San Antonio 103 - Clippers 87 - A Feeling of Inevitability
by Steve Perrin on Dec 21, 2009 11:53 PM PST
in Game Recaps
19 comments
Here's all you need to know about the games between the Clippers and San Antonio this season. In two meetings, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have yet to play in the fourth quarter. Manu Ginobili did play eight and a half minutes in this one after taking the fourth off in LA - presumably Manu was feeling a little rusty and wanted to get in a little extra work.
But let's face it, there's a feeling of inevitability in games between the Clippers and the Spurs. One gets the impression that any five guys wearing Spurs uniforms could square off against any five guys wearing Clippers uniforms and win handily. I mean, when was the last time Theo Ratliff made a jump shot? It doesn't matter, if he's wearing sliver and black and the other team is wearing red, white and blue, that shot is going in.
It hardly seems worthwhile analyzing this game. It was San Antonio versus the Clippers. San Antonio won. What more do you need to know?
In fact, the Clippers were specifically done in by harrowing stretches at the end of the first quarter and the third quarter. A 21 to 4 run at the end of the first, and a similar 17 to 4 run late in the third was a cumulative plus 30 for the Spurs, and they more or less coasted during the rest of the game. During those runs, it seemed as if the Clippers simply could not make shots - and the Spurs couldn't miss.
The first quarter disaster started when MDsr gave Chris Kaman his semi-customary early rest and brought in DeAndre Jordan. DJ had not appeared in a game since the last time the Clippers played the Spurs eight days ago, and had spent most of the time in between on the inactive list. He was not hurt - presumably MDsr just felt like he wasn't contributing. He got the early call tonight, and made an immediate impact with an offensive rebound less than a minute after checking in. Great start! It was all downhill from there. He proceeded to travel after his rebound, and each of the next three times he touched the ball something very, very negative resulted for the Clippers. Here is the Clippers side of the play-by-play for the less than two minute stretch from the point Jordan got that offensive board until he was replaced by Brian Skinner:
- 02:38 Jordan Rebound (Off:1 Def:0)
- 02:38 Jordan Turnover : Traveling (1 TO)
- 01:56 Thornton Jump Shot: Missed
- 01:31 Jordan Layup Shot: Missed
- 01:31 Jordan Foul : Loose Ball (1 PF)
- 01:08 Camby Rebound (Off:1 Def:2)
- 00:56.8 Jordan Layup Shot: Missed Block: Ginobili (1 BLK)
- 00:43.9 Jordan Rebound (Off:1 Def:1)
- 00:43.8 Jordan Turnover : Step Out of Bounds Turnover (2 TO)
- 00:43.8 Jordan Substitution replaced by Skinner
115 seconds of basketball. Only one Clipper other than Jordan took a shot. Only one Clipper other than Jordan recorded a rebound (mostly because the Spurs were making every shot they took, so there were no rebounds). 115 seconds, 0 for 2 with one of those shots blocked, two turnovers, one foul. The Clippers were down one when he entered the game - they were down nine when he left, and down 13 by the end of the quarter.
This is not to blame DeAndre of course. He was terrible to be certain, and it's fascinating how he could look so good in practice and summer league and pre-season, dominating against guys who are after all still NBA players, yet look so completely lost in actual NBA action. But the simple fact is, in a Spurs-Clippers game, that run happens. If it's not DeAndre single-handedly facilitating it, it's somebody else. But the run happens, as it has for 14 consecutive games overall, and for 8 seasons worth of games in the SBC/AT&T Center.
There are other examples of the exercise in absurdity that is Clippers versus Spurs. Eric Gordon made zero two point baskets in almost 34 minutes of play. Marcus Camby, who had been averaging 17 rebounds in the last four games, had 4 rebounds in 24 minutes. The Spurs took 26 free throws to the Clippers 15, despite the fact that the Clippers committed only one more foul (that one's hard to figure, but almost every Clipper foul was in the act of shooting).
