Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
In 25 years of watching the Clippers the thing that has always baffled me is the impression that they just don't care. Does not matter who puts on that dead unifrom -- the life just gets sucked right out of them.
Thompson ( A- ) -- two career starts now, and we have 15 and 9 in the first, and 16 and 11 in the second. Not All-Star numbers, but pretty damn solid for playing out of position. Of course it must be said that both opponents have hit him up for 20+ points (and neither averages that many) , but again, these have been out of position starts. Looked more comfortable out there from the start in this one. Made some mistakes around the perimeter, but wasn't heistant. Helped us dominate the glass in this one with hs SF rebounding (our "small" forward grabbed 11, our "power" forward grabbed 1) -- although whoever durgged the Camby (13.1rebs/gm last year)/Kaman (12.7rebs/gm last year) duo before the game perhaps deserves more credit. Best part of the effort was that Jason played a major role in us hanging on down the stretch. It was kind of stupid that we were even in danger, as the Clippers were just awful for most of the night and mounted a comeback by doing nothing more than chucking up threes, but in the end Jason was one of the guys who stepped up to help us avoid another embarrassing collapse, getting all the big boards down the stretch and scoring over smaller defenders (the Clipper sometimes had 6'3" Cat Mobley checking him
) inside. Is hitting tht little midrange jumper with nice consistency now as well after struggling mightily wiht it in preseason. Would be nice to see him start filling up the statsheet a little more. He can clearly rebound at this level, and the offense is settling in in solid midrange fashion now -- the mix (and Jason in general) reminds me a lot of a better rebounding Al Harrington in his younger Indiana days before he turned into a 3pt shooting weenie. But there is not much passing, and no defensive numbers of any kind (1.1ast 0.3stl 0.3blk). Tonight it was 0, 0, 0 + 1 TO.
Moore ( D ) -- aha! So we have figured out the great Mikki rebounding conundrum. He can in fact rebound...but only at home. 8pts, 1 lovely rebound, and a foul out was the line this time. Which given that he grabbed a grand total of 4 rebounds in 4 games on our opening roadtrip, was pretty much par for the course. Now its 5rebs in 5 games on the road. Which is just impossible for a starting PF. When I say impossible, I mean impossible -- I would legitimately question thether that has ever happened before in the history of the league. As for the rest of his game, there is not much to talk about. I suppose you could at least accuse of him of efficency (he shot 2-3 and 4-4 from the line) but whoopdee doo. You could also try to accuse him of having something to do with Kaman and Camby doing the Clipper schlep out there, going through the motions until their paychecks clear (never a guarantee with Sterling I suppose). But then you would be just making that up. They sucked for reasons known only to them. Best thing Mikki actually did on the night was get himself in major foul trouble so that Spencer could get more time.
Miller ( A ) -- the inevitable bounceback game, and how. Now the turth is I am not sure Brad really deserved the flat "A" here. He was more just solidly efficient and in control than he was ever spectacular in this one, but that solidly efficient and in control game netted him a near flawless near triple double, so withholding the straight A would be waiting for what better exactly? Felt a lot like the sorts of statlines he would occasionally put up back in the Adelman years with him running the offense from the elbow. Got his obligatory 3pt chuck out of his system early, largely eschewed the please swat me into the second row Mr. Camby/Kaman groundbound drives, and settled in as a highly efficient jumpshooter. Along the way notched no fewer than 8 assists. It wasn't the spectacular backdoor passing exhibition you would maybe expect from those numbers, but he was still the grease guy for the offense, sliding the ball around and finding guys whenever they popped open. And then there was the rebounding/Kaman factor -- first of all Kaman was miserable. Let's get that out of the way. But Brad still dominated the glass against him, and Kaman was (at least last year) one of the league's best rebounders. This wasn't the normal Brad counterpunch/Kaman slugging it out tiff those two normally get into -- it was largely a blowout, with Brad doing everything well and Kaman channeling the spirit of KT. Beno was the player of the game (and he WAS spectacular), but other than some whimpering at the refs there was nothing to complain about in Brad's effort.
