SB Nation User Blog: moKi

Dunleavy's Dual Role Dilemma, The Mardy Mystery

moKi — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:32:14 -0000

An NBA General Manager may sometimes want a certain player to get more time on the court for reasons other than improving the teams chances of winning.

Sometimes GMs want a player to get enough minutes to prove his value, thus validating the GMs decision to acquire him.

In other cases, GMs may want a player to get minutes to showcase his skills or "improve his stock" so that he may be more attractive to potential trade partners.

This type of strategy from a GM may sometimes conflict with the desires of the coach, whose ultimate desire is to win games and keep his job. Thus a coach may resist or fight against a GM who demands that a certain player get significant minutes if that player is hurting his team.

So in the case of the Clippers, if this situation were to arise, who wins? GM Dunleavy or Coach Dunleavy?

Well, I would argue that GM Dunleavy wins every time. Why?

Coach Dunleavy has significantly less pressure to win (than any non dual role coach) because he knows the GM version of himself won't fire the Coach no matter how terribly he underperforms. Plus GM Dunleavy completely understands that all the losing isn't the Coach's fault.

So let's say GM Dunleavy says "I know I made the right decision in picking up Rasual. Coach, keep playing him big minutes and he'll find his shot."

Theoretically, Coach Dunleavy should fire back and say "I've reveiwed moKi's analysis of Mardy Collins contributions when given significant minutes early and I'm going with him first off the bench because he gives me the best chance of winning. Rasual has had his chances but his shots are missing at critical times in each game, giving away momentum and sucking the life out of our fans. Sorry GM but I have to do what I can to win now because I don't wanna get fired!"

But as we have seen in games since Mardy had a significant factor in the Denver & Wolves wins (he played 21:13 and 15:15 respectively) Coach then proceeded to play Mardy 4:58, 0:14, 0:00, 0:00, 10:55(Indiana Win), 02:23, & 04:59.

I get why fans aren't crazy about Mardy but if I'm a coach I review the tape and I see how Mardy helps stabilize the team early. I would insert him early in games before opponents break open a 25 point lead. At least I would have given him a shot to keep proving his value by giving him significant minutes to see if it keeps correlating with wins.

So what does Coach Dunleavy have against Mardy?

Or is he coddling Rasual? Is he afraid of bruising Butler's ego? Or is Dunleavy trying to prove himself right, in acquiring him as a 3 point threat?

Milph have been commenting on how Rasual can't buy one, that he's only made 1 bingo in his last 16 tries. You can hear it in their voices that they expect Butler to miss EVERY TIME. Sadly their voices express surprise if he actually makes a shot.

I believe that many other coaches, after reviewing tape on Mardy on Nov 23rd would have tried to keep his minutes and insertions into the game consistent with that one, to see if he could repeatedly have a positive affect on the team and help lead to more victories. Why wouldn't you try to keep going with something that's working?

So what's up with a horrible Rasual continuing to get significantly more important minutes than Mardy?

Is GM Dunleavy behind this? Does Coach Dunleavy have some kind of grudge against Mardy?

For now it remains a mystery that frustrates Clipper fans who believe Mardy deserved the chance to overtake Butler in the rotation weeks ago.

Clips Score 22 Unanswered in 4th Qtr Comeback Win

moKi — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:09:18 -0000

I hate Clipper day games.

For as long as I can remember, every day game I watched was usually a terrible loss. The Clips usually start the game half asleep and then wake up in the third or fourth quarter only to put in too little, too late.

So I debated watching this one, choosing to watch it later, mashing on the forward skip button to bypass all the frustrating sleeping Clipper parts.

Sure enough, the Clippers look like zombie versions of themselves and let the Griz shoot over 60% in the first half and trail by 15 at the half. God, why do I even put myself through this?

Third Quarter? More of the same. Lazy D. Sloppy O. Griz up by 20 at one point.

Then something happened. In the last 5:30 minutes of the fourth quarter the Clips went from being down 88-76, to winning by ten, 98-88. Simply put, the Clips turned up the defensive intensity, deflecting and bothering, blocking and denying - and the Grizzlies played not to lose and lost all aggression.

Incredible AFTERNOON win!

After it sank in, that the Clips actually won, I thought I might go back and try to analyze who or what sparked this improbable outcome.

HOW THE CLIPS OVERCAME A DEFICIT IN THE FOURTH QUARTER AND WON

First and foremost, you have to know that I tried to analyze this because the Clippers have been HORRIBLE in the fourth quarter in almost every game this year.

When the Clippers did have a lead going into the fourth, the offense usually dies, they turn the ball over and they somehow barely scrape out a victory OR proceed to hang their heads and get totally blown out.

If they didn't have a lead going into the fourth, forget about it - the game was over. At least until the last game in Detroit - which none of us could see because some TV truck caught fire as Chris Kaman sparked a comeback on the court.

So that leaves us sifting through today's game to make sense of what went right and what we should hope for looking ahead.

Comeback Reason #1: Grizzlies Played to Keep Lead, Lost Aggression, Lost Momentum

Watching the Grizzlies implode today reminded me of why the Clippers have imploded in more than a few games this year. It might seem a bit vague and hard to explain...but the best word for it is - momentum.

Momentum is always noticeable over a series of plays, but it can be sparked by one play or even an interaction between crowd, coaches, refs and players.

