Mozgov: Refreshing for Basketball fans, hard to watch for Clipper fans...

by JStearnLAC91 on Feb 3, 2012 6:04 PM PST

Last year, Timofey Mozgov became a verb. Wait. He was a noun, verb, and adjective the way he was described for one play last year. One play that probably changed a franchise. Fortunately for him, he has a lot of game and toughness left to live above it and play to erase it.

Blake Griffin's dunk over Kendrick Perkins the other night was the probably one of the top 5 in game dunks of all time. The "Mozgov" is still in the top 10 of that list I'm assuming as well. That list includes some nasty "facials" (Tracy McGrady on Shawn Bradley, Vince Carter on Dikembe Mutumbo, Tom Chambers over Mark Jackson, Michael Jordan over... everybody, John Starks over... everybody). Timofey Mozgof, however, has learned his lesson and this lesson has translated into something basketball fans are rejoicing over, and Clipper fans are hoping not to see.

I don't think you follow me...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A49Js5CZlWw

That video is of Mozgov taking down our beloved former Clipper Eric Gordon last year. That play hurt his wrist. For a long time. You remember; the same injury that kept him out 24 straight games and any small hopes we had of making the playoffs after last year's very positive January went right out of the window. About three months prior to this, in the very same game that Mozgov got, well "Mozgov-ed", E.J. drove to the basket on a nice Brian Cook led bounce pass and... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uNx2YPZysY&feature=related (I miss him, honestly).

Fast forward to the third quarter of that fateful game vs. the New York Knicks and the impossible happened. We don't need to go over it. We know what happened. Heck, about 10 million people know what happened.

Last night, we saw something out of Mozgov that has become lost among many NBA pros: the art of "sending a message".

Timofey Mozgov has made it clear for all the NBA to see (his hard foul last night, one near flagrant against Blake last year in Denver, and E.G.'s fall) that getting dunked on is not okay and fouling someone hard at the rim is. His actions are refreshing. I don't see many guys protect the basket with as much pure motivation as he. Especially considering he's the tenth man on what many would call the most complete team in basketball, Mozgov's role is just as important as Nene's footwork, Ty Lawson's explosiveness, and Aaron Afflalo's smothering defense. He doesn't try to intimidate you, he just wants you to know he will NOT get embarrassed and will NOT give up easy baskets to anyone. It is that mind set that makes champions. The Bad Boys, Showtime, Michael's teams, the 2K3-Peat Purp' 'n' Gold all had their version of an enforcer on the defensive side of the ball whether it was Rambis, Lambier, Rodman, or even Rick Fox. Mozgov is underrated in that regard. The game may have changed in the past 20 years, but playoff basketball still looks eerily similar to those fiesty Miami-New York or Seattle-Golden State matchups from the early to mid 90s.

Tim (I hope he doesn't clothes line me for calling him Tim) is a throwback to that time. His skill set is limited at best. Any true hoops fan absolutely loves that though, right? If I were a coach, and I had a guy who was 7'1'' 260 lbs. who is willing to eat up space is the middle, get boards, dunk, and foul the heck out of someone trying to dunk on him, how do I not love this guy? How do I not love guys like him like our own Reggie Evans, Joel Anthony, Josh McRoberts ("McBob"), Marcus Camby, Omer Asik, and Kendrick Perkins?! They do the job that others (Did you see Kevin Durant nearly run away from the dunk after "The Dunk" from Griffin Monday night? Yeah, he's scared) are unwilling and simply afraid to do: be a man. If someone dunks on them, they don't care. It's only one play in one game that may or may not decide the outcome. Their role doesn't change. Notice how all of these guys I just mentioned are on playoff teams as of now. It makes sense. These are the toughest of the tough, the trenchmen, the guys who solidify your roster when they do their job and make you into a contender, and the ones Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr, Jeff Van Gundy, Mike Fratello, and Hubie Brown rave about on national airwaves and appreciate not only as basketball players, but as men. These guys are the ones that make sure guys like Blake, DeAndre Jordan, Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, and Rudy Gay end up on their butts with two free throws and a bruise rather than more YouTube views. Nine times out of ten they do their job. Forget the Kodak moments. This game is about winning. If I had to trade a Twitter trend of my best interior defender for nine more wins, not only would I do it in a heartbeat but so would my guy. It's 2 points. The game goes on.

Mozgov is that guy for George Karl and the Nuggets, who handily defeated your Los Angeles Clippers last night in part because the Clips were tired, in part because the Nuggets were not tired, and in part that the Nuggets have a lot more edge to them with Timofey Mozgov as their backup center sending Blake Griffin back to earth with a busted lip than the Clippers do with Evans and Solomon Jones as the Clippers' backups. That may not have been the strategy last night, but Vinny Del Negro was quick to see that Mozgov wasn't going to be the one getting hurt last night and took out Griffin, Jordan, and Butler very early in the 4th. Even in laughers they're usually in the game for a little bit in the 4th quarter but yesterday was different. For it wasn't Andre Miller and Al Harrington who really defeated the Clips last night, it was Tim. Blake sent his own and a team message the other night against the Thunder. Don't think for a second Mozgov didnt do that last night with a good hard foul and a little blood under Blake's lip. The message was the same for both of them: "We'll see you in the playoffs, if you dare." As Karl and the Nuggets are literally the only coach/franchise to ever lose to the Clippers in a postseason series, there is a little added incentive from all ends to see this matchup come May.

Today the Clippers signed former Nugget Kenyon Martin. I wonder why...

