SB Nation User Blog: supac

Al Thornton: L.A. Story

supac — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:54:21 -0000

Weird pictures. The first one makes him look fruity. The second one it looks like a witchdoctor shrunk his head. Who's the other guy in the third pic, and what's he looking at?

I like what I read though. "I work out every day, twice a day working out on the court and lifting weights and doing strength and conditioning with a trainer." Excellent.

"Free time? I love movies! I’ll go out to the store, I think it’s every Tuesday and Friday, or Tuesday and Thursday, those are the days they have the new releases. And I don’t buy just one, I have to get like eight or so. And I watch them all!" He can't get hurt or arrested watching movies.

I'm expecting an even better season from our "too old" Big Al. No sophomore slump here.

How do you feel about EB leaving the Clips for the 76ers?

supac — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:06:22 -0000

Let's hear it Clipper Nation. I'm curious to find out how the die-hard Clipper fans feel about what EB did. I suspect the national media is going to give this the "no big deal" treatment. EB's not going to get criticized like his Dookie pal Boozer. After all, Gund is a "nice blind man" while DTS is a "mean tanned man". And oh by the way, it's just the same ole Clippers! So what do you think?

Add your own if you don't like the options listed.

Poll

How do you feel about EB leaving the Clips for the 76ers?

Draft Party @ NOKIA

supac — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:33:02 -0000

2008 Draft Party - Thu, Jun 28 @ 4pm

Who's going? You don't have to be a season ticket holder to attend, it's open to the public. At the very least it's a good excuse to leave work early.

The 75 word minimum for FanPosts is pretty lame. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. BLAH!

Fix the Clips - 08/09 Pre-Draft Edition

supac — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:53:23 -0000

IN ORDER:

1) Brand the Clips: Extend EB, if he's willing. I disagree w/ CS here in that I don't think we should overpay by self-imposing a loyalty tax. In fact we should (kindly) ask EB to take a slight pay reduction (a la Duncan) to help fill out the rest of the roster. Explain to EB (and Falk) that the Clips will "do the right thing" if things don't work out (point to Sam dancing around in Bos green). But we all want to see the "Brand" Clips jersey hanging from the rafters of Staples, and maybe - just maybe - alongside a Clips championship banner (or two, or three, or...)

2) The Livingston Situation: We need to make a decision on Livingston. How's his recovery coming along? Is he going to be able to contribute as a 30mpg starter? Or is he better suited as a 20mpg bench guy? It's also possible that there's an unremovable fork stuck on his back. I'm comfortable with 3yrs/$10-12M, 2yrs/$6-7M, or 0/$0, respectively (the QO is out of the question). But Livingston's contract should be signed before we make our next move. Sell Livingston on the idea of him starting without guaranteeing it, because...

3) Bienvenido, Senor Calderon: AKA Au Revoir, Mr. Maggette. Tons of info in the BYC discussions scattered around CN recently. What's it going to take? If the price is right on the Calderon contract I'd go as far as Maggette + Mobley or Thomas + 08 first rounder for Calderon + Rasho (see 4 below). Of course I'd like to possibly get Tor's 08 first rounder back, and/or the right to swap firsts with them next year - do your job EBSr.

3a) Mobley: I like Cat. But I don't like Blanket. It would be brutal to see him play 35mpg next season, especially if ineffective and/or injured. Plus his contract is more expensive (good for 10/11 expiration purposes though). If used correctly, I'd rather keep him than...

3b) Thomas: Sir Doesn't-Care-a-Lot. No one really likes him, myself included - BUT, we actually need him to backup Kaman/EB and spread the floor. Plus I don't want to miss out on his contract year season, hehe. In an ideal world, trade Thomas this season and bring him back for 09/10. Whatever, I don't care, whoever Tor wants they can have.

