Clips Nation - Clippers-Pistons game coverage: Getting healthyWhat it do babyyyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47967/clipsnation_fave.png2014-03-22T23:21:42-07:00http://www.clipsnation.com/rss/stream/52997652014-03-22T23:21:42-07:002014-03-22T23:21:42-07:00Clippers Outlast The Pistons, 112-103
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<p>Despite playing down to the competition in the first half and poor play from the second unit, the Clippers took down the Pistons behind stellar nights from Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. </p> <p>At some point during the fourth quarter I thought to myself "Man, Chris Paul and <span>Blake Griffin</span> look like they are in complete control of this game." And then I looked up and saw that the <a href="https://www.detroitbadboys.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Pistons</a> were within six.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> are a bit bipolar when it comes to playing against the NBA's bottom feeders. There were those nights when the <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">76ers</a> and <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Lakers</a> came into the Staples Center and got completely embarrassed by the Clips in games that were decided within the first 12 minutes, and then there are games like tonight, or that home game against Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, where the Clippers play down to the competition and end up in a close game in the final minutes against someone they should handle easily. Of course, the <a href="https://www.peachtreehoops.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Hawks</a> and Pistons aren't quite as bad as the Lakers or Sixers, but there is a middle ground in between 40-point blowouts and the performance we saw tonight that would make everybody involved a bit more comfortable. <br><br>The thing that makes tonight a bit more troubling was the play of the bench. The second unit was disastrous during both of its stints, failing to establish any rhythm offensively while allowing <span>Will Bynum</span> to dominate their backline defense off of high screen-and-roll action. It was concerning because it doesn't always appear that the second unit has an offensive direction, and I've written before about how playing <span>Glen Davis</span> at center is going to cause some problems defensively. Perhaps the offense will improve once <span>Jamal Crawford</span> is back to 100% since his scoring ability can create opportunities for others, but today the Pistons were able to bottle up most of the Clippers actions when the bench was on the floor, and only <span>Danny Granger</span> stepped into multiple shots with confidence. <br><br>The starters had their issues as well, mostly in the first half when the Pistons were able to get into the middle of the floor and find easy baskets in the paint, but they were locked in to start the second half, holding Detroit to 1-for-15 shooting to start the third period. The second unit would falter a bit in the fourth quarter and the Pistons did get the lead down to six with a little over three minutes to go, but <span>Chris Paul</span> took over soon after, scoring or assisting on 11 of LA's final 12 points. <br><br>I will say that this Pistons team was a lot better on both ends of the floor than they have been for most of the season, so it's not like the Clippers let a pathetic team hang around. Still though, there were some pretty basic defensive breakdowns that killed the Clippers time and time again in this contest, like failing to have a weakside defender deter <span>Andre Drummond</span> on the roll or leaving <span>Jonas Jerebko</span> open on the wing. Like I said, things changed when the Clippers came out of the lockerroom, but it's not as if those two things aren't something we've seen LA struggle with against strong opponents as well.<br><br>I thought the Clippers were solid offensively when CP3 was on the floor, as their side-to-side, rotating pick-and-roll offense was moving the ball around the floor effectively. Paul passed the 6,000 assist plateau in the first half and he had a great game as a scorer as well, picking apart the Pistons any time they gave him space in the mid-range and knocking down a trio of triples to boot. Paul finished with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting with 16 assists, six steals and four rebounds in what was one of his more impressive games of the season.<br><br>The same can be said for Blake, who took a grand total of two free throws in this game, which really isn't that surprising considering how smooth every part of his game looked in this one. Griffin was a straight up freak in transition, doing things that the league has never seen a true post player do in the open court. It's so fun to watch Griffin run the break because the defense is stuck in an impossible situation: they are either concede the dunk, get put on a poster or concede a high percentage shot to one of Blake's teammates. Watching Griffin find shooters in the corner while sprinting towards the rim is amazing, as is watching him nail a handful of mid-range jumpers without touching the rim after watching him struggle on those shots for years. 