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A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

Preview and Chat: The Los Angeles Clippers

by


Records: Lakers 53-25 (tied for 2 seed); Clippers 23-55 (enough ping-pong balls to draft the PG of the future?)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 114.3 (2nd); Clippers 103.1 (28th)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 107.4 (8th); Clippers 110.9 (18th)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol
Clippers: Dan Dickau, Quintin Ross, Cuttino Mobley, Al Thorton, Elton Brand

Do It Yourself preview: That thumping sound you hear is my backside being kicked by work, so this is going to be very short and sweet, bullet-point form today. Please, add some insight via the comments. And be sure to check out Clipper Blog and Clips Nation.

• If I said before the season started the team would win at least 53 games and may not have home court advantage in the first round, how hard would you have laughed?

• Whatever the situation with Bynum’s return, the days of that being when the defense will start to play well again are gone — it needs to start happening now. The Lakers can’t afford to wait.

• If the Lakers look past the Clippers and ahead to the Hornets, they will lose tonight.

• The big change on the court for the Clips is Brand is back, and he is averaging 17.5 points, almost 7 rebounds per game and is shooting 46.6% in 31 minutes, Odom (and Pau and Ronny) need to limit his effectiveness because when the Clips offense is clicking it works inside-out. Take away the inside and it becomes less effective.

• The Clips have consistently tried to trap Kobe when the two teams have played, doubled him every time he touches the ball. Pau may get the same treatment. This is a game Odom, Fisher and others need to step up and make the Clips pay for that strategy.

Where you can watch: Game time is 7:30 pm on TNT.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Kaifa says

    I agree that the Lakers can’t look past the Clippers, with Brand back and Thornton giving them energy they are not to be taken lightly. A good game for our PG’s to establish themselves scoring-wise, a chance for Farmar to get his midseason groove back.

    But since we as fans can look ahead, peeking at the standings, I think the No. 1 seed is out of reach. I’m pretty sure a win against the Hornets won’t be enough in the end since I don’t see them losing to Sacramento and the Clippers. And since the Mavericks are quite possibly locked into the 7th spot when they play the Hornets in the final regular season game, they might let the starters take it easy in that one.

    In that case, I’d rather see the Lakers jump the Spurs and finish at the second spot, resulting in a matchup against Dallas rather than Phoenix. Opinions?

    Also, I just read the report about Bynum as well. I went to Youtube to console myself with a couple of Bynum videos and there’s one thing I noticed: my first reflex whenever a Laker scores spectacularly is to look to the bench to see what Turiaf is doing. Anybody else reacting the same way?

  3. Lakersfan88 says

    Damn dudes, Eric Pincus is reporting that Andrew may be out another six weeks. Honestly at this point I’d rather have him 100% next year than 90% this year.

    http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?STORY_ID=8211

    I echo the statement about the Lakers needing to start playing defense tonight. We all know of course that defense is what wins championships. Perhaps if there is a silver lining in this it’ll be that they’ll stop waiting for Andrew to come back and bail them out on defense. In terms of having a shot blocker to man the paint, I wonder why Phil hasn’t been trying to play Chris Mihm some minutes to get him ready for the playoffs, or even putting Mbenga in there. It seems even now that Pau is back he still keeps Ronny as our backup 5 and Ronny is obviously a lot more comfortable/effective at the 4. Any ideas about this?

  4. RHYbread says

    The Laker’s playing defense can go to the NBA finals. Without it, we might not even get out of the first round.

    PHX is breathing down our throats. We really need to win the next three games, tough as they may be.

  5. harold says

    well, let’s not be spoiled and have everything this season. i mean, i’m happy with a team contending for the 1st seed. come next season, i’ll be all excited from the get-go, and dang that would be fun.

    a full season of gasol-bynum-odom-kobe, hopefully with more development from farmar, vujacic, ariza..!

    woo-woo.

  6. kwame a says

    5-I agree that the Lakers and their fans should be happy with the season, but in this year when there is no clear cut team that is gonna come out of the West, the mentality must be strike when the iron is hot. hopefully our iron gets hot again. Its not magic, we need to play sound defense and execute on offense. Tonight is no different.

