Steve Perrin’s Recap, from ClipsNation-

Here’s one thing the Clippers definitely don’t want to do. They don’t want to build a lead of 20 points or more in the first half. Because when they do that, they are 0-2 this season.

As they did against Toronto a month ago, the Clippers had everything going for them early in this one. They built a 26 to 8 lead after a 16-0 run in the first quarter, and pushed that lead to 20 in the second quarter. But as often happens, LA lost it’s focus and intensity when things were going so smoothly. Then, as the lead began to dwindle, they suddenly couldn’t do anything right.

In fact, the most amazing thing about this game to me isn’t that the Clippers lost a game they had led by 20 – it’s that they still had a chance to win it with under a minute to play. The Knicks outscored the Clippers 30 to 14 in the third quarter to erase LA’s 16 point halftime lead, and truthfully, the Clippers were just as inept in the fourth quarter. The Knicks were getting layups throughout the final period, while the Clippers were throwing desperation shots at the rim. Amazingly, enough of those shots went in that the Clippers regained the lead on a Baron Davis (desperation) three with 36 seconds left. Were I Knick fan and the Clippers had won this game, I would have been incredulous. Al Thornton made an eight foot left handed finger roll, he made a running hook shot, Chris Kaman drew a questionable foul, and Baron Davis drained a 30 footer, all at the very end of shot clocks. That’s 9 of the Clippers’ 19 fourth quarter points scored on possessions where LA had nothing worthwhile happening. In addition to the lucky shots, the Clippers caught some huge breaks: an offensive foul called on Jared Jeffries off the ball about the same time, if not after, Baron fouled Gallinari in the act of shooting; a Chris Duhon 8 second violation (by a millisecond at most). The Clippers went into the fourth tied, and played incredibly poorly – but circumstances and a little luck kept them in it until the final possession.

On the defensive end the Clippers pick and roll defense made Chris Duhon and David Lee look like Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. Time after time after time Duhon turned the corner on the center pick and roll and headed down the lane to the rim where he either finished uncontested or dished to Lee. Lee finished with a game high 25 points while Duhon had 17 and 10 assists.

After the Clippers took that unlikely lead in the final minute, they just needed a solid defensive stand to steal the win. The Knicks went to Al Harrington, 3 for 14 at the time. Al Thornton defended it well, and forced Harrington into a very difficult baseline fadeaway. For some reason that only he knows, Chris Kaman decided to help, although Thornton showed no signs of needing help. He left Lee and went leaping at Harrington, though he had no chance of getting the blocked shot. With Marcus Camby screened out by Jared Jeffries, the Clippers were left with all of their front court players out of the play, and Baron Davis and Eric Gordon contendnig with Lee, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler for the rebound. Baron actually battled valiantly, but he had little chance and Lee put the go ahead bucket in on the third effort with 28 seconds to go. Rewatching the play, it’s obvious that the most likely outcome would be an offensive rebound basket – Kaman took himself completely out of the play and left the guards to try to cope with one of the best rebounders in basketball.

The Clippers had two more chances, down one and then down two after Duhon made one of two free throws. The first trip resulted in an Al Thornton offensive foul (a call that could have gone either way, but a play disturbingly reminiscent of Corey Maggette’s usually ill-fated attempts on last minute possessions) and a Rasual Butler three that came up short (he got a clean look courtesy of a nice play by Baron).

Eric Gordon was almost unrecognizable in this game. He was 2 for 8 (although he did get to the free throw line ten times) and his ballhandling was frightening. He mishandled the ball on the dribble at least four times, often with no defensive pressure at all. His turnover at 1:28 was one of the worst passes I’ve ever seen – I actually screamed ‘NO’ as I watched the ball leaving his hands. I knew exactly what he was trying to do (find Camby on the weak side over the top), and I knew that it wasn’t close to open. I have no idea why he didn’t realize it wasn’t open.

