The Los Angeles Clippers went into one of the toughest buildings in the league, against the hottest team in the league, and came away with a 109-105 win. And the weird thing is they didn't play that well. What they did was shoot well.
Chauncey Billups scored a game high 32 in his Denver homecoming against his former Nuggets team. Billups made 6 of 12 three pointers, and the Clippers as a team made 14 of 30 threes, more than one of them of the bail out variety late in shot clocks.
The Clippers gave up a 12-1 run to fall behind by ten points early in the fourth quarter with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul on the bench. It was the biggest deficit of the game for the Clippers, but they brought their Paul and Griffin back into the game and immediately went on a 10-0 run to tie the game.
Down the stretch, Billups made the play of the game with a difficult and-one with the score tied at 99. Lawler's Law clicked in on the bucket, and the Clippers were bound to win the game. As if that were not enough, Billups also made the defensive play of the game. With the Clippers clinging to a two point lead and 17 seconds left, Billups got switched onto Nene on a pick and roll. Although he was at a massive size disadvantage, Billups is one of the few guards in the league with enough strength to bother Nene. He crowded the big Brazilian, and when the pass finally came Nene pushed off to gain some space and was called for the offensive foul that essentially iced the game for the Clippers.
Chris Paul played his most aggressive game on the offensive end since returning from his hamstring injury, taking 19 shots and scoring 25 points. He also had 7 assists and 6 rebounds. He finished the game plus-19, which is a huge number in a four point final. Paul played 38 minutes, so some quick math tells me that the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by 15 in the 10 minutes that Paul was on the bench. Paul's importance was obvious watching the game. Each time he sat down, the Clippers immediately went into a funk and became completely disorganized on offense. Even with Billups playing out of his head and Mo Williams remaining on a roll (he had 12 tonight on just six shots), Paul's absence left the Clippers offense a mess.
Blake Griffin (17 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks) had a similar effect: he was plus-21 in 40 minutes. Although he did not have a great game offensively, that was largely a product of the attention the Denver defense was giving him. The Clippers probably shouldn't expect to make 14 threes many more times this season (this was only the sixth time they've made 14 or more threes in franchise history), but it is true that they were getting some clean looks when they played inside out off of Griffin. Griffin also had a career high four blocked shots, and his buddy DeAndre Jordan had five.
As advertised, the Nuggets got a balanced effort, led by Nene with 18, Danilo Gallinari with 17, and Andre Miller and Al Harrington with 16. Miller, the former Clipper, almost won the game for the Nuggets in the final two minutes. After Billups had broken the 99 all tie with his three point play, Miller went to work. First he drew a foul and made both free throws. After the Clippers scored, he beat Paul off the dribble and found Nene for a dunk, then stole a pass, and on an almost identical play fed Nene for another dunk to put the Nuggets back on top, 105-104. But those were Denver's final points, as Chris Paul drew a foul and made two free throws, and the Clippers got two key stops down the stretch (including Billups' play on Nene).
Although I'm not sure that the Clippers wholly deserved this win (the hot shooting was a determining factor tonight, but might be fool's gold in the long run if they continue to settle for jump shots), it was a victory they sorely needed. It's only the team's second road win of the season, and their first against a team with a winning record. The fact that it came against one of only two teams in the West ahead of the Clippers in the standings is a huge confidence boost as well. Oh, and they play the other team tomorrow night.
The Clippers stole this game. And that's what good teams do. In addition to winning the games they're supposed to win, they also find ways to steal games they're probably not supposed to win.
0 recs | 132 comments
great win tonight, fellas!
banandy - January 29, 2012
This was a great win!!! Must have been the most exciting game of the season! Billups with a big 32!!
Jayq - January 29, 2012
lol
agolden - January 29, 2012
Well the Clippers had to win, it's the Law.
SurfinQ00 - January 29, 2012
We always need CP3 to be this aggressive
Jayq - January 29, 2012
How long will the Law stand?
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
It shall never be amended!
