Even without All Star point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets proved to be too much for the Clips this game. Six Hornets scored in double figures, including team leader David West with 24. Baron Davis and Al Thornton each had good games, scoring 23 and 30, respectively. Kaman had a bit of a subpar game with 17 points and 6 rebs.

Nov 18 – Memphis Grizzlies

Facing Memphis again, the Clippers were not as lucky this time around. They allowed all of the Grizzlies’ starting lineup, other than Conley, to have big games, scoring 16+ each. Baron Davis scored 20+ for the second consecutive game, pacing the Clippers with 23. Kaman again had 17 points and 6 boards. Ricky Davis and Craig Smith each scored 12 off the Clipper bench.

Next game is at home, tonight, Friday, versus the 8-3 Denver Nuggets.

It was business as usual for Chris Kaman. He scored 20+ again, going for 25 points and 7 boards in the loss. He and Camby had trouble containing Raptors’ forward Chris Bosh, who has been wreaking havoc on defenders all year, as he scored 21 points, grabbed 14 boards, and contributed 6 assists.

The game looked like a potential blowout in favor of the Clips after one quarter, as they led 34-17. That was the only quarter of the game in which they outscored the Raptors, however, as they did indeed go on to lose by 15. Baron Davis also played well in the loss, scoring 17 points and dishing out 7 assists. The difference proved to be bench scoring, as Toronto’s bench outscored the Clips bench 35 to 20, basically accounting for the point differential of the game. For the Clips to succeed they are going to have to get better contributions from Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair.

Sunday – Nov 15th

The Clips found a way to bounce back from the disappointment of Friday night, playing the Thunder on the road. Many predicted the Thunder to blow the Clips out in this game, since they have been playing well at home and are looking like one of the most improved teams in the league this year.

The loss was certainly not due to Durant performing poorly. The third year stud came out firing, hoisting up 25 shots on his way to 40 points. He was 10-11 from the free throw line and also pulled down 8 boards. Westbrook also had a solid game, scoring 17 points, but the third member of the Thunder’s big three, Jeff Green, had a poor peformance, frusterated by Thornton’s length and offensive performance. Thornton outscored Green 20 to 7, and it could be said that it was this matchup that more or less determined the outcome of the game. It remains of matter of debate, but Thornton may remain in the starting lineup when Eric Gordon comes back, and thus push Rasual Butler back to the 6th man position. Baron Davis and Chris Kaman combined for 49 points, too. It was another sub-par performance from the Clipper bench, however, who were able to muster just 18 points, with 9 of them coming from sharpshooter Kareem Rush.

Next game is Tuesday against the New Orleans Hornets again. Chris Paul is currently injured, and if he fails to return in time for Tuesday night’s game, it should be an easy revenge victory for the Clippers, who were blown out last game versus the Hornets. The Hornets are 2-2 at home, but 1-6 on the road and are disappointing many in terms of where they were two seasons ago. At 4-7, the Clips are still etching away at returning to .500, which may prove to be the benchmark for the 8th playoff seed.

Much like every other game this season, the Clippers rode Kaman the entire game, relying on him for their offense. Kaman, however, did not have one of his better shooting nights, going 9 for 26 from the floor and blowing a crucial play late in the game down by 2. Kaman, an ambidextrous center, often spins to the center of the lane from the right block, where he can then either shoot a turnaround or one of his lefty hooks, but on the crucial play late in the game, he spun baseline, got caught behind the backboard, in the air, and threw it away to more or less seal the game for the Thunder. They came down the court with a two second differential and a two point lead, and for some inexplicable reason, the Clippers did not foul, electing instead to try to get a stop and rebound the ball to take a time out and advance it with two seconds left. That failed. The Clips announcers commented on the stupidity of the move, saying that “if the Thunder can just get a hand on the rebound and tip it out, then the game will be over!” The Thunder did indeed get the offensive rebound and took a desperation foul to go to the line and lock it up with two free throws. Clippers fans have to be getting frustrated with the close losses, but generally marginal teams DO lose a lot of close games, and that seems to be the case this year with the Clips.

Thornton, starting in place of injured Eric Gordon, filled in admirably with 15 points and 9 boards, but the Clippers are sorely lacking their second leading scorer in Gordon. One has to wonder, if with Gordon, they would not have had to dump it into Kaman in the final minute of the game. Gordon’s speed and versatility would have opened up a better opportunity for either his shot or someone else’s and the outcome of the game might have been different if the second year guard had played.

