Clippers at Houston - Open Thread
by Steve Perrin on Dec 22, 2009 5:15 PM PST
in Game Threads
278 comments
Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets, Dec 22, 2009 5:30 PM PST
| 2009/2010 NBA Regular Season | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
vs. |  |
| 12-15 | 16-11 |
|
| Toyota Center |
||
| December 22nd, 2009, 5:30 PM | ||
| Prime Ticket, 980 AM |
||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Baron Davis |
PG | Aaron Brooks |
| Eric Gordon |
SG | Shane Battier |
| Al Thornton | SF | Trevor Ariza |
| Marcus Camby |
PF | Luis Scola |
| Chris Kaman |
C | Chuck Hayes |
The Back Story:
December 2nd in LA - Houston 102 - Clippers 85 - Recap Box Score
0 recs |
278 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
Yea pretty amazing
hard to believe he had such a serious injury 9 months ago. We should send BG to see his doctor!
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Dec 22, 2009 6:04 PM PST up reply actions
Butler can't keep up with TMAC
Collins? lol
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 5:59 PM PST reply actions
Disagree with that
He’s also been a willing passer and good scorer. I do think his teammates tend to stand around and watch him just like a lot of guys do with star scorers (Lakers, Heat and Cavs for sure).
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Dec 22, 2009 6:06 PM PST up reply actions
Can we keep this intensity an entire game?
Seriously how do we we break down in the second half after we play ball like this or against the Knicks, Toronto, etc.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:05 PM PST reply actions
Still can't get that stream
Already tried atdhe.net.au
Yea
he looks back to me, maybe the conditioning isn’t there but overall he still looks dominant.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Dec 22, 2009 6:10 PM PST up reply actions
Was that before or after he got fouled 3 times?
Gordon is taking it to the hoop and can’t get a call. T-Mac goes up for a layup, with no elevation and gets the foul everytime.
No calls for the Clips!
Pretty hard to watch that replay over and over, when you see Gordon get fouled before he puts up the shot, which was after the light went on.
Clips really not getting calls.
by citizen zhiv on Dec 22, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions
most refs don't call fouls on buzzer beaters
but yeah the refs bad calls are very visible tonight
In Gordon we trust
34-33 1st Quarter - great game to watch offensively
Saw EJ’s strength on that last drive – he is a beast
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
I think the last one will be taken off
dont know if he got it off in time
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Dec 22, 2009 6:11 PM PST up reply actions
We have to clap down on D and get rebounds
we need run
That and BD sitting out as well
Bassy just can’t run the offense…at least the way Dun wants it.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:16 PM PST up reply actions
Dunleavy must be reading this....
Kaman in for Skinner !
Coach of the Year?
Rick Adelman has to be one of the favourites…..I just don’t rate the Houston roster yet they’re still getting wins
down by 1
bench comes in…….down by 8 lol
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:17 PM PST reply actions
as long as he can hold onto the ball.
His handle has been sloppy this past week.
by Lawler 4ever on Dec 22, 2009 6:22 PM PST up reply actions
Anyone see that Shaun Livingston got cut by the Thunder today
Shame. I loved him here. Would love to see him anywhere near his former self again.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
Somebody's got to insist that he take it to the rim
He a 30% jump shooter. No kidding.
Frustrated
Seems like Thornton wasn’t getting the early touches, with Kaman and BDavis going so well, and when he got the ball he just wants to go up with it now.
Shows the difference between him and EGordon, who is always pretty patient. But Gordon being a much better shooter helps quite a bit too.
by citizen zhiv on Dec 22, 2009 6:48 PM PST up reply actions
Man Thornton......just drive to the basket
He even said it makes it much easier to establish his shot when he gets easy buckets by driving.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:26 PM PST reply actions
Too bad. They were doing well.
If you can Kaman a 2nd stringer
Kaman should be more selfish
he keeps passing to AT who doesnt seem to be shooting with any confidence.
FA in 2010.
We are just so bad on defense
That is a huge problem when your coach hangs his hat on being a defensive coach.
i think defense has been our biggest improvement since last year... we're actually pretty decent now
i think we’re ranked 15th or somewhere round there
Camby should never guard a guy who can hit an outside or midrange shot
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:32 PM PST reply actions
definitely agreed.
But against those stretch bigs who else goes out there? Al?
yeah definitely.