How does a team on the road (with the lead) lose momentum? What the Clippers have done way too often, and what the Grizzlies did today was start playing the clock.

I noticed that there were a couple of critical plays toward the beginning of the fourth quarter where the Grizzlies had a wide open lane to the basket. Sure, Gasol is not a point guard but if they were losing and he saw that opening I'm positive he would have taken it, made the layup or at least gotten fouled trying.

But what did they do? They didn't even look to attack. They pulled it back to setup their half court offense and hopefully drain clock. Their focus shifted from attacking with aggression to dribbling and passing as much time away as they could before taking a shot. Questionable strategy at home, horrible choice on the road.

Holding onto the ball longer means the defense has more time to setup and play better against you. Passing it around more means your opponents have a better chance of stealing the ball. Waiting to shoot until there's only a few seconds left, may likely result in a low percentage/high difficulty shot.

But most of all, playing clock gives momentum to the other team - especially on their court.

This is what happened to the Grizzlies today and what the Clippers should learn from.

Even if the other team hands you the momentum, completely gift wrapped, you still need energetic, good decision makers along with timely shot makers to take it and win. Which brings us to...

Comeback Reason #2: Eric Gordon

The Good: Although it was a team effort, EJ had a big part in sparking the comeback. He had his usual quiet game face on. Since his jump shots have been kind of shaky since his return, he wisely put his head down and charged the basket. When he wasn't finishing the break, he was passing ahead to Al, assisting on the charge back. His energy late in the third and throughout the fourth was a big part of their comeback win.

The Bad: Looks like he might have hurt his groin again. Prime showed him on the sideline with our infamous trainer whose name shalt not be mentioned. His face showed some pain as he reached towards his hamstring/quad area. He was taken out of the game with around a minute left and I did not see him on the bench or anywhere else at all for the rest of the broadcast. Hopefully he just cramped up as Milph was implying.

Comeback Reason #3: Baron Davis 2.0

Last year, he sucked. This year he looked OK but he wasn't living up to those $65 million expectations - until now.

Give Baron credit where credit is due. I KNOW. He still jacks up some bad shots, but WE KNEW that was part of his game coming here, correct?

But now I don't mind so much. Why? Because he is EARNING the right to take those shots.

Baron has been aggressive. Shot blocking. Stealing (today, diving on the floor). Driving. Penetrating. Dishing. Leading the break. Trailing the break. Getting into the paint. Making some timely 3s. Making some important free throws.

Baron 2.0 is here and I love it. You can sense that he's enjoying the game and that he's heathy enough to impose his will on the game. Sure, some nights his shot may not fall, but over the last week he has emerged as a leader - pushing this team to victory.

Before the game, Baron said that the Clips are still a work in progress. It seems that he has finally accepted the fact that he must do a lot of the work to make the team progress.

Comeback Reason #4: Team Defensive Intensity

Wow. Watch the last five minutes of this game and you understand why the Clippers are the 3rd best in the NBA in blocks per game. They got after it.

Dunleavy needs to show this team the last five minutes of this win before every game to remind them of how annoying and pestering and irritating their defense can be IF THEY ALL PLAY HARD & TOGETHER.

A 12-0 run would have won the game. But they were so pumped up and so full of energy they did not let up until the final buzzer went off. They need to learn to start games that way as well.

Comeback Reason #5: John Lucas

Assistant coach John Lucas seems like a component the Clippers sorely missed last year.

In today's game, "Luc" (as Milph call him), was ANIMATED. Even with his foot in a walking boot (don't know if he broke something or what) he was IMPLORING the team to make a comeback.

Go back to the beginning of the fourth quarter as Prime showed the faces of all the bench guys. No life. They all looked beaten. Ready to take a shower and call it a day.

But Lucas was cheering and jumping on one leg anytime his players did something positive (As opposed to Dunleavy who just claps a few times and barks out directions for the next play). What a refreshing difference.

Today, I think Luc had a big part in keeping the Clips' hopes alive, when it seemed like they were on their way to getting blown out. I wish I had more to go on, but from what I did see in the broadcast I noticed he was standing a lot, cheering, hugging and waving wildly, first off the bench on every time out to cheer the guys on. It seemed like his energy was really motivating the guys to play hard.

If you look closely at today's game maybe you will see what I saw as well. It just left me thinking he must have been quite a competitor when he was a player himself.

I hope Dunleavy shows the team video of the end of this game so they remember how much effort and energy they need to have in order to get positive results.

It'll be very interesting to see what kind of energy the Clippers bring on Wednesday vs. Houston.

Analysis of Dunleavy's Flaws in Loss to Pacers

moKi — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:20:35 -0000

Am I the only Clipper fan who believes in their heart that the Clippers would have won tonight's game if they had a better coach?

I believe tonight's game was an excellent example of why Dunleavy's "just give me healthy players and I'll win" statements are NOT TRUE.

Logic: Arguably, tonight the Clippers had MORE and "BETTER" healthy players than the Pacers. Dunleavy's own son did not play. Granger did not play. MDSr would be stupid to argue that the Pacers had more healthy players than the Clippers...so the Clippers should have won. That is Dunleavy's argument, isn't it?

So what flaws did tonight's game highlight in Dunleavy's coaching?