Chris Kaman was 6 for 7 in the first half and then made his first shot in the second half. He missed his next six. This is actually a pattern we saw from Chris earlier in the season – strong first halves, followed by a disappearing act. The their credit, the Knicks did a job on him in the second, sending some of the most aggressive double teams I’ve ever seen at the guy. The minute he caught the ball on the block, a double teamer absolutely sprinted at the guy. Although Chris didn’t directly turn the ball over from the pressure, the Clippers were clearly thrown off their pins by the strategy. LA spent the entire second half heaving trying to make something happen late in the shot clock.

Another problem with the LA offense tonight, and it’s certainly one we’ve seen before, was the inability to make an entry pass. In an offense predicated on isolation post ups, you have to be able to deliver the ball. Instead what happens is the Clippers get tunnel visioned on a play call they can’t initiate, and forget to do anything else. Several times in the fourth, sometimes trying to get the ball to Baron against Toney Douglas, other times trying to force feed Kaman, the Clippers held the ball and tried to make an entry pass to initiate the offense, to the point where there was no longer enough time on the shot clock to do anything other than take a couple dribbles and shoot. They either need to make that pass quickly or switch to option B; holding the ball until it’s too late to do anything is not a recipe for success.

This one hurt. The Clippers showed how well they are capable of playing for a half – and then they showed how poorly for the next half. A win would have brought them to within a game of .500 with a winnable game in Philadelphia next. Instead, they are 11 and 14, with the Spurs, Rockets and Suns looming after the Sixers.

There’s time to salvage this trip – but let’s hope they don’t build any more 20 point first half leads.

Kevin Arnovitz’s Recap, from ClipperBlog-

On Wednesday night the Clippers successfully exploited their individual mismatches to the tune of 120 points, and for the first half of tonight’s game it’s more of the same. Chris Kaman wins the ambidextrous influenced battle with David Lee early, scoring multiple times on Lee in single coverage with a variety of pretty post moves. Eric Gordon plays pinball and draws contact and gets to the foul line. Al Thornton also uses his quickness and strength advantages in his mismatch to get to the rim. For 24 minutes, everything clicks for the Clippers.

The struggles as of late to slow down perimeter oriented teams have been evident, but the first half performance tonight is a clinic on how to force a one-dimensional team away from their strength. In previous games, the Clipper defenders have shown the tendency to be zombie-like in their closeouts; they have their arms raised, but they plod along aimlessly, making them susceptible to good shooting. Tonight though, we see crisp closeouts, particularly from Al Thornton, who all but sprints at his man to ensure no clean threes are allowed. The Clippers succeed wonderfully in the first half – the Knicks go for 4 for 9 from deep in the first half, with the latter number being the most important. Remember, this is the same Knicks unit that jacked up 47 (!) threes against Chicago and averaged 28 attempts a game coming into tonight. At least for 24 minutes, the Clippers lock in on chasing shooters off the line, and it works.

The positive work on both ends results in a 16 point halftime lead for the Clippers. With the MSG crowd completely out of the game, and the Knicks showing no life on either end, the Clippers appeared poised to cruise to another big win. Then something happened: The Knicks started playing as if every possession were the last of the game. Three Clippers turnovers in the first 4 possessions of the second half creaked open the door just enough to allow some light to shine through for the Knicks, and they charged back into the game bolstered by a renewed defensive intensity and an overall superior effort to that of their counterparts. The pnce easy entry passes to Kaman on the block were all but taken away by swarming perimeter play and active post defense. When Kaman did eventually get the ball on the post, he was immediately doubled on every touch. The Knicks clearly intended to let someone other than Kaman (who was methodically destroying single coverage early on) beat them in the second half. After the Knicks fronted, doubled, sandwiched and generally confused Kaman, the Clippers offense fell apart at the seams. Poor spacing, lazy passing, and no off-ball movement turned the Clippers offense into mush.

