Clippers game report

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Well, Austin Rivers summed it up best..."they were Wolves, we were not". So much fun to see our energy level so much higher than our opponents'. We got every contested rebound (the 50-36 board average was a 2:1 advantage until late in the game), and most 50/50 balls. Everyone played hard for the Wolves, and the Clippers (and especially Blake Griffin) just didn't show up. I think our smash mouth start had a lot to do with taking the wind out of their sails. Regardless, it was a game we had to win. After a brief departure in San Antonio, Thibs returned to his winning formula...play Tyus Jones and play his bench as much or more than our opponent...and again it worked. By Jove, I think he's got it!.

One thing that bothers me about Thibs is this...he seems to make his best decisions when he is forced to make them. Yesterday Q pointed out that Mbah a Moute was a bad match up for Wig, and he was right...Wig missed all of his early shots and was scoreless until Moute went to the bench (Rivers still doesn't play him that many minutes because of his offensive challenges). But I replied that putting their SF on our SG forced Redick to guard our SF, and suggested that it was a perfect time to give Muhammad more minutes. Well, it wouldn't have happened without Rush's illness, but it worked well. Bazz didn't have his best scoring or rebounding game (when he's out there with Wig and KAT, he's going to be a third option and just won't score as prolifically as he does with the reserves, but he bullied Redick the entire game...JJ simply wasn't strong enough to keep him off the offensive boards. Muhammad was only credited with 3 offensive rebounds, but I noticed 5-6 times where his relentlessness and strength advantage kept the ball alive and allowed G or KAT to grab an offensive rebound. And his constant movement on offense seemed to wear Redick out...JJ was relatively ineffective on offense when matched up against Bazz. Necessity is sometimes the mother of invention, and Thibs' starting lineup resulted in a quick start and wire to wire win...I just wish he would have figured it out on his own.

Stephenson is a joy to watch. Yes, he was bad in the second half, but it was impossible to keep your eyes off him in the first half. Aggressive, disruptive defense, and incredible offensive vision and passing skills...all combined with an intensity sometimes missing in this club. He has been a great addition to this roster.

What can you say about KAT? He's physically outmatched by Jordan, and yet he still won the battle. He was 13-16 from inside the line, and used an array of moves to get to the basket in a manner more typical of a PG than a center. It was frustrating to me that he had moments when he seemed to drift out to the 3-point line, but in all fairness, I think he just needed a break at times from battling Jordan...he's just so physical.

Many of us have maligned this team's toughness at times, but not last night. Against one of the chippiest, most physical teams in the league, we matched them blow for blow. Our second team is as tough as it gets, especially with the return of Stephenson. The only modification I would make would be to play Aldrich more. Sure, he's clumsy on offense, but he scored efficiently with the Clippers last year. And you can't dispute his toughness...good things happen when he is on the court. Last night he grabbed 2 rebounds in his 3 minutes, and inflicted a little pain too. I'd really like to see Thibs give our local boy more run.

Ricky continues to play with a joy we all enjoyed in his early year. Such vision and abandon. Nobody plays off of him daring him to shoot more than Chris Paul, and he needs to make more than one of those 5 open threes. Still, I loved his game last night. He was on his way to his second consecutive triple double until foul trouble stalled him at 6 rebounds.

All in all, a great way to start this series of three consecutive home games I will be attending. The Warriors lost at home last night and continue to struggle with Patrick McCaw in the starting lineup instead of Durant. If Thibs doesn't panic and sticks with the winning formula, and if we come out with the same smash mouth intensity we showed last night, we will win Friday night...and the playoff talk will ramp up considerably this weekend!

[60WinTim]

Thanks for the report, LST!

But I am not sure Thibs found the "winning forumula". I suspect we will see Rush back in the starting lineup, with Bazz coming off the bench, and Tyus nowhere to be found.

I did like Bazz in the starting lineup. But I am not sure one game is enough to convince Thibs he ought to change his lineups.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Thanks for the report, LST!

But I am not sure Thibs found the "winning forumula". I suspect we will see Rush back in the starting lineup, with Bazz coming off the bench, and Tyus nowhere to be found.

I did like Bazz in the starting lineup. But I am not sure one game is enough to convince Thibs he ought to change his lineups.

I think you're right, Tim, and I'm not necessarily opposed to Rush returning to the starting lineup...I just liked the Bazz/Redick matchup better last night. Who knows...maybe playing against his teammates from last season will inspire Rush to return to his 41% 3-point shooting.