Salmons ( D ) -- this...was not good. In pretty much any way. In recent games we have sen John do a great job defensively even while sturggling offensively, or be very efficeint and just get limited minutes in a blowout, or dominate the game with post play/passing even while getting modest offensive numbers. But this time out...pretty much nothing. The guys he was guarding largely did not matter, and to the degree they did, they were just chucking up long bombs over his head. And on offense, the Clippers clearly seem to have joined the throng of NBA teams who are getting a pretty good book on how to stop John Salmons, and basically what that means is that they are meeting him wiht two or three guys at the rim, knowing that John wil not pass off the drive. So he charges in there and gets smuhed, again and again. And again. And... About the only thing he got to fall all night were a trio of three point bombs, and that's not really his game. Gets a little bumb here for making the occasional pass, and a critical one late in the game to Beno -- he threw it reluctantly, but Beno knocked down the big shot to secure things for us in the final minute.
Beno ( A+ ) -- Kevin who? So there you go. An A+. Those are hard to come by in these grades, normally requiring a career game, or a game clearly completely carrying the team the whole way, including down the stretch, or both. Well, this was the both. The finest game of Beno's career, carrying over the momentum from last night and again displaying why if he had been smart he would have signed with the Clippers -- if he played in Staples every night he would be an All Star (his previous best game of his career might well have been in the same building against the Lakers last year). Came out very aggressive right from the start of this one, just supremely confident and looking for his shot, mixing smooth pullups wiht often spectacular finishes on his drives, but never forgetting to set others up as well. Was the best player on the court in the first quarter, good in the second quarter, the best player on the court in the third, the guy who kept on hitting shots to keep the Clippers from closing the gap, and then the guy who maybe hit the sealing shot at the end of the game as well. Along the way, the man who by all rights should have wiped the floor with him (Baron) stunk up the joint. And no, it was not because Beno smothered him on defense, but he did stay in front of him for the most part and make him work, and so this was even a better defensive effort than normal. A+
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Hawes ( B- ) -- statistically this game looks like a letdown from previous efforts, but on the court, early in particular, it looked just as good. This time it was Spencer being extremely active on defense, swatting away shots left and right and being a real presence in there. He also had a flying power jam, although now that they are no longer falling he can quit chucking threes anytime he'd like now. The Clippers obviously have big bigs, but they were playing like garbage, and Spencer spent part of his time matched up with the likes of defensive demons Paul Davis and Tim Thomas. Again faded off a bit late with empty second half minutes, and its kind of a low level improtant issue whether that is because he is not pacing himself, and comes flying in with great energy before tiring, or whether its because teams just aren't prepared for him, and are making adjustments and slowing him down after half. Needs to regain focus on the glass -- had been using his length and better than advertised athleticsm to put up good numbers in the early games, but he's started to have some poor nights now.
Jackson ( B- ) -- you know, there are certain players who settle into grading ruts, normally limited mintes guys who begin to put up the same minor little line every night and it makes you throw up your hands. Douby does this with his constant 1-3/1-4 2(pr3)pts 1reb 0ast in 8-11min stuff. What do you do wiith that? And Bobby is starting to slip into it now with perfromances like this. 6pts 2ast 1reb 15min and...shrug. I remember a few plays, the missed three, but really now. Give me something to work with.
Brown ( C ) -- I picked up Bobby (this Bobby) as a gamble in a deep fantasy league I am in when Kevin went down. It has not paid off. Limited minutes, workign exclusively alongsidde the elder Bobby, and this time out pretty much made the least of them. Missed his three, did a little better on defense than last time these teams met (in preseason, when Mike Taylor blew by him at will).
Greene ( B- ) -- got a surprise call in the first/second quarter of all things, and did pretty well. And then with the strangeness that is Reggie's substitution patterns, never returned. But it was a good little stint letting him get some real NBA action...well, ok, it was the Clippers. But still, during a time of the game when we could at least pretend it mattered. And as mentioned, showed a little stuff. Came in and knocked down both his shots, including a three, used hsi size/athleticism on the glass...and then started to get a little loose and turn the ball over, ending the fun for the night. Not bad though -- one small step for Dontekind.
Willaims ( INC ) -- has been reduced to an odd form of garbagetime at this point (normally gets his stints in the first half, then never returns), and did absolutely nothing during his brief 2nd quarter tenure out there to change Theus's mind about that.
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Theus ( ) -- I'm too tardy to justify saying much here (forgot about it earlier). Let's just note that Reggie is continuing to play the kids, even getting Donte a littel real time run there. And let's just note that Reggie si continuiong to be a stubborn tool about Mikki. "You have to do something real special to take away a starting job form a vet." Yeah, whatever. How about the special something being a legitimate NBA starter and part of the future rather than a 33 yr old journeyman roleplayer?