SurfinQ00 - January 29, 2012
lol yea!
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
our bench is beyond sad
Even Gomes has regressed he use to be our defensive specialist. We need some moves after this road trip. Wonder why Bledsoe did not play I was sure he would when Foye got banged up.
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
Yes, our bench is brutal.
KMart and JR please
82-0 - January 29, 2012
As a bonus if someone acts up on the road JR Smith wife and sister will beat them up
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
No JR Smith please
He is one of the streakiest players of all time, and he is more inconsistent then great.
I would dig some KMart though.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
JR Smith is too good of a fit to pass up (IMO). Baggage and all.
Michael White - January 29, 2012
He could work out great
Or he could kill Mo’s momentum off the bench, screw up the chemistry, and just generally slack off.
I would definitely go for Kenyon Martin first. If JR is available on the cheap, I suppose we could take a shot.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
I felt the same way
but foye hasn’t done anything to show he should be in the rotation, and is probably just as streaky a shooter. I’ve never like JR or Kenyon, but in limited minutes off the bench, I’d take either.
osamu - January 29, 2012
+1 I thought it was horrible a month ago
but I’d rather have JR chucking away than Lil’ Chucker. Our nightly lags when the 2nd team comes in is a huge liability.
ganima - January 30, 2012
JR Smith is very talented, but could be a huge distraction.
His sister and gf was just involved in a 2nd fight in China. SMH It’s a damn shame.
Lawler 4ever - January 29, 2012
And yet, even after 33 years of waiting
I’d still rather lose w/o JR Smith than win with that guy on the roster.
boltsfan21 - January 30, 2012
Well said.
KMart I could see, no way on JR Smith.
Chauncey says KMart is okay and that is a good enough endorsement for me.
JR Smith is just too risky to bring in. The team has great chemistry and Smith (and apparently his family as well) has severe maturity issues.
MySDClippers - January 30, 2012
If CP3 and Billups are cool with JR
then so am I.
They played with the guy on other teams so they know more about him locker room/chemistry/character wise than we do. If they don’t lobby for him then that’s also a big sign so the Clips can pass.
ClipperChuck - January 30, 2012
Don't give a crap about the chemistry
I give a crap that he’s a reprehensible person who shows a callous disregard for human life. I also don’t care whether or not he’s buddies with CP3 and Billups. Plenty of horrible people have friends and coworkers who defend them. I just would really prefer not to have to root for that SOB.
As I said pretty clearly, I would rather watch the Clippers lose without him than win with him.
boltsfan21 - January 30, 2012
Well that's up to you
so you are saying if the sign JR Smith to play 20mpg as a backup you’ll stop rooting for the Clips?
ClipperChuck - January 30, 2012
Nope
But it will make the whole thing a lot less fun, kinda like if Kobe Bryant or Ben Roethlisberger or Charles Manson all of a sudden was playing 20mpg as a backup for the Clippers.
boltsfan21 - January 30, 2012
And yet....
the Clippers have a legitimate 6th man of the year candidate.
I don’t think Bledsoe will get much PT because he’s not as big as Foye and can’t really guard 2s.
Michael White - January 29, 2012
Mo Williams is the bench
Evans has not played all that well after a great start here, and Foye is just too inconsistent.
I think our bench play will eventually pick up, but we could use some help.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
I agree with Evans
as much as I like him and his hustle, his D has been looking a little suspect lately and obvi there is no offense to speak of.
chrisd - January 29, 2012
Foye can hardly guard twos
Mo plays SG with Paul and could do the same with Bledsoe. On top of that Bledsoe is a nice weak side blocker and help defender.
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
Oh, Foye definitely sucks. He just happens to be a bit taller. It’s a bummer
Michael White - January 29, 2012
I am surprised out how awful Foye has been this year
I wasnt expecting anything great, but man he has done almost nothing. I was so mad when he missed that corner 3 off the dish from Mo.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
If you have the opportunity to play two small guys at the 1 and the 2, you want it to be Mo and Paul. Mo is simply much better than Bledsoe.
