Post#127 » by Erik Eleven » Thu Nov 6, 2008 9:07 pm
I was at the game. I had good premier seats. I could easily have thrown my free t-shirt at Kupchak, who was sitting just to my right. I probably couldn't have reached Jack — but maybe, if I rolled it up real tight. Talk about mvp, when they showed Jack on the jumbothron, the place erupted.
Anyway, it was a pretty lame game to watch, especially given the ticket price. I'm glad I went, though. It's always a different thing seeing them live. They seemed a bit rusty and out of rhythm, even in shoot-around, like they're just starting to get their engines warm. The cool thing though that I noticed is that despite that rustiness, they have great chemistry and trust in each other — slapping hands, joking around, as if they know they're not there yet. After the shoot-around, I had a feeling they're not going to play great just yet, but they have no doubt that they can win every game if they just focus.
The first half was really disappointing, except from Bynum's rebounding and blocking spree. Kobe was missing lay-ups, spacing wasn't there, Gasol didn't get any touches, and the inside-outside game was more or less non-existent. Defensively, they couldn't protect the weak side if their lives depended on it.
I think those two things are going to be the key for this team, this season — weak side defense, and inside out offense. The weak side three point line cannot be left open like it was in the first half, and against Denver. Offensviely, both Andrew and Pau are excellent passers, something that wasn't tapped at all in the first half. I blame the point guards for that. In the second half, they protected the weak side a lot better and shut off the baseline drives for Thornton, which suffocated Dunleavy's plan of attack, and Fisher and Radman got some wide open looks because of some inside-out plays. I'm really glad they ended up winning this ugly game. Great teams do just that, they win games even when they're playing poorly.
And, to everyone that's critical of Bynum, he needs some time to get back into it. He was removed from the game for nine months and only had limited minutes as a pro ball player before he went down. Had he been a six year veteran when he was injured, it would have been easier for him to get back into the swing of things quickly. It's going to take him some time. Personally, I expect him to start dominating again, sometime around christmas.
All in all, I'm still super excited about Bynum's return, how well he and Pau are running the floor despite their size. I'm also still really excited about what Ariza brings. With him, Odom and Farmar sparking the second unit, together, they almost make up for the energy that Ronny brought last season.
Once the starters get in a grove and start putting teams away early in games, I look forward to seeing Phil incorporating Powell, Mihm and Mbenga a little bit more. They'll get their minutes, and hopefully, that can allow our starters to be disgustingly fresh come playoffs time.
As fans, our minds are already in the NBA Finals, let's just focus instead on each game as if it were their last, and let's hope they look at it the same way.
Having said that, I want to see them swinging the ball around a bit more. There seems to be a confusion over when they should run a fast-paced possession, or a slower half-court set. I'd like to see Farmar's decision making in that regard get a little crisper. Same with Fish, actually. They need to find a way of distinguishing better when to run what.
Farmar is still making a lot of mistakes in terms of his decision making. He's not a starter on this team just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of our closers towards the end of this season. For now, he's a perfect spark plug off the bench. I say, let's keep it that way until he starts valuing every decision a little wiser.
Overall, this was a good win. Kaman, Thornton, Camby and Baron Davis aren't exactly slouches. This Clipper team has a lot of potential for growth, even within this season. The way I see it, they have an outside chance of making the playoffs but they need to pick it up in a hurry before their losing starts getting to them too much. I think they'll be one of those teams that will click every now and then and spoil games for a few legit contenders. Thornton is an incredible talent.
thats huge