1. His Worst Fatal Flaw - Overconfidence and Arrogance

Clipper players find out the other team will have no stars on the floor and come out soft (except for Baron maybe). The effort is decent but not enough to put away the Pacers, just enough to stay slightly ahead.

As a coach Dunleavy should have thought this at about 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter...
"Man my guys can't make a shot! Chris, Al and Rasual can't seem to buy one! We should be up by much more. If we let them hang around like this, these Pacer bench guys might beat us, especially since we're on their court. I've got to mix things up a little and try some other guys and see if any of them can get hot."

Sure, it's possible you could lose the lead if your bench guys can't produce but your starters are dead cold anyway so it's not a huge risk. You manage it as it goes. Plus isn't that the whole point of having 15 players? You need to give guys a chance to come in with energy and mix things up. TAKE A CHANCE. Make your bench guys believe that they are better than the Pacers 2nd unit. Get them to play HARDER.

But no. Dunleavy probably thought...
"Our bench guys don't match up well against what the Pacers have out there. We'll get killed. Chris and Al will get hot. We just need to keep getting them the ball and eventually their shots will start falling."

Instead of being humble during the game and recognizing that this game was in danger, in enough danger to try and mix things up - Dunleavy was overconfident. He figured his guys were in a little slump and that they would click into gear and eventually pull away. He must have been thinking that. Why else would any coach leave in so many players who were CLEARLY having a bad night?

Dunleavy is arrogant. In competitive sports It may be an asset sometimes, but he displays it far too often for my liking. It's one thing to be Phil Jackson and arrogant, it's another to be Dunleavy. That kind of arrogance needs to be earned and backed up by some big guns. I don't think MDSrs earned anything yet and he doesn't have guns on the level of Kobe or MJ.

2. Failure to Recognize and React to Flow/Momentum

I don't know how many times I've heard Phil Jackson say "Momentum is a fickle girl. I thought the play where... got them the momentum so we have to try and get it back..." PJ is a master of recognizing and reacting to shifts in the game - whether it's the way the calls are going or the level of his teams energy.

Far too often, I feel Dunleavy calls timeouts too late. He doesn't seem to sense the need to change things BEFORE the other team starts taking away momentum. By the time he makes changes it's too late.

In tonight's game, Dunleavy for reasons unknown does not give Mardy a chance to stabilize the team early. He waits until the Pacers have overcome an 11 point deficit to take the lead in the 4th quarter. Clips have lost all momentum, on the road, with 6:25 left in the game trailing 74-70. Dunleavy bringing in Mardy at this point is a clear sign of desparation. He's grasping for straws now (he didn't even try Novak until the begining of the 4th and that wasn't working either).

The other team can sense when you're backpedaling. They sense desperation and at home, that gives them a great chance to win, especially if they have a lead. A good opponent will smell it and crush you. A bad team, at home will just find some way to beat you.

At halftime Dunleavy told Blanton "We're playing good defense, we're holding them to 30%..." or something like that. I laughed. The Clips were playing OK defense but the Pacers were just missing badly. In my book, I'm thinking "they're not gonna miss those looks the whole game!" Anyone who knows O'Brien's style of coaching knows that he tells his players to keep shooting it and it'll go in. He's all about letting players feel free to jack it up.

Dunleavy on the other hand is a control freak. There's a big difference in letting players feel free to shoot, giving them 20 FGAs and calling the same play over and over, force feeding a player 20 FGAs just because he's supposed to have the advantage.

3. Failure to Impose His Lineups

Of course I didn't have a chance to ask him, but there's a good chance that he didn't go to Mardy, Ricky or Novak earlier in the game because of his first 2 flaws, but also because Dunleavy seems to always insist on matching up to the other team.

He avoids gambling on the fact that maybe a different Clipper lineup would be more successful at any given time and FORCE THE OTHER COACH TO REACT.

In tonight's game, it was very clear that he thought Chris and Al should be winners in his matchup game. Whether at his instructions or not Al got 15 looks and Chris got 19. They made 5 shots between the both of them.

A good coach needs to realize that just because your guy wins on paper doesn't mean that you keep going to him over and over again if it's NOT WORKING. At a certain point, ESPECIALLY ON THE ROAD, you have to cut your losses, bench your horse and tell him "Sorry, it's not your night. I have to try something else."

Chris should not have played 39 minutes tonight. What about the matchup? It;s called trying Skinner or Craig Smith. Force the Pacers to adjust to them.

At one point in the second quarter, Ralph noted how O'Brien had swapped everyone out on the Pacer team because basically his entire first unit was not getting it done. The Pacers' coach took a chance and it worked.

How many times as Clipper fans do we see MDSr take a chance at the right time? How often does he make drastic substitutions when the team needs it the most, before the other guys swipe away the momentum for good. Not often enough.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Sure the blame for tonight's loss must ultimately fall on the players. Coaches can scream all they want but if Chris and Al are throwing up clunkers - that's on them.

However, I do believe that a good coach recognizes shifts early and takes calculated risks in matchups in favor of better energy and defense and Dunleavy has consistently shown that he will not do that.

Bottom line?

Dunleavy is overly arrogant and stubborn. His in-game decisions seem to be based more on stats and paper matchups, when he should be more sensitive to the flow of the game and the shifts in momentum. His failure to do so has cost the Clippers many close games, and it will inevitably contribute to future losses against teams they should beat.