Thompson ( A- ) -- two career starts now, and we have 15 and 9 in the first, and 16 and 11 in the second. Not All-Star numbers, but pretty damn solid for playing out of position. Of course it must be said that both opponents have hit him up for 20+ points (and neither averages that many) , but again, these have been out of position starts. Looked more comfortable out there from the start in this one. Made some mistakes around the perimeter, but wasn't heistant. Helped us dominate the glass in this one with hs SF rebounding (our "small" forward grabbed 11, our "power" forward grabbed 1) -- although whoever durgged the Camby (13.1rebs/gm last year)/Kaman (12.7rebs/gm last year) duo before the game perhaps deserves more credit. Best part of the effort was that Jason played a major role in us hanging on down the stretch. It was kind of stupid that we were even in danger, as the Clippers were just awful for most of the night and mounted a comeback by doing nothing more than chucking up threes, but in the end Jason was one of the guys who stepped up to help us avoid another embarrassing collapse, getting all the big boards down the stretch and scoring over smaller defenders (the Clipper sometimes had 6'3" Cat Mobley checking him
) inside. Is hitting tht little midrange jumper with nice consistency now as well after struggling mightily wiht it in preseason. Would be nice to see him start filling up the statsheet a little more. He can clearly rebound at this level, and the offense is settling in in solid midrange fashion now -- the mix (and Jason in general) reminds me a lot of a better rebounding Al Harrington in his younger Indiana days before he turned into a 3pt shooting weenie. But there is not much passing, and no defensive numbers of any kind (1.1ast 0.3stl 0.3blk). Tonight it was 0, 0, 0 + 1 TO.Moore ( D ) -- aha! So we have figured out the great Mikki rebounding conundrum. He can in fact rebound...but only at home. 8pts, 1 lovely rebound, and a foul out was the line this time. Which given that he grabbed a grand total of 4 rebounds in 4 games on our opening roadtrip, was pretty much par for the course. Now its 5rebs in 5 games on the road. Which is just impossible for a starting PF. When I say impossible, I mean impossible -- I would legitimately question thether that has ever happened before in the history of the league. As for the rest of his game, there is not much to talk about. I suppose you could at least accuse of him of efficency (he shot 2-3 and 4-4 from the line) but whoopdee doo. You could also try to accuse him of having something to do with Kaman and Camby doing the Clipper schlep out there, going through the motions until their paychecks clear (never a guarantee with Sterling I suppose). But then you would be just making that up. They sucked for reasons known only to them. Best thing Mikki actually did on the night was get himself in major foul trouble so that Spencer could get more time.
Miller ( A ) -- the inevitable bounceback game, and how. Now the turth is I am not sure Brad really deserved the flat "A" here. He was more just solidly efficient and in control than he was ever spectacular in this one, but that solidly efficient and in control game netted him a near flawless near triple double, so withholding the straight A would be waiting for what better exactly? Felt a lot like the sorts of statlines he would occasionally put up back in the Adelman years with him running the offense from the elbow. Got his obligatory 3pt chuck out of his system early, largely eschewed the please swat me into the second row Mr. Camby/Kaman groundbound drives, and settled in as a highly efficient jumpshooter. Along the way notched no fewer than 8 assists. It wasn't the spectacular backdoor passing exhibition you would maybe expect from those numbers, but he was still the grease guy for the offense, sliding the ball around and finding guys whenever they popped open. And then there was the rebounding/Kaman factor -- first of all Kaman was miserable. Let's get that out of the way. But Brad still dominated the glass against him, and Kaman was (at least last year) one of the league's best rebounders. This wasn't the normal Brad counterpunch/Kaman slugging it out tiff those two normally get into -- it was largely a blowout, with Brad doing everything well and Kaman channeling the spirit of KT. Beno was the player of the game (and he WAS spectacular), but other than some whimpering at the refs there was nothing to complain about in Brad's effort.
