DJordan 7/13 Pros and Cons

by citizen zhiv on Jul 14, 2009 12:48 PM PDT

SP is up and running so I'll hang out over here in the fanposts for now. Everybody (KA and me, at least) stated that they would have more to say after the awesome debut of Blake Griffin last evening, and the Clips' most inspiring run in many moons, but it has been quiet--not used to being geeked up like that, I guess, plus there's the minor/major Iverson distraction of course.

So there's just one thing that stands out for me, the next day and getting ready for the next game, worthy of commentary. Not about Blake Griffin, who was simply awesome and everything we could hope for, and just fun to watch. Not about Eric Gordon, who we know well enough, although we shouldn't take him for granted. If pushed, I suppose I could mention that the Gordon-Morrison matchup was very interesting, Gordon giving Morrison a lot of trouble, as we might have expected, and a mite of disappointment that we didn't get to see Gordon play any PG, but nothing even worth noting. Not about Mike Taylor, who should be the Clips 3rd string PG and a sparkplug/change of pace off the bench, who needs exactly this experience and frustration in a place like summer league to get better.

But then there's DeAndre Jordan. DJ, I think, is worth discussing. Most citizens know I'm a fan, and routinely get perhaps too geeked up about under the radar big men with potential. SP didn't help douse the fires when he expertly compared DJ's measurements to #2 pick Thabeet. And after the season it seemed obvious that, if you're only going to win 19 games, maybe a project like DJ could have played a little bit more.

Gotta go and don't have time to give this topic the full zhiv, but I thought DJ was a mixed bag in yesterday's game. The post moves were great to see. I was surprised at him going to his right hand, and would like to see what he does going to the middle with his left, off that right block. He obviously gets his dunks and he's a strong finisher, which we can appreciate after watching Mr. Flippy. You could put DJ and Blake Griffin out there as starters for the entire season and my guess is that they would do a good job on the defensive boards together, and get better and better year by year.

The thing I was dissapointed by was DJ's lack of a defensive presence. There's more to be said on this, but he doesn't seem to be hanging back as a shot blocker. There's also the free throws, where it would have been nice for him to show some progress.

Gotta go!

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Another Full Season With "Defensive POY" Camby

…will hopefully help DJ develop some better defensive skills. Let’s get Steve to say DJ will never be a good defender :)

by moKi on Jul 14, 2009 12:58 PM PDT reply actions

Nope

I would think that Steve agrees that DJ isn’t a bad defender. Afterall, DJ seems to have done fine in the blocks category even though he was riding the bench much of the season. I think that out of all the 2nd round picks the Clippers have had recently, DJ should be the most successful out of them all.

Btw I’m testing out my g1 on clipsnation to see how well it would work. Seems to be doing pretty good.

Mike Smith on Eric Gordon: "The Clippers may have found their go to scorer."
On a second note, I want Novak back!

by JackduhSun on Jul 15, 2009 12:38 AM PDT reply actions

I’ve got a G1 as well and it works pretty well with the mobile sbnation. Pretty cool that sbnation has a mobile optimized site, when sports illustrated doesnt.

by hans007 on Jul 15, 2009 1:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Agree with you and your g1

I think he’s generally not a bad defender too. But in my geeked-up Monday evening state, I was hoping that he would be a more formidable defensive presence, and that we would see the Thabeet-like length that SP highlighted. It there, fortunately on the offensive end, with the dunks—which Thabeet doesn’t have.

But these are early morning revisions, too, after an improved and even more impressive DJ performance on Tuesday. Perhaps most impressive was that he started hitting his free throws. He even hit two during Shaqattack/crunch time, which played a big role in winning the game, for the big nothing that’s worth.

by citizen zhiv on Jul 15, 2009 4:41 AM PDT up reply actions

wished i watched the game but ive found myself busy

But uo oh Chivs, do we have a problem? I know that its too early to say and that it doesn’t nessissarily mean anything, but looking at the two games that Blake has played… he didn’t average a single block? Is it that the presence of dj and blake stops penetration? Or is it because blake isn’t a good blocker? Do we by any chance be getting a carlos boozer type player…? Its starting to get me a bit worried.
Care to shed some light on blake’s d and whatsup with the low (or none) blocks? I didn’t look up how many blocks dj had but I would assume that it is more than 0.

Aside from that, I would assume that thabeet is better on defense than dj… but that could also be of that he was 7’3 and intimidating all the college kids. Thabeet or griffin is going to puzzle me for quite sometime until its evident who the better player is going to be.

Damn.. I’m seriously noctournal.

Mike Smith on Eric Gordon: "The Clippers may have found their go to scorer."
On a second note, I want Novak back!

by JackduhSun on Jul 15, 2009 5:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah Griffin has done just about everything except

block a shot. But I think he just isn’t focusing on it right now.

In Gordon we trust

by bestclipfan on Jul 15, 2009 8:47 AM PDT up reply actions

BG's not a big shot blocker

But he’s not Carlos Boozer either. Griffin averaged about 1 block per game for Oklahoma, while Boozer blocked about 0.7 per a game for Duke. Griffin is quite a bit more athletic and a better jumper than Boozer (7" better vertical comparing their pre-draft measurements).

Leading up to the draft, several citizens pointed out that BG’s wingspan measured out a little shorter than you’d like for the ideal PF so he’s not likely to ever become a standout shot blocker. However, he’s plenty strong and athletic and appears to be a very hard worker so he should develop into a very solid defender. Besides we already have three centers who can all block shots very well.

by ClipCat on Jul 15, 2009 8:51 AM PDT up reply actions

He will make up with it by

being a great interior passer and being an amazing rebounder (ok maybe not amazing but definitely a good one). Also his dribbling seems to be nearly on par with a SF.

In Gordon we trust

by bestclipfan on Jul 15, 2009 8:58 AM PDT up reply actions

Not part of his game

BG can play great defense without being a classic shot-blocker. He’ll get his blocks through athleticism and court sense, but the lack of length will keep the numbers down. But I’ll happily trade that for the handle and the passing that we’ve seen in the first two games, which have been pleasant surprises, along with the general activity level, effort and opportunism.

DJ is another story. He got his blocks last night, and put up great numbers. The feed was so bad that the game was fairly unwatchable, so it was hard to tell if his defensive presence was more substantial than in the first game.

But DJ is on the map now, which we predicted would happen. The next big step is the matchup Thursday night with Thabeet. That’s a big deal, and there should even be a bit of hype leading up to it now.

Another thing to note is that Griffin and his court sense are a prime contributor in making DJ look good. They’re an exciting tandem, definitely for the scrub games of summer league, but very possibly for the real thing and the longterm for the Clippers. The timing of the maturation of DJ (and Griffin) with Camby and Kaman around looks just about perfect. But of course these types of things have looked perfect for the Clippers before, as when Cassell seemed well-timed to give way to Livingston, or when Mobley-to-Gordon seemed like a patient transition. Just mentioning that.

by citizen zhiv on Jul 15, 2009 9:08 AM PDT up reply actions