25 points, seven dimes and seven boards for Griffin tonight, and nobody tried to fight him! That was the upset of the night with <span>Josh Smith</span> in town. <br><br>On a night like tonight, even though the whole team didn't shine, it was fun to sit back and watch what is easily the best dynamic duo in the league. But if Paul and Griffin are going to make that a universally known fact across the league, they're going to need some help from the supporting cast come playoff time. <br><br>Some other notes:<br><br>- Tonight's bench unit consisted of Collison, Crawford, Granger, Turkoglu and Davis. There just wasn't a lot of production there. Davis didn't take a shot, Turk had two points, Crawford was 4-of-13 and Collison wasn't as effective as he was alongside the starters. I think this might have been an outlier offensively, but defensively this unit is going to struggle. I know there is not an easy fix, because inserting Ryan Hollins just to have some more size on the floor doesn't guarantee better defensive results and it takes some spacing away from the offense, but it is more than a little bit concerning.<br><br>- On the brightside, Granger was awesome tonight. He hit three threes and had 14 points and I thought he was really good on defense. Granger was the only bench player that had it going tonight and the Clippers were able to get some critical buckets in the fourth thanks to him. I'm not a fan of mid-range isolations, but the Clippers can certainly turn the sets they are using to get Granger the ball in one-on-one situations into something with more movement. Being able to play off of a shooter like Granger running through screens can be a great alternative to the pick-and-rolls that netted very few open looks for the bench tonight. <br><br>- How good is Andre Drummond? I don't know why but I always think about how much better the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a> would be if they had Drummond instead of Dalembert. Perhaps it's because I think Drummond fits the Tyson Chandler-minimalist center role perfectly. If the Pistons didn't have Monroe and/or Smith, they could build a solid team around Drummond and Jennings by surrounding them with shooters. We saw tonight how much better their offense was when a stretch big like Jerebko was thrown into the mix. <br><br>- Josh Smith is likely the most maligned "star" in the league and the critiques of his game are not unearned. However, there has to be a situation where he could thrive, right? I mean, someone this talented can't be a net negative everywhere, can he? I think there is hope for Smith because of the way the Mavs have turned things around for <span>Monta Ellis</span> this year. It's a cliche thing to suggest, but putting Smith in the hands of Pop could do wonders for his career, and that kind of a move might be the only thing that gets him out of the basketball purgatory he currently finds himself in. <br><br>- It's worth repeating: How fun is the CP3/Griffin combo to watch? And that Griffin spin move on the block that led to a furious dunk in the first half? I'm not sure I'd disagree with the notion that that was his best post move ever.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/3/22/5538534/clippers-outlast-the-pistons-112-93Mark Travis2014-03-22T20:50:01-07:002014-03-22T20:50:01-07:00Clippers-Pistons second half open thread
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<p>If you are the first person to arrive at this second half open thread, be sure to place a link in the first half thread so that others can follow you over here.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/3/22/5535738/clippers-pistons-second-half-open-threadSteve Perrin2014-03-22T19:15:02-07:002014-03-22T19:15:02-07:00Clippers-Pistons open thread
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<p>The Clippers had won 11 straight before losing in Denver on Monday. It's time to start a new winning streak against the Pistons tonight.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="5" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table"><tbody>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">2013/2014 NBA Regular Season</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><img alt="Bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/472353/bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium.gif"></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20">vs</th>
<td width="240"><center> <a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/86995/3079.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="3079_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/86995/3079_medium.gif"></a> <br id="1390171182397">
</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><b>48-21</b></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><center><b>25-43</b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>March 22nd, 2014, 7:30 AM</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>STAPLES Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Win-Loss Breakdown</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>19-9</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">East</th>
<td width="240"><b>20-21</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>29-12</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">West</th>
<td width="240"><b>5-22</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>29-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Home</th>
<td width="240"><b>15-21</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>19-16</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Road</th>
<td width="240"><b>10-22</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-14</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500+</th>
<td width="240"><b>10-26</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-7</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500-</th>
<td width="240"><b>15-17</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>9-1</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">L10</th>