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Comments

interesting take

but be careful because we now live in a P.C. world where men are encouraged to get manis and pedis whle the women take on gender bias.

by big0lbad on Feb 3, 2012 6:51 PM PST reply actions

Here's my response

http://youtu.be/KB52jbGhJrE

"Great Balls Of Fire, Reggie's Back!"

by PV Mike on Feb 3, 2012 7:05 PM PST reply actions

both former Twovles coaches

Ralph, "Last year so often with Blake Griffin you would see these things coming, with Paul, he's so crafty, all of a sudden boom there it is."

by KidJustin on Feb 4, 2012 1:57 AM PST up reply actions

You are looking at the old world through rose colored glasses

the game is not what it was back in the day, and that is good. The players on average are more athletic then their past counterparts. As a result players are flying higher, running faster, and playing a more entertaining game. This makes hard fouls even more dangerous then in the past. Falling from a couple feet can hurt, falling from 5, 6, 7 feet in the air where the players now a days are playing can be serious and season ending. And in an NBA where superstars are the team, the league can not afford thuggery like the poster advocating for.
Lets be clear the foul that Mozgov had wasn’t that bad, it was a possible flagrant but it was hardly a “message” which Andre Miller was advocating. The EJ foul is a better example, that was a clear missed flagrant. And there is no place in the NBA for thuggery like that, which leads to the recipient to be out for a good chunk of the season. It doesn’t make the game more fun, it makes it less fun by removing the most entertaining players.
Old men can grumble about players to being soft and the loss art of hard fouls. But the fact is the game is better when the best players are not put in positions where they get hurt and are not able to play and do the entertaining things they are payed to do. The poster states that “dunked on is not okay and fouling someone hard at the rim is”. This statement is a logical fallacy, Getting dunked on is a part of the game it isn’t wrong, a player can foul the dunker and keep him from being able to up the shot like a basketball player. Instead the poster advocates that they not be ball players but be thugs and just put players on their butts. That isn’t playing defense its being a thug. I don’t want to watch players bail themselves out by just throwing down players. I want them to play defense and prevent themselves from ever being in that position. Getting dunked on is a failure of defense and the reward for the viewer, why would we punish the viewer and let off the defender by giving them license to to make a non basketball play.
In summary hard fouls are going to happen. However they should not be encouraged as the poster is stating. They bail out the defense and rob us the best parts of basketball as well as putting the stars who make the game exciting at risk of injury and removing them from the game. Every sport is learning that thuggery is not a sustainable aspect of the game: the NFL learned it needed to protect the QB’s, hockey learned and is learning it needs to protect from blind side checking,baseball removed head first sliding and is now facing the reality of protecting catchers, and finally basketball learned that it needed to keep thug plays out. The poster is living in the past where the thuggery is and will hopefully remain.

"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown

by bestclipfan on Feb 3, 2012 9:03 PM PST reply actions

and everything you just mentioned is what i dont like... at all.

This isnt thuggery. This is how I was taught basketball. This is how most NBA guys were taught basketball. I dont want to see injuries but I damn sure want to see a lot more hard fouls and flagrants. Take it where its needed. This is a very physical game. Why not play it that way? I would rather see thugs on the floor playing the game the right way than some of these divas who specialize in one specific area of the game and let the rest of their game go to waste.

Jeremy Stearn- Keith Closs for Prez!

by JStearnLAC91 on Feb 4, 2012 4:24 AM PST up reply actions

'I dont want to see injuries but I damn sure want to see a lot more hard fouls and flagrants'

You can’t have it both ways, hard fouls and flagrants lead to injuries.

by XXDC2XX on Feb 4, 2012 7:22 PM PST up reply actions

w.e.

then so be it.

Jeremy Stearn- Keith Closs for Prez!

by JStearnLAC91 on Feb 5, 2012 5:14 AM PST up reply actions

So you admit your stance is unreasonable and illogical

okay thanks for playing.

"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown

by bestclipfan on Feb 5, 2012 10:09 AM PST up reply actions

I agree

hard fouls = more flagrants, but somethings shouldn’t be called a flagrant just because a player landed hard. Anytime you have a player going for a dunk and a defender goes up to block the shot and misses (of course unintentionally doing harm), a hard foul can easily ensue. The problem is, if we’re going to tack on a flagrant for every foul that is hard but unintentional means that the league is discouraging players to defend every basket.

"Things change when something is taken away from you" -BG32

by JackduhSun on Feb 5, 2012 9:58 PM PST up reply actions

this is definitely the trend and we need to find a way to respond to this

after the hard foul on Blake by Mozgov, Blake only scored 2 points….

so we don’t react well to this type of behavior and it is influencing our play

Clip Clip Hooray!

by timkempton on Feb 3, 2012 9:27 PM PST reply actions

Karma was quick

Mozgov got injured last night. Rolled his ankle on an uncontested layup.
Link

by thewhiteshadow on Feb 4, 2012 10:30 AM PST reply actions

I saw the game and he whined like a little baby

They word today is it is hardly a sprain.

"Great Balls Of Fire, Reggie's Back!"

by PV Mike on Feb 4, 2012 11:34 AM PST up reply actions

Karma is taking it's time with Andre Miller, so I think when it hits him it's going to be really bad.

by tenkaistar on Feb 4, 2012 2:10 PM PST reply actions

screw it, Karma had it chance

I hope Jones or Kenyon hit him in the next game.

by XXDC2XX on Feb 4, 2012 7:24 PM PST up reply actions

I have been watching basketball going back to the old ABA days as a kid.

You want to talk about hard fouls and fist fights, you could count on them every night.
While I question if shooting is that much better than the past, the athleticism of today’s players is way better and more likely severe injuries could happen. Could you imagine Blake playing in the 80’s? I think you could use the same analogy to the current NFL. The rules had to change as the players are bigger, faster and stronger. (Did I mention the Patriots suck)?

"How's that Cheikh Samb deal working out?"

by PV Mike on Feb 5, 2012 10:19 AM PST reply actions