Kaman’s lack of energy and failure to bang more effectively on the defensive boards is hurting the Clips fairly badly. A little more effort and energy and he’ll be back in form.
We’ve got this revitalized Baron Davis thing going, and it still has some more upside. You can tell that BD can get things going even better and put the team into the next gear if he can get guys back and everybody is working harder on the floor, moving and running and executing. Getting better on the boards, and adding energy in general, are going to help a lot with the way that BDavis is playing, and those are two things that we know Griffin is going to bring no matter what. When the team is lagging and they fall behind and go into a funk, BDavis isn’t so great at turning things around, and he’s just as liable to become part of the problem. But he’s playing very well, so much better than last year. He’ll have an even deeper appreciation of being out on the floor with Gordon, now that he was missing for several games.
Thornton on the rise. Thornton has made some major adjustments to his game and he’s playing much much better. He always seems to be helping the team and making plays now, whereas before, in the first four games, he seemed to be hurting the team with ballstopping and missed outside jumpers. He’s looking to drive the ball and go to the basket, and the Clips are running plays to get him the ball in deep, and it’s working. It has completely turned his game around, and he’s back to where he is capable of having a big game on any given night. He’s under control and in the right spots, including working the offensive boards. His success won’t change if he comes off the bench when Gordon returns, although that’s unlikely at this point.
Could do more, but that’s a start. Butler finally hits shots, DJordan makes a big impact in the first half, Craig Smith is consistently effective, and Telfair brought extra quickness and passing and turned the game around. Along with Mardy Collins.
i think this team could be REALLY good if Thornton continues to improve
it would be an extra as unexpected as kaman
I think it's a shame that on a night when the Clippers played so well
that most people here have been focusing on the Milph suspension. They said something they shouldn’t, got a suspension. End of story as far as I’m concerned.
Much more interesting to me was the fact that we saw our second string in full effect against Denver. These are some good observations on Kaman, Baron and Thornton Zhiv but you’ve brushed over the people that really won us this game. Namely the second string and dare I say it, the coach.
Mardy Collins showed some of the hustle that he brought during our injury plagued period last season. Is it me or does he seem to dribble the ball in slow motion. He is the anti-CP3!! Still, he doesn’t turn it over much and is pretty efficient. He was putting some good D in too, picking up a good few steal.s Was impressed and would like to see some minutes created for Mardy when we seem to be getting into a rut in games. He seems a little bit of dare I say it, a glue guy in the fact that he doesn’t demand shots but can play decent D and also can create a bit handling the ball.
Craig Smith showed again what he has showed on a number of occassions this year and why he should be locked up into a multi year contract at the end of the season as Blakes backup at PF. The guy has heart, he has strength and he’s a competitor. He doesn’t give the ball up cheaply and is tough on both ends of the floor. That toughness is something this team definatly misses and the Rhino brings this. My son, who is a big spiderman fan, loves that fact he’s called the Rhino!! Wants to know if we can get anymore baddies on the team!!
Moving on, good to see DJ hitting his dunks from 1ft (!). It’s up to him to improve that FT% so he isn’t going to become a liability on the floor now.
The person who impressed me most was Seb Telfair. That boy has got some speed and some impressive skills. He was everywhere in that 2nd quarter. Creating, defending like his life was on the line and most importantly, he was hitting some shots. In 11 mins, 4/5 shooting and 3 assists. I would have liked to see him rack up more minutes as he really lead the turnaround in the game.
Coach deserves a pat on the back for this one. He left the bench in for longer than normal in the second quarter when they were building their lead and he wasn’t afraid to mix things up a little with the minutes to find a solution tonight. I suppose when your back is against the wall (and maybe your job on the line?), you come out fighting and it looked like that against the Nugs.
Where was the Rasual that we have seen in the first 10 games? Who was the guy hitting from everywhere?!!!
Sorry, this has turned into a rant but just wanted to give props to the guys who really won this game for us.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
DJ's + / -
+17
GO DJ…why didn’t any of the broadcasters talk his contribution?
Political correctness
Once again, the PC Police…….by the way…..that is everyone that is NOT Caucasian…..have once again invaded and lambasted two fine broadcasters. Does anyone else get tired of this? Chuck Barkley spends his entire career throwing whitey under the bus, getting sex from hookers out of his car, and he is right back on TNT. Man, it just breaks my heart that Ralph and Mike would be treated like this. Absolutely unacceptable but not inconceivable. By the way, I do not think that the ratings would be hurt by losing the entire Middle Eastern audience but obviously they don’t care about the fans………just about raising a stink with the liberal media
I've got to believe Ralph is pissed...
