The Clippers picked up a 95-89 win over the Heat, but I’m still not impressed. First of all, as exciting as the ending was, this was an ugly basketball game. It was nothing like Miami’s loss to the Warriors in which they played pretty well in the later stages and lost anyway. Both teams had their offensive struggles at times, but the Heat… man, they shot themselves in the foot over… and over… and over again. I’m not even talking missed shots, although they did do plenty of that (39.5% from the floor). I’m talking bricked freethrows (four in the last two minutes), stupid fouls (Chauncey shooting a three-pointer), bad turnovers (LeBron’s long pass to Chalmers), and sh!t like that. I’m not trying to sit here and take all of the credit away from LA, but let’s be real… they scored three points in the last four minutes of regulation. Those three points came at the freethrow line after a horrible foul by LeBron James. Three points in the final four minutes normally isn’t enough to take a one-point game into overtime, but Miami was even worse! The Heat went basketless over the final 7 minutes and 30 seconds, and the fact that they still would’ve won this game if LeBron had just knocked down his freethrows doesn’t say much for the Clippers, does it? I mean, the Heat are the best team in the NBA as far as I’m concerned, so any time you can beat ‘em you deserve a pat on the back, but this was a serious meltdown on their part. The Clippers were just barely able to make enough plays to take advantage.
My biggest problems with the Clippers are as follows: They’re too perimeter oriented, they’re too stagnant offensively, and they don’t push the ball enough. Although he’s been knocking them down lately, I don’t want to see the ball being passed around the horn to Caron Butler for a three-point shot. I want to see Chris Paul controlling the game and working with Blake Griffin. So far I haven’t seen nearly as much of that as I’d like to.
I can’t stand how Chauncey Billups is playing. Chauncey is looking to dribble or shoot far too often. He needs to either realize that 11 shots a game is too many or have a seat on the bench. When he was added to the team I thought he’d come in and focus on getting the ball where it needs to go–into the paint to Blake Griffin–but he’s simply looked for his own opportunities instead. I’ve got no issue with a wide-open Billups three off of a kick out–that’s a great shot–but I don’t want to see this guy trying to take his man off the dribble as Chris Paul and Blake Griffin stand there watching him.
Eight points on the break won’t get it done. Neither will 30 points in the paint. The Clippers need to make a conscious effort to throw quick, accurate outlet passes, fill the lanes, and get that ball moving up the damn floor. If you want to win in the NBA you’ve got to take advantage of the strengths of your personel. The Clippers should be using their athleticism to run teams off the floor and beat them up in the paint. Last night, and during the season as a whole, they haven’t done either… at least not with any sort of consistency (17th in fast-break scoring, 21st in paint scoring).
Throw DeAndre Jordan a bone from time to time. I’ve noticed that DeAndre’s body language has been showing some frustration lately. He really stepped up late in the win over Miami (had some crucial rebounds, blocked shots, and even a score), but if you watched him early in the game it was as if he was tired of working to find the open spaces around the basket because no one ever even glances at him. Obviously you don’t want to put the ball in DeAndre’s hands and ask him to create a look for himself, but if utilized properly he can be an offensive weapon simply skating on his athleticism. However, he hasn’t been utilized at all lately. He got just three shots in Portland and two against Milwaukee. If he’s shooting the ball it’s either a dunk or a layup, so high shot attempts for DeAndre is an indication of good offense. The Clippers need to do a better job of spotting DeAndre and hitting him with a good pass when he finds an opening around the rim. It will keep him engaged in the game at both ends, and that’s what you need from him: energy and activity.
As for the Heat... they defeated themselves. Everyone is going to be quick to pin the chokejob on LeBron, obviously, as he was the one missing freethrows and fouling three-point shooters. While he deserves as much blame as anyone (and probably even more), basketball is a team game. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are All-Stars… where were they in OT? Mario Chalmers made Miami’s only basket; a three-pointer assisted by LeBron James. LeBron scored 8 of their final 11 in regulation while D-Wade had one point and Chris Bosh travelled and missed a freethrow. Don’t get me wrong, LeBron played poorly… but everyone else did too. This loss in on the Miami Heat, which was only one eighth LeBron James last night… or one third, if you want to look at it that way. Either way, he shouldn’t be blamed exclusively. As a team, Miami needs to figure out a way to close games better. If LeBron could step up individually on a more consistent basis then that would be great, but he hasn’t been able to. Come up with another plan. All of that being said, it’s not like this is the end of the world. Miami has lost two tough ones in a row, but they successfully closed some tight games not long ago. Shit happens… learn from it.