4) Jason Lopez is Muy Bueno...For Min or OkC: That would drop either Bayless or Mayo to the Grizz at #5, and they would almost have to take either. Which then creates a bit of a conundrum for the Grizz, since that's the same position of their highest paid player who they've been trying to trade for the past couple of years. Well I suppose the Clips can save the day - offer up Rasho (expiring) and sweeten it with a pick (theTor first if we got that, or Minny's pick but top-3 protect it, or our 09 first but top-3 protect it) if necessary for Miller.

5) Dress for Less: Resign Ross, cheaply. With Calderon and Miller we'll need Q's D. I don't want to turn Liv into a defensive specialist, his D should be the cherry on top of PG duties. With legit scorers 1 through 5, it's going to be much easier to hide Q on offense.

BONUSES:

- Hire an Offensive Coordinator. I've been "clamouring" for this for years. At least teach some basic sets and off-the-ball movement (Calderon and Miller will help a lot in this aspect).

- Buy a NBDL Team. If it's good enough for the Spurs (and Lakers), it's good enough for me. But seriously, it would make the transition so much easier for a call-up if he was already familiar with MDSr's defensive philosophies (deflections!) Maybe guys like Korolev or Singleton or Diaz could have actually panned out had they been better prepared in the minors instead of rotting away. It's a lot easier to spend DTS's cash than my own, though.

Is Thornton a Decepticon?

supac — Mon, 12 May 2008 23:16:27 -0000

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2008/05/12/the-clippers-continue-to-meet-expectations/#more-799

More (err less) than meets the eye? Thorton's WP48 of -0.081 and WP of -3.7 are BY FAR the worst of the 07-08 Clips. How is it that we saw the rookie as having a stellar breakthrough season, but WoW has him as the biggest detriment to the team?

I am now very worried about losing Maggette.

Gerald Green

supac — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:47:07 -0000

He just got waived by the Rockets. Is he worth taking a flyer on? Remember, a lot of critics of the Korolev pick wanted this guy instead, almost as badly as Granger (obviously not now). Now, like Korolev, any team can sign him for practically nothing.

CONS: Couldn't even crack the T'wolves' rotation this year. Has the basketball IQ of my pet rock. Clips need a point and a big with their two revolving door spots, and Green is neither. Clips' "offense" completely ignores his "strengths": fast breaks and alley-oops.

PROS: Has a good-looking stroke, and Clips need shooters. Incredible leaper with Vinsanity-esque smoothness. Has the ability to blow out candles. May possibly put three more butts in seats per game. Is there even a downside with ATT in effect?

IMHO: Sign him. At the very least he should entertain during warm-ups, right? Let Barrett go, Mobley can play emergency point. Brand is going to take Fazekas' spot soon. Let's have some fun the rest of this abysmal season. I'd like to see MDSr's face when Green and Maggette are out there making "decisions" simultaneously.

Wages of Wins

supac — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:00:26 -0000

Here is DB's WP stats for every player in the L, up to the mid-way point of this season:

http://www.wagesofwins.com/AllPlayersMid0708.html

Camby is at 2...wow. And Kidd at 5 suprises me - how do you produce wins for a team that, well, doesn't? Kaman is at 15, but his WP48 is on the low side. Just from a glance it looks like WP really favors rebounds (and to a lesser degree assists).

As far as the rest of the Clips, I'm going to ignore everyone else with a positive WP other than Diaz at 258, 0.1 WP. So a double 10-day contract temp has been more "helpful" to the Clips than: Ross (281, 0 WP), Powell (321, -0.1 WP), Frahm (381, -0.4 WP), Davis (385, -0.4 WP)...and...wait for it...TT (421, -0.9 WP)!

Oh there's one last Clipper. Our very own Al Thornton. Rookie game snub. The same stud we saw during the NJ and Atl home games. He comes in at 440. Yes, FOUR HUNDRED AND FOURTY. The 7TH WORST NBA player at -1.9 WP. Color me confused.