Losing your 1600 consecutive game streak over this nonsense certainly wouldn’t sit well with me, or Cal Ripken.
I've got nothing.
FOX Sports Letter To Ralph Lawler, page 2
… In addition, we ask you kindly refrain from using phrases such as:
“Holy cow!” It offends our Hindu listeners
“Oh Me, Oh My” Our more narcissistic fans believe you are talking about them.
“First to a 100, WINS!” Fox octogenarian viewers feel you are belittling them.
(Signed)
FOX Sports, subsidiary of company that distributed “Borat”
by laknights on Nov 21, 2009 5:58 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
"Fasten your seatbelts"
The Ralph Nader people feel it makes light of a serious issue.
The kids aren't alright.
Actually,
I think ‘Holy Cow’ fits right in with Hindu sensibilities.
Didja know that the fish on Christian’s cars is a Holy Mackerel?
The irony...
Fox suspends two mild-mannered sports broadcasters who stray ever so slightly over the politically incorrect line but fail to police an entire news network who’s opinions are always smarmy, sometimes fascist, often bigoted, xenophobic, nationalistic, and almost always stupid. Makes no sense.
Let's not make this a political thread please...
Some people would disagree with those adjectives.
by bballanalyst on Nov 21, 2009 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
Okay...
Perhaps my opinions of Fox News are overstated and overwrought. I’ll accept that, and apolgize if you’re offended. But, whether you like Fox News or not, they’re pretty obviously politically biased, right? My point is, that by suspending Milph, Fox MADE the issue a political one. Mike Smith and Ralph Lawler were not suspended because of their opinions on sport. So, following your logic, are we not to have opinions about whether that suspension was morally correct or incorrect?
Frankly, with all due respect, I believe it’s important NOT to ignore politics and humanist issues in sport. Sport doesn’t live outside society, but within.
I watched that game last night and would have enjoyed it more listening to two broadcasters I like and respect. I felt they were cheated out of a chance to enjoy that game, after having treaded a whole lot of water in the previous two games where the team played badly. I thought they were treated badly by their parent company. I’ll leave it at that.
My point is, that by suspending Milph, Fox MADE the issue a political one
I haven’t read all the articles, but I’m under the assumption that MILPH does not work for Fox. They work for the Clippers. Therefore it is the Clippers who suspended the broadcasters.
by Michael White on Nov 21, 2009 9:08 PM PST up reply actions
I found the announcers very boring
and decided to switch over to ESPN…
I found out 1 of 2 things, the cameras were actually FASTER by a 2-3 seconds on ESPN… and boy when Ralph and Smith aren’t commenting, I rather listening to nothing…
We've had some pretty insensitive stuff posted on this topic. We've all read it. Please
no political stuff on the sports board.
I don't think I've read much insensitive stuff...
Unless they were my own comments. And I obviously don’t agree that there’s no room for politics on a sports board. But I’ll shut up about it.
Comments have been getting deleted all day
And I’m with Eastie Rich, there’s plenty of places I can go to discuss politics if I wanted to.
by Michael White on Nov 21, 2009 9:08 PM PST up reply actions
I'm unaware of that...
In reply to your earlier comment about who suspended Milph, as I understand it (though there’s little info out there) it was Fox who was responsible for the suspension, not the Clips.
But mwhite, forgetting my statements about Fox news for the moment, whch are obviously slanted, isn’t this a sports issue?
I don’t know man.
I mean, they are broadcasters for our favorite basketball team. But the underlying issue has nothing to do with sports.
I’ve seen blogs devolve into non-stop political debates elsewhere—I remember you are also an NY Giants fan, so you may remember what happened on the blogs last year after the Plaxico incident. All people did was argue and debate about the 2nd amendment; it drove me crazy.
Anyway, this is just my opinion and this isn’t my blog so just saying my piece.
by Michael White on Nov 21, 2009 9:22 PM PST up reply actions
There's plenty of poltical boards to post on, and depending on your point of view
the other side is clueless. Believe me, I could really get going on this,but why, this is the Clippers board. If we want to argue, let’s argue about the coach, owners, players etc…
Well, we can't argue about the coach...
His hopeful departure seems to be wanted by pretty much everyone.
I've got nothing.
Yeah, mwhite, that was awful...
The boards completely imploded and they’re still suffering for it. But did you have to bring up the Giants?
