Clippers Scouting Report
by HighTops on Dec 26, 2010 11:18 PM PST
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I’m going to start my scouting report a little differently because the Clippers have already beaten us twice and so I’m sure most people are pretty familiar with the team. What I’d like to say is that the Kings have only beaten 5 teams; Minnesota and Cleveland on the road, Toronto, New Jersey and Washington at home. The road victories came against teams with a combined record of 14-45 (.237), and the home victories were against teams with a combined record of 26-60 (.302), the record of all 5 teams combined is (.276). We have beaten every team that has an average below .300 except for the Clippers, and have only beaten one team over .300 that being Toronto who now stands at 10-19 (.345). So, beating the Clippers who are 9-22 (.290) and only 2-11 (.154) on the road is a mathematical possibility.
For the season, we are losing on average by 8 pts, and in this current 7 game losing streak we’re losing by 10, and in our two losses to the Clippers we’ve lost on average by 12 ppg. It’s not just that we’re scoring 5 ppg below the league average or giving up 3 pts per game more than the league average. It’s about how we are finding ways to lose, and about the demoralization of the entire team. No matter how big our lead is, as soon as the other team goes on a run, it’s like we give up. The King’s players have been embarrassed by the lack of winning so often; I don’t believe that they care about being embarrassed anymore. I’m probably wrong, and maybe they’ll stand up and fight thru the 4th quarter of this game and give the Clippers a run for their money. But, it’s more than likely that anything I tell you about the Clippers will have very little impact on the outcome of the game. The outcome is going to depend on the pride and the resolve, that the Kings players show this time out.
The Clippers are 4-5 since defeating the Kings on Dec 6th. They were 2-4 at home and 2-1 on the road. The 2 road victories were their only road victories of the season, and came in back-2-back wins in Detroit and Chicago. So, the Clippers are still 0-9 on the road against Western Conference teams.
The lineups are similar to our last game with Kaman still out. But, Baron Davis who was just returning from an injury when we last meet is now back in the starting PG roll and Eric Bledsoe is now coming off the bench. The other major change is that backup PF Craig Smith is out with a herniated disc.
Davis is averaging 10.8 pts/ 6.8 asts on 42% FG shooting while starting the last 5 games. Eric Bledsoe the guy he replaced in the starting lineup, has been averaging 6 pts / 3.4 asts on 34% FG shooting. Eric Gordon, who started 29 games at SG, is averaging 22.9 pts / 4.2 asts on 46% field and 41.5% from three during the month of December. DeAndre Jordon is averaging 7.3 pts/ 8.2 rebs on 66% shooting while starting all 13 games in December. And, Blake Griffin is averaging 21.9 pts/ 13.7 rebs/ 4.1 asts on .500 FG% for the month of December, all of which are above his season average.
The Clippers are still the worst FT shooting team in the league, and are an average FG% team. Like the Kings, they are in the top 10 in offensive rebounds, but unlike the Kings who rank 21st; the Clippers are also in the top 10 in defensive rebounding as well. In our last meeting the Kings won the battle of the boards thanks to 10 by Omri Casspi, and were able to get to the FT line 32 times and were able to shoot 81%, outscoring the Clippers by 7pts at the charity stripe. LAC shot slightly better than their usual 33% from 3pt range but unfortunately the Kings shot only (18%) which lead to a 7 to 3 deficit from beyond the arc. But it was the 1-10 shooting of Beno, and the 0-4 and 0-2 shooting by Donte and Cisco that lead to the Kings shooting 36% from the field and losing the game.
In fact the Kings have not been able to shoot above 44% in their last 4 losses, and lost by an average of 9 pts per game. The Clippers have only shot below 53% in 1 of their last 5 game, and won 4 of the 5 games. And, the Kings have only been able to hold 2 teams to below 47% in their last 7 losses. So, the Clippers are definitely playing better than they did the last time we meet and have won their last 2 road games. And, we are play as poorly as we have all season.
Is the game winnable, absolutely. As long as the King’s players believe they can, especially in the 4th quarter when things aren’t going their way. They’re capable of doing everything that they need to win. Heck, they do those things every game, but somehow forget when the pressure is on and they need to pull together as a team. We believe, now if only they will too. Go Kings!!
(This is a FanPost from a member of the Sactown Royalty community. The views expressed come from the member, and not Sactown Royalty staff.)
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We believe, now if only they will too. Go Kings!!
Amen HT. Now if only our faith would be rewarded more often…..
Nice writeup.
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Thanks for the write up, HT
I especially dig the part where you acknowledge the crucial role of pride & resolve.
Emotionally, hopefully the break gave the players & coaching staff a chance to refocus.
Strategically, however, we’re already seeing a change — Westphal’s going with a veteran starting lineup. Whether the lineup change is purely cosmetic or indicative of deeper changes remains to be seen.
I'm rec'ing this for the 2nd paragraph before I even read the rest...
"If you're going to lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the audience." -Geoff Petrie
by AnotherStupidSN on Dec 27, 2010 8:12 AM PST reply actions
One thing that will be particularly interesting this game
is whether Westphal handing the ball over to the “vets” to start the game also signals that he wants those guys finishing the game as well. Is this new lineup just another Westphal roll-of-the-dice to see if he can strike-it-rich with the right combo of guys? Or does this signal a major change in philosophy for PW and the team for this season?
Personally, I’ve been glad that DeMarcus and ‘Reke have had every recent end game in their hands, even if every time they’ve gotten burned in their trial-by-fire. But maybe Cuz’s “stress test” is over, for now. He’s been put in a position this season that very few rookie big men find themselves in. Has it sped up his development? I’m fairly certain it has. Has it also taken a mental and emotional toll on DeMarcus, on the Coach, and on the fans (including the millionaire brothers that sit front-row-center)? I think it very clearly has.