Quick enough and athletic enough to handle those stretch 4’s
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:34 PM PST up reply actions
lol what was that about our defense rank
We are also a top ranking team defending the 3 ball and we now how that goes.
Crap, the thread just shut down
Sorry to be a nag. Help, anyone?
It'd be nice to see Kaman start to kick it out for open jumpers now
that they’re closing in on him
yeah thinking the same thing
Eric was waiting out there next to him.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:36 PM PST up reply actions
We can't win these games
without some bench help. It’s just not gonna happen
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:36 PM PST reply actions
Yup
though I have no idea what foul that was on Sool
This team is mentally weak
And it comes from the lack of direction from our coach.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
I hate to put the pressure on him but Blake Griffin had better be EVERYTHING we hoped
for if he is to save this team.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
Let's get Dunleavy out first
then we can talk about saviors.
Yep, part of me wants Blake to have a slow start
and us to lose a run of games so Sterling finallys fires Dunleavy.
It feels like only then, we can push on as a ball club.
Bingo! Oh me oh my!
I agree lol
we don’t need any more disappointments. Especially not with our freakin #1 pick.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:44 PM PST up reply actions
omg bulls**t
nice refs. Real good job out there!
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:42 PM PST reply actions
Yeah need EJ and AT to get their s**t together
EJ just ins’t make shots that he should make. Thornton is taking too many jumpers and not attacking enough.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 6:46 PM PST up reply actions
clips should give it to kaman
let the defense collapse on him, and kick back out to gordon for a 3.
seems like it
With our offense running through Kaman we are really screwed.
that requires coaching skill lol
seriously though it might work
sooo...
how about the trade today OKC gets Maynor what a steal.
Houston getting home cooking
Usually the Clippers have no trouble shooting themselves in the foot, but the Rockets are getting a whole lot of calls in this game. Normally I wouldn’t dip into the game thread, but this is frustrating.
The first Kaman travel (2nd one was a good call). No calls on Gordon drives. Block by Butler. Block by Camby. Those are just the ones that are especially frustrating and memorable.
Dunleavy mentioned how Gordon is not getting any calls at all, as a general rule. It’s not just that he’s not getting the “star’s calls,” the bail outs that the elite players get, but that he gets legitimately hacked and they let it slide, as if he was a rookie. I think this is a product of missing a bunch of games so that he hasn’t really had a chance to establish himself as a frontline player yet. He’s still a well-kept secret, to a fault.
Kaman crushing. Just missed on a couple of great opportunities, or he would have matched his career high in the first half. Now he needs to step up and have a strong second half, and not disappear. It’s really lame, after so many strong first quarters and halves, that he has never had a 30 point game before. If he doesn’t do it tonight, there’s no excuse.
Clips need to play defense if they’re going to win. Refs are helping Houston out, so the Clips just have to make the plays.
Thatta boy EJ
use that anger an frustration to drive your game.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:08 PM PST reply actions
Good job Al
like that he passed to BD on that fast break instead of creating a possible charge scenario.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:11 PM PST reply actions
we should really consider benching Camby
we need some physical toughness down low right now
Yeah Thornton!!!!
Keep it up, he and Gordon have looked very sharp!!
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:22 PM PST reply actions
and that jumpshot
attack the rim. he has a pretty quick first step and he’s actually pretty fast
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:24 PM PST up reply actions
Al creating for others
that’s nice to see
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:25 PM PST reply actions
10-47
bench points. Man could you imagine if we could get even just 20-25 bench points.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:30 PM PST up reply actions
eh I don't know
he hasn’t been great this season though I suppose he’s not getting much blow at all over there in NY.
Better scoring ability than Bassy….I guess I would try it if they’d take Ricky or someone that means little to nothing on this team.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:36 PM PST up reply actions
Kaman
Only had 4 points in the 3rd….yet we outscored them by 5?
Trade
I’d trade Craig Smith for Sean Williams (NJ)…both Boston College products, with Williams a younger version of Camby wth his athleticism
Butler confidence much?
take that 3! come on
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:34 PM PST reply actions
started off hot
not sure what happened. Not enough consistent minutes?
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:38 PM PST up reply actions
just throw in all the starters
its now or never. Bench is freakin useless anyways
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:40 PM PST reply actions
Only down 6
After Bassy hits the open J. At least we still have a shot of getting this one, we’ve been trailing all game too.
FA in 2010.
Kaman is tired
Having to carry the team on offense and thenhave to guard Landry
Landry killing us
no one can stop him….thornton?