Dallas looked old and slow during the parts of their 90-85 win over the Celtics that I happened to see, but some stupidly-bad defense by Kevin Garnett and the Celtics along with an amazing shot by Dirk Nowitzki ensured a Mavericks victory anyway. The stupidly-bad defense and the amazing shot actually happened on the same play…
The game-winning bucket speaks for itself, so let’s discuss the defense. First of all, that’s a foul on KG… maybe two or three fouls, actually. It’s hard to see it in that video but they showed a replay on TV where you could clearly see Garnett grab Dirk’s arm as he made his move to the basket. Before that there was a lot of body contact that could’ve been called as well. Anyway, f@ck that… the thing that amazed me the most here was KG’s fundamental error: how the hell are you going to get that close to Dirk without bending your damn knees? …and if you’re going to do that Brandon Bass needs to be sagging off of Brendan Haywood so he can get in position to better contest the ensuing layup. I understand that you can’t give Dirk the jumper, but if KG is chest to chest with him standing straight up and down as stiff as a statue he’s getting burned 10 times out of 10. Dirk is more than a shooter… he’s a scorer. Common knowledge, but Boston defended him as if they didn’t know. There’s a way to contest a jumper without completely forfeiting a drive to the rack. The video above demonstrates how not to do it.
I want to get back to what I said about Dallas looking old and tired for just a moment. I’m certainly not the world’s biggest Tyson Chandler fan, but they miss his athleticism for sure. They no longer have a tall, long player who can make quick lateral movements and get up off the floor. Well, they have Brandan Wright, but… no. They look slow with Brendan Haywood and Dirk Nowitzki out there. Haywood moves okay for a seven-footer, but he’s uncoordinated and a little bit awkward. Chandler was more fluid in the way he moved. He could dart around the floor and get to the spot on time. I guess I never have denied that he was a great fit, but only that he was a great player. Anyway, the Mavs looked like they could’ve used his mobility last night. Would it have been worth $15 million over the next however many years? That’s certainly debatable.
The Sixers let me down with a 79-point, 39.5-percent showing at Madison Square Garden. I must say, though, that I wasn’t disappointed by their effort. In their third game in as many nights the Sixers couldn’t make a damn thing, but after falling back by double digits early they fought hard right through the final buzzer. Excluding the first 10 minutes of the game they were able to get pretty good looks, but they just couldn’t put them in. Thad’s Young’s missed jumper–a wide-open one from 15 feet–that essentially ended the game was indicative of Philly’s game-long struggles; they, like Thad’s shot, simply looked tired. Give the Knicks credit for striking quickly against a fatigued opponent. Had they not taken advantage of Philly’s early-game issues they very well may have lost the game. I also feel the need to give them a little credit for a solid defensive effort. Philly did get some good looks like I said, but when the Knicks were building their first-quarter lead they were doing more than just putting points on the board (Sixers scored just 15 points in the first). Even with Amare Stoudemire I think this team could play acceptable defense on a regular basis under a different coach. Carmelo is hardly the turnstyle he used to be, and Shumpert, Douglas, and Chandler are all more than capable, obviously.
Kobe Bryant followed up his 48-point night with 40 more as the Lakers edged the Jazz 90-87 in overtime. Kobe needed 31 shots to make it happen, but make it happen he did. Big plays were made by Pau Gasol (what? that’s not supposed to happen.) and Andrew Bynum, but they combined for 26 points on 27 shots. Kobe carried the Lakers throughout the evening and hit shots when necessary. If you’ve got League Pass and missed this game I highly recommend checking out the final 17 minutes on the broadband archive. This was one hell of a finish during which guys from each team repeatedly stepped up and made plays. It was one of those games that, unlike the Clipper/Heat choke-fest, you could say both teams deserved to win. Had Al Jefferson been able to finish a layup over Andrew Bynum I probably would’ve dedicated this entire post to the crunch-time efforts of Paul Millsap and Josh Howard, who knocked down shot after shot when Utah absolutely needed scores (Millsap finished with 29 while Howard had 18 off the bench). J-Ho has looked excellent in the last few games and his carving out a productive niche for himself off of Utah’s bench.
The Bulls beat the Wizards 78-64 without reigning MVP Derrick Rose. Guess who led the way with 25/8/8? I’ll give you a hint: it wasn’t Carlos Boozer (2-7), Luol Deng (5-21), or anyone off the bench. It wasn’t Ronnie Brewer or Joakim Noah, either. Now I’ve given you the answer and there’s a fair chance you still don’t know who it was. How about former CBA standout John Lucas III? I didn’t watch a minute of this game so the following is not a rhetorical question: how do you get 25 points from John Lucas III and finish with 78 against the Wizards? Oh, by the way, John Wall went 4-13 for 11 points.
Box Score Observations: Javale McGee had 10 points, 14 boards, and 5 swats. DeMarcus Cousins had 21 and 19 in a Sacramento victory. Don’t get too excited, it was against the Raptors. My dude Ivan Johnson got six shots off against the Pacers. Unfortunately, he only made one. Tim Duncan’s 17 points put him past Larry Bird on the all-time scoring list. JJ Redick and Hedo Turkoglu led Orlando with 17 and 16 points respectively in a Magic win over the Blazers. Now I know why they call them the Magic… seriously, how the f@ck does that happen?
Highlight Recap: Take note of play #4…
As usual, the NBA missed a few things. Watch DeAndre Jordan obliterate a shot by Norris Cole before sealing a Clipper victory with this monster slam dunk.