I firmly believe that the Clippers would have won tonight's game with a better coach. The Clippers had more talent and had a day's rest. The Pacers were wounded and short handed. They shot badly and gave the Clips every opportunity to kill any hope of victory in the first quarter.

Unless the players playing tonight had some unknown ailments or injuries, I believe this one's on the Chicken Man.

Mardy: Super In-Depth, One Game Breakdown

moKi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:22:05 -0000

Seems like some here don't see what all the fuss is about Mardy Collins, so I thought I'd break down what I saw in last night's game. Maybe I can make more people Mardy fans or at least get him a little more respect among CN readers.

On the surface, Mardy looks slow and offensively sucky. For fans looking for "exciting" basketball, Mardy's a dud.

I agree.

But I believe that it's not always to a team's advantage to put all your shooters or offensively skilled players out there at the same time. At certain points in a game, you need someone out there who is not thinking shoot first. You need a steady player to play defense, get stops, control tempo and get the ball to the right guy in the right spot. On the Clippers, that guy is first and foremost ERIC GORDON.

Why not Baron? Because Baron takes bad shots and sometimes he dribbles too much, wasting clock. Baron can quickly initiate a 4 point swing in the wrong direction and four points can mean the difference between winning and losing. If he does that two possessions in a row, a good opponent will blow them out after that.

So obviously, with EJ being injured, all of a sudden Mardy is important. He's not anywhere near as good as EJ but he gives the Clippers something that none of the other players like to do. Be invisible. Play good defense and not care at all about filling the stat sheet.

Why I Like Mardy's Play So Far This Season

1. Two Games of 12+ Minutes - Two Wins (Overly simplistic, but a fact)

2. He doesn't need to shoot, plays solid defense

3. He likes to handle the ball, lets the PG play off the ball and rest a little

4. He's a solid passer

5. He hustles (you just don't notice it because he looks so slow!)

[Know your bball? Skip this.]

(I'm going to mention a 4 point swing quite a bit. What is it? Why is it important? Very simply a four point swing is when you don't score on your posession while your opponent then proceeds to score on their possession. Not only did you miss out on your two points, but they scored two so it's a total of four points in that way. It is always bad, but even more so if you're losing and/or there's not much time left in the game.
If you're on the other side of it, it's basically "getting a stop" and scoring on your ensuing possession - a scenario which is also called closing out a game, if accomplished towards the end.)

Monday vs. The TWolves

1st Quarter - on the bench

+ 2nd Quarter 7:55 - Mardy, showing great fundamentals, leans down and throws a perfect bounce pass to Kaman. He throws it, not too hard, not in a lazy way, but in a way where Chris can easily catch, turn and shoot in his sweet spot.

What's so great about that? If you've been watching the Clippers at all this season, you know that every opponent knows Dunleavy wants to go to Chris. I don't know how many times Baron, Bassy, Gordon, Rasual, Thornton and even Camby have tried to FORCE an entry pass into Chris only to have it knocked away or stolen.

NBA defenses are built around denial and preventing passes to preferred scorers. Being able to get the ball to whom you want, when you want is extremely valuable.

+ 2nd Quarter 7:45 - Back on D, 10 seconds later he cuts off a pass and takes it all the way for a layup but misses. Dunleavy and I are pissed. Not at Mardy, but because none of his teammates trailed the play for the putback. I GUARANTEE you that if Blake was in the game, he would have been right behind Mardy for a follow SLAM!

So are you mad at Mardy for missing? Sure, but REMEMBER he stole the ball. He just took one posession away from the opponents. So in theory he still might have saved you another two point differential. Again, a positive even though he missed!

+ 2nd Quarter 6:23 - Mardy takes a fall away jumper (if you can even call it jumping, haha) with 2 seconds left on the shot clock. He makes it! Lucky? Maybe, but again it saves a possible 4 point swing (shot clock violation).

Again, what's the big deal? Have you not seen how many times other guys have not been aware of the clock and looked utterly embarrassed as the clock goes off? Yeah it's happened quite a bit this season.

+ 2nd Quarter 6:00 - On the Wolves very next possession, Mardy is guarding a Wolve on the perimeter (looks like Brewer). He sees the ball going into Jefferson and he helps Chris by doubling. He floats back out toward Brewer but then sees that Jefferson wants to take Chris one on one (he blew by Camby twice for layups at the beginning of the game). Jefferson gives Chris a good head fake and is about to go around him, but Mardy has been tracking him, going under Kaman and pops out right in front of Jefferson (all the way baseline side) and forces a tough shot. Jefferson misses.

- 2nd Quarter 5:50 - Mardy makes a great cut to the basket and blows a gimme. The Wolves rebound and run back and score before the Clips can setup their D. Mardy was under the basket on his end so was trailing the play, unable to be involved defensively. Bad. 4 point swing for the Wolves.

2nd Quarter 5:23 - Mardy Out

+ 3rd Quarter 0:04 - Dunleavy inserts Mardy with just 4 seconds left in the 3rd. He guards Wilkens as he brings the ball up. Wilkens is whistled for a carry over and the Wolves don't get a last shot to end the quarter. Did Mardy force the turnover? Maybe not. But he did what he was supposed to. He guarded without fouling. Simple but good.