Michael White - January 29, 2012
This, times infinity
Bledsoe has the athletic tools to be great, but right now he is nowhere near Mo, and for all we know, he may never “get it”.
The Mo-Paul lineup is the best on the team I believe. Need to check 82 games again though.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
want Mo and Bledsoe together
I think with the upgrade in athleticism we can make Bledsoe and Mo off the bench combo work
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
It might, since Bledsoe could drive and kick to Mo
Unfortunately, Bledsoe with the ball in his hands is a recipe for a TO or wild attack on the rim. Hopefully he has improved, but he either needs to improve his shooting, or make better decisions.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
think Bledsoe would work off ball he played the roll with Wall
Mo opens the floor and all the plays we run with Foye slashing to the basket but cant finish Bledsoe can burst to the rim. If we go shooters can roll out Bledsoe-Mo-Foye-Gomes-Evans
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
Bledsoe's D
Mo has been playing some pretty good, but I’d love to see Bledsoe get in there some with that 6’7" wingsapn.
JR Smith is a punk. We have young players on this team and none of them are punks. Don’t mess with the chemistry of a perfectly balanced team (youth and experience) by bringing in a one dimensional problem child.
MySDClippers - January 30, 2012
do you know who I wish we had.
the Rhino… I miss that guy.
osamu - January 29, 2012
I thought bledsoe played really well;)
It’s gonna be interesting to see how vdn works Bledsoe into the rotation cause I think he can really improve this year and I dont want to see him spend the whole year on the bench
NoBandwagoners - January 29, 2012 via mobile
I don't mind getting JR if he doesn't mess up
But K-Mart is THE missing piece
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
This win was grand larceny.
With a ton of road games coming up, we need to be able to win period. There have been no easy teams away from Staples or at Staples with the other LA team’s colors. To pick up one in Denver was great. A win tonight takes some of the pressure off us for tomorrow night’s game against the Thunder.
Lawler 4ever - January 29, 2012
OMG
K-Mart can’t make FT’s either
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
He is still a better player than Evans, and is 100 times better than Jones
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
Of course.
But I wonder if we can get anything better than him… (I doubt it)
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
Kmart and Evans front court should work
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
fancier synonym of "steal"
man, you sent me to the dictionary
kikyexcel - January 29, 2012
great game by our boys!
total team effort. DJ swatting shots, bill ups bombing 3s, paul dishing out assist and blake slam dunking the ball
timkempton - January 29, 2012
Dreaming about K-mart like all y'all but...
can we say this was the best win of the season? I think we can.
phitePSEF - January 29, 2012
over the lakers remains top to me
over the heats was nice too.
XXDC2XX - January 29, 2012
except
this was the 2nd best team in the west on the “ROAD”
phitePSEF - January 29, 2012
And is it just me or does our offense only consist of pick and rolls and nothing else?
phitePSEF - January 29, 2012
not just you
That’s it. And players spotting up outside the arc.
Steve Perrin - January 29, 2012
The only player who ever works off the ball is Mo Williams
We need to set more off the ball screens for him, since he just drains wide open shots, especially on the baseline.
NewCavsfan - January 29, 2012
Not to mention the pick and rolls are quite lazy.
Griffin tends to hang back rather than actually roll in; I hope to see large improvement in that.
SurfinQ00 - January 29, 2012
It's irritating
Blake almost never rolls to the basket after the pick! It’s like he forgets that he’s most effective when near the hoop.
closs&kandi - January 29, 2012 via iPhone app
No offense.
That is my gripe with VDN. It doesn’t appear that there is an offense. Sure, a few set plays from timeouts, but otherwise it is just dribble out the first ten seconds of the shot clock, try to dump it down to BG, but BG can’t get deep enough on his posts, therefore kick it back out to a guard with 7 seconds left on the shot clock, dribble another couple seconds then pass off for a defensed 3-point shot or a long guarded two.
