Nuggets 110 - Clippers 104

by Steve Perrin on Feb 29, 2008 11:16 PM PST in News Comment 5 comments

Now that, my friends, is a quality loss.

The Clippers are now 1-8 without Chris Kaman this season. And by 'without Chris Kaman' I mean of course without Chris Kaman (starting center), Elton Brand (starting power forward) and Paul Davis (backup center). And they finished this one without Tim Thomas who pulled a groin muscle late in the game.

As it happens, the only time the Clippers won without Kaman this season, Al Thornton scored 33 points and beat the Hawks single-handedly. Well, he scored 33 again, and got some help from Maggette with 28, and together they gave the Clippers a chance without their center. But in the end Denver's stars came through, which is just as well.

The Nuggets finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds and a 55-41 rebounding advantage. Sometimes they were the result of missed box outs (as when Corey just ignored Camby at 10:45 in the fourth). But more often the Nuggets just outmuscled LA for the ball. The Clippers gave away a lot in size to this team. Look at it this way - Denver's small forward (Carmelo Anthony) was bigger than the Clippers' power forward (Al Thornton) for much of the game.

Thornton was terrific. And these 33 were much quieter than the 33 against the Hawks, which is a good thing. In the Atlanta game he made unlikely shots, he got steals and fast break dunks, he just made everything he put up. This game was different - he didn't dominate the ball as much as he sometimes does. He just scored the ball and did so efficiently. He finished the game 13 for 22, but he actually missed a layup and two tips in about 2 seconds the first time he touched the ball - so he was 13 for 19 from there. And contrary to what has been his tendency, he contributed other ways as well. Against the Hawks, 33 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist. Against the Nuggets, 33 points, 12 rebounds (a career high) and 4 assists.

As for Corey Maggette, well he just concluded one of the most productive months of his career. Over 25 points per game in February, while shooting 50% from the field, 49% from three and 89% from the line. Put it this way - I know he won't get Western Conference Player of the Month, but I'm not sure he doesn't deserve it.

The first game after Cassell was waived was better at the point guard than the one before, if still somewhat troubling. Knight and Dickau combined for 15 points, 12 assists and 4 steals, which is obviously better than the 1 point, 0 for 8 suck fest against Portland. But Dickau couldn't guard anyone - unfortunately for him, he was never on the floor with Anthony Carter, which left him guarding Iverson (no chance) or JR Smith (who he actually did OK against). I assume it was the matchups, and not a change in overall strategy, that resulted in Dickau playing only 8 minutes, a season-low for him in non-Cassell games.

Knight had his best game as a Clipper - he accounted for all 12 of those point guard assists, which is his season-high, and the first time any Clipper has been in double figures in assists this season, if you can believe that. He's not going to average double figure assists the rest of the way, but if he can play like he did today it will help keep the team respectable without Sam. It would seem that the stress reaction is a thing of the past - they no longer list it on the injury report, and no one was limiting Knight's minutes tonight. He played 35, which is more than he's played since Dec. 9.

They did experiment with Cat Mobley at the point for 5 minutes in this game. It was not as bad as I thought it would be (I would have pressured him if I were George Karl). But after a single horrendous possession with Cat running things in the fourth, MDsr thought better of it and Knight returned to close things out.

I don't generally like to borrow themes from Ralph and Mike, but I have to agree with them whole heartedly on one thing. Especially given how tough it has been to score this season, it is going to be really, really cool to have Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette and Al Thornton playing together - maybe even all four on the floor at the same time. With everything else going on, I basically ignored the mention in the paper recently that Brand participated in light contact drills this week. No one is rushing anything, but it's pretty clear the guy is going to play by mid-March. Assuming Kaman can get these nagging injuries behind him, that should give them a full month to see those four together. (If Livingston could be there for some of that, it would be gravy.) I still think it's a long shot that Corey will be back next season, but he and Thornton were a dynamic scoring duo tonight. If the team can generate some excitement in the final month, it will certainly figure into off-season decisions.

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#37

That was fun to watch. The combination of Maggette (playing at a very high level) and Thornton is exciting and formidable. And AT coming off the bench in the middle of the 1st and 3rd quarters seems to be very much what MD had in mind last year from Maggette. Problem solved.

(Or maybe next year Maggette is gone and Dunleavy decides to start QRoss and bring Thornton off the bench for the first 50 games. That would be fun.)

Maggs-Thornton and their supporting cast seem like a viable team to make the playoffs in the East. Not a team that could beat an elite East team like tonight's opponent Detroit, but a good team. Mobley-Knight-Thomas are all good add-ons.