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:50 PM PST reply actions
This is what you get
when you have a Low IQ vs High IQ team playing each other
What a BS ref.
Biggest proof of what Daugherty was describing.
seriously
the NBA needs to be investigated with this gambling/ref s**t
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 7:54 PM PST up reply actions
too late! no adjustments by dumbleavy. he is a shitty GM to. our bench = useless
"Every man dies, not every man really lives."
lol
Gordon on the bench when we need a comeback
I guess that's how
the Rockets have a good record. Ref. helping them out. BS.
Things learned from this game
1. EJ will not get a call unless he gets horse collared
2. The Refs just don’t like the clippers
we barely beat the below average teams
we can’t even beat the teams that are average
Nice way to embarass Novak
Bring him in when there is no hope
slightly above average I'll give you that
Suck a$$ teams Nets, Warriors
Average -Clippers, Wizards,Bobcats
Above average Rockets, Hornets
Below elite- Nuggets, Cavs
Elite Lakers, Celtics
Didn't Dunleavy say...
that Blake will return mid-December at the earliest? Jasen Powell, have you seen that guy Blake Griffin moping around? Have you ever met him? He’s about 6-9…tall dude, well built, with a big brace on his knee…Do you have a key to the training center? Mr. Sterling’s lovely administrative assistant can get you a pass for the day. Maybe you can go over there and see if you can find him…
12-62 bench points
Even if you want to consider Landry the starter tonight (he did play 37 minutes) they still get 37 points from the bench.
Starters have no one holding onto the game when they go out. Especially when BD and Kaman leave.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 8:13 PM PST reply actions
the bench points...
reflect the fact that Houston has better players and Adelman is a coach who knows his personnel and their respective strengths. Houston is a deep team. They’re not a mirage. They’ll be there fighting in the playoffs and giving teams fits. We’re the opposite of Houston, we’re their deformed, evil twin.
I done anyone who defends Dunleavyafter this should just lose all credit asafan of basketball
Ican personally call out the errors this team wil make =before they even do it.
Going to Kamanearly= the team around him will have no flow
Playing the starters heavy in the 3rd= You give up the 4th which one do you guys think is more important the starters are tired and the offense will stale when Kaman is tired.
Timeout management=Dunelavy never stopped the bleeding he always played though it.Adleman called a timeout after we scored two freaking baskets and they had a big lead.
Houston has no talent...
Seriously, they don’t belong in the NBA…We have waaaaay more talent than Houston. Landry can’t even come off the bench for our team…I mean Rasual can outplay Landry any day of the week. What a crock of shit. If I see another article about how Houston has no talent and they’re not supposed to make the playoffs, I’m going to throw up. They’re a good ballclub. Maybe their players; Landry, Brooks, Ariza, Scola, Hughes, etc don’t score 25+ every night, but on any given night any one of them can hit 30. They’re a playoff team whether we like it or not. They’re smart, tough, and all their players play within their limitations and maximize their "limited’ abilities. We are the OPPOSITE of that. Look no further than Rasual.
This Clippers team is clearly NOT a playoff team, and if you believe otherwise, you’re deluding yourself. This Clippers team still has no identity. As much as we pay lip service to this being Gordon’s team, our offense doesn’t reflect that. Kaman can score 30 points but we will never win against good teams with the offense dependant on Kaman. This is the beginning of the end for this Clippers squad. You can write that down. Let’s get Blake back so we can build for the “future,” and pick up some moral “victories” this year.
by MichaelCage on Dec 22, 2009 8:14 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
If I see another article about how Houston has no talent and they’re not supposed to make the playoffs, I’m going to throw up. They’re a good ballclub. Maybe their players; Landry, Brooks, Ariza, Scola, Hughes, etc don’t score 25+ every night, but on any given night any one of them can hit 30. They’re a playoff team whether we like it or not. They’re smart, tough, and all their players play within their limitations and maximize their "limited’ abilities.
You guys have a good ballclub...
I was impressed with the team last year after Yao went down against the Lakers. I thought all your “role players” outplayed the Lakers and would have stolen one more game if you didn’t have Artest jacking up alot of dumb shots. That seven game series showed alot of mental toughness and I was surprised that alot of people wrote Houston off during the offseason. You guys are showing the league how far a “no talent” team can go. For the record, I believe that you have alot more talent than the Clippers. I would take Landry over anyone on our active roster with the exception of maybe Eric…though right now Landry is a much more polished player and your offense flows through him at just the right time. It is something that is beyond the abilities of our sad sack Clippers squad to execute or comprehend.
