LA Clippers (46-21) AT Kings (23-44) Game 68

[TheNewEra]

Paul and Odom on offense and defense really hurt.

[TheNewEra]

why sign these guys to ten day contracts if they can not play and help spot Paul? With Billups now out we are going to need serious PG help on a ten day... go get Delonte West

[og15]

Delonte West is a no-no, can't get that desperate, let him take care of himself first.

This was one of the worst losses of the season, reminds me of the loss to New Orleans back a while ago, just terrible

[Quake Griffin]

we might wanna just get cozy in that 4 hole.

we know GSW won't land there for certain.
we'll just slug it out with denver and take on OKC or SAS next.


say what u want.
GSW looks scary....and we have not fixed the 3 point problem....and more than likely won't.

[og15]

4? More like 5 with how things are going. It will be a repeat of last years situation. Memphis in the first round with no HCA, and a win means SA in the second round which will be a loss with how this team defends the 3PT shot

[TheNewEra]

tough loss and Paul will have more work against Jrue with no backup help

[mkwest]

4? More like 5 with how things are going. It will be a repeat of last years situation. Memphis in the first round with no HCA, and a win means SA in the second round which will be a loss with how this team defends the 3PT shot

Then put your little hand in mine. They ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb...

[TheNewEra]

Delonte West is a no-no, can't get that desperate, let him take care of himself first.

This was one of the worst losses of the season, reminds me of the loss to New Orleans back a while ago, just terrible

Paul is going to crash like this we have only one PG that Vinny trusts to play. Crawford is uncomfortable as a PG and Green is a no go we have no idea how long Billups and Bledsoe will be out.

[og15]

Chris has been playing 33 MPG all season. It's time for him to put on his big boy pants and play 38 MPG for a few games. As long as Vinny divides his minutes strategically so that he isn't playing a ton of consecutive minutes, it's not a problem at all. You can play 38 minutes and never play more than 6 consecutive minutes. Consecutive activity is what causes in game fatigue, not your total minutes played. 20 straight minutes in the first half is more tiring and fatigue causing than 40 minutes over a whole game.

1st quarter: 6 minutes, rest 4, 4 minutes
2nd quarter: 4 minutes, rest 4, 6 minutes

Let the longer one coincide with half time so you get more rest, and so it coincides with the player playing the last 6 minutes of the game.

Repeat in the 2nd half, and also using timeouts as strategic rests, you have a guy always playing in a state where he hasn't been on the floor for too long. So you need two 4 minute blocks of someone playing PG, that's 8 MPG, I don't think signing Delonte West is necessary to accomplish that.

_____

On another note, I guess this game helped to solidify the no playing DJ in the 4th, that just ruined the whole offense and flow for the Clippers. I guess the alternative is to play him more in earlier quarters then bring him back with 2 minutes left in the 4th when teams can't intentional foul off ball anymore.

[TheNewEra]

We were down when DJ came in and we made a run there after. Mike Smith mentioned that unit is second most effective in the league and use to close games before Odom came back. The Clippers fell in a hole with the Hill/Odom combo that should never happen again.

Jordan usually hit his late game freethrows before though and going 1-4 was not a good night even still when he came in we took momentum back defense was sharper. The unit should happen more often in close games because we have a better body of work beating good teams with that unit over the Odom/Griffin combo. This game could of been much worse and did when we went small that hit from deep. Personally think Vinny should of went back to the unit under the 2:00 mark when they could not have fouled but the game was already out of hand.

[TheNewEra]

Tyreke is on my 2k13 Clipper team man he is a monster next to Paul. Would love to have him on the real team somehow next year.

[mkwest]

Tough loss... Sac was the better team tonight. Gotta get back on track tomorrow at home against Philly!

Willie Green

There is no bright side to loosing but having a short turn around makes it better to not sit on the feelings of that lost.

DaJuan Summers

Gotta bounce back 2morrow..

Jamal Crawford

Postgame Report

According to Head Coach Vinny Del Negro, the team must find a greater sense of urgency with only 14 games left in the regular season and the playoffs fast approaching.

“The level of intensity at this time of year has to be higher and I don’t feel like our level of intensity for 48 minutes is high enough right now,” Del Negro said. “It’s up to the guys. They’ve got to want it more than anybody else.”

“Our defense was a strength of our team earlier this season and we’ve completely fell off the map,” he said. “To be a top two or three team in defense in the league and now be top 10 or out of the top 10 is embarrassing for us. And we know if we don’t clean that up we’re going to be in and out of the playoffs.”

Defensive letdowns have become a common theme in Clippers losses this season. In their 22 defeats, opponents are shooting 47.0% from 3-point range, averaging 10 makes.

“I think we have to be more consistent for longer periods and we’re not right now,” Del Negro said. “Offensively, we’re forcing shots, and if you make them it looks good, but if you miss them they’re out on the break and they’ve got a lot of guys who can shoot the ball.

“We have to show more resiliency, just more resistance. We’re going to have to address that as we move forward.”

Eric Patten, Clippers.com

“I think we’ve just got to pick up the intensity. We’ve got to pay more attention to detail."

Chris Paul via LA Clippers

After the game, Vinny Del Negro said he hoped to get Eric Bledsoe back sometime this weekend.

Dan Woike

Some good news. We play Brooklyn on Saturday who will be on the 3rd game of their 8 game road trip. Hopefully he'll be fully healthy and not just back.

[ejftw]

Honestly, I don't know what is up with this slump we are in but have to finish this before the post season. Struggling against bottom feeders and the Knicks without Melo/Chandler. Couldn't match the physicality of Memphis.

Team meeting is needed to wake these dudes up. I do not want to face Denver in the first round. Need 6th to face the Warriors

[mkwest]

Honestly, I don't know what is up with this slump we are in but have to finish this before the post season. Struggling against bottom feeders and the Knicks without Melo/Chandler. Couldn't match the physicality of Memphis.

Team meeting is needed to wake these dudes up. I do not want to face Denver in the first round. Need 6th to face the Warriors

The team supposedly had one within the last week.

We limped our way into the playoffs last season. We showed some fight in the first round, but that was it. I expect us to be a bit healthier going into the playoffs this time around, but there has to be some fight, pride and a sense of urgency. These guys look sorry out there right now. They can beat up on the bad teams (most of the time), but have been getting shown up by the better teams time and time again.

I really wouldn't care who we played in the first round if the team played like it's capable of playing. If they don't want to play defense or be intense for a full 48 minutes then there's not much hope of beating any team outside of maybe the Rockets, but that's an unlikely pairing at this point barring a miracle on our end and/or theirs.

[og15]

Tyreke from this game in his attempt to outdo Paul:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfEs3pl-YiM

[mkwest]

Both Paul and Evans have been warned by the league.