MD is Mr. Matchup, but isn't there any way he could have figured out how to have Dickau in the game when Anthony Carter was in there? Maybe Karl was just countering and pulling Carter out whenever Dickau was in, using the fact that AI can play 75 minutes on any given night. AI is just an unbelievably great basketball player. He's very fun to watch. And yet, remembering your exchange with Pickaxe, the Clippers have no fear whatsoever of Denver and played them to the final minute while missing 6 important roster guys.

Another great thing about the game was that Dunleavy actually tried some stuff. Fazekas got some minutes. He didn't too much of anything and we never got to see his shot, but at least he dipped his toes in the water. Should be more tonight depending on Thomas' injury status. Mobley played some point. As long as the other team doesn't pressure the ball, why not try it for a few minutes? Aaron Williams didn't play. Josh Powell needed to finish on a couple of more easy shots--13 shots is a lot for Powell, obviously. But Powell's activity level is high and he does a lot of good things.

Yes, a quality loss. We shouldn't underestimate the importance of entertainment value. The games need to be worth watching, no matter how bad the situation. That one certainly was.

by zhivclip on Mar 1, 2008 7:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Still think Maggette has nowhere else to go

he very well could go in search of a team that will make him "the guy", but I don't think he will find it. And pretty much every destination has less money to offer, with the exception of Philly, Miami and Memphis. He may opt out and test the market, but I just don't think that any team believes they are a "Corey Maggette" away from being a contender.

But I may be wrong.

Tim Thomas has problems finishing games.

If MDSr. has any guts, he would make his future starting lineup Brand/AT/Kaman/Maggette/Shaun. But he will likely find a reason to slip Mobley or Q in to balance things and to bring some scoring off the bench, which by the way, is overrated. What I mean is that there is little benefit in letting a scorer like Corey get cold so that he can login and play the opposition's backups.

Tonight may be ugly.

by mp on Mar 1, 2008 9:02 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I was thinking of the same starting lineup. Maggette doesn't have anywhere to really go.

Corey and Al seem to have a big/little brother relationship. I was watching the ESPN broadcast and from what the announcers were saying, Corey seems pretty sentimental of his teammates. He wants to have EB back healthy next year hint hint, he's been proud and expectant of The Thorn's emergence, and show's his remorse for Sam-I-Am. Although he does admit this is a business, I don't think Corey's leaving this summer. He wants to see his team healthy next year, and he wants to continue to watch Al grow.

Either he's a really good actor or Corey can believe this team can win and really does want to give this team a chance. As mp stated, "pretty much every destination has less money to offer, with the exception of Philly, Miami and Memphis."

One thing that disturbed me last night though, was how easily the Clips gave up in the last 40 seconds of the game. No one fouled at all. I saw Al out there looking at his teammates, confused. He looked pretty baffled as to why nothing happened. This is what the Clippers have needed in the past years: someone who won't give up and wants to win even if you're not playoff bound.

I just woke up... I'm not sure what I'm typing makes sense. K2 has been out for so long. I need to write about something positive to keep my sanity about for this team. And yes, I expect Corey play like this consistently, all the time. He's in his prime dammit.

by Redmosa on Mar 1, 2008 11:13 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

6th man; Ending games

I also think that Maggette and EB will be back. The Cassell deal sets another good precedent: doing the right thing for a player who has served you well. My guess now is that there's a very good chance that EB and Maggette will take Sterling's money and sign deals, maybe not this year, but when the time comes, and they'll give it their best shot. But they'll expect that if something goes wrong, that they can be traded for expiring contracts, etc., if the team rebuilds.

At any rate, I don't mind Thornton coming off the bench next year as the 6th man. Mobley should be solid and can be a good starter. The trick is to avoid overplaying Mobley, and don't hesitate to rest him and get him well when he inevitably gets banged up. Thornton's energy and scoring, as I said, is exactly what Dunleavy was (foolishly) looking for last year from Maggette. Still, I agree that Kaman-Brand-Thornton-Maggette would be a lot of fun.

The Clips did a good job of playing for the loss last night, and it's much better for them to lose that game than to win it. On top of that, the guys who made the plays were AI and Carmelo, two huge stars. But I do worry about missing the Cassell factor. That was one of the biggest changes that Sam brought to the team, having confidence out on the floor at the end of games.

by zhivclip on Mar 1, 2008 5:37 PM PST reply actions 0 recs