Okay, we lost...but I don't feel so bad- Clippers game report

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Thanks for staying up, guys...I'll try to make this quick :D .

I learned tonight that we are better than the Clippers. Marc Stein said it this morning, but I had to see it for myself. I can't prove that any of the following statements are true, but I think they are:

1) If we aren't playing the back end of a B2B, we win tonight.

2) If we were playing at Target rather than Staples Center, we win tonight.

3) I don't like to complain about refereeing and don't often, but if the calls were more even, we win tonight.

4) If Turiaf and Budinger are healthy, we win tonight.

5) Conversely, if Matt Barnes doesn't shock all the sports writers in town and suit up, supplying some desperately needed toughness plus 9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and a block, we win tonight.

6) If Jamal Crawford doesn't bank in a 75-foot prayer, we win tonight

And even after all that, if Kevin Love makes a tip shot that he makes 99 times out of 100, we go to overtime with momentum and win tonight.

Great game tonight...the kind of game that is going to give the team a lift and propel us to 5 or 6 wins in our next 6 games. Leave it to the Los Angeles Slippers, the softest team in the league, to throw a coming out party for Pek. God knows he needed it. Griffin and Jordan are athletic to be sure, but Pek always seems to play confidently against them. Let's hope he can build on this game, because his inside presence will only make Love and Martin that much more dangerous.

What more can be said about Rubio? Coming off of 40 minutes and a triple double last night, all he had to do tonight was chase Chris Paul around. And he turned in a gutty performance, battling through screens all night. His numbers weren't great (although his one made three got him up to a respectable 33% on the year), but my respect for him rose to a new level. His competitive desire is fierce, and I think he is destined to win an NBA championship at some point in his career. After he picked up his 4th foul on a questionable call, Adelman told him during a timeout that he was sitting him down, and I saw a Ricky I have never seen before. Ricky slammed his fist into a chair and angrily threw a towel...he settled down quickly and turned his focus toward cheering his teammates on, but I loved seeing the fire.

I knew the game thread would be full of comments about our poor bench play, but I actually saw some positive signs tonight. Derrick showed some offensive spark with 6 points, DC had 7 rebounds and aggressively attacked the offensive boards (should have had two put back slams though), and although he didn't shoot well, JJ had some nice assists and four in total with only one turnover. In fact, that was the only turnover our reserves had all night, so they protected the ball well.

JJ shot the lights out in pre-game, and I thought was poised to have a big night. On the other hand the Kevins were hitting the front rim on most of their threes, and I was fearing tired legs. So much for pre-game being a predictor of how the player is going to do in the game! I see JJ as our Jamal Crawford. There are many nights when Crawford makes Clipper fans want to scream, but there are other night, like tonight, that he wins the game almost on his own. JJ will win some games for us this year and always brings a high level of competitive fire, and I'm glad to have him as our backup point guard.

Not much else to add. A really fun two nights at Staples...full houses both nights! Those may be my only two live games of the year, so I was lucky to catch two great ones. Coming home 5-3, with a good chance of being 10-4 after the next 6 games.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Thanks for the report LST. I, as well as everyone here, appreciate the time it takes to post these reports. I'll write my well-thought reply later today. Still steaming off the loss. 6-2 > 5-3. Oh well. :(

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

Thanks for the report LST. It is always good to get the perspective of someone at the game. That had to be a great game to watch.

It is good to hear your confidence in members of the second team, after both of our close losses came off poor shooting nights by JJ. Hopefully we can get that second team shooting better before too long.

[60WinTim]

Thanks for the report, Long. I also came away thinking "we are better than the Clippers".

On a side note, while Blake Griffin can do some good stuff, I would be disappointed as a Clipper fan with the growth of his game over the years.

I will also add Deing didn't get much run tonight, but that was the best 5-minute stint he's had in a Wolves uni. Progress!

[Bayou Wolf [enjin:6635650]]

What struck me most in watching the game, was that while the checklist of adversity that you mention LST was certainly present, we still took the game to the wire, and were thinking we could win the entire time...never gave up, never let tired legs become an excuse...we look like a winning team, and one that is starting to believe in itself.

[Eitan]

Great report Long. Thank you again for the very interesting insights from the last two games.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Thanks for the report, Long. I also came away thinking "we are better than the Clippers".

On a side note, while Blake Griffin can do some good stuff, I would be disappointed as a Clipper fan with the growth of his game over the years.

I will also add Deing didn't get much run tonight, but that was the best 5-minute stint he's had in a Wolves uni. Progress!

I agree, Tim, but you need to understand the LA mentality. It's the easiest sports market in the world to be an athlete, because you can do no wrong...kind of the anti-Philadelphia! They love Blake because he does flashy dunks and funny commercials, and they forgive him for not being the player he could be if he was willing to mix it up a little more. Any normal sports town would have been groaning as Deandre Jordan missed all his free throws last night, but the forgiving Staples crowd was treating him like an 8-year-old who just struck out...lots of "that's okay, Deandre, you'll get 'em next time!" Kind of charming actually in a way!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

What struck me most in watching the game, was that while the checklist of adversity that you mention LST was certainly present, we still took the game to the wire, and were thinking we could win the entire time...never gave up, never let tired legs become an excuse...we look like a winning team, and one that is starting to believe in itself.

You summarized in one sentence exactly how I felt last night, Bayou! This team has a different mentality to it, a new toughness...and I also never think they're out of the game. I credit Rubio, Love and (gasp) Barea for their leadership...three guys who really hate to lose.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I didn't see the game (too late for a working stiff on the east coast), but I was VERY glad to see Pekovic finally come through with a big game. That is a very good sign to see him finally get his offense going.

It sounds like a number of things didn't go our way (poor calls by the refs, the buzzer beater by Crawford, Love's missed gimmee), yet we fought hard and almost took the game to OT.

I'll take a split of this road trip to L.A. We emphatically beat the Lakers and barely lost to the Clippers. I'm good with that.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I didn't see the game (too late for a working stiff on the east coast), but I was VERY glad to see Pekovic finally come through with a big game. That is a very good sign to see him finally get his offense going.

It sounds like a number of things didn't go our way (poor calls by the refs, the buzzer beater by Crawford, Love's missed gimmee), yet we fought hard and almost took the game to OT.

I'll take a split of this road trip to L.A. We emphatically beat the Lakers and barely lost to the Clippers. I'm good with that.