BG and DeAndre both need to work on their post up games. I know they are both just kids, but by next season I hope they bring more to the offense in that area.
MySDClippers - January 30, 2012
Well
the Clips offense is now the 7th best in the league (as opposed to last year’s offense which was ranked 22nd). I don’t attribute much (if any) of this to VDN’s coaching but to the brilliance of CP3. That said I’ll credit VDN for knowing CP3 is awesome and just letting him do his thing (which is a lot of pick and rolls/screens).
I’m more concerned about the defense and the substitution patterns. Clips only have 7 good rotation players so he’s going to have to play crummy guys like Foye and Gomes at times but the lineups he puts out there at times make no sense.
ClipperChuck - January 30, 2012
Agree
I think that’s one of the huge bonuses and why CP3 is such a great fit for our “system” (if you can call it that). The Clippers only run pick-n-rolls… CP3 is an amazing PG in the pick-n-roll… therefore, CP3 is perfect for the Clippers.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
can we survive like that?
phitePSEF - January 29, 2012
Nuggets are beyond mad
I didn’t think they would be so upset
KillaClip - January 29, 2012
Yeah, it's all about the refs
They are complaining about the “bad call” foul by Nene on Chauncey. Can’t admit that there’s plenty of blame to go around. We’ve all said “one play doesn’t make the difference”. They had a 10 point lead in the 4th …. sometimes you gotta point the finger at yourselves.
Thretch - January 29, 2012
As if there weren't also a bunch of bad calls that went against the Clippers.
losbolts - January 29, 2012
They were still in the game with a minute to go. They had a chance.
You can’t worry about what should have or shouldn’t have been called. They blew their opportunities. Noone cries when the Clippers get done over by the refs and then fail to execute down the stretch. Well Clipper fans may cry, but nobody else does. They just say Clippers being the Clippers or Clippers suck and move on.
Lawler 4ever - January 30, 2012
clip clip hooray! clip clip hooray!!
still can’t get over the great win fellas
keep it up Chauncey!
once Big Bad Blake comes around, we will be golden
timkempton - January 29, 2012
we won, we are golden!
chrisd - January 29, 2012
talking about me, fool?
lol
agolden - January 29, 2012
Of course I'm working 4-8 when they play
I feel like my work and the NBA collaborate and work against my favor
Ricekrispy10 - January 29, 2012
I thought there were numorous bad calls...
…against the Clips. It shouldn’t have been this difficult, but the refs made it so. And hey, if you shoot well, what else matters? Isn’t that what the game is all about, scoring? Analysts make too big a deal about non-scoring activities on the court.
saxmanager - January 29, 2012
It's like political arguments
Ad-Hominem attacks, Red Herring, etc.
agolden - January 29, 2012
Like when Al ripped Blakes arm down and there was a no call?
That was at a crucial time.
Or the possession right before the foul where Harrington passes to himself?
Sad that they didnt notice that.
Newton Pham - January 29, 2012
No more Newtybar?
Lawler 4ever - January 30, 2012
Pass to himself...
Technically, that wasn’t a violation. Harrington hadn’t used his dribble yet and the “pass” hit the floor, so it’s really no different than starting his dribble. Had he already dribbled, or dribbled again, it would have been a double dribble. But he didn’t.
The Mo Williams “kick” was a dubious call. It’s only a violation if you do it on purpose, and Mo would have had to be pretty good on the soccer pitch to make that play on purpose.
Steve Perrin - January 30, 2012
Re: Pass to himself---that's is how I saw it too.
Now, I do think there was a really obvious travel by Harrington when he switched his pivot foot in the post (and Mike exclaimed “Traveling!” in perfect unison with my girlfriend and I. Well, she can’t talk being that she’s made of cardboard, but you know what I mean.
Yes, I thought kicking calls were supposed to be based on the judgment of the ref as to whether it was on purpose or not. I think only a small handful of people in the world could have done that on purpose, and I’m pretty sure all of them are professional martial artists.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Yes
Kick has to be intentional.