12/28 LAC @ PHX

supac — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:54:34 -0000

Preview:

The Clips (9-18) head to US Airways Center to play the Suns (20-9) in the second game of a back-to-back home-and-home. Phoenix will go with the same starting five that destroyed the Clips last night: Nash, Bell, Hill, Marion, and Stoudemire. MDSr's starting five last night were Knight, Mobley, Maggette, Thorton, and Kaman. I wouldn't be surprised to see either Cassell or Ross (or both) inserted into the starting lineup tonight. After all, they were both starters in the 2nd round playoff match from two years ago that saw us push the Suns to seven games.

Last night:

The less said, the better. It looked like a scrimmage for the Suns - layup drills and wide-open jumpshots. Kaman had by far his worst game of the season, managing only 9 points (on 4-17 FG and 1-4 FT), 9 rebounds, and 5 TOs. Sadly, the final score of 108-88 isn't even indicative of how hopeless the game was. The Suns were threatening to win by 40-50 points until they subbed in the likes of Sean Marks and Pike, the "Victory Cigar".

Tonight:

Aerial bacon. If the Clips win tonight, go take a look outside. Pigs will be flying.
Timmy! Will Thomas be back? After all, it was his playoff performance for the Suns from two seasons ago that fooled a lot of people into thinking he actually tries on a basketball court. With Powell being our only backup big, we actually need Mr. Cruise Control. It's very unlikely that Thomas will be available, though.
Help, STAT! Amare owned us last night. Where's the double-team? Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather give up 3PAs to Marion, Bell, and Barbosa (and any jumper to Diaw) than let Stoudemire get a layup or dunk.
Q, Where art thou? Ross played well in his 16 minutes last night. He defends Nash well simply by keeping his hands up ALL THE TIME and obstructing vision and disrupting passing lanes. And let's not forget his offensive "explosion" whenever Nash is forced to guard him. Personally, I'd start Cassell and Ross and bring Maggette off the bench. Both Corey's scoring and rebounding will be far more effective with the second unit.
Double-double trouble. Kaman's streak of double-doubles ended last night (and I'm glad MDSr didn't leave him in just to extend the streak). For the Clips to even stay close, Kaman needs to start another double-double streak tonight. More than that though, Kaman has to make better decisions against the double-team. And kill Mr. Flippy.

Miscellaneous tidbits:

Cassell: an audition? The Suns are one possible trade destination for Sam. They are a contender and Nash needs a legitimate backup (D'antoni despises Banks, and Barbosa's natural position is two-guard). And we all know how the Suns love to hand out draft picks like Halloween candy.
MBFFFFFFFGC. Courtesy of http://www.eurobasket.com/GRE/GRE.asp - "Just because it was previously written that Sofocles Schortsianitis (206-C-85) has been released from Olympiakos and he is now a free agent, we come back to correct this news and correctly inform our readers. So, briefly, after so many months absence from the fields, Olimpiakos decided to send Big Sofo to Switzerland in order to follow an appropriate program for him to lose all the weight that prevent him from playing and be therefore better fit to play. However, the player denied following what his team arranged for him, providing some doubtable reasons, and the Reds decided to stop his contact for the time needed."

Chris Kaman and Rudy Gay

supac — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:20:30 -0000

Quoted from Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer (from TrueHoop):

"Talking to a friend today who was also at the game, we discussed how important Rudy Gay's emergence is. In the short term, it's even bigger than wins and losses. Sure, it's disappointing to be 8-17 right now, but ask yourself this:

Would you rather this team be 13-12 with Rudy Gay showing only modest improvement or would you rather be 8-17 with Gay looking like an absolute star? In the big picture, the latter is the more promising situation."

I immediately thought to myself:

"Talking to a friend today who was also at the game, we discussed how important Chris Kaman's emergence is. In the short term, it's even bigger than wins and losses. Sure, it's disappointing to be 9-15 right now, but ask yourself this:

Would you rather this team be 13-12 with Chris Kaman showing only modest improvement or would you rather be 9-15 with Gay looking like an absolute star? In the big picture, the latter is the more promising situation."

A case for optimism.