+ 4th Quarter 11:21 - Mardy establishes good position under the basket and fights Ryan Gomes (listed at an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier) for the rebound. Gomes is called for an over the back violation. Mardy does not get credit for a rebound but basically he got one and kept another possession and possible score from the Wolves.

+ 4th Quarter 11:05 - Mardy runs the point! This is an important part of the game. They have not led by more than one point in the entire game and they finally now lead 74-73.

Mardy passes with his left hand directly off the dribble to Novak first, but Steve quickly gets doubled beyond the arc. Mardy wisely tracks sideline so Steve can safely pass out of the double team. He quickly centers and spots Bassy open on the right wing (and Bassy was hot all night. Bassy dribbles around a screen and nails a jumper. So technically - no assist for Mardy. But again, nothing spectacular but solid execution.

+ 4th Quarter 09:11 - Mardy again plays the top of the arc and facilitates swinging the ball from one side to the other. He catches and passes in one smooth motion. Al nails it, Mardy gets an assist.

+ 4th Quarter 08:00 - Mardy keeps his body between the ball and the basket. Brewer is bringing the ball up. Mardy gets up on him. Brewer passes to Flynn. Mardy gets up on him. Flynn passes to Hollins. Mardy gets up on him!

What's so special about that? Some guys would lay off the 7 foot Hollins - especially way out there. It would be easy to think he's not a threat from that distance and play off a little. But Mardy gets just close enough to Hollins to force him into trying to do something he's not comfortable doing and he travels. Did Mardy cause it? Maybe not. But again he played solid defense.

+ 4th Quarter 07:39 - Mardy's best play of the night. The score is 79-77 Clips. The Clips offense had stalled the last two possessions. Bassy ran the point and the last time they had the ball, Kaman was called for a three second violation - turnover. The possession before that, Bassy got it to Craig Smith who proceeded to try a standing jumpshot that Al Jefferson completely snuffed out and pushed out front to Flynn for a layup.

So now Mardy is at point and brings the ball up. They need a bucket badly to keep the Wolves from tying it up and regaining momentum.

At 6'6" he can probably see what's going on a bit better than Bassy from the top of the arc. He gives a slight pass fake to the right and turns it into the world's slowest crossover move.

He actually fakes out his defender and drives into the lane. He sucks in Craig Smith's defender, stops and reaches down low with his left hand and passes it around TWO defenders to Smith for a slam dunk!

The lead goes up to four (the biggest Clipper lead of the night), and the crowd is back into it - energized by the emphatic jam by Craig.

Mike Smith then comments on Mardy, "You don't expect him to do much but he makes those plays in critical moments. That was a perfect delivery."

+ 4th Quarter 07:18 - The very next play, the Wolves go to their star Jefferson and Mardy comes to help Chris. Mardy gets in there trying to swat the ball away. Jefferson stumbles and Mardy tries even harder until they fall to the ground. Mardy reaches CAREFULLY to get his hands on the ball and not foul Jefferson. Jump ball!

Ralph "They'll jump it up at the Minnesota foul line and the first seeds of doubt are sown here for the Minnesota Timberwolves."

Mardy obviously does not win the jump, but Al steals it, runs and gets fouled on the layup. Two made free throws. Who made it all happen? I say Mardy.

Clippers get another stop, they get a fastbreak and Baron goes to Al for a slam dunk. The Wolves call a time out after the Clips have put together a 16-4 run.

+ 4th Quarter 06:10 - The Wolves come back with a new plan and go to their second option as Jefferson has not played well against the Clips double team. They go to Flynn who is super quick and pretty talented. Mardy is all over him with and without the ball. Mardy goes under a screen but pops out in time to get in his grill and effectively contest his shot. He has his hand right near the ball but DOES NOT FOUL. Flynn misses.

- 4th Quarter 03:35 - Mardy gets the ball with 6 seconds left in the shot clock. He airballs a 3 pt attempt from the weakside sideline corner. Disappointing BUT (1) he was open and (2) he knew the clock was winding down and (3) he could probably see that Kaman had good position under the rim for a rebound. In fact Kaman catches Mardy's "pass" but fails to make a jumpshot himself. So Mardy airballed a bailout, but Kaman missed one he usually makes too.

- 4th Quarter 02:35 - This time Mardy gets the ball with 7 seconds left but he is way out, almost at half court. With the clock ticking down to 6 and 5 seconds he works his way towards Chris. No one guards him tight so he takes a fairly uncontested shot. It hits the rim but bounces off for a Wolves rebound. Good shot? Maybe not. But by the time he got the ball - there really was only about 5.5 seconds to try to work it into Kaman (who was working hard to get it). But let's face it - Chris is a shot clock violation waiting to happen so I'm ok with at least getting a shot up (Plus it almost went in).

+ 4th Quarter 02:24 - Mardy is pretty much in zone defense mode and collapses when it looks like Flynn is going to penetrate. Flynn kicks it out to Brewer behind the arc. Mardy recovers and runs out to the three point line and puts a hand in his face BUT DOES NOT FOUL. Brewer misses. Did Mardy make him miss? Maybe not. But once again Mardy hustled to get out there and at least contest it. As seemingly unimportant as that may seem to most people, it could have been the difference in the game. At the very least, another solid defensive effort.