<td width="240"><b>2-8</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Probable Starters</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Chris Paul</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Brandon Jennings</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Darren Collison</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kyle Singler</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Matt Barnes</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Josh Smith</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Blake Griffin</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Greg Monroe</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Andre Drummond</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Advanced Stats</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">98.30 (7th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Pace</th>
<td width="240"><b>97.80 (11th of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">109.1 (2nd of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>102.3 (21st of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">101.4 (6th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>104.8 (21st of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Injuries/Other</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; "><span>J.J. Redick</span> (bulging disc) out</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Chauncey Billups</span> (knee) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Jamal Crawford</span> (calf) probable</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Josh Harrellson</span> (knee) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" height="20" colspan="3"></th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Back Story (<a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> lead the season series 1-0):</b></p>
<table border="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>Date</b></td>
<td><b>Venue</b></td>
<td><b>Final</b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>01/20/14</b></td>
<td><b>Detroit</b></td>
<td><b>Clippers 112, <a href="https://www.detroitbadboys.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Pistons</a> 103</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/1/20/5328350/clippers-dunk-pistons-112-103"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20140120/LACDET/gameinfo.html#nbaGIPlay"><b>Box</b></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/3/22/5535730/clippers-pistons-open-threadSteve Perrin2014-03-22T00:00:01-07:002014-03-22T00:00:01-07:00Clippers-Pistons preview: It's about damn time
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<p>It's been forever since the Clippers played a game, and the last one was a rare loss, the first in weeks. They'll look to get back to their winning ways against the Pistons tonight.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="5" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table"><tbody>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">2013/2014 NBA Regular Season</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><img alt="Bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/472353/bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium.gif"></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20">vs</th>
<td width="240"><center> <a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/86995/3079.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="3079_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/86995/3079_medium.gif"></a> <br id="1390171182397">
</center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><b>48-21</b></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><center><b>25-43</b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>March 22nd, 2014, 7:30 AM</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>STAPLES Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center" colspan="3"><b>Prime Ticket, KFWB 980 AM, KWKW 1330 AM</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver">Win-Loss Breakdown</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>19-9</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">East</th>
<td width="240"><b>20-21</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>29-12</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">West</th>
<td width="240"><b>5-22</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>29-5</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Home</th>
<td width="240"><b>15-21</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>19-16</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Road</th>
<td width="240"><b>10-22</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-14</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500+</th>
<td width="240"><b>10-26</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>24-7</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">.500-</th>
<td width="240"><b>15-17</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>9-1</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">L10</th>
<td width="240"><b>2-8</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Probable Starters</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Chris Paul</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Brandon Jennings</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Darren Collison</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Kyle Singler</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Matt Barnes</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Josh Smith</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Blake Griffin</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Greg Monroe</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Andre Drummond</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Advanced Stats</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">98.30 (7th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">Pace</th>