Yes, Harrington walked, though I’ve seen worse.
The foul on Blake in the final minute was probably the worst call to me. Not only did Harrington grab his wrist going for the ball, but Nene landed on him as well. I thought the Nene foul was the more blatant one.
But Clippers can’t complain much — they got the biggest call, the one Billups drew. And the refs let plenty of contact go on both ends, including the last few drives by Gallinari. There was also the key offensive rebound at 99-96 when DeAndre kept the ball alive while shoving Fernandez out of bounds. That ended up with a wide open three from Billups, who happened to be Rudy’s man.
Steve Perrin - January 30, 2012
Oh yea the Rudy push
Forgot about that.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
The Clippers are blazing hot!
“Where the White Women at?”
ClipperBEAST - January 29, 2012
lol...
Classic.
Takebb909 - January 30, 2012 via mobile
10 times better recaps/journalism at Clips Nation than newspapers!
newspapers aka poor newspapers aka AP Wire aka STATS LLC aka Computerized articles from box scores
agolden - January 29, 2012
just to say why I enjoy Clips Nation
agolden - January 29, 2012
i enjoyed the win
as always, great recap by steve.
Jakespeed - January 29, 2012
Nuggets fans feel quite deserving of this win.
Aside from our hot shooting, I think we won this game through our talent. The refs made bad calls on both sides, but it was apparent near the end of the game they were letting them play. If we go by contact, then sure Gallo initiated some contact which may or may not have been called; it just so happens that Gallo gets calls more often than none while the Griffin doesn’t (although it doesn’t make a huge difference with Griffin’s poor FT shooting). Also, they complain about flopping on Billups’ side. Anyone else notice Gallo’s drive when he flailed his head back to draw the foul but it turned into a Nene dunk? Yeah, Gallo wasn’t touched and he tried to act as if Griffin somehow hit him. It is obvious Nene pushed Billups, Billups just made it more apparent to the refs. When a play like that can change the games so drastically, they have to call something. On a final note, they say we got lucky. Too some extent, yes, we did, but do they honestly believe that Rudy’s last second tip in or whatever was planned or skilled?
SurfinQ00 - January 29, 2012
Yeah, lucky they blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead
Thretch - January 29, 2012
hehe that's laughable
chauncey was holding his arm and TRYING to foul him intentionally. when it wasn;t called he figured, i know, i’ll flop and maybe i’ll luck out. sure enough. cb killed his ex team with a reputation flop.
Patrick KB. Nugget - January 30, 2012
i cant believe we came out with the win
nuggets were getting layup and dunks all game…while we were shooting perimeter shots all game ….luckily we had a hot stretch…….
even though we have great offensive players, our offense is so predictable and not well organized….denver has players cutting back door, getting easy layups and dunks…
seems like all we do now is pick and pop……poor ball movement and no cutters….even though we won…i strongly feel like we need a new coach
nauticazn25 - January 29, 2012
+1
denver had a better system in place. if it wasn’t for the hot shooting by billups and cp3 we would be in trouble. the big difference between this team and last year’s team is now we have enough shooters that can make the long jumpers, which bail us out of a lot of bad offensive possession.
zac4president - January 30, 2012
A couple of years ago, Denver fans wanted to axe George Karl.
What we wouldn’t do to have George Karl as our coach…
Lawler 4ever - January 30, 2012
Read their blog from last nite's game
There is as much bitching about Karl and his coaching (mostly stubborrnness and his player matchups) as we have here about VDN. Also, pretty universal feelings there that they got hosed by the refs, especially the offensive foul at the end that Chuncey drew on Nene.
PV Mike - January 30, 2012
I don't get the complaint about the offensive foul.
Nene VERY clearly pushed both of his hands away from himself and at Chauncey. I mean there was nothing floppy about that, especially when it’s a center vs a guard.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Yes I agree, some are call him "Mr. Big Flop"
It was definitely a foul but it did look like Chauncey got shot out of a cannon.