- 4th Quarter 02:05 - Mardy is called for a travel because he is actually taking a step as he catches the ball. When he pivots on the second foot that came down as he was catching the ball, they blow the whistle. Ticky tack, if you ask me - and all of a sudden fans are frustrated with Mardy.

At this point, the only things Mardy detractors remember is the airball 3, a missed jumper and now this turnover at a crucial point in the game. Why is he even in the game??

- 4th Quarter 02:05 - Mardy taken out of game

Final Evaluation Total: 13 (+)Good Plays to 4 (-)Not Good Plays

I can see how fans might casually think Mardy sucks but what they fail to realize is that he invisibly does much more good than harm. Without him in the game, they might not have even been close at the end of the game.

In the five HORRIBLE losses to the Hornets(twice), OKC, Memphis, & Toronto - Mardy only played for 15 minutes TOTAL - most of those were garbage because the Clips were getting blown out. The defense was awful, post entry was horrible and Baron and Bassy were the only ones bringing up the ball.

So in this game, for all the good Mardy did, were his 4 mistakes bad enough to put him behind Ricky Davis on the depth chart next game?

NO WAY.

He missed two layups and two jumpshots. Like that doesn't happen to anyone else? And you can't give him a break since this was basically his second game of the year with any kind of meaningful minutes? Doesn't he get some games to round into form?

Plus he probably wouldn't have even taken those jumpshots if they got him the ball earlier in the shot clock.

And the travel? I doubt any refs would have called that same play on Kobe, Bron or any other player the refs recognize. I know I have seen DWade do the same exact catch and turn around and pivot move plenty of times. Clips fans should be mad at the refs and not Mardy on that one.

Whew!

So there it is. My one game analysis of Mardy Collins and why I like him playing in games for around 12 minutes or more. I think when EJ comes back, Dunleavy should use Mardy when Eric takes breathers. That'll probably mean less minutes but I say he should still come in the game ahead of Ricky.

Clips Win, Mo' Mardy on Monday?, AT 2.0?

moKi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:31:03 -0000

Mo' Mardy Monday?

How awesome was Mardy in tonight's game? I don't know what his stat line was but I still believe the Clips are better with Mardy playing around 15-25 minutes a game.

People blasted me last year when I thought Mardy should start or get more pt so I am glad a win tonight coincided with him getting some meaningful minutes on the court.

Mardy is not flashy. He is not impressive or entertaining to watch. But what he provides is so important. He's a small forward with point guard ball handling skills. Not as talented as a SJax or anywhere near Bron, but he can give opposing teams a different look as he brings the ball up the court and sets up the half court offense from above the key.

It didn't work well tonight against Denver but it may have just been different enough to keep the Nuggets out of sync.

When Mardy is sharp you'll see him make solid post entry passes. This can allow Baron to post up smaller guards. Baron's paint area play has improved drastically from last season and this may be more of an option as the season goes on.

So hopefully Dunleavy has seen the light and will use Gordon, Butler and Thornton in the wing position, but use Mardy to back them up first, before Ricky D. As Rasual and Al start heating up, Mardy can become more and more valuable as a facilitator and stabilizer.

Al Thornton Rounding Into Form

For the most part, I have not liked Al Thornton's game. Until now, whether out of necessity or lack of experience playing organized bball, Al has been inconsistently spectacular and dreadful - sometimes both in the span of seconds.

His reputation of being a black hole and clock drainer has pretty much been the only thing consistent about him - until now.

Within the last two weeks I have seen Al adjust his game and even moreso his decision making in a very positive way.

The old Al would jab step for 10 seconds and then throw up a low percentage shot or make some horrible pass that would get picked off. Even if he got it to someone like poor Fred Jones, there would only be a couple of seconds left on the clock for sucker teammate to throw up a prayer.

The old Al would go up for layups, softer than a twinkie, and get everything blocked. I remember thinking I'd never seen such an athletic guy, 6'8" tall get so many of his shots blocked. He was a horrible finisher around the rim. So frustrating. I would constantly scream at him and Kaman to just dunk it. How many of their shots rolled off the rim last year? Yikes.

Al supposedly came in to camp overweight and out of shape. They might sound like one problem, but they are indeed two things that needed to be improved. At the start of the season, Al looked earthbound, slow and LOST. It was obvious that his mind was writing checks his body could not cash. He didn't seem to have strength to hold his position and he was too heavy for his frame to jump anywhere near where he needed to be competitive.

BUT NOW, are we seeing AT 2.0?

He looks a bit trimmer, but the real difference is not that he is scoring again, but in the way that he is scoring.

Previously in his career, his points mostly came from jump shots.

AT version 2.0 is now finishing at the rim more consistently, attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. Tonight, he actually slashed to the basket and jumped up for a dunk before anyone could block or foul him. Awesome.

When he first joined the Clips, I was hoping he could be a better version of Corey. It finally seems like it might happen.

