MDSr - People Person?
by Steve Perrin on Jan 24, 2007 10:44 AM PST
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PrintAgainst Milwaukee, Corey Maggette played 15+ minutes in the first half. During that time, he scored 7 points on 2 shots, drew 4 fouls on Bucks defenders, including the third foul on Bogut early in the 2nd quarter, with no turnovers and a couple rebounds. (Corey's ability to draw fouls gets him to the line, but it also gets the opposition into foul trouble, and gets the team into the bonus; these team wide benefits are often overlooked.) He did not play in the third quarter, did not get another SHOT until 5 minutes left when the Clippers had a 22 point lead, and was the only one of the top 8 on the floor with the scrubs at garbage time.
The mop up duty is an interesting thing. I've mentioned before that Corey's playing time (27.8 minutes per game, 5th on the team) is inflated by garbage time. He certainly gets more (a lot more) of these minutes than the rest of the guys in the primary rotation. Why? It's possible that Corey and MDSr have talked about it, and are in agreement that it's a good thing to pad his numbers in the quest for the 6th Man Award. Certainly that's a benefit to being out there, and if he wants to win the award, those raw numbers will matter, regardless of how meaningless they are in the context of the game. It's also possible that MDSr is thinking of this, but has not spoken to Corey about it. And of course it's possible that MDSr views Corey as the 8th man, and counting backwards from 12, he's on the floor to mop up.
At any rate, the net effect of seeing the Clippers leading scorer from 2003 through 2005 on the court with Alvin Williams and Paul Davis playing against Lynn Greer and Damir Markota is a little depressing, and you have to wonder how Corey feels about it.
Even when MDSr is given a chance to praise Maggette, it sounds disingenuous and backhanded. In today's OCR, Art Thompson III briefly explored the 6th Man race, including this quote from MDSr:
Calm down there buddy! Try not to hurt yourself! It seems to me that MDSr is not really lobbying as hard for Corey has he did to trade Corey for his own son. To say that he could be very productive against favorable matchups is insulting; the epitome of damning with faint praise. Corey averaged 22 points per game, 13th in the league, in 04-05 when he was a full time starter. He is very productive against anybody.
Looking at Corey's numbers, it's pretty astounding exactly how stupid this whole thing is. Here are the 12 players who averaged more points per game than Corey Maggette in 04-05. Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, Gilbert Arenas, Vince Carter, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Shaquille O'Neal. Those 12 guys - each and every one of them - have been all-stars, have been invited to play for their country in the Olympics, make 8 figures per season, and... what's the other thing... oh yeah... START! I know a fair amount about basketball, and I know that a guy's stats can be inflated by various factors. The 04-05 Clippers didn't have all the scoring options that the team has today. But c'mon. Look at that list. And Corey is only 27 years old. He was 25 when he scored 22 per game and had increased his scoring average EVERY YEAR HE WAS IN THE LEAGUE. And his scoring numbers weren't inflated by lots of shot attempts. The year he was 13th in scoring, he took fewer shots per game (under 15) than any player in the top 25. He was efficient, he was proficient, he was young, he was improving, he was signed, and he was a bargain.
So how did we go from a 22 point per game, hyper- efficient scoring machine, all star-in-waiting to a 15.5 point per game 8th man we're considering trading for James Posey? Well, Corey got injured after playing just 13 games in 2005 (he was averaging 22.4 points before the injury, once again increasing his scoring average), and then MDSr forgot what he had.
I know, the Clippers had terrific success with a defense-first approach, and they did well while Corey was hurt. I know that. But the truth of the matter is, they did better when Corey wasn't hurt, and although he is not a great defender, he is a top tier NBA scorer, and those don't grow on trees. Steve Nash has won back-to-back MVPs and is the odd's on favorite for a third, and he can't play defense at all. Ever watch Carmelo Anthony? I can only assume that MDSr would bring Melo off the bench as well. And let's not forget Sam Cassell, who is a significantly worse defender than Corey.
And this year's team has really struggled on offense. Yet our leading per minute scorer, second in the league in FTM per 48 minutes (to a guy named Dwyane Wade), one of the most efficient scorers in the entire league, doesn't start and only plays 27.8 garbage inflated minutes.
Well, this wasn't supposed to be a rant about the idiocy of the situation. Usually I leave that to Citizen Zhiv. But sometimes we forget how ridiculously good Corey is offensively. I know I had, if only for a moment. We're not talking about a guy who is the best scorer on the Clippers. We're talking about a guy who was on his way to the top ten in the league. 13th in the league on fewer than 15 shots a game.