Baron Davis went 6-18 from the floor and is shooting under 40% from the field this year. If the Clips are going to win more games, he’s going to have to up his shooting percentage. He’s clearly not the player he once was; he lacks the athleticism that made him so hard to guard, but there is no reason for him to shoot 33% for a game.

Next game, Friday, the Clips face Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors. It’s another tough defensive assignment for Kaman and Camby as Bosh is averaging 28.9 ppg this year through eight games. They will also have their work cut out for them on the perimeter, with Calderon and Turkoglu creating good shot opportunities for their teammates.

Clippers face the young Thunder tonight. Durant is coming off a 37 point game in which he shot 18-18 from the line, so Rasual Butler has his work cut out for him. It is doubtful second leading scorer Eric Gordon plays tonight, so the Clips are going to need a big game from Thornton who is starting in his place. I’ll check back in after tonight’s contest and give a report on what could be a bounce back game tonight.

Kaman picked up where he left off, continuing his domiant play. He scored 20+ for the sixth consecutive game, scoring 26 and grabbing 9 rebounds. It seems a foregone conclusion that if Kaman keeps this up, he will make his first all star appearance this year.

He commented, “We scraped it out tonight and we got some stops down the stretch, It was good to get another win. We’ve just got to keep building on this. I’m happy where we’re at right now, but we’ve got to continue to play hard and try to get some more wins.”

Even without Iverson, the Clips got all they could handle from Rudy Gay, who scored 33, and almost tied the game and forced overtime, in a three point shot at the end, though he was clearly on the line and it would not have tied the game anyway.

The game was a real dogfight, with Memphis carrying a narrow lead most of the way. The Clips tied it up going into the fourth quarter and set the stage for what would be a tight finish.

Rasual Butler came alive in the fourth quarter, hitting two crucial threes that sparked the Clips to a lead that would only be challenged by a series of fouls. Unfortunately, most of the resulting free throws were blanks, and it left the door open for the Grizzlies, who without a time out were forced to drive the length of the court in 4.6 seconds to attempt a game tying three.

Dunleavy reflected on the importance of the win:

“That was a big step for our team. When we started off, we didn’t have a lot of energy. I thought having our starters sit out the fourth quarter last night, they would have more energy. They were a little flat, but our bench picked them up.”

So, after starting the season 0-4, the Clips have won three straight and will attempt to climb back to .500 next game against New Orleans. Baron Davis will have to attempt to neutralize Chris Paul, who has been on a tear of late. Fortunately for the Clips, no other Hornets players are having much of a year. David West, the other all star for the Hornets last year, presents a threat, but with the stellar post play of Camby and Kaman, it will be hard for West to make his usual impact if they defend the jumpshot well.

Kaman reflected, “We had a nice little lead and we kind of let them back in, which was disappointing to us, but ultimately it is about wins and losses and we got the win, It’s good to get a win under our belt. Whether it’s against the Lakers or the Timberwolves, it doesn’t matter to us.
A win’s a win, but unfortunately it was a little nasty win.

Referring to the win as nasty may have been an odd choice of words, but it was appropriate since the Clips did blow a 13 point lead, to make it a close game in the fourth.

The win during the closing seconds was largely due to the defensive play of Eric Gordon, who didn’t allow Brewer to get a shot off for a game tying three.

Friday night, versus Golden State, the Clippers got off to a tremendous start. Kaman came out to play again, hitting the first three field goals for the Clips, one a 21 foot jumper and the other two layins from Baron Davis passes. Those plays would set the tone for another great game from Kaman and what proved to be Baron Davis’ best game of the young season. Up 12-0, Golden State reeled off 9 straight points, prompting Dunleavy to call a time out. Following that time out, the Clips came back with a 7-0 run of their own, capped by an Eric Gordon three. Time out Golden State. It became apparent from this exchange that it would be a high scoring affair.

Gordon hit another three off a Kaman kick out to give the Clips a 12 point advantage with three minutes to go in the first half.

Interviewed at halftime Rasual Butler commented, “Gotta do a better job closing out halves. They got some second shot opportunites that they scored on. We didnt blow any coverage but they played small ball…and scored some points.”

