I am reminded of the final line in 'Buckaroo Banzai, Across the Eighth Dimension' : "So what? Big deal."
The Clippers played the game without Sam Cassell, Cat Mobley and Chris Kaman. That is in addition to Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston of course.
Still, it's a chance to find out a few things. So, did we find anything out? Who knows? I listened for about six minutes of game time at the beginning of the second. Then I realized, "Hey, I'm listening to a pre-season NBA game on the RADIO" and at that point I tried to kill myself. But I couldn't find a really sharp knife, so I made dinner instead.
Looking at the box score, a few things jump out at you.
- Marcus Camby got 23 rebounds in 24 minutes. There were only 93 total rebounds in the game, and he played about half the game. Basically that means that while he was on the floor, he got every other rebound that was available. There are 10 players on the floor at a time. So 1 in 10 rebounds would be average. He got 5 out of 10. Yikes. Of course, with no Brand and no Kaman, the Clippers have a ready excuse there. But COME ON! You get outrebounded 52-43 by the NUGGETS and you deserve to lose.
- The Clippers scored 107 points while shooting 42%, so maybe the uptempo thing is real. Of course, it was against the Nuggets, so one assumes it was really Denver setting the pace, but still. It could be a sign of a fun team to watch (if not necessarily a winning team).
- Guillermo Diaz does NOT want to go back to the Czech Republic. He was 7-9 in 18 minutes for 14 points. That'll get you on an NBA roster.
- Dan Dickau (15 points, 7 assists in 27 minutes) outplayed Brevin Knight (2 points, 4 assists in 21 minutes) at the point.
- Corey Maggette (4 for 12) and Al Thornton (4 for 13) each shot poorly, although Maggette did manage 14 points in 22 minutes. He always seems to find a way to score.
- Was that Paul Davis or Vlade Divac? I've always liked Davis' passing in his limited PT, and he had 7 assists in this game, tied for team high with Dickau. But 3 rebounds in 33 minutes (while Camby was running around unchecked apparently) is not good.
- Does anyone know why Ross only played 5 minutes? Did Ralph say anything about it? Is it just one of those things where MDSr knows what he's got with Ross, or did he tweak an ankle, or what? I'm not sure why he would play 5 minutes when every other player who got in the game played at least 13.
Anyway, those are my random thoughts on the Clippers first pre-season game of the probably blighted 2007-2008 season. But at least I'm not a Nuggets fan. I do NOT like those guys.