Attributes of My Favorite Clipper Team

Elton Brand - Solid Rebounder, Shot Blocker, Unstoppable Consistent Midrange Jumper
Chris Kaman - Low Post Back to the Basket Player, Ambidextrous Hook Shots, Rebounder, Shot Blocker
Corey Magette - Score First, Drive to the Basket, Put Opponents in Foul Trouble, Score at the Line
Cuttino Mobley - Timely 3 Point Threat, Excellent Defender, Beautiful Mid Range Shot, Quick
Sam Cassell - Trash Talking, 4th Quarter Dagger Shooter, Pump Faking Foul Drawing Veteran

Can this year's team become more like them?

Blake Griffin - Has the potential to be better than Brand, albeit in a different way
Chris Kaman - Has now added the fairly consistent short range shot that Brand had to his game. Awesome.
Al Thornton - Got to the line 8 times tonight, (tied with Kaman for most FTAs) Is starting to attack the basket and finish
Eric Gordon - I think his play has been on par with Cuttino's and he has much more potential because of his youth
Baron Davis - This is where I find a drop off from Cassell. BD is definitely more athletic and explosive. But I would rather have that trash talkin, swagger generator.

Every good team needs some swagger. They need a good amount of pride to kick in that extra effort that's needed when your top guns are having a bad night or the other team is on fire.

This was one of the main reasons I was ok with the idea of the Clips trading for SJax. I know he's been problematic but even the Lakers took a chance on Artest. I thought SJax might help bring that toughness and swagger the Warriors had in their playoff run vs.Dallas & Utah.

But if this roster is set for the season, I hope Baron keeps asserting himself more and more (as he has been) and turns into that Sam Cassell-ish swagger maker. He's not going to morph into a talker but I am starting to see some attitude in the fourth when he makes needed shots - great for team morale.

in fact I'm glad he's been taking the bailout shots in the 4th quarter, even though he's been airballing quite a few. All it takes is one timely three to make all those misses go away.

In crunch time from here on out it should be pick and roll with Baron and Kaman. They are the veterans and should rightfully take the blame or glory closing out games. Pick and roll between them, and if double teamed - pitch out to a wide open Gordon or Butler. That's how games should end.

My prediction for Monday? If Mardy plays 12+ minutes, they will win!

Go Mardy! Go Clippers!

Sterling Asks Why Black Women Have Children Out of Wedlock

moKi — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:44:45 -0000

I guess DTS figured that Aldridge, being black himself (and a journalist?), would know the answer to why so many black women have children out of wedlock.

How does a person, who openly asks that kind of question to a journalist be allowed to own a team made up of mostly black men who may or may not have been born to unwed black women?

I don't pretend to have a relationship with Sterling. I have spoken to him on a handful of occasions, but one has always given me pause. When the Clippers, briefly, resembled an actual NBA team and made the playoffs in 2006, I was at Staples Center and saw Sterling in the press room. We exchanged pleasantries. Soon after, he asked me, out of the blue, in a way reflecting strong conviction and wild ignorance, why I thought so many black women had children out of wedlock.

Well, at least he asked.

The full story is in the section titled "Nobody Asked Me, But ..." on NBA.com (It's about halfway down a really long page. Keep scrolling down)

David Aldridge makes the point that the NBA should suspend or somehow penalize DTS for his alleged racially discriminatory actions and speech.

People keep complaining but will the NBA ever do anything about DTS?

If the Clippers had a "better" owner, would the team be more successful?

Dish Network: Clip Games NOT in HD?

moKi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:32:33 -0000

Why is this a fanpost and not a fanshot?

Well because it's pretty darn important to me and I'm sure it is to true Clipper fans with Dish here in LA.

The last preseason game was supposed to be in HD but it didn't show up that way on my Dish guide. I figured it must be because it's preseason.

But as I looked to tomorrow night's game, I see that once again it's not on the HD channel. Anyone else seeing this too?

Didn't Ralph say that all Clips games would be in beautiful HD on Fox Sports??????

Anyone have the game tomorrow night in HD? What do you have? Comcast? Charter? U-Verse? DirectTV?

If you're on Dish and you got the last preseason game in HD AND you're getting the Phoenix home opener in HD please let me know so I can complain to DIsh to see if I can get that feed.

If DIsh is only gonna show Clips games in SD I might have to think about switching to someone else, even though I like their DVR the best...

Please share your HD experiences in the comments below.

Thanks!

Clippers Do Not Lose By 38 to Lakers in Opener This Year!

moKi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:04:15 -0000

Clippers got within a point of taking the lead at the end of the 3rd, but lost 99-92.

That was pretty much the highlight of the night for the Clippers.

The Lakers defense was incredible tonight, stifling the Clippers who were sunk by the hobbled Baron. As many here have stated based on seeing Baron's energetic play in preseason - as Baron goes, so will the Clippers.

He still dished out 8 assists, got 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block but he was definitely NOT the Baron we saw in preseason. There was no explosiveness, there was no slashing, and his shots were off, WAY off. Airballs and awkward toss ups had him shooting 10% by the end of the night.

I think the loss of BLake right before the game, drained some mental fortitude from the team. That plus the ring show before the game seemed to have punched a "we're overmatched" mindset that translated into overanxious jitters and a rash of turnovers which turned into easy points for the Lake show.

Against a defending champ, you just can't make mistakes - and the Clippers made too many to overcome. The only reason it was a game was because Phil rested the entire 1st unit and the Rhino kicked into effect.