The Clips came out on a mission in the second half. In the third quarter they outscored Golden State 34-16. Baron Davis hit 6 of 8 shots in the quarter, including two threes to close out the quarter and give the Clips a decisive 30 point lead going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter then became meaningless, and Dunleavy pulled Kaman and Baron Davis from the game. Kaman finished with 22 points and 9 rebs, and Baron Davis scored 25 and dished out 7 assists, most of them to Kaman. 2nd year guard Eric Gordon also had a great game, scoring 25. Somewhat disturbing though was his 6 of 10 free throw shooting. Last year he was an excellent free throw shooter, finishing better than 85% from the line. Thus far this season he is 22 for 32 for 68%. It may not be a large sample size, thus it may just be an anomaly, but with the number of looks Gordon is going to get from the line this year, he really need to shoot it at the clip he did last year. Aside from that troubling statistic, the Clips had a great evening and now have won two in a row.

The next game is Monday vs New Orleans. Baron Davis will have the unenviable task of guarding Chris Paul. Fortunately though, he is the only Hornet playing well at the moment, as the Hornets are 2-4 as well. Monday’s game is crucial for both teams as they fight their way back to .500

Moving on to Saturday night’s game…

The Clips entered 0-3, having suffered losses to the Lakers, Suns, and Jazz. This week featured two back to back games and a total of 4 games, so the Clips had reason to be tired tonight.

Kaman never looked tired. In the first quarter he hit four baseline jumpers and scored 10 points in total. He was on his way to a career high 27 points. Also in the first quarter, Eric Gordon hit a couple threes and the Clips led 27-23 after one.

Kaman began the second quarter by hitting two more 15-17 foot jumpers. With a two point lead at 46-44, Baron Davis picked up a technical foul. Dirk hit his free throw and then scored on a lay up that trip down the court to give the Mavs a one point lead. It seemed at this point the Clips were on their way to losing their momentum. Then, following a 20 second time out, Kaman came up with back to back steals and scores to take a two point advantage again.

The real heartbreaker for the Clips came in the last second of the first half though. Up by 4, they fouled Terry on a three and picked up a technical, to have their 4 point advantage evaporate and be tied up 55-55 at the half.

The third quarter ended up being the true turning point. In the first 10 minutes of the quarter, the Mavs went on a 19-7 run. Dirk was 4-4 during this stretch.

Then, Telfair came alive, hitting a three to close the quarter, and keep the game within reach, down by 9 going into the fourth.

To start out the fourth, Kaman hit another hook shot, and Telfair came back and scored again, cutting it to 5, but Barea answered back with a jumper of his own, and the Clips were still down 7.

Another hook shot by Kaman and an Eric Gordon three cut the lead to two, and it appeared the Clippers had the momentum to take over the game. Telfair came back and hit another jumper, then dished it into Craig Smith. He scored or assisted all 9 Clipper points during the game tying run.

Trouble came when the Clips picked up their third team foul with 5:51 still to go. Then Smith picked up the fourth at 4:29, leaving Clips one foul away from going into the penalty situation. Dallas led by 1 at this point.

The Mavs scored back to back buckets to take a 5 point lead, and the Clips never got any closer. With a minute and half to go, the Mavs got back to back offensive rebounds, running too much time off the clock for a comeback. Craig Smith provided the last glimmer of hope when he stole the ball and led a fast break, but then he threw an errant alley oop and the Mavs regained possession with a 5 point lead and 48.7 seconds to go. Dirk came back and hit a turnaround jumpshot to seal the game, and the Clips fall to 0-4 on the season. It’s not a good start for Clippers fans, and we can only hope that things turn around fast, or this is going to be a lottery year again. Heck, maybe we can land the number one pick back-to-back years!

In all seriousness, though, we can draw inspiration from Kaman’s play. He appears to be in top notch shape and is looking more fluid around the basket than ever before, hitting right and left handed hooks with apparent ease. Perhaps when Griffin returns, things will take an upswing, but that is still potentially five weeks away, so in the meantime, we’re going to have to work with what we have. Baron Davis is going to have to go back to playing his best basketball. Tonight vs Dallas, he only played 24 minutes, scoring just 9. Telfair was the better point guard tonight and showed flashes of what once made him one of the most regarded players in the country in high school.

The Clippers face Minnesota on Tuesday at home and will hope to capitalize on the Wolves who are missing Kevin Love. We can only hope.