PV Mike - January 30, 2012
That just shows how strong Nene is.
Strong like ox.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Well...
Check out Chauncey’s quotes after the game. “as soon as he grabbed me, pushed me, boom, I went down.” There’s no question that Chauncey exaggerated the contact, but that’s just what smart players do. Nene clearly extended his arms and Chauncey more or less forced the ref to make the call. It was by no means a bad call — but I would say it is a call that often doesn’t happen with 18 seconds left.
Steve Perrin - January 30, 2012
Hah
That’s almost the same as the JJ Barea quote from that flop vs Baron, but at least Nene is twice the size of Billups. In general, I’m not a fan of those calls with 18 seconds left.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
chauncey CLEARLY was holding
and in fact likely trying to intentionally foul nene and send him to the line. jaundice?
Patrick KB. Nugget - January 30, 2012
+1000
Raining Buckets - January 30, 2012
Great win, but it also shows how stagnant our offense is
We were lucky that our J’s were falling, and that we have so many awesome individual players.
However, I have yet to see any semblance of an actual offense being run here, aside from pick and rolls (without the roll) and the occasional Blake post-up. There has been very little off-ball movement and almost no cutting to the basket. The opening minutes of the first quarter were particularly painful to watch.
I love Blake (his 4 blocked shots were great), but he needs to be more aggressive moving off-ball. I saw numerous opportunities for him to slash to the rim and choosing instead to remain floating 19 feet out. He also missed opportunities to drive to the hoop instead of settling for his still terrible jumpshot. Mike Smith pointed this out on one especially lazy play where Blake had a wide open lane to the basket and chose to shoot the J instead of drive. Considering his quickness and ball handling skills, there is no excuse for this. At the very least, take a dribble and pull up from the elbow for a higher percentage shot.
I don’t hold Blake entirely responsible for his struggles, however. It’s up to the coaching staff to run an offense that takes advantage of his gifts, and to point out when he’s not doing what he’s supposed to. Considering that Blake’s lack of rolling off P&Rs and general lack of movement has been a season-long problem, I blame VDN for not addressing this.
Considering the talent on this team, there is no excuse for such a sloppy, stagnant offense. Compare it to the offense of the Nuggets, who do not have anywhere near the same level of players in their starting lineup (and who were missing one of their top guys) and yet almost (and probably should have) won this game. The points in the paint differential is the real indicator of which team was getting quality shots (the Clips were bailed out by red hot shooting). That’s the difference that having a real coach makes.
Raining Buckets - January 30, 2012
my thoughts exactly...even though we won...it was frustrating to watch
nauticazn25 - January 30, 2012
Perhaps you're frustrated because
your team is in a close game on the road which has the importance of every play highlighted.
Jax - January 30, 2012
+1
Peter B. Lap - January 30, 2012
don't hold your breath
Nuggets fan complain a lot about George Karl too
BelgianClipper - January 30, 2012
+1
The Nuggets’ offense looks so darn smooth. I’m hoping this is just a chemistry issue that’ll work itself out, but having an offense beyond the pick-n-roll is key.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
the chemistry will improve, but the offensive schemes will not
the knock on VDN in Chicago was that he only ran pick & roll. apparently, this leopard isn’t changing his spots.
Raining Buckets - January 30, 2012
Movement off the ball....
Some coaches emphasize it, some do not. Karl, Adelman, Popovich, Sloan/Corbin in Utah… these teams move without the ball, and they get good shots. Why don’t more teams do it? Because it requires everyone on the floor to be able to make plays, both the guy with the ball and the guy without. The funny thing is that the Clippers now have that sort of team. But they don’t have that coach.
Steve Perrin - January 30, 2012
Is Sloan a pipe dream?
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Yes
VDN is quite possibly going to end up coaching the best Clipper team of all time (this one.) He’s not getting fired.
Michael White - January 30, 2012
Isn't his contract up soon though?
