Game 42:Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Clippers: Jan 11 7:30 PM PCT

[MartinToVaught]

Well damn. I forgot we had a game tonight. Looks like I missed one hell of a comeback.

[Wammy Giveaway]

"DO YOU HAVE IT!?" - Mike O'Malley, Nickelodeon Guts

Once again, they started with a gimmick. Only this time, the coffee was brought out late, but right on time at least.

The rebounds are going to be their Achilles heel for the whole season, and into the playoffs. They're gonna have to play deflection defense a lot, meaning, they need to force turnovers via contesting shots and the opponent dropping the ball out of bounds to gain possession. Feels so much like the Grit N' Grind Grizzlies, minus the rebounds.

And speaking of Grit N' Grind, my take on the Clippers is they're gonna miss the playoffs. Already a trio of 3-game losing streaks, the difficult schedule marches on, they have no active superstars - just role players - and they got to 20 losses first before 40 wins. But if there's one thing the Clippers can do to make their season not feel like a total loss, it's this:

PLAY SPOILER.

Pretend you're a lottery team, under .500 again and declared eliminated. There's still some game left. Get some unnecessary wins, muck up the standings, ruin the 1st round matchups for your opponents. The six qualified teams above you know that upon entering the playoffs, you're a 1st round exit. But by taking wins away from those teams, they'll have gained a distaste for the Clippers. They'll be so focused on destroying them that they'll forget to take them seriously.

Who knows? Maybe playing spoiler is what gets the Clippers into the playoffs.

[nickhx2]

appreciate amir coffey

and no, that's not "i appreciate amir coffey"

that's, put some god damn respect on this dude's name

[LamarWho]

Of course I missed the 2nd half and the 25 pt comeback. I was calling out Reggie, Mann and Bledsoe at halftime for their no shows. Glad to see all 3 stepped up in the 2nd half. Amir Coffey, wow. Not only did he lead the team in scoring again, but he also has 7 assists and 4 steals. He deserves to be in the rotation once the team becomes more healthy.

[Clemenza]

Hell of a comeback win after a disgusting first half. Coffey is turning into that dude for reals. Even if Kawhi & PG are back, Lue will find some minutes for him if he keeps bringing it like he has

[Max Headrom]

Hell of a comeback win after a disgusting first half. Coffey is turning into that dude for reals. Even if Kawhi & PG are back, Lue will find some minutes for him if he keeps bringing it like he has

Lue already said either he or Batum will remain in the starting lineup when guys come back

[Roscoe Sheed]

I was very impressed with the heart this team showed.

I was definitely holding my breath on the Jokic 3 pointer and Gordon put back shot. So happy they didn't fall.

[og15]

Phew, that was scary

What a win, that's fight and defense for you. If you don't have the offensive talent, defense is going to win you a lot more games than trying to out offense people. Defense means all you need is just enough scoring.

Yes, all true. But we scored 32 in the 4th quarter. Times 4, with average defense, 128 points is gonna win most nights.

For sure, you still have to score points to win, but if you rely on offense without top offensive talent, then you're going to have to have 3-4 of those 32 point quarters, and good luck with that with this talent level. A team like the Hawks who even have the offensive talent (top 3 Ortg) are struggling because their defense is so bad that they basically can't win a game if their shots are off. They've only won one game where they scored less than 100 pts.

On the other hand play really good defense to keep you in the game and hope to either have a strong quarter early and hold on with defense or have a strong/hot quarter later to secure the win, or hope the other team messes up somehow . The defense plan tends to work out far more successfully for less offensively talented teams and is really going to be the Clippers consistent hope until the infusion of star talent returns.

[KL2]

Figures. I turned the game off and logged out of here when we were down 22 I think. It’s not good for my blood pressure. I gotta watch it as they’re adjusting my meds. Picked my book and fell asleep.

Nice way to wake up to see the win even if you missed it.

[esqtvd]

Phew, that was scary

What a win, that's fight and defense for you. If you don't have the offensive talent, defense is going to win you a lot more games than trying to out offense people. Defense means all you need is just enough scoring.

Yes, all true. But we scored 32 in the 4th quarter. Times 4, with average defense, 128 points is gonna win most nights.

For sure, you still have to score points to win, but if you rely on offense without top offensive talent, then you're going to have to have 3-4 of those 32 point quarters, and good luck with that with this talent level. A team like the Hawks who even have the offensive talent (top 3 Ortg) are struggling because their defense is so bad that they basically can't win a game if their shots are off. They've only won one game where they scored less than 100 pts.

On the other hand play really good defense to keep you in the game and hope to either have a strong quarter early and hold on with defense or have a strong/hot quarter later to secure the win, or hope the other team messes up somehow . The defense plan tends to work out far more successfully for less offensively talented teams and is really going to be the Clippers consistent hope until the infusion of star talent returns.

This points out how Jamal and Lou were unfairly trashed, is all. They won us a lot of games like this one when nobody could get going. The D was great but you're not going to win with 87 points very often--Denver helped us out too with a monster choke job.

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