<td width="240"><b>97.80 (11th of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">109.1 (2nd of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>102.3 (21st of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; ">101.4 (6th of 30)</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>104.8 (21st of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Injuries/Other</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b style="text-align: start; "><span>J.J. Redick</span> (bulging disc) out</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b>Chauncey Billups (knee) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><span>Jamal Crawford</span> (calf) probable</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Josh Harrellson</span> (knee) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" height="20" colspan="3"></th>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Back Story (<a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> lead the season series 1-0):</b></p>
<table border="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>Date</b></td>
<td><b>Venue</b></td>
<td><b>Final</b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; "><b>01/20/14</b></td>
<td><b>Detroit</b></td>
<td><b>Clippers 112, <a href="https://www.detroitbadboys.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Pistons</a> 103</b></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/1/20/5328350/clippers-dunk-pistons-112-103"><b>Recap</b></a></td>
<td><a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20140120/LACDET/gameinfo.html#nbaGIPlay"><b>Box</b></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Big Picture:</b></p>
<p>The Clippers haven't played since their 11 game winning streak ended in Denver on Monday. That's a long time between games, especially with the disappointing Denver result lingering. The good news is that the Clippers myriad injured guards (J.J. Redick who has missed the last 18 games, Jamal Crawford who has missed eight of nine, Darren Collison who has missed the last two and Willie Green who tweaked his ankle Monday night) have all been healthy enough to practice during the long layoff, and all be Redick are expected to play against the Pistons. The Clippers have two home games against struggling Eastern Conference teams before heading out on their last long road trip of the season, a five game affair that will take them into some tough town, so these are games they should win and need to win before things get difficult again. Blake Griffin had his worst game since the new year against the <a href="https://www.denverstiffs.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Nuggets</a> so look for him to bounce back tonight.</p>
<p><b>The Antagonist:</b></p>
<p>It's one thing to be an Eastern Conference team at the start of a long rebuilding project and missing the playoffs when even 37 wins would probably get you in this season. It's another to have spent a lot of money thinking you were ready to compete -- and still missing the playoffs in the weakest conference in several decades. The Pistons made a big splash this off-season but find themselves six games out of the playoffs at 25-42. Of the unrestricted free-agents to change teams in the off-season, Josh Smith signed the second biggest contract after Dwight Howard. Detroit also executed a sign-and-trade for restricted free agent Brandon Jennings, another big signing. After having gotten talented big men in two of the last three drafts, the Pistons seemed to have an array of talent to really do some damage. Then again, when you've already got Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond playing close to the basket, that's not a good fit for Smith, who loves to play on the perimeter, but isn't very good at it. The Pistons fired coach <span>Maurice Cheeks</span> after a 21-29 start, which seemed pretty bad right? Well, they're 4-18 under interim coach John Loyer. The problem is probably in the front office, where GM Joe Dumars hasn't made a decent decision since he signed Chauncey Billups -- the first time, that is. The Pistons are coming into LA on a back to back after having lost a tough one in Phoenix last night.</p>
<p><b>The Subplots</b></p>
<ul>
<li> <b>Comparison of key metrics.</b> The numbers don't lie. By offensive and defensive efficiency, the Clippers are a good team and the Pistons are a bad team. The Pistons, with a huge front line, have as much rim protection as any team in the league, but still they allow opponents to shoot an effective percentage of .516 against them, fourth worst in the league. The Clippers rose from eighth to sixth in defensive efficiency since the last time they played -- because Toronto and Charlotte had some poor defensive performances in the interim.</li>
<li> <b>Health update.</b> All the guards practiced, but <span>Doc Rivers</span> has said that he doubts Redick will play in the next few days. He does expect him to play again this season though. As I suspected, the "shutting him down" talk was just that, probably just the normal tendency of the media to create news when there isn't any news. It sounds as if Doc is planning on bringing Crawford off the bench and starting Collison, which does seem to make some sense in the scheme of things since Crawford is so great with the second unit while Collison has been productive with the starters. Collison will give up a lot of size to Kyle Singler -- but it's not as if Singler is going to be a major post up threat.</li>
<li> <b>Detroit rotation.</b> The Pistons start three bigs; but then they use almost exclusive guards and wings (<span>Rodney Stuckey</span>, <span>Kentavious Caldwell-Pope</span> and <span>Will Bynum</span> get the most minutes) off the bench. So while Josh Smith plays the three when he's out there with the starters, he slides to the power forward spot for much of the game.</li>