The Clips have some good players, too.
The problem is that Dunleavy has collected a lot of other really bad players (and that he has no sense of in-game strategy, but it’s mostly the players). Once Griffin gets back, this team is going to look much better, but the biggest thing is that Dunleavy has to go, and Sterling has to get a half-decent coach and a good GM.
We do have some good players....
but we don’t know how to use them properly. We try to turn guys like Rasual Butler into post players to “exploit” their height advantage. We leave Eric on the weak side, spotting up for a bail out 3 pointer because he can shoot the 3 and we need someone to “spread” the floor for our post players. On the other hand, Kaman is very tall and Dunleavy believes he can score against any other center in the league. Hence, the ball going into Kaman, time and time and time again, with predictable regularity. Every now and then, the clock will run down and Eric will get the ball with 2 seconds left and hit a 3. Clippers basketball, it’s Fantastic.
Carl Landry
Rasual can outplay Landry? No way. They play different positions, of course, but Landry is relentless when going to the basket and getting rebounds. His impact is greater than Butler’s. It’s a missing piece for the Clippers, not having a big guy with energy coming off the bench. I couldn’t agree with you more about Houston having more talent. They are good, play together well, and have a very good coach. Of course, when you have talent on the bench, it makes coaching easier. The steps taken off-season to bring in role players Telfair, Smith, and Butler have not proven successful. Butler’s added to the mix; the other two have not. And, Jordan’s not nearly ready for the big time yet.
i forseea large losing streak.
only game we win is philly, maybe.
yeah Philly will be a tough game...
but we should be able to pull it off. Any other win in that column until the Grizzlies will be an upset. The Grizz are a better team than us right now actually, they have beaten some good teams.
schdule
phx 12-17
boston 12-18
portland 12-19
philly 13-19
portland 13-20
lakers 13-21
heat 13-22
grizzlies 14-22
hornets 14-22
lakers 14-23
cleveland 14-24
Weare about to become the Bulls very fast
We are about to face a very long and hard losing streak without a doubt and we will join the likes of the Bulls and Nets in the lottery again. IT’s all to funny the only thing consistent with this team is the way they lose. Everything is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO predictable it’s out of this world form Dunleavy always playing the starters heavy in the third to the lack of active coaching it is to funny.
The way Adleman nipped any run we had late with a quick timeout while Dunleavy watched as we lost control was classic!!! LMAO!!!!!!
hahaha
Yeah well the only quality win we have this year is against Denver. What make you think that we can beat a “good” team? I thought maybe, maybe, we can pull off a tremendous upset in Phoenix, but after tonight, I don’t think it will happen. Facts are, Houston has been playing a more consistent level of basketball than Phoenix and San Antonio. The Spurs have been tentatively heating up and Phoenix has cooled off somewhat. But all three teams are way above our level.
Sacramento and Oklahoma City are playing much better ball than us right now. Tyreke looks like the real deal. If Blake ever plays, I don’t think he can make a bigger impact than Tyreke. It might be a Sam Bowie vs Jordan moment. This road trip is the end of this Clippers campaign. Let’s dial down our expectations and shoot for 30 wins this year. Develop our young players. Play Dj and lose with DJ, but play him nonetheless. Seriously, we’re only better than Golden State and Minnesota in the West…and Minnesota is closing that gap with Love back and Al Jefferson regaining his form.
Sign me up
add fire Dun and use Lucas or Hughes as the coach for the remainder of the season.
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 8:27 PM PST up reply actions
well let's see...
Sam Bowie did log some legitimate NBA minutes in his first NBA campaign. Until Blake log one NBA gametime minute, I don’t think you can say that he is MUCH better than Sam Bowie because his official stat is 0:00 min, 0 points, 0 rebound. By the way, Sam Bowie was one hell of a player in college. Injuries just did him in.
Don't know if Lucas will be an improvement...
He was a disaster as head coach elsewhere…and the track record of “player’s coaches” like Lucas aren’t promising. No the answer lies elsewhere, though Dunleavy will have to relinquish his coaching chair and move solely to the front office, something he’s reluctant to do. Replacing both a coach and a GM in the middle of the season probably isn’t going to happen.