The game was close the entire way; tied at half time, and up by 2 going into the final quarter. Much of this can be charged due to Camby’s perimeter shots falling. Shooting mostly jumpshots, he hit 10 of 15 to lead the Clips in scoring with 23 points. He also coralled 11 boards and blocked 3 shots. Kaman continued where he left off Tuesday night, scoring 22 and grabbing 9 boards. If he continues playing this way, and Camby can too, and stay healthy, the Clips are going to have one of the best frontlines in basketball once Griffin returns.

Baron Davis didn’t have the scoring game he is known to be capable of, but he did dish out 12 assists, and ran the offense effectively the entire night. The pace was up tempo, but not as much as one might expect with the Suns and Clips. The final score of 109-107 is a bit lower than what we might expect.

Rasual Butler proved to be particularly clutch, following a Barbosa three, he came back to drill one of his own from the top of the arc, tying the game at 107. The next play Nash squirmed through traffic to make a left handed layup for the go ahead basket.

The next possession, the Clips went to who is arguably their best scorer in Eric Gordon, who dribbled around for 5 seconds before being fouled by Nash, as the Suns had a foul to give. They reinbounded with 5.5 seconds remaining and following a couple jukes at the top of the key by Gordon, he flung up a desperation jumpshot that richocheted off the rim as the horn went.

Other than Rasual Butler, no Clipper saw more than 11 minutes off the bench. DeAndre Jordan, who shined in the preseason, did not even enter the game. It appears that until Griffin is back, the Clips are 6 deep. Craig Smith has shown flashes, but won’t get significant minutes so long as Kaman and Camby (and eventually Griffin, too) are healthy.

The Clips next face Utah, Friday at 6:00 Pacific time.

They will look to neutralize Deron Williams, who has had a terrific start, scoring 28 and dishing out 13 assists in their first game, a loss to Denver. If Baron can slow Deron Williams down at all, it should be a close game, but I feel that is the key matchup that will decide the victor.

Positives did include an in shape Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. Last year, Davis’ weight ballooned in excess of 235 lbs. That’s too much for someone 6′2 and a professional athlete. Davis, however, was not at full strength. Bothered by ankle troubles, he often appeared to back off on moves he would have otherwise aggressively made.

Kaman, meanwhile, was daunting, and other than Eric Gordon, was the only Clip to score more than 14 points. Kaman finished around the basket for the majority of his shots, using his length to get close to the basketball with a variety of cuts to the hole. He also pulled down 16 rebounds to go along with his 18 points. We can only hope Kaman is returning to the form of 07-08, when in 56 games he averaged 15.7 ppg and 12.7 rpg. He looked to be that Kaman, so we may be in for an added treat in addition to Griffin, when he returns.

The other Clip to have a big game was Eric Gordon, using his outside shot and his great footspeed, he went 7 of 14 from the floor, en route to 21 points. He also dished out 4 assists. Gordon’s play promises to be huge in the absense of Griffin, and we will need it to if we are going to remain afloat in the perpetually tough Western Conference.

We gave the Lakers a spirited fight, but everyone in the building knew that when crunch time came, Kobe would take over. Down only 1 going into the fourth quarter, the Clips would eventually fall behind double didgets. Kobe scored a standard 33, and was a tough matchup all night. Even when doubles did arrive, he was often able to spin free for a fall away jumpshot and hit it. It was just standard Kobe, which we have come to expect from the Laker guard. He’s proven himself to be the premier player in the league, notches ahead of closest competitor Lebron James.

Bynum also had a monster game for LA. 26 pts, 13 rebs. It was a nice start for a player who has only been associated with as “having potential.” Maybe this will be the year he cashes in on his enormous potential. If he does, the Lakers will have no problem winning these kind of games against fringe playoff teams.

Griffin commented, “It was cool. I’ve watched him for as long as I can remember, since I was eight years old and it was his first year in the league. It was really cool to go against him.”

DeAndre Jordan had a strong game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 8 boards. Disturbingly though, Jordan had 6 of the Clips 13 turnovers.

Thornton also contributed in a big way. He shot 8 of 11 from the floor for 18 points.

I mentioned Blair in the last post, and he too had a nice game, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 boards. If he can get just 20 minutes a game for the Spurs, he should contend for all rookie first team honors.

The Clips next face Utah on Saturday.