Unfortunately, the Clippers wasted a strong effort from Chris Kaman who went for 23 points and 15 rebounds in fewer than 32 minutes of play. Rasual Butler also played pretty well, but that's pretty much the entirety of the bright side list.
But of course it was all inevitable. Just head on down to Houston and see what you can do against the Rockets.
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We lasted about 7 minutes this time...
What really comes to mind when watching the Spurs play v.s. what we’re doing is that they’re so skilled. They have guys that can shoot, take it to the rim, post moves, defense and multiple guys can play all of these roles. 2nd is that they’re really heady, they don’t let their emotions get the best of them for the most part, they make smart plays and really play as a team. And then there’s that bench. Come the end of the season, it seems like it’ll be them and the Lakers at the top of the class.
The feeling of a snowball teetering on the Continental Divide
I swear, if DJ’s first minute in the game ever goes well, he’ll become a POSITIVE unstoppable force of nature. It’ll look something like this: First a defensive sequence where he doesn’t immediately draw a personal foul, followed by an offensive set where he catches the ball cleanly and actually dunks it without traveling. In between, he’ll probably gather a defensive rebound. As soon as all this happens, WATCH OUT, the other team won’t be long for this world.
But when this DOESN"T happen, oh man, there’s no safe place for us to hide either.
I’m cheering for the guy… I bet at least his morale will improve once Griffin rejoins the team.
Dunleavy 0-12 against the Spurs
’say bye bye Playoffs. So he threw our prospect to the elder gods of basketball and suspected what? At least give him one of our weaker games to recover confidence he was out to long.
Read the Bulls headline this morning. Lost a 35 point lead, amazing. One queston,
if Dunleavy’s squad ever did that, would he be fired or given an extension?
I watched the game last night hoping my recent team optimism wasn’t a fluke, but a basically old (but savy) team totally blew them out of the arena. What a dissapointment.
He lost a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter of a key playoff game
"[Fans are] not technically a lot of times savvy. They don't understand and they don't weigh issues the way that [I] weigh them."
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
THAT was the worst.
The first Clipper game I’ve watched this year where I thought they didn’t show up at all. Terrible. They appeared completely unprepared, they were totally outcoached, the starters got beat, and the bench got throttled.
The only way to make up for it is to come out and beat the Rockets tonight.
That won't help in the long run
"[Fans are] not technically a lot of times savvy. They don't understand and they don't weigh issues the way that [I] weigh them."
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
So... they should throw in the towel?
Even if you were to replace Dunleavy, would you do it now? Wouldn’t you want upper management to bring in a fresh GM first? Would you really choose to make your “sea change” in the middle of the season? Would you fire Dunleavy and name an interim coach, leaving yourself with a lame-duck general manager? Or perhaps you’d like to have Andy Roeser (shudder) acting as GM?
The Spurs and the Rockets look more and more like the two best coached teams in the league… one with great players and one with mediocre players. That sets the Clipper’s disorganization in high relief if they play the same way tonight that they did last night.
Once you recognize that you cannot win, why wait?
Their supposed best player is a rook who hasn’t played an NBA team. They need to find a GM, you’re right. Can they do that while MDSr is still there?
So the answer is yes, I would do it now. Throw in the towel? Do they have a towel to throw? Where is it?
The sched is only going to get more difficult. I wouldn’t want BG to be tainted by the poor system. Madglove noted some bad habits that EJ is picking up on.
It is time for a change.
"[Fans are] not technically a lot of times savvy. They don't understand and they don't weigh issues the way that [I] weigh them."
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Jax
You would have done it a long time ago.
Obviously I go up and down as much as anybody, but a road loss to San Antonio doesn’t necessitate any immediate change.
It’s about money. Dunleavy would have been gone a long time ago if DTS wanted to win games and didn’t care about his millions.