It would be easy to argue, at this point, that the main task of the organization this season is taking the right steps to forge the rare raw material that is DeMarcus Cousins into the truly special player that he can be. He’s been heated and hammered aggressively thus far; perhaps, as Westphal may be signaling, it’s time to take the steel off the coals for a bit and let it cool. Continue to give DeMarcus game time, allow him to make mistakes during the game, allow him to learn and to have an impact. But maybe he needs a break from the pressure of being a main cog in our crunch-time machine. It may or may not lead to more wins for this team, but if it opens the pressure valve for a bit, it will have been worth any potential slowing of Boogie’s development or pouting he may do.
Ultimately, I think that the gameflow will dictate the rotation to a degree. But if I’m reading Westphal correctly, I think we may start to see a more conservative approach to each game. Hopefully, this would at least lead to less facepalm, if not more wins.
"If you're going to lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the audience." -Geoff Petrie
by AnotherStupidSN on Dec 27, 2010 8:41 AM PST reply actions
Agree that the lineup change is key
and I think Westphal’s comments signal a movement towards more veteran playing time.
The team will take a different approach as it heads into Monday’s matchup.
"Tomorrow we plan on going with Samuel (Dalembert), Carl (Landry), Francisco (Garcia), Tyreke (Evans) and Beno (Udrih)," said Coach Paul Westphal. "I’m trying to get our most experienced players out there. It’s time for that."
After testing a few lineups, the coaching staff believes the younger players can learn best from watching the veterans in action.
"I think it’s important to try developing our young players through a little bit more of the apprentice method than the sink or swim method," said Westphal. "The more professionalism we have for people to learn from the better. Francisco (Garcia) and Beno (Udrih) are certainly two players who know what this League is all about and are good people to have around."
I hope he tries to develop a second unit of Pooh, Taylor, Omri, JT and Cousins. I think that can be an effective, exciting backup unit.
For Donte, I think it’s another trip from starter to almost DNP status. Maybe if he plays with the Pooh unit he can capture some of the magic Omri has shown. Jackson also deserves some PT, but somebody is going to be the odd man out and he can certainly get some reps while JT is getting the cobwebs out in his return.
"Remember now, patience and stop the whining. This is something we have to endure to get better. We have no choice. Stick with Petrie, stick with Westphal, stick with Tyreke, stick it to the fans."
As TZ noted in his new front page post
It’s odd to be tinkering with the starting rotations, when the problem really lies with decision making in the last six or seven minutes of the game. Perhaps he’s going to make sure this group is on the floor if the game is close in the fourth – maybe the veterans won’t throw up on themselves in crunch time.
by otis29 on Dec 27, 2010 9:33 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I think the key is how the veterans corral Tyreke
and hopefully guilt him into improving his decisionmaking late in games. Although Garcia has been iffy in those situations as well.
"Remember now, patience and stop the whining. This is something we have to endure to get better. We have no choice. Stick with Petrie, stick with Westphal, stick with Tyreke, stick it to the fans."
by NewEraKings on Dec 27, 2010 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
I suspect the starting lineup change also signals an ending lineup change.
It may not be the most offensively potent lineup, but it should, in theory, be the least likely to boner things completely. We may still lose every close game, but hopefully we’ll just look like a bad basketball team that’s losing, instead of a collection of guys doing things that can’t even really be called basketball.
"If you're going to lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the audience." -Geoff Petrie
by AnotherStupidSN on Dec 27, 2010 10:28 AM PST up reply actions
From the same link as above
UC Davis Health System Injury Update:
Forward Jason Thompson participated in Sunday’s practice and will most likely be listed as active for tomorrow’s game.
"It’s good now I can move it around it a little bit more," said Thompson. "I’ll come out tomorrow and see how it feels. It’s not 100 percent, but it definitely felt good to get back out onto the floor. It didn’t feel how I wanted it to, but it’s making progress."
"Remember now, patience and stop the whining. This is something we have to endure to get better. We have no choice. Stick with Petrie, stick with Westphal, stick with Tyreke, stick it to the fans."
Great Job
I do think if they can get over the hump and win a close game (the blowout of the Wiz just didn’t help at all) they may start to make some shots at the end of games.
"But screw your courage to the stiking place - and we'll not fail"
Macbeth Act I, Sc VII
Ike Diogu is with the Clippers
Wonder how he’s going to feel about Sacramento.
"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent"- Qui-Gon Jinn
It's no bench mob but...
What the new starting lineup does is create a surprisingly feisty bench based on energy & hustle — Jeter, Jackson, Casspi, and even Donte Greene.
Yes, I’d rather start Cousins over Landry (a bench player who provides a spark) but at least Cousins will learn to hustle — how many times do we see him lazily walking up the court? — or suffer less playing time.
And the numbers are in!!!
Great research, HighTops.
"Where I come from, being a fan isn’t measured by how many posts you make on a blog, or how much of a condescending jackass you can be, so take the disrespectful internet-cool-guy routine that you love to employ and shove it." ~ lchristmas
Exciting game, and the win was close enough that you could taste it
But, again we couldn’t shot abover 44%, althought this time it was Cousins and Pooh who dragged down our FG%. Getting outscored 50-26 in the paint will never lead to a good FG%.
The defense was ok, but again we weren’t able to hold them to below 47%. And they dominated the defensive boards, so that took away any chance of 2nd chance pts.
But, in spite of the loss, it was great to see the team playing competetively down to the last play. And, that after all is a bigger factor than any stats I can give you.
"If you don't have anything good to say, LIE" - Mom
The greatest impact player in NBA History - Tim Donaghy
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