You know, he could be very productive against favorable matchups.
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Bravo
I had Corey as a sure fire All-Star after the 04-05 season. He got off to a great start before the foot injury last year.
I really feel bad for Corey, too. I think that talented players in their prime should be playing a lot, not buried on the bench for inexplicable reasons.
For the Clippers sake, I hope Corey stays, but for his sake, I wish they would trade him. He is a nice guy, a hard worker, and he deserves to play and shine.
It must suck to know that you would get more playing time on any other team than the one you are stuck on.
He played his butt off during the "Clipper Hell" years, and this is his reward when the team finds success.
This is why I have proposed many times that the season ticket holders get together and demand that the Clippers play him more.
There are plenty of minutes for everyone. Elton Brand is the only player who should be seeing more than 30 minutes every night, and I would say Maggette should come right after him.
Mobley does not need to play more than 30, but as Hollinger says, Cat's value is as a "minutes sponge". He plays OK for a lot of minutes, therefore reducing the chance that someone else will be subbed in and play bad.
Anyway, if I were coach, as I should be, I would be giving the bulk of the playing time to my young guys (EB, Maggette, Kaman, Livingston, QRoss), keeping Sam, Cat and Thomas under 30 minutes.
by mp on Jan 24, 2007 11:56 AM PST reply actions
The more I look at it...
Mobley has been terrific as a Clipper, though exactly the opposite of my impression of him. From his Rockets/Magic/Kings days, I viewed him as a scorer who doesn't do a lot else. As a Clipper, he's been an effective all around player, who is a wildly inconsistent scorer. Go figure. But I'm like you - let's have the guys who are GREAT at something on the floor, and use the guy that is good at everything to come in as needed. He can still play 30 minutes - but not 35.
Thomas is easily my least favorite of the 8 guys in the rotation, but he serves a purpose. It's obvious to me he should get the fewest minutes of the 8, and be left in the game when he's 'ON', or when the Clippers particularly need a deep threat.
The Sam factor
Coach MP would start Sam, Cat, Kaman, EB, Ross, and sub in Livingston Maggette for Cat and Sam at the 4:00 minute mark. (Livingston will get his sea legs against the reserves, and Corey will score all over them.)
Sam would finish the half, start the third, and then rest until halfway thru the fourth, when he could come in to close. Something like that.
I'm glad you have recognized Mobley's value, because a lot of Clipper fans rip on him. Over the years I have witnessed some great defensive efforts from him against Kobe, Carmelo, and even Dirk. Cat is from Philly, where they play tough.
He also helped change the culture around here.
Did the Clips slightly overpay? Perhaps, but it was the right move at the time. Dunleavy is very comfortable with him. (He recruited Cat at the end of a game vs. Sac where Cat hit 5 three's in the fourth and OT to win. I was there. It sucked.)
Cat has also offered to come off the bench, which would also be worth exploring, as you say. Start Maggette, sub in Cat. He would score in bunches, too, against the B-team.
Tim Thomas and I are both from Paterson, NJ, and are about the same age. I never saw him play, but everyone in town knew about him and how good he was. There was no doubt that he was going to be a star in the NBA. Instead, he has been a lazy disappointment.
Ray Allen once said that TT could be one of the top players in the NBA is he worked harder. I wish we could transplant EB's work ethic into Tim's body. He would be scary.
That said, 20 minutes a night out of him is plenty. If he can hit 1-2 threes, grab 4 rebounds, and at least bend his knees and raise his arms on defense, I'd be more than happy.
by mp on Jan 24, 2007 2:33 PM PST up reply actions
Did the Clips Overpay for Cat?
The other thing that's strange is how everyone always talks exclusively about QRoss on Melo. Cat started the game matched up on Melo in all 5 playoff games. Cat is astoudingly good at guarding bigger guys. He's smart, he's strong, and he's got as good a rake as anyone in the league. That said, I wouldn't start him, simply because I like my other options better. I would consider starting him in a small lineup - EB at the 5, Corey at the 4, Cat and Ross on the wings. I'm hoping that Kaman develops to the point where it would be unthinkable to go small, but so far, it's pretty damn thinkable.
by Steve Perrin on Jan 24, 2007 3:11 PM PST up reply actions
Good points
I personally don't think we overpaid for Cat.
He is valuable to the team. But many feel that his contract is too much.
Agreed, his defense is very good.
And I like your starting lineup suggestion, using him in a small ball situation. You have sold me.
by mp on Jan 24, 2007 3:58 PM PST up reply actions
Isn't Cat suppose to be a shooting guard?
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