The Clippers have made much of the improvement in DeAndre Jordan since last season. Supposedly he's been working on his post moves, is in better shape, is more focused. Of course, we've heard the same about DeAndre every year he's been in the league but so far his development as a player has been painfully slow.
Saturday in Las Vegas in the Clippers preseason game against the Nuggets he hit the fast forward button. On the first possession of the game the Clippers called an iso for DJ, and he made a nice drop step move to get to the rim where he finished with the two handed flush (he's always been able to do that).
But it was a sequence in the third quarter that really got everyone's attention. It started with a right handed jump hook from about 10 feet -- a shot I don't think I've ever seen the left-handed Jordan take, let alone make. He then blocked JaVale McGee's dunk attempt (above), was rewarded with a good pass for a dunk, and then blocked McGee AGAIN.
The fact that the sequence came against McGee, another hyper-athletic center with an almost identical contract to DJ's, is noteworthy. Jordan is not likely to ever be as good as Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum -- but there's really no reason he can't be in the next tier of centers in the NBA. He certainly has all the tools. Focus and hard work can allow Jordan to be in that next group of quality NBA centers, and outplaying McGee is a great step towards being achieving that goal. Of course, this is just 45 seconds from a single preseason game, but it does indicate how impressive he can be.