Los Angeles Clippers VS Minnesota Timberwolves
Where: Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA
When: Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 @ 7:30PM
TV:
Radio: KFWB News Talk 980
PG: #5 - Baron Davis SG: #10 - Eric Gordon
SF: #15 - Ryan Gomes PF: #32 - Blake Griffin
C: #9 - DeAndre Jordan
Key Reserves
Eric Bledsoe - Randy Foye - Al-Farouq Aminu - Ike Diogu
PG: #13- Luke Ridnour SG: #22 - Corey Brewer
SF: #8 - Michael Beasley PF: #42 - Kevin Love
C: #31 - Darko Milicic
Key Reserves
Jonny Flynn - Wesley Johnson - Martell Webster - Anthony Tolliver
Inactive List:
Brian Cook (Sprained Right Ankle), Chris Kaman (Bone Bruise/Sprained Left Ankle) and Craig Smith (Herniated Disc) are out.
No injuries to report.
Team Leaders
Eric Gordon - 23.ppg (8th) & 1.3spg
Blake Griffin - 12.8rpg (4th)
Baron Davis - 7.0apg
DeAndre Jordan - 1.6 bpg
Kevin Love - 21.2ppg, 15.7rpg (1st)
Luke Ridnour - 5.8apg
Darko Milicic - 2.4bpg (3rd)
Corey Brewer - 1.8spg__________________________________
Small improvements go a long way for Clips• L.A. is shooting more threes and hitting them a higher percentage. In the first 26 games, the Clips hit about 32 percent of the 18.3 triples they attempted per game. That would rank dead last in the league. Over their last 14, they are shooting 35.8 percent on about 19 attempts per game. An extra three-pointer or two doesn’t sound like much, but it’s huge in a sport of low-scoring margins.
• They have tightened up their porous three-point defense. Clipper opponents have hit 37.4 percent of their threes in that 14-game stretch. That’s still pretty bad, but consider the Clips’ yielded 40.2 percent three-point shooting over their first 26 games of the season. That latter number is historically bad, and it makes ho-hum bad look wonderful.
• The Clippers have picked up their pace. They’re averaging about 96 possessions per game lately, up from a season average of about 94 per game.
• The Clippers are yielding fewer attempts at the rim and more long-range shots. The Clippers have allowed just 19.3 shots per game at the rim in their last 14 games, and opponents have hit only 59.5 percent of those close shots — both elite numbers. For the season overall, the Clips have allowed an average of nearly 21 shots per game at the rim and allowed opponents to hit a robust 63.5 percent of those shots.
Zach Lowe, Sports Illustrated
Blake Griffin Puts League on Notice: He's Only Getting BetterAs if the All-Star campaign wasn't going well enough already, this multi-dimensional version of Griffin took it to a whole new level.
"It's cool, because all I can hear is, 'Oh, he can dunk, he can jump high,' but people question the other skills," said Griffin, who is averaging 21.9 points and 12.7 rebounds. "And as a basketball player, you take that personally. I heard stuff said after (Sunday night's) game ..."
And by "stuff," I asked Griffin, did he perhaps mean the comments of Pau Gasol following Sunday's game in which the Lakers forward shared his view that Griffin "hasn't' developed a lot of moves" and tries to "go over your back or shove you or jump through you"?
"Yeah, so I guess I've got to have more games where I'm shooting the ball and doing stuff like that, but those things don't bother me," he responded. "I know I have to work on my skills. I know I have to work on certain things, but it's not going to come all at one time, so I can't just stop doing what I feel makes me successful just because of what somebody says or just because of what somebody decides to say after a game."
Griffin on Posey declining to shake hands after Clipper/Pacer game"Yeah, I've got a thing for rubbing people the wrong way I guess," Griffin said. "I didn't think we got into it. I know he came in to guard me, so I don't know. Sometimes you're frustrated after games like that. Maybe next time he'll give me a high-five."
Sam Amick, NBA Fanhouse
Clippers center Jordan proving to be quick study in Big Man 101"Everything is becoming second nature to me."
In Jordan, Del Negro saw a young player high on physical ability but behind the curve on the nuances of playing center. Enter Iavaroni, who has worked relentlessly with Jordan on footwork, fundamentals and the mental side of the game - basic things like using his size, speed and leaping ability to become a force on the boards.
"(Jordan) has always had the (tremendous) athleticism," Iavaroni said. "He now understands, `The more I go to the boards, the more (rebounds) I'm going to get.' He understands how many rebounds he can grab by just being relentless."
Beyond that, they are building an offensive base for Jordan, beginning with fundamental stuff at the basket.
"He could always run to the rim and catch lobs for dunks," Iavaroni said. "We're trusting that and throwing it to him more now."
The more comfortable Jordan got catching the ball at the rim, the more the Clippers have started looking for him farther away from the basket.
Vincent Bonsignore, Daily News
