Orlando 113 - Clippers 87 - Oh Yeah, and Dunleavy is Out

by Steve Perrin on Mar 10, 2010 12:08 AM PST in Game Recaps

Ostensibly, this is a game recap of an NBA game that occurred in Orlando Florida earlier this evening. In that game, and I use the term loosely as it implies a degree of competitiveness and uncertainty of outcome that certainly did not exist in this particular case, the Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 113 to 87. The Magic led by 26 at halftime, and won the game by 26. The lead was never less than 20 in the second half. The Clippers were completely and totally outplayed in the game. Some games you can say they looked flat, some games you can say they missed open shots, and you can pretend that they would have had a chance under different circumstances. This game, they simply got beaten by a far superior team. Orlando's defense contested every shot, Orlando's offense got whatever they wanted. It was a total mismatch.

Not much more to say about that. We can move on to more interesting topics.

Last thing - here's a trivia question. What's the NBA record for most minutes sitting at the end of a game after not exiting previously? OK, that's pretty inelegantly worded, and it's a strange thing at any rate, but Dwight Howard tonight played the entirety of the first 32 minutes and 17 seconds, and then sat the final 15 minutes and 43 seconds. It was completely binary - he was in the game, and then he was out of the game. Barring injury, you wonder how many times a guy has done anything like that. He didn't get a rest as they were building a 30 point lead, and then he took the balance of the night off.

Of course, you can do that when you're playing the Clippers.

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We suck

a lot. We need to get lucky in the lottery again and blackmail Lebron to come here.

FA in 2010.

by ClipperChuck on Mar 10, 2010 12:19 AM PST reply actions

lol

missed this game. What happn to Kaman his mintues look a liitle low or did we just throw in the towel?

by KillaClip on Mar 10, 2010 12:35 AM PST reply actions

well, i mean down 20+ most of the game and miami tonight

Pretty sure there was no reason to run him or anyone else of consequence into the ground.

by Joe Wolf's Mullet on Mar 10, 2010 12:59 AM PST via mobile up reply actions

Miissed it too

Kind of funny. Didn’t set the tivo, only remembered it towards the end of the day, had a late meeting, and by the time I got over here the game was over and Dunleavy was “severed.” The official end of the MDSr era obviously commands the attention, but I still had some questions about the game.

Looking at the boxscore, did Steve Blake start instead of BDavis? Was this a non-subtle move to both compensate for the absence of Gordon and also to send a message to BD that he needs to hit some shots and make a better effort? I’m going to assume for the moment that BD started.

Also notable that everybody played limited minutes because the game was over and out of reach at halftime. Kaman gets 12 and 6: he doesn’t score much, and doesn’t compensate for it by rebounding either. As DJFoster points out, I guess the main item of interest in the game is the DJordan-DHoward matchup at the end of the first quarter, and SP makes a nice note of DHoward going the distance and steadily crushing the Clips until stepping off and giving Gortat 15 solid minutes.

Not a bad game to miss. Setting the tivo now for this afternoon’s game.

by citizen zhiv on Mar 10, 2010 7:30 AM PST reply actions

A few minor details

We actually got solid, non-generic AP stringer coverage of this game because of Tim Povtak from Fanhouse, who is Orlando based.

Baron missed the morning shootaround and did not start as a result. Milph said that this was Kim Hughes’ policy, and implied that it was established. Baron says that he had a tummy ache, and that if this was a policy, it was the first he’s heard of it. Any other day, Baron and Hughes is the lede, and we’ll have to keep an eye on this situation for sure as a possible POTS-line (POTS-holder? – the things that hold our attention as they’re playing out the string?) The irony is that Baron played one of his best games in forever off the bench.

Kaman was like a frightened bunny the whole game. Mike Smith relayed a couple of different conversations he’d had with the guy, and they all ended with Kaman saying how Howard blocked so many of his shots last game. Finally Ralph quips “At least he’s not thinking about it.” First touch, Kaman pump fake, pump fake, pump fake, pump fake, travel. Second possession, he makes a jumper. The next several are misses or turnovers, and his last touch of the first quarter Howard rejects him, again after 20 pump fakes.

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 Mar 10, 2010 8:38 AM PST up reply actions