I don't want Lucas as a coach but if Dunleavy is fired our next coach (just for the season) is coming from in house
And if Blake comes back and there’s no improvement, Dun should be fired. Everyone has mentioned, as well as Sterling ( I believe) that nothing will happen (firing or trades) until they see the impact Blake makes. There will be blood from the fans if we’re losing like this with Blake healthy. No way this is acceptable, and the coach is the obvious choice to feel the first wrath of a losing season
by dulciusEXasperis on Dec 22, 2009 8:38 PM PST up reply actions
I think...
the ire from most of the fans have dissipated. I remembered leaving the 40 points blowout to Oklahoma City last year and thinking that there was no way that Dunleavy can survive the off season. The players gave up in that game, and the boos were raining down. The Clippers’ box office revenues are down 30% from last year if I remembered correctly from a recent Forbes article. The fans who are left are upset but are generally a tolerable bunch. We usually look toward the “Fire Dunleavy” guys with disdain.
No, Dunleavy will likely survive this campaign and his contract, especially if Blake is out until after the All Star break. He won’t have all his horses back and Sterling will give him the benefit of the doubt. In the meantime, we can look forward to force feeding Kaman while every team in the league slaps the ball away from him and force Rasual into a funny 360 fadeaway jumper on one leg.
all his horrses?
He is missing one player that has never played a meaning ful game for this team. The Clippers just lost to a team that is missing a one of the best Centers in the league and has a All-Star player on very limited mintues.
yeah man...
Houston has absoultely no talent…I mean they don’t even belong in the NBA (see above post). But seriously, even with Blake back, the Clippers offense won’t look much different than it does now. Time to rebuild. But I don’t think the rebuilding will happen this year or next…maybe the year after when Dunleavy’s contract expires. By then Eric can leave as a free agent and Blake will be eyeing the door. On the other hand, there’s a sixth grader in Queens who is supposed to be the next Oscar Robertson. I think we can tentatively eye 2015 as a resurgent Clippers year.
Was there any news on Blake Griffin today?
I didn’t hear anything, but I’m assuming he’s going to be out until his contract expires.
I've got nothing.
this is what I assume too...
from what I hear, Jasen Powell is suggesting amputation, but they think that they can save his right arm. I think he will still be more effective than Rasual in a wheelchair, though he will likely lose all of his awesome jumping abilities. But more likely, he won’t make it back until his contract is up so we will never see him take his wheelchair out on the court.
LOL, I see you share my cynicism.
Most people around here think Griffin’s return is going to make a major impact….I disagree. I’ve been a Clippers fan for too long to know better.
I’d still like to see him play though.
I've got nothing.
It will make a huge impact
The question is for how long? Probably long enough for us to get our hopes up before our souls are crushed.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Dec 22, 2009 10:26 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah...
our offense won’t take advantage of Blake’s athletic abilities in the half court, we’re not going to have him slip screens and slash to the hoop for an alley oop from Baron etc. Blake doesn’t have the low post or the mid range game to make an impact offensively right now. He will get his points in transition and on the offensive glass, but to expect him to make a clear and immediate impact on this Clippers offensive rhythm is wishful thinking. He will be an improvement over Craig Smith, but you can wrap up that ROY honors for Tyreke Evans. It will also be interesting to see if Blake will be a better player than Tyreke in five years time…assuming that Jasen Powell doesn’t amputate both of Blake’s legs. My gut feeling right now though, is that Tyreke is shaping up to be a special player. Seeing him take command of that 35 points comeback against the Bulls last night was unbelievable. He just might have that special quality that elevates star players to superstardom.
I think Griffin's return
will add to those hustle plays we need when were down a bucket. The 2nd unit seems like a major weak spot. Bassy plays well at times but Craig seems to be losing his confidence. Blake can play better D than Craig, that will start the fast break and get us some easy points in transition. I believe we can be a .500 team. The whole team needs to be energized again, and Blake brings that swagger.
another point i'd like to make
I think Blake could have defended Houston’s big gun tonight. He has that latteral movement that Camby and Kaman struggle with.
I feel nothing
Normally when we lose I feel sad and disappointed but the team didn’t really quit this year, they just lost to a superior team. Maybe not a more talented team but a much better TEAM. Adelman is amazing, he’s lost his best player(s) numerous times over the past 2 years but his teams still compete and they still do pretty well. If they keep this up then he definitely should win COY for this.
FA in 2010.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
