PRACTICE REPORT: CLIPPERS READY FOR SEASON-LONG ROAD TRIP
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:57 am
PLAYA VISTA - This is more than a road trip. It’s an odyssey.
The Clippers, who practiced Tuesday before boarding a flight to Minneapolis, play eight road games in the next two weeks, spanning approximately 7,586 air miles.
“It’s a long trip,” Head Coach Vinny Del Negro said. “It’s a lot of cities, but you can’t control the schedule. You can just go and be ready to play. And we’ve got a long one, so we better be ready.”
Over slightly half of their road schedule thus far, the Clippers have proven ready. They are 13-8 in 21 away games, owning the fourth-best road winning percentage (.619) in the NBA. They are also on pace to have their first winning record on the road in franchise history.
Del Negro said the team’s success away from Staples Center begins with the balance and leadership on the roster. “We have good balance on the roster. We have good experience. But we’ve got to learn to win with this group. We have to manage the game, especially in the fourth quarter and try to steal some wins here on the road. It will start with us on the defensive end, if we control our glass and get after it.”“Chauncey practiced today, had some contact, which it was good to see him out there,” Del Negro said. “He said he felt pretty good.”
Billups took part in one of three 5-on-5 scrimmages that took place Tuesday, operating as the point guard with the second unit.
“[Chauncey] makes a difference when he’s out there because of his leadership,” Del Negro said. “He seemed pretty good when he was out there, so we’ll see how he responds.”
Paul, on the other hand, did not participate in practice.
“Chris just did a bunch of therapy, the elliptical, Ultra-G and the machines,” Del Negro said.
Paul, who has missed seven of the last nine games, remains day-to-day.
Eric Patten, Clippers.com
Steve Perrin (Clips Nation) made an argument that our recent schedule will be like a 17 game road trip. Since January 14th, 6 of our last 9 games have been on the road. During that time, we have not had any consecutive home games. Although the team played 3 home games at slept in their own beds leading up to those games, they were back on a plane and traveling to another destination for the next game. That sounds eerily similar to life on the road.
After the 8-game road trip, we'll have played 54 games. Over the final 28 games, we'll have one 4 game road trip in late March (Mavs, Hornets, Spurs & Rockets) and only 2 other times where we play consecutive road games (2/28-3/1 and 4/12-4/13). We'll have some legitimate competition during that time, but thankfully the schedule is abit more favorable in terms of travel.