Salmons ( D ) -- this...was not good. In pretty much any way. In recent games we have sen John do a great job defensively even while sturggling offensively, or be very efficeint and just get limited minutes in a blowout, or dominate the game with post play/passing even while getting modest offensive numbers. But this time out...pretty much nothing. The guys he was guarding largely did not matter, and to the degree they did, they were just chucking up long bombs over his head. And on offense, the Clippers clearly seem to have joined the throng of NBA teams who are getting a pretty good book on how to stop John Salmons, and basically what that means is that they are meeting him wiht two or three guys at the rim, knowing that John wil not pass off the drive. So he charges in there and gets smuhed, again and again. And again. And... About the only thing he got to fall all night were a trio of three point bombs, and that's not really his game. Gets a little bumb here for making the occasional pass, and a critical one late in the game to Beno -- he threw it reluctantly, but Beno knocked down the big shot to secure things for us in the final minute.
Beno ( A+ ) -- Kevin who? So there you go. An A+. Those are hard to come by in these grades, normally requiring a career game, or a game clearly completely carrying the team the whole way, including down the stretch, or both. Well, this was the both. The finest game of Beno's career, carrying over the momentum from last night and again displaying why if he had been smart he would have signed with the Clippers -- if he played in Staples every night he would be an All Star (his previous best game of his career might well have been in the same building against the Lakers last year). Came out very aggressive right from the start of this one, just supremely confident and looking for his shot, mixing smooth pullups wiht often spectacular finishes on his drives, but never forgetting to set others up as well. Was the best player on the court in the first quarter, good in the second quarter, the best player on the court in the third, the guy who kept on hitting shots to keep the Clippers from closing the gap, and then the guy who maybe hit the sealing shot at the end of the game as well. Along the way, the man who by all rights should have wiped the floor with him (Baron) stunk up the joint. And no, it was not because Beno smothered him on defense, but he did stay in front of him for the most part and make him work, and so this was even a better defensive effort than normal. A+
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Hawes ( B- ) -- statistically this game looks like a letdown from previous efforts, but on the court, early in particular, it looked just as good. This time it was Spencer being extremely active on defense, swatting away shots left and right and being a real presence in there. He also had a flying power jam, although now that they are no longer falling he can quit chucking threes anytime he'd like now. The Clippers obviously have big bigs, but they were playing like garbage, and Spencer spent part of his time matched up with the likes of defensive demons Paul Davis and Tim Thomas. Again faded off a bit late with empty second half minutes, and its kind of a low level improtant issue whether that is because he is not pacing himself, and comes flying in with great energy before tiring, or whether its because teams just aren't prepared for him, and are making adjustments and slowing him down after half. Needs to regain focus on the glass -- had been using his length and better than advertised athleticsm to put up good numbers in the early games, but he's started to have some poor nights now.
Jackson ( B- ) -- you know, there are certain players who settle into grading ruts, normally limited mintes guys who begin to put up the same minor little line every night and it makes you throw up your hands. Douby does this with his constant 1-3/1-4 2(pr3)pts 1reb 0ast in 8-11min stuff. What do you do wiith that? And Bobby is starting to slip into it now with perfromances like this. 6pts 2ast 1reb 15min and...shrug. I remember a few plays, the missed three, but really now. Give me something to work with.
Brown ( C ) -- I picked up Bobby (this Bobby) as a gamble in a deep fantasy league I am in when Kevin went down. It has not paid off. Limited minutes, workign exclusively alongsidde the elder Bobby, and this time out pretty much made the least of them. Missed his three, did a little better on defense than last time these teams met (in preseason, when Mike Taylor blew by him at will).
Greene ( B- ) -- got a surprise call in the first/second quarter of all things, and did pretty well. And then with the strangeness that is Reggie's substitution patterns, never returned. But it was a good little stint letting him get some real NBA action...well, ok, it was the Clippers. But still, during a time of the game when we could at least pretend it mattered. And as mentioned, showed a little stuff. Came in and knocked down both his shots, including a three, used hsi size/athleticism on the glass...and then started to get a little loose and turn the ball over, ending the fun for the night. Not bad though -- one small step for Dontekind.
Willaims ( INC ) -- has been reduced to an odd form of garbagetime at this point (normally gets his stints in the first half, then never returns), and did absolutely nothing during his brief 2nd quarter tenure out there to change Theus's mind about that.
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Theus ( ) -- I'm too tardy to justify saying much here (forgot about it earlier). Let's just note that Reggie is continuing to play the kids, even getting Donte a littel real time run there. And let's just note that Reggie si continuiong to be a stubborn tool about Mikki. "You have to do something real special to take away a starting job form a vet." Yeah, whatever. How about the special something being a legitimate NBA starter and part of the future rather than a 33 yr old journeyman roleplayer?
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