Gomes May Be Shut Down For Rest of Season

[JGlanton]

Clippers still coming up short at small forward
Ryan Gomes' knee is hurting and backup Al-Farouq Aminu has been ineffective lately. Jamario Moon might see more playing time.
By Lisa Dillman

April 1, 2011

A shortage of small forwards. Oh, that ... again.

It really never goes away for the Clippers. It was a lingering concern during the exhibition season. In November. And in March.

April too? You get the idea.

Coach Vinny Del Negro sighed when the subject was broached once again Thursday after practice. The Clippers, who play at the Phoenix Suns on Friday, have seven games remaining, five on the road.

One thing Del Negro is considering: shutting small down forward Ryan Gomes for the rest of the season.

"Ryan's been battling his knee for a couple of months," Del Negro said. "He's got some swelling in his knee. Had an MRI last week on it. There's nothing structurally wrong, but he's just been battling through it.

"We're trying to get Al-Farouq [Aminu] some minutes and Jamario [Moon] some minutes and obviously we've played Randy [Foye] with the three-guard offense."

Gomes, who is averaging 7.3 points, went scoreless against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, as did Aminu. The small forwards combined for two points, both coming from Gomes, in Saturday's win against the Toronto Raptors.

Gomes has been in double figures once in the last 19 games for the Clippers. Aminu is averaging 5.8 points this season.

Del Negro planned on holding additional discussions with Gomes before making a decision.

"I'm going to think about it today. We've talked a lot lately and will see where he's at," Del Negro said. "I know he's frustrated with some stuff. We probably relied on him too much. It's been difficult. He's not used to starting as much as he has and playing the minutes he has. So that's been a different situation for him. ...

"Being a starter in this league, and being a role player, coming off the bench, is two different responsibilities. You're playing against top-tier guys instead of second-tier guys."

The interesting thing is that Del Negro said he would probably start Moon, not Aminu, if Gomes ended up sitting out.

Moon, who was acquired in February from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Baron Davis deal, came off the bench in the game against Dallas and hit a late three-pointer, grabbed four rebounds and showed some energy in 14-plus minutes.

"My guy right now would probably be Jamario," Del Negro said. "Depending upon matchups, maybe even Randy. You've got to put Jamario in areas where he is comfortable. He's athletic. He's got some bounce to his game. I'm going to play the guys that are playing well, competing and doing things the right way."

[mj_shoefanatic]

best news so far this season.

[mike3]

haha mj_shoefanatic, i like Gomes, but not so much as a player, if you get me, seems like a good guy, positive non cocky attitude etc. but him starting i dont like, i only want to keep him if we get a really good starting SF and have him off the bench but then again, i like AFA and Moon better than him still

[playaloc916]

Even though AFA is still very raw, I think he should be getting more minutes. Bledsoe was as reckless as they come, but you can see some improvement in his play from being forced into the starting lineup after Davis' injury.

Our season has been done for awhile now, I think there is no reason not to get AFA more minutes and develop him more for next season.

[illastrate]

You know what sucks? We gave Gomes a 3 year deal. We only gave Foye a 2 year deal. Is there any way they can switch contracts??

[mj_shoefanatic]

Gomes contract is movable if we politic the right way this offseason. Also, like others have already stated Aminu needs the burn just as much as Bledsoe since this season is dunzo.