<li> <b style="font-size: 13px;">Favorable numbers.</b><span> The Pistons are terrible against teams with winning records (10-26) and they're even worse against the Western Conference (5-22). The Clippers need to add to all of those futile records.</span> </li>
<li> <b>Drummond and Jordan.</b> In the off-season, Jonathan Tjarks of SB Nation picked Andre Drummond as the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/8/19/4620778/top-100-nba-players-2017-lebron-james-kevin-durant#drummond3">third best player in 2017</a>, behind <span>Kevin Durant</span> and LeBron James. Obviously, that's just one man's opinion for four years hence, but Drummond was chosen to try out for the Team USA roster this summer and Tjarks is far from the only NBA pundit raving about him. He's incredibly athletic for a player his size, he runs like a deer, he has long arms, he's a great rebounder, shoots a high-percentage (mostly on putbacks and dunks), blocks shots; his only real weakness is that he's a terrible free throw shooter. Sound familiar? Take a peak at their numbers <a target="_blank" href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=drumman01&y1=2014&p2=jordade01&y2=2014">side-by-side</a>. DeAndre Jordan has been as good as or better than Drummond almost across the board. Essentially the only thing Drummond does better than Jordan is take more shots, but then again Drummond plays on a bad team. I haven't seen a lot of Drummond, but the more shots seem more or less like more shots -- I don't think he has a better post game than Jordan per se, which is to say neither has much post game. Obviously Drummond is younger than Jordan; but at 25, it's not as if DeAndre is old. If Detroit has a foundational player in Drummond, that I think you have to admit that the Clippers have one in Jordan as well.</li>
<li> <b style="font-size: 13px;">Billups.</b><span> Former Clipper Chauncey Billups signed with the Pistons this summer in order to end his career where he had had the most success. Billups went to Detroit thinking he'd start -- which was of course his attitude when he joined the Clippers also. But having traded for Brandon Jennings and drafted Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, with a team that has lots of young talent, Billups really never made a lot of sense. He's been 'hurt' -- but mostly he's just done. He has played just 19 games and a little over 300 minutes this season, and he's made just over 30% of his field goals. He is signed for another season in Detroit. It's always a bit sad when great players try to hang on longer than they should and sink into irrelevance.</span> </li>
<li> <b style="font-size: 13px;">Three point shooting.</b><span> The Pistons shoot .314 from three point range, second-worst in the league. They are one of only three teams in the NBA who make fewer than a third of their threes (Philadelphia and Boston are the others). Josh Smith is 55-221 (.249) from deep this season. Here's an idea Josh -- stop taking that shot!</span> </li>
<li><span><b>History in the making.</b> I sensed that something special was happening here, so I looked it up and I was right! Smith's three point percentage is currently the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=totals&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=&year_max=&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=fg3a&c1comp=gt&c1val=200&c2stat=fg3_pct&c2comp=lt&c2val=.3&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=fg3_pct&order_by_asc=Y">worst in NBA history for any player taking at least 200 three pointers</a> in a season. The current record holder is <span>Antoine Walker</span>, who shot .256 on 285 threes in 99-00. They should call it the Antoine Walker award in fact, since three of the worst percentages in NBA history prior to this season were compiled by Walker.</span></li>
<li> <b>Connections. </b><span>Chauncey Billups</span>, who has played a lot of places in his NBA career, had his best seasons in Detroit, winning an NBA Title and a Finals MVP. He is back with the Pistons for a curtain call after playing two injury-plagued seasons with the Clippers. <span>Willie Green</span> is a Detroit native who played his college ball at the University of Detroit (go Titans!). Jamal Crawford played down the road in Ann Arbor for Michigan in his college days.</li>
<li><b>Get the Detroit perspective at <a href="http://www.detroitbadboys.com/">Detroit Bad Boys</a>.</b></li>
<li> <b>Shakespearean reference:</b><br><div style="text-align: left;"><b><a target="_blank" href="http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=allswell" style="font-size: 13px; background-color: #ffffff;">All's Well That Ends Well</a> -- <a target="_blank" href="http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=allswell&Act=3&Scene=5&Scope=scene">Act III, Scene 5</a> -- Mariana</b></div>
<i> I know that knave; hang him! one Parolles: a <br>filthy officer he is in those suggestions for the <br>young earl. Beware of them, Diana; their promises, <br>enticements, oaths, tokens, and all these <b>engines</b> of <br>lust, are not the things they go under: many a maid <br>hath been seduced by them; and the misery is, <br>example, that so terrible shows in the wreck of <br>maidenhood, cannot for all that dissuade succession, <br>but that they are limed with the twigs that threaten <br>them. I hope I need not to advise you further; but <br>I hope your own grace will keep you where you are, <br>though there were no further danger known but the <br>modesty which is so lost.</i><br><br>
</li>
</ul>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2014/3/22/5534922/clippers-pistons-preview-its-about-damn-timeSteve Perrin