With the offense struggling to get clean looks, the Clippers defense began to show its own deficiencies. The previously mentioned early third quarter turnovers allowed transition opportunities for New York, which sparked their offensive outburst. Non-coincidentally, the main culprits were the type of players the Clippers typically struggle to deal with: a stretch four (Gallinari) and an active, offensive rebounding big man (Lee). The pair combined for an incredible 23 of the 30 Knicks third quarter points and were they key cogs in the Knicks comeback. The Clippers inability to defend simple Duhon-Lee pick and rolls hurt them more than anything. We’ve previously dissected how the Clippers big men defend pick and rolls, and they’ve been better as of late, but tonight’s blame can mostly be pinned on the guards, Eric Gordon and Baron Davis. Time and time again the two allowed themselves to get taken out by even the most obvious of picks. Duhon strolled into the paint on multiple occasions late with Baron or Gordon nowhere to be found.  All things told, Gordon probably played his worst stretch of the season tonight in the second half on both sides of the ball.

While the end of game sequence should not have ever mattered considering the Clippers hot start, it did. Baron’s 28 foot heave to give the Clippers the lead with 36 seconds left was about as desperate of an attempt you’ll see all year. After that lucky three, the Knicks were the beneficiary of some luck of their own in the form of a blind tip in from David Lee that rolled around the rim and fell through. We’ll have video of the final possession once it becomes available, but the look Rasual Butler gets down 2 with the clock winding down is about as good as it gets. It may *feel* wrong that Gordon, Kaman or even Baron didn’t get the last shot, but consider the circumstances: You’re on the road with absolutely zero momentum, and one of your better perimeter shooters gets a mismatch and a wide open look to end the game. Nine times out of ten, Butler hits that shot.

Instead, he misses, and the Clippers get to spend their trip to Philadelphia wondering how they managed to lose this game.

Sorry guys, I just realized last night while my friend was signing up for the forums that the CAPTCHA wasn’t working. No wonder there haven’t been many people signing up on the forums. Anyways, I’ll fix that but the registration is back up.

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Hey guys, due to final exams, I haven’t been able to write previews and recaps for last night’s game and tonight’s game.

Tomorrow is my last final, and I’m going to need someone who can write a recap of the game tonight.

If you feel like you’re up for the challenge, send me the recap via email at thecalminsanity[@]gmail.com. I’ll put your writeup right here on the front page and give you credit for it. Thanks guys!!

Oh and if you want to write a recap for last game also, I’ll put that up here as well and give you credit.

Tough game to watch.

I believe in the phrase “The captain sinks with his ship”, and that’s exactly what happens when I watch Clipper games like this. I watch games until the end for two reasons: Respect for the game, and chance for a comeback.

Well, the second option almost happened, as the Clippers cut the deficit from 25 all the way down to 7 during the start of the 3rd quarter.

As Eric Gordon knocked the ball loose from Tony Parker on the first play, and Chris Kaman made a brilliant move against Tim Duncan for the first 2 points of the game, things looked good. Camby was hustling on the offensive boards, him and Al had 3 of them in the first quarter. For some reason, Gordon was benched very early in the game, and the results weren’t good. As Gordon checked back in during the 2nd quarter, the lead was already up to 24.

So Dunleavy decided to bring Novak in early during this game, and it did absolutely nothing. One thing I don’t agree with that Dunleavy always does, is that he plays the matchup game with opponents. He waits for the opposing coach to make a move, and then he tries to fight it instead of playing his own game plan. For example, when the Spurs decided to play smallball- instead of Dunleavy sticking to his game plan and exploiting the height advantage the Clippers had, he decides to also play smallball. What Dunleavy doesn’t realize is that championship teams like the Lakers, Celtics, and other contenders always have the same set matchup. They make the opponents adjust to them, instead of adjusting to their opponents. But oh well, he knows best right?

Ginobili made 4 of his first 5 three pointers. One thing I noticed that really bothered me is that Kaman did not switch or pay any attention on the pick and rolls. There were plays where Duncan gave Parker a screen. Baron fought through it with no problems, and Kaman was still there in front of Parker, leaving Duncan WIDE OPEN for a dunk. Why would you do that? Then when Duncan gave a screen for Manu Ginobili, Kaman just stood there and watched Ginobili bomb a wide open 3. Frustrating night for Kaman, as he also missed a few wide open layups that he NEEDS TO DUNK.

