A few thoughts out of our great win I noticed whilst rewatching the game the following day - - Wades push off to CP3 early in the last quarter, if not an offensive foul then a double dribble. He bounced the ball, picked it up, gave the push off and dribbled again. A call of some sort was required. - LeBron travelled when doing his spin move for a layup in the 3rd quarter - BG seemed to be settling for jumpers in the 2nd half, probably because he didn't get the volume of post feeds lie the first half - I loved seeing Reggie give BG a hug when BG subbed him out of the game in the last quarter. It sent a message that you mess with BG you have Reggie to answer to. - I'm loving the Butler signing more and more each game. He doesn't need a lot of shots to get his 12-15ppg - Billups has shot better in the past and I trust he will find his groove soon. To me it looks like he is part ignoring BG, maybe it's just me taking this view - I loved the look of the crowd, it signals a new era in Clippers basketball with the enthusiasm shown - I was impressed by the win considering the quality of opponent (even though I rate Chicago higher), however these wins are now expected on our home court - I loved the shortened rotation in the 2nd half. Do what you gotta do to get the win - I was hoping to see the Don sitting courtside during the game to see if he showed any emotion what-so-ever. Can anyone who was there comment on this? This win will mean nothing if we don't carry it over to our next few games. It's important to create some momentum early in the season with such an influx of new players. I hope we get a blow out win soon so we can rest our starters. They have a big burden on them, and if anything it probably shows we're only 7-8 deep, which will hurt down the stretch in a compressed season. None the less I love the excitement of the team and the energy being shown at ClipsNation right now.

I saw him last play in New Jersey and thought he was a great role player for them. He would also fit in well with a great PG (NJ had Kidd, we have Paul).

He can play the 3 or pinch 4 in a smaller line-up and shoots the ball reasonably well from deep.

I know I'd rather him over Gomes in any rotation.

Most of all he wouldn't cost much.

Thoughts?

Firstly my apologies that I have been hiding in a dark cave during the NBA lockout. I found it too depressing to even consider what may have been so far if the NBA season had started as scheduled.

Oh well, it is what we is, and no matter how much we bitch and moan about it, it is out of our hands.

Which brings me to my ideal amnesty clause candidate.

It obviously should go to someone who has underperformed at their job, so without much further ado I recommend - DONALD STERLING

Oh if only we could be so lucky !

I may go back into my dark cave and live a life of depression as a Clipper fan.

I've been seeing alot of the same old names on the game threads, fanposts, fanshots and general topics. Now that the Clippers are in the Blake Griffin hysteria, it made me wonder, how far and wide the Clips Nation members spread and how long we've been following the Clippers.

I'll start - Melbourne, Australia

Followed the Clippers since we drafted Bo Kimble in 1990........what a terrible draft it was (except for Kukoc in the 2nd round)

Just read on ESPN.com that Rasual Butler has been bought out of the remainder of his contract (excuse my poor computer skills for not being able to link it)

He is looking to sign with the Bulls.

I'm happy for him that hopefully he'll get a chance to play some more and get into the playoffs.

 

I just wonder if this is a prelude to the Clippers signing someone else, or was this always part of the plan when we traded David to the Cavs (2 for 1 deal)??

Whats the Nations thoughts?

Well I've been contemplating writing this for a while, and I finally figured it's long over due.

 

From his first NBA basket (put back dunk against Portland) it has awoken the Clipper faithful. Yes Blake Griffin is the current Clipper saviour, yes he's the most exciting player in the NBA right now, yes we expect him to get a double double every game, yes we expect him to turn our franchise into a powerhouse, yes he's the player we can build a team around, yes we expect highlight real dunks every game etc etc

 

But lets all come back to reality for a minute. The burden that we are placing him is on the verge of being unreasonable and we must temper our expectations a little bit.

 

Blake never played more than 35 games in his college career and he is already at 56 NBA games on a more compressed schedule, the rigours of NBA travel, time zones and the like are all new to him, the expectation for him to carry our team offensively night in night out in his rookie year, he had missed the entire previous year with a knee injury, he is missing fellow all-star calibre players for chunks of the season (Kaman, Gordon & Davis) and aside from all this he is having a phenomenal year, and probably expects more out of himself than we do.

 

It is plainly obvious that he is worn down at this stage of the season, primarily I believe for the reasons listed above. Yes his defence is dropping a little, but he is a rookie playing against seasoned veterans. And I think he is only going to get more tired as most NBA players have the all-star weekend off, he is over committed with the all-star game, dunk comp, and fan fest.

 

Personally I think we should all just hope that he gets through the season unscathed, regardless of what numbers he puts up. If he plays somewhere between 75-82 games I would be a very happy fan.

We know the playoffs are out of the questio thsi season, so lets just pray that we finish the year healthy.

 

Woof Woof

Natedog !! 

 

Hey Nation,

 

I am going to buy a few of the Clippers games on DVD and was after the thoughts of the Clipper faithful as to what games they would purchase if they had a choice? What has been your favourite game from the season to date?

 

- Griffins first NBA game against Portland?