BTW it was ring night AND the Lakers won and most of the lower bowl was empty by the time the game was over. It's really sad how their true fans can't even afford to be there, appreciating their team on opening night. I guess they only care about playoff games and championships. The regular season must be such a bore for them. Incredible.

Is it only in L.A. where fans leave early whether the home team is up by ten or down by twenty?

I guess getting out of the parking lot is more important than giving your team a round of applause as they head into the tunnel.

Anyhow, I think the Clippers looked unprepared for the intensity of the Lakers long armed, trapping defense. Coach Chicken Man better have his team more prepared the next time they face a good defensive team so they can take advantage of the open man when the ball gets trapped.

Since tomorrow night is Phoenix (not known as a defensive juggernaut) I think the Clippers should be much more fun to watch with hopefully a better outcome!

Go Clips!

Sir Dunk-a-Lot Leads Clips to Victory

moKi — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:06:07 -0000

Everything Kaman isn't - DJ is.

Kaman - slow, goofy looking, gravity hindered

DJ - Quick, Graceful, Instantly Airborne

DeAndre Jordan, Sir Dunk-A-Lot, slammed in 10 points in just the 1st quarter and finished with 9 rebounds against some pretty tall guys in limited minutes - yeah, he was awesome. Clips hang on to win, 91-88.

(Hornets had no CP3 and pretty much looked awful so...enough about the game!)

What an amazing collection of bigs this team has. Griffin and DJ together - you can see that they're friends away from the game in their chemistry on the court. Kaman was awful tonight but Milph kept saying he's been looking good - so I guess he just had one of those "mind was not in it" kind of nights.

This Clipper frontcourt has it all. Inside (DJ, BG, Kaman), Outside (Kaman, Camby, AT), Rebounding (Camby, BG, Kaman), Blocking (Camby, DJ, BG), Runners (DJ, BG, AT), Bangers (Rhino, BG, Kaman),Passers (All seem above average) and Drivers/Cutters (Rhino, AT, BG)

And that's not even taking into account Rasual Butler or Steve Novak who can really spread the floor at the BINGO! line.

I like the fact that the Clippers are holding on to Kareem Rush as EJ seems to take a lot of contact and if he were to get hurt again for any amount of time...they need Rush. Also liked seeing Butler at the two tonight as well.

Although Bassy looked a little lost tonight (rusty from not playing hopefully) it still feels much better seeing him on the floor than MTaylor or JHart or DDickOuch or any other 2nd or 3rd string PGs the Clips have had in A LONG TIME.

I think he's the best bench guard the Clips have had since Shaun. (Still miss that guy...)

Baron looked so much better than Bassy tonight but I sense that he may come on as the season goes on. I think he will have a lot of meaningful minutes that could make or break the Clips this year. He may be more important to this team than most realize. Other than Baron he's it as far as a true PG goes.

As stacked as the Clips are in the frontcourt, the PG spot could be their downfall if Baron gets hurt for any extended amount of time and loses his conditioning. EJ at point could work for stretches, Mardy in a pinch - but if there's any chink in the armor of the Clippers 6-2 mighty preseason shield, it's at the point.

Makes me really think they shouldn't have signed Skinner and left that spot open for a third string PG. Who? I don't know - Bobby Jackson?, White Chocolate?, some undrafted potential guy?

Odd guys out at this point - Skinner, RDavis, Novak (just because all the other bigs are so darn good - Craig Smith - Who knew?), MCollins.

I think because of the thinness at guard, Kareem has jumped ahead of them all in potential minutes.

Anyhow my first ramble as I prepare for the real ones.

PRESEASON IS OVER PEOPLE. GET ON YOUR FEET AND SCREAM!

BEAT LA! BEAT LA!

Hmmmmmm. Kind of weird since we're LA too... How about a nice loud...

(cue Clipper Darrell)

LET'S GO CLIPPERS, LET'S GO!

Pincus On BLake Superior

moKi — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:12:33 -0000

Props to HVYDRT007 for posting this in his comments. Just thought I'd give it a post. I think you have to register on myclippernation to be able to read it so if the link isn't working for you...

Clippers Q&A

Ask Eric Pincus - October 15, 2009

I asked Blake about "Blake Superior" and he's too humble to take that on. Besides it's a lake in Minnesota - it'd only work if he were drafted by the Timberwolves.

Griffin said they do call him "B.G.," "Rook," and "B. Geezy". One teammate calls Blake "A.G" but Griffin is convinced it's because that teammate doesn't know his first name.

I am starting to think that just as Allen Iverson is simply AI, Terrel Owens is simply TO, could it possibly be that everyone should just be satisfied with BG? I mean it's easy to say, the B and G both have the "e" sound - maybe everyone is overthinking it?

Anyhow, I don't know if Steve is still dead set on using Blake Superior in all his posts but I have to say it is starting to become distracting reading any of his posts. Not only do I sigh every time I see it because it just reminds me of how much I don't like it, but it just feels like the comments are going to get sidetracked with those who still do not like it as well.

I've been trying to be a "good" citizen and refrain from complaining about it in every post he makes but I see that there are others that seem to be just as annoyed as I am that are filling up the comment section with "not liking the Superior" comments.

I don't know why it's so important for Steve to keep forcing this on CN, but it just seems like he is on a mission. I don't get it, I've given up fighting against it - Steve it's your blog - do your thing.

Go Steve.

(sigh)