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Not soon enough.
But yeah I think it ends this season…?
Raining Buckets - January 30, 2012
fired mid-season no
but if he gets out-coached in the playoffs then they can just decline to pick up his option.
ClipperChuck - January 30, 2012
"Karl, Adelman, Popovich, Sloan"
Hold on a second, Steve… this list of coaches who emphasize off-ball movement is also a list of the best coaches in the league! Is there a connection?
Sarcasm aside, I completely agree that the Clips have a team full of playmakers to run that kind of system. It seems like a waste to have so many good players just standing around the perimeter on offense while one or two guys work so hard to get buckets.
Raining Buckets - January 30, 2012
Denver is a very deep team and can score so quickly it’s hard to keep up. Good thing that we kept the score close even when we were not playing our best. Vinny actually made some good moves as a coach. I think teams doubling and playing Blake hard, opens things for other guys. He distracts their defense. Our defense was porous most of the game, but we really turned it up at the end. Exciting win.
tenkaistar - January 30, 2012
Great win, BUT
I guess Vinny has no offensive plays in his playbook, either that, or the team is not executing them. With that being said, regarding the fact that we have CP3 at the point guard position, I would go for the first thesis. All we saw last night were high pick&rolls (not that many), Blake Griffin isolations and contested shots. Of course, there were some nice plays in there, I give you that but this team will not be able to come away with a win against other tough opponents if it doesn’t execute on offense. If it weren’t for Chauncey’s big night the Clippers would have left the Pepsi center defeated. The team showed flashes of what thay can be, how they can execute on offense this season, but they’re missing consistency. Nuggets were beating us with the whole game with their easy layups and dunks, I guess the 3pt shot really saved us tonight. The guys need to pick up their game or it’s going to be a long month, especially on the road.
Peter B. Lap - January 30, 2012
Well, I guess we will see tonight.
PV Mike - January 30, 2012
We finally get some players on the team...
…that can hit shots in the clutch, and now you guys are complaining? We sit through seasons of players like Kaman, Foye and Gomes whose shots disappear at the end of games, who turn the ball over, and somehow find a way to lose, and now when we have clutch players who know how to close games, you guys just can’t stand the prosperity!
saxmanager - January 30, 2012
Disappointing Win - But eh its a road win so take it any way you can.
Without Ty Lawson playing who arguably is their best player the Clippers should have won this game by 10+.
The Clippers defense most of the night looked pretty bad facing a team led by aging A. Miller at PG. How many points did the Clippers let him score in Q1, 12?
Yes I agree considering their awful defense they stole this one.
I’ll take it.
Buddahfan - January 30, 2012
OK, time for a positive spin
10-point 4th quarter deficit … pull out a win!
1-point deficit in the final minute … pull out a win!
Poise we didn’t see in previous seasons. I know there’s a lot of negative to take away from this game, but the two facts above are cause for optimism.
Thretch - January 30, 2012
I'm not negative at all about the game
Clippers played in Denver (very tough place to play) against a team sporting a 14-5 record. As SP says, good teams find ways to steal games. Clippers did that. I’m very pleased.
Michael White - January 30, 2012
I agree...
I thought this was the best win of the season. Tough team, tough place to play, away game. Stayed close, won it late in the fourth.
John Raffo - January 30, 2012
This
Funny to see some people complaining about a win on the road against the second seed in the West. This is a quality win. This team is only going to get better
Jax - January 30, 2012
It was just ugly, that's all.
But I’m not disappointed at all. I expected it to be ugly.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
If it pleases the court,
I would like to withdraw this comment.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
I think this shows how we might be in the playoffs
I have a very good feeling about how this team will perform in crunch time. All we have to do is hang around when we’re playing in tough places like this, and I think we will have a very good shot at winning.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Yes. Please withdraw your comment about the game being "ugly".
It was beautiful.