All in all, the Clippers just could not guard Tim Duncan. When Kaman gave him space, he would use his patented bank shot from midrange. When Kaman didn’t let him shoot he would drive and lay it up. The role players like Matt Bonner, George Hill and DeJuan Blair really stepped up. I really like DeJuan Blair, he’s a hustler. He’s only 6’6 but he has a 7’4 wingspan. While he’s strong, he’s also athletic.

Clippers’ next game is tomorrow night, against the Wizards. We’ll see how Baron’s health is tomorrow- and I hope Gordon didn’t get injured when he took a spill in the 3rd (he went for a Ginobili pump fake, literally jumped over Ginobili who was ducking. His leg caught the top of Ginobili’s head, he fell awkwardly to the floor on his side). The Clippers need to come out with more energy and take control of the game.

Clippers play the Spurs tonight for the first time this season. The Spurs have a bad record so far, they’ve had 14 home games and only 6 road games and yet their record is only 11-9… Sounds likes an easy win right?

Wrong.

Don’t underestimate the Spurs. Although you probably know them for their boring style of play, and starting seasons out slow and dominating the end and performing well in the playoffs, the Spurs are always a tough team to put away. Greg Poppovich is one of the best coaches in the NBA, and the team’s mindset defensively is solid. Although guys like Parker, Ginobili, and Jefferson aren’t known as good man to man defenders, their rotations are nearly perfect and makes up for it.

The Clippers have played well- dare I say even better- against good teams so far this season (save for the Orlando game on Tuesday), and seem to lack the heart and determination to dominate the lesser teams. They seem to play up to the good opponents, and play down to the ones with bad records. The difference is huge- when Clippers actually want to play, they look like a whole different team. So which Clipper team are we going to see tonight?

Baron Davis vs Tony Parker- This is going to be a good matchup. In recent games Baron looks quicker- but I don’t think it will be quick enough to stop Tony Parker from wreaking havoc in the lane. But is Parker strong enough to handle Baron? Look for the signature post up plays tonight for Baron to exploit this matchup. Usually Dunleavy likes to put Baron at the mid-range wing area and isolate him against smaller point guards, have him post up and do what the defense gives him. If the double comes, Baron knows how to pass out of it. If it doesn’t- well then Baron needs to be on his game and score all over the opposing PG.

Eric Gordon vs Keith Bogans- I like this matchup. Although Bogans is a scrappy defender, Gordon will run circles around him. Gordon is a combination of quick and strong that Bogans will not be able to handle. If Bogans backs off, EJ will have to deliver from beyond the arc. This is EJ’s 3rd game back from his injury, and though he looked better vs Orlando, he was still a little bit off his normal game and didn’t get the playing time that he’s accustomed to. This game should be a good gauge of where his injury recovery progress is so far.

Al Thornton vs Richard Jefferson- This is a good offensive matchup. Both AT and Jefferson will have their way with scoring- though Thornton is a slightly better on ball defender, Jefferson has more ways to score, and can get hot from outside. Al needs to get Richard Jefferson into foul trouble by attacking the rim.

Marcus Camby vs Antonio McDyess- Camby will have no trouble guarding McDyess, but needs to keep him off the boards. McDyess probably won’t have any trouble guarding Camby either, as he’s not one of the main scorers in our offense. But if Kaman’s having a good night- McDyess might leave Camby to double Kaman. If that happens, Camby will get a few open midrange shots.

Chris Kaman vs Tim Duncan- Here’s the tough one. Any time you see Tim Duncan on the other end of the matchup, you know you’re in trouble. But if Kaman got used to guarding Dwight Howard, Duncan might be an easier cover. Not as explosive and powerful as Howard, Duncan relies on his combination of finesse and power, and with the high basketball IQ he has he knows exactly when to use them. Good footwork and post moves also make Duncan a tough cover for any Center/Power forward.

The Clippers can fast break all night if they can dig in defensively and rebound. Rebounding is VERY important for fast breaking. If the Spurs miss, and Al Thornton starts running down the court only to see that the Spurs got an offensive rebound, who’s going to be guarding Richard Jefferson? Until Al runs back down, they’ll be playing with an advantage. That’s why the Clippers need to play good defense and rebound, because if they fast break this game, it will be a major advantage. The Spurs are the most comfortable in slow, half court situations.