Still, Dunleavy’s clock is ticking, and it gets louder all the time.
by citizen zhiv on Dec 22, 2009 5:43 PM PST up reply actions
This game showed who we are
It’s as simple as that. The fact is that the Clips just aren’t as good as the Spurs and in particular don’t execute nearly as well on either end of the court. Steve talked about guys like Ratliff having good nights out of nowhere, but the Clips were just playing horrible defense. So when you start giving guys open looks and they have no pressure because it’s not a close game, it’s much easier to make shots.
Teams like the Spurs will beat us 8 out of 10 times because they’re so disciplined and they execute. To beat them, you need to play smart and not make stupid mistakes. That’s not something the Clips excel at. Without smart play, you only beat the Spurs on the rare occasions when your whole team is hot.
The thing that concerns me is that I’m starting to see some bad habits in Eric Gordon that aren’t being corrected. He still has a tendency to jump in the air with nobody to pass to (like the time he literally jumped into the lane and passed it to a Spur with no Clipper anywhere nearby). He also has a strange tendency of being lazy on defense when he’s not being challenged. I’ve seen numerous times this season where his man picks up his dribble, and instead of pressuring the ball, EJ just stands there with his arms by his side waiting for his man to pass. It’s bizarre. It’s almost like the Bulls standing there while Jarrett Jack tied his shoes.
I wonder if EJ is getting frustrated with this team. I’m not basing this on anything but his body language at times during the game. When he knows he’s not getting the ball, he just stands around. If it’s not a set play where he’s supposed to curl, cut or set a pick, he just wanders around. It’s really strange.
Keep in mind, I’m only critical of him b/c he’s so great and is obviously one of the foundations of our future. I’m just concerned that he’s picking up bad habits from lazy vets and I don’t really see the coaching staff trying to correct those habits.
Yeah
Last night was definitely an acid test.
On the EJ front, he started to get hot, hitting back to back three’s, but i’m not sure why he didn’t get more shots at that point. I can’t remember what happened, though i’m sure Popovich must have called a timeout, he’s very good at squashing any kind of momentum we manage to get.
Stopping the Clips
Some teams do it by doubling Kaman. Last night, the Spurs did it by NOT doubling him. Kaman got his shots then, but nobody else did. The Spurs evidently know how neutralize the other players on iso plays. They certainly turned EJ into a non-factor. Shouldn’t we be slashing more, then, and setting some picks off the ball? If Dunleavy’s offensive schemes are so complicated, then why would EJ ever just be wandering around?
This isn’t rocket science. If the other team has a guy who can take Kaman one-on-one, then we need to find other ways to get other guys involved. There should NEVER be a night when EJ’s shot attempts are in the single digits.
i
saw on at least a couple of occasions where ej was jumping in the air waving his arms calling for the ball , only to have bd shoot a jumper or the ball once again passed into kaman.
kaman’s improvement has created a double edged sword .while his all-star level play has helped the team imo it has also hurt the team. by giving cmdsr the player he covets the most. a post player he can run his iso offense for.
eliminating ball movement and other player involvment. you look at san antonio with all-star duncan he plays 16min. yet they win by 20pts.
because he’s part of the offense not the offense like kaman has become on the clippers. the clippers have other capable scorers’cmdsr.fails to utilize them properly.
I agree (of course)
There’s a balance here that Dun can’t lose sight of (though perhaps he already has). A post player is good insofar as he also creates opportunities for others. But if you forget about the others, then you also forget about the game, even as you might still be making baskets.
Kaman as our co-primary scorer is fine- it gives us a good chance. If he’s our primary-primary scorer, though, then we’re sunk.
IT COMES DOWN TO COACHING AND SCOUTING REPORTS!
If the coaching staff would do their homework in order to beat san antonio is to run on them
and continue to run because in the half court they will beat you every time. Our coach continues to believe if you do iso plays and the same redundant plays you are going to
win games. Well good coaches make adjustments at half time and figure out that we
are running the same play over and over. What is it with Baron and Telfair they do not
get the ball in the hands of gordon enough. For the love of god i don’t get it. The man was
hot last night and the point guards were not looking for him. There is to much talent on
this team to lose to an old san antonio team.
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