John Raffo - January 30, 2012
The fact that they can win games with talent alone (against good teams) is promising
I agree, the offense looks extremely simplistic but you can still see guys are still learning the play with one another and picking up on tenancies.
Eventually, things are going to click. The fact that we can win games against surging teams like Denver and the Grizzlies with poor execution is encouraging. Remember, it took the Heat a lot longer than people thought to figure things out.
We’ve beaten some excellent teams thus far. We’ll know how “together” this team by their road success.
You got to hand it to them. They pulled it together last night after being down 10 points with 11 to go in the game. Plenty of time, I know. But look at the run they made.
On a personal note, I love how they were able to break 100 points first and hit Lawler’s Law when they were down 94-99.
dulciusXasperis - January 30, 2012
Awesome win
Should put to rest the can’t-win-on-the-road fallacy. The road record is sure to even out once we start playing some of the Eastern Conference bottom feeders.
And speaking of bottom feeders, sorry, gotta say it: Solomon Jones is the worst defensive center I’ve seen in a long time. Far from protecting the paint, his presence in the game leaves shooters wide open time and time again. Karl/FAndre ran the same play about 4 times in a row because Jones has no clue what he’s doing — he’s out there doubling the point guard for no reason while his man (in this case Nene) slips to the hole, which forces the 4 to rotate to his man, which forces a guard to pick up the other team’s 4, which leaves a deadly shooter open from deep. Cookie’s horrificness (horrificity?) may be more obvious because he actually touches the ball on offense, but at this point I’m convinced he’s still the better player.
boltsfan21 - January 30, 2012
I take back all I ever said to defend Solomon Jones' defense.
Maybe I was watching him playing defense against a dysfunctional offense, but against one as well-oiled as Denver’s, he looked just terrible. He was always late on his rotations and just never where he needed to be. God, we need KMart.
Erik O - January 30, 2012
Nene schooled him on one play, it was just painfull
With Cook you are more or less sure he would have fouled him and let him earn it at the line.
BelgianClipper - January 30, 2012
With the deadline for guaranteed contracts coming up...
I don’t expect Jones to be around much longer. I think it’s Feb 10… or 12.
Are you ready to see more Brian Cook? Maybe they’ll cut Jones and bring him back on a ten day deal.
John Raffo - January 30, 2012
and then bring in Kenyon Martin on the 15th or whenever the CBA ends.
chrisd - January 30, 2012
Unfortunately, yes
I still think Cook > Jones. But hopefully we’ll sign KMart and not have to worry about seeing much of either one.
boltsfan21 - January 30, 2012
Billups is a stud,and the team leader in the playoffs
Paul is still learning.He will be the best,but Chauncey has a lot left to teach him!
LLOYD C - January 30, 2012
I was at the game... it was glorious!
SoCalBroncsFan - January 30, 2012
Did the building all know Tebow was there?
did they put him on the big screen?
PV Mike - January 30, 2012
Yeah they did.
at first it was people here and there recognizing him, but the mascot ran up to him with a Tebow jersey that he signed and threw into the audience… seemed pretty staged.
SoCalBroncsFan - February 6, 2012
and yes, the pass was wobbly.
SoCalBroncsFan - February 6, 2012
why on eart was my post erased?
i made a well thought out post about my analysis of last night game between my nuggets and your clips with praise/ criticism for both sides and said nothing personal/ vulgar about anyone, and it was erased?
i personally thought the clippers fought hard and earned the victory.
you don’t allow people to disagree with the masses in your blog? was it because i criticized the (extremely incorrect)asertion that the nuggets have had an easy schedule compared to the clippers? i explained calmly and in detail why this was utter nonsense (without even stating something so harsh).
all the way around. lame, lame lame. only blog in the league who i’ve experienced this with. i’ts a blog, not a pulitzer worthy memoir. no need to power trip. this is irresponsible highschool facebook mentality, not something i would expect from a writer or proprietor of an nba blog site where it is customary to WELCOME unjaundiced perspectives..
Patrick KB. Nugget - January 30, 2012
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