- Griffins 44pt outburst, Mozgov flush and Gallinari spin-a-roonie against the Knicks?

- Clippers destruction of the Big 3 from Miami?

- Clippers domination over the Lakers?

- Blake handing out a 47pt performance against Indiana?

 

What game would you store in your collection from the Clippers season to date?

Let me hear the Nations thoughts.

Well we are nearly half way thorugh the season and after a terrible start due to various factors (injuries, tough schedule, new coach, new players etc) Clips nation is probably in a better position now to review VDN for the season completed to date.

 

I will admit that early on in the year I didn't like his substitution patterns with having so much offence resting at the same time (Gordon & Griffin primarily). I have noticed a more recent trend that either Gordon or Griffin are always on the court at any one time. Obviously this can only help our offensive production along with having Baron back and buying into the system and the development and improved play of our  rookies is also a big bonus when starters are resting.

 

Sure it is easy to be alot more positive now considering our recent form and the overall improved play, but now that VDN has had time to stamp his imprint on the team we are surely alot more easy to watch and alot more exciting. Furthermore he has been able to integrate our rookies into our rotation and thus providing alot of optimism for the future.

 

I've read alot of talk and negativity about Gomes and how we should get AI, but personally I think he does the job he has to; ie - doesn't shoot alot to take shots away from EG & BG, gets the defensive assignments and trys to provide the glue that the team needs to compliment our big 3. Sure I am the first to admit that he frustrates me, but from what I've read he's doing the job required by VDN.

 

So was it a good decision by the FO to appoint VDN coach? I say yes.

 

I give VDN a 7/10 so far.

 

Your thoughts?

Does anyone have an injury update on Chris Kaman or more importantly Brian Cook?

 

They've both been gone a while and I haven't heard anything lately. It would be nice to see how our team goes with a fully healthy roster and this would obviously address some of our scoring woes (with Kaman returning via the 2nd unit and Cook via the D-League - we wish!!).

Revenge on the Nuggets is coming today !

 

Cheers

 

Natedog

Curious to know if there is anyway we can exceed the salary cap for 1 season until Yi and Humphries contracts come off our books for next season?

What are we allowed to do when it comes to this?

If I had my choice I would sign 2 max free agents and be over the cap for 1 season and pay the dollar for dollar tax. Whats $3 million to a guy worth $10 billion? I'm sure we'd get the money back through sponsors, tv games and most importantly........bums on seats!!

Can anyone enlighten me? Can we pull a shifty to do this?

So I believe that enough games have now been played to review how we went with our trades - Camby, Thornton, Telfair, R.Davis out and Gooden, Outlaw and Blake in.

I will be the first to admit that I wasn't happy when we traded Camby for a couple more perimeter players, I thougth it left us to thin inside. Obviously the GM had the 2nd deal in place which allowed us to bring in a natural 4 man (Gooden).

Looking now at our roster, I feel it is more balanced, with Gooden providing more offence than Camby, Blake being a major upgarde at back-up PG (capable of starting) and Outlaw a better shooter than Thornton and will continue to get better as he gets more game time in to himself.

I think by adding Griffin to this line-up, it would provide an even better balanced attack. Would be great to be able to resign our recently traded for guys, but the likelyhood as we all know is slim :(

Here's to next year!

 

Curious to hear your thoughts.

After watching the Clippers V Lakers, I always got an uncomfortable feeling of having no control of the game when Baron subbed out for Telfair.

It made me wonder as to who was the best back-up PG in the league?

Is this a position we should be looking to improve or is Telfair "adequate"?

Curious to hear some thoughts and as to who has the best back-up point guard in the league and if we should be looking to upgrade.

Personally, I think the following would be an upgrade if we could get them - Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Jose Calderon, Steve Blake, DJ Augustin just to name a few who are current back-up PG's

 

I was reading my current issue of Mens Health (Jan '10) and an interesting article caught my attention. Basically men who watch their sporting team lose rates 7 or higher out of 10 on the stress scale. They go on to say that the deeper our dedication to a team or player, the more likely we are to transform emotional reactions into hostility, ie - throw something, curse, day is ruined etc etc

The solution (via a study completed by University of Mississippi) to control these emotions was to find an on-line forum that discusses your favourtie team and to dump your frustrations there. This may often be aggresive blogging but it provides a forum to vent your frustration with other fans, and even though the language can sometimes be bad / colourful, the losers can commiserate and above all, no-one gets hurt!

It made me realise how often I come to Clipper Nation to vent my frustrations, especially when I am watching a game. The Missus (we'll call her L-dog) obviously doesn't share the same passion for the Clippers as me so it's hard for her to understand how a loss can ruin my day....especially after giving up 20pt leads etc !!

 

So a BIG thanks to Steve Perrin for providing a great forum, for a great team, for great fans !

Natedog

Clipper Steve,

Let's put it out there for all fans to vote on who the Clippers MVP is on the season to date.

To me it is Camby by a country mile. He has been suprisingly durable and is like a bottle of vintage red wine - he gets better with age. I feel most sorry for him that our record to date does not recognise the season he is having.

Thoughts comments from everyone???

Natedog1977