It was a fun win, and it's going to get much more fun if we can win Friday night!

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Was at the game, and saw much of what LST saw. But I will make a couple other points.

I have been hard on Ricky over time, but man, he is playing well lately. Give him his due. Still not sure he is the guy I want running this team long term, but he is certainly making a case for it with his play as of late. Good to see.

Bazz is growing on me more each day. He has all kinds of holes, but he has also worked his butt off and improved his overall game a lot. I haven't been to many live games, but he is a guy you notice more live than on TV. He works his butt off with constant movement, as LST states, and that gets lost on TV broadcast.

Bjelica.....not good. This guy sits and hits like 30 3's in a row warming up. Looks as smooth shooting as anyone I have ever seen....it's just easy. Then we get to game time, and he air-balled a 3 by like 4 feet. Then he tries to be Magic Johnson on a fast break and throws the ball 5 feet over the wings head and into the stands. I want him to be good....he just isn't.

And regarding Cole Aldrich....I am FIRMLY entrenched with the opposite opinion. The more I see him, the more it becomes abundantly clear why he has already played on like 5 teams in a short career. He makes bad play after bad play. While he makes a hard foul once in a while, that has been the only "redeeming" thing I have seen from this guy all year. He is simply brutal, and that is a position we need a large upgrade.

And yeah, I like Stephenson a lot. Very creative with the ball. Hopefully, he can keep head on straight and fit in with these guys.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

LST/Hicks, Thanks for the reports. Good stuff. A few reactions to your thoughts...

- Rubio....I don't understand how some folks here could possibly view Rose or the player known as "salary cap room" as an upgrade over Ricky. Thank God Thibs didn't pull the trigger on anything. That's not to say that if Dunn keeps improving, we don't eventually move Rubio - I'm open to it. But I think that move would have tanked any hopes of making the playoffs this season and that would have really sucked.

- I'm still on the fence with Stephenson. He made some terrible plays in the second half that really should have been 2-points for us but ended up going the other way. His shooting range is iffy. I do like his size and strength. He's a big wing. He can also pass the ball. We'll see......

- Bjelica made a couple of bone-headed plays, but damn, he has really improved defensively since last year. Keep in mind the refs absolutely murdered him last season, as they do with all white, European rookies. Now they are letting him play a bit. He guarded Blake pretty damn effectively when he was matched up on him.

- I agree.....we have a shot against the Warriors, but we need Wiggins to get back to the efficient basketball he was playing a few games ago. He's struggled the last couple of games against good defense.

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Oh, forgot about Wiggins. Yeah, this guy has all the talent in the world....BUT. I respect the heck out of him for improving his jump shot, but it hurts him in a lot of situations. He now starts to float fairly often, and relies too heavily on that turn-around from like 20 feet. I don't like that shot for him. His game should always be 1a....get to the basket, and then everything else plays off this. He has so many great step-through moves and stuff around the hoop, he always needs to explore driving the ball if available. He is rewarded so often....even when he gets a bit out of control. When he attacks, he is almost unstoppable....but he becomes instantly less impactful when he starts LOOKING for that jumper.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Oh, forgot about Wiggins. Yeah, this guy has all the talent in the world....BUT. I respect the heck out of him for improving his jump shot, but it hurts him in a lot of situations. He now starts to float fairly often, and relies too heavily on that turn-around from like 20 feet. I don't like that shot for him. His game should always be 1a....get to the basket, and then everything else plays off this. He has so many great step-through moves and stuff around the hoop, he always needs to explore driving the ball if available. He is rewarded so often....even when he gets a bit out of control. When he attacks, he is almost unstoppable....but he becomes instantly less impactful when he starts LOOKING for that jumper.

Yup, it's a big reason he struggles with his overall efficiency. He takes a LOT of tough mid-range turnarounds and long 2's - the exact shots most teams are trying to get away from these days. There is nothing wrong with being able to have these in your arsenal, since sometimes that's all that is available, but he relies on them too much.

[Monster]

Watching the last couple of games I've sorta thought to myself "Cole gets out there for like 2 mins every once in a while man that's tough." I'm not suggesting Aldrich is good or whatever but the guy barely gets any tuna does some guys play better when they play some decent minutes. Tyus has really been able to make an impact whenever his name is called and Aldrich hasn't been able to do it like that but man he isn't playing much.