Swami - I wasn't refering to you. I've been fighting the impluse to reply on certain
levels, but it wasn’t you. By the way, I agree it’s a cheap suspension. I was pretty much blown away by one comment – and surprised it wasn’t deleted.
I read the thread you're talking about, Rich...
And you reacted correctly to an inappropriate comment.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this and I’m certainly prepared to change my position in one way… I agree that there’s no place for politics on this board unless those politics are somehow basketball related. I think Milph’s suspension was basketball related but my earlier comment was probably not… frankly, I’d remove it if I could. There were a couple of comments on another thread that pointed out how diverse Fox’s programming actually is (outside it’s News network)… and that’s a good thing. My problem with Milph’s suspension is relevant, my opinions about Fox News are not. I stand corrected.
Back to savoring the sweet win before we devolve into discussions about nicknames, firing the coach, useless polls, etc.
Yes lets savor this win while we can....
I personally don’t know how I’ll feel after Monday night….this team causes a roller coaster of emotions…
Minn isn’t exactly the best team….but the Clips haven’t proved they can beat the lower tier teams either.
I don’t think a win is guaranteed by any means.
Minny have 1 win and that was against the Nets
This is the area where we often fall down. We pick up a decent win and then lose a game that we should win. It stops us building momentum as a team, something that we need really as EJ and Blake prepare to return.
I wonder how we will look at games coming up when we’ve a full roster?
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
Don't know...
I wonder how we will look at games coming up when we’ve a full roster?
I can’t even fathom, has this ever happened?
….can’t compute, ERROR 5
Tricky games
Things are shaking out a bit now. The first 10 games are a sprint for position, and then the next 10-20 games tell the story. The Clips should improve and win some games, and we’re going to be cursing these early losses.
Minnesota, like New Jersey and others, has shown itself to be a team that should have a nearly impossible time finding wins, although they might get a bit better when KLove comes back. They’re a different category than NOH, OKC, and even Memphis. Should be interesting to see where Sacramento goes, and if Phoenix can sustain things. Lots to be determined.
Can’t really overstate how huge the Denver win was for morale at the end, we hope, of the Gordon hiatus. If he’s not back for Minn it should be okay, but after that the Clips will need to have him. How many games until Griffin might be back? Another 2 weeks, or is it three?
by citizen zhiv on Nov 22, 2009 1:18 PM PST up reply actions
Everyone is saying no earlier than Dec 15 for Griffin
Dillman just talked to EJ, he said he won’t be ready for Minn but should be good to go sometime this week.
After revisting the issue after a few days...
I could see that bringing up "Borat’ probably is what led to the suspension. Nothing else in their conversation was offensive…granted Borat was supposed to be a sex-driven Kazah and this guy is Persian, that’s probably what raised some red flags.
Nonetheless, when Yao Ming entered the league, there was a lot of borderline offensive stuff being said that largely got unnoticed.
This is going to be my team, and we're going to rise together.
-Clipper Darrell
well the hornets with no chris paul just beat the hawks who had the leagues best record.
the grizzlies were a 3 game winning streak. maybe we arent THAT bad, and just caught al these teams whent hey got hot?
Yeah, the Hornets are really Hot right now
Peja is playing like it was 2002 and has been lights out. I don’t blame the Clips for losing on the road to them….they have been great.
This is going to be my team, and we're going to rise together.
-Clipper Darrell
Collison
Yeah, the Hornets got things going with their win against the Clips, bit of a coming out party for DC. He looked fast and confident against the Clips, and yesterday he put up 22 points and 11 assists.
The Grizz won a couple of games too.
by citizen zhiv on Nov 22, 2009 1:10 PM PST up reply actions
It must be MILPH that's causing the Clips to lose all their games
Let’s face facts…the Clips have been more consistently bad, longer than MDSr has been around…but Ralph has been there all along.
From wikipedia:
In the team’s first season in San Diego, the Clippers posted a winning record, going 43–39, under new head coach Gene Shue. However, that record was not good enough to advance them to the post-season, finishing two games out of the final playoff spot. As it turned out, it would be the Clippers’ last winning season for 13 years. It was also in that first season in Southern California that long-time announcer Ralph Lawler began his association with the club.
LOL
This stupid curse thing needs to just go away. It all begins at the top.
Our V12 engine was only running on 10 but it was purring.
Everything starts out New, Gets Old and Dies or is Destroyed.
HVYDRT007
TRUER WORDS WERE NEVER SPOKEN….. actually there have been but regardless, ur comment was awesome :) i wish i had a V12………. :(
by In GrIfFin We TrUsT on Nov 24, 2009 9:14 AM PST reply actions
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