  7. Rob L. says

    As the Lakers struggle with injured players, I’d like to say I am very happy to see Elton Brand in action tonight. It’s good for the game to get one of its all-stars back.

  8. Stephen says

    Good thing I’m not the Lakers Coach as I’d be sitting Kobe for this one w/an imaginary ankle sprain. Kobe could use the time off. And I’d sit him for the last game as well. I’d rather have a slightly refreshed Kobe.

  11. hertagnism says

    Is there anyone on this site that can give some more details on Bynum’s injury extension and if there is any truth to the 6 more weeks?

  13. matt. says

    9 LakerFan — That video is awesome, but it’s also a camera trick. TrueHoop pointed out several reasons why there’s no way it could be real, and Bright Side of the Sun has a slowed-down version of the video where you can see his shadow on the side of the car as it drives by.

    11 hertagnism — The 6 week rumor was based on Bynum seeing a doctor in NY and not being cleared to practice. LA Times reported the Lakers said it was not considered a setback. For what that’s worth.

  14. kwame a says

    oh wow, d-will banks a 3 to tie with 5 seconds, dallas immediatley inbounds, goes down court, dirk hits a 3 with .9 left, dallas up 3.

  15. silly bitch says

    Looks like we will also be running late as we get to watch the last 12 seconds/half hour of Utah – Dallas game “live look”.

    Dear Turner,
    I’d like to have a live look at the game i tuned in to see… or maybe that’s just me.

  16. Kurt says

    I think Hollinger was right about one thing yesterday, TNT should have dumped the Lakers/Clips game for the Dallas Utah, Mavs Jazz combo of games.

  17. kwame a says

    Kurt, you’ve been saying all year how dangerous Denver would be if they could get all the talent playing together. Looks like that is happening. Its crazy the “bottom” of the West bracket, Denver, Dallas and Phoenix, may be playing better than any of the other teams.

  20. chocomm says

    kwame a, don’t forget the Nuggets gave up 151 points to the Sonics in a 2 OT loss. Also, a home loss against the Kings w/o Ron Artest.
    I would gladly face the Nuggets in the 1st round, but we are not going to get the #1 seed so it doesn’t matter.

  21. kwame a says

    20-Oh, I wouldn’t mind playing them, but they won’t be an easy out, there are no easy outs, but I would love to face Houston, especially now that T-Mac is hurt.

  23. Kurt says

    Who was it a few games ago that suggested the Lakers need to put Kobe in the post more often? He certainly is tonight.

  24. Ryan.G says

    Well the first half went well for the Lakers. It seems when Brand isnt on the floor we do quite well so hopefully he is on the bench for awhile in the second half.

  25. Reed says

    What is everyone’s favorite 5 man lineup, without Bynum (matchups aside)?

    I think mine has become Farmar, Sasha, Kobe, Odom, and Gasol.

    I also am intrigued by the new PG-less lineup we’ve seen in spots lately: Sasha, Kobe, Radmanovic, Odom, and Gasol.

  26. Kurt says

    25. Reed, I like the PG-less lineup as well. I think, particularly in the playoffs, that could be a good grouping.

  27. adb says

    # 2, Here’s my prediction for how the West will shake out:

    1. Hornets
    2. Spurs
    3. Lakers
    4. Jazz
    5. Suns
    6. Rockets
    7. Mavericks
    8. Nuggets

    Of course, this would require the Lakers to go 3-1 over the last 4 games (including tonite’s game, the lone loss coming to the Spurs on Sunday).

    I think the 2nd round would look like this:

    1. Suns vs. Nuggets (yes, I think Denver will beat NO)
    2. Lakers vs. Mavs (yes, I think Mavs will beat Spurs)

    That would mean the Lakers will be playing the Suns in the WCF. Wow! That would be nuts!!

  28. Reed says

    Watching Smush for the first time this year reminds me that he really is pretty talented. Hope he figures out the attitude.

  29. kwame a says

    25-Whatever the lineup is, I think Sasha has to be in, he has played hard defense all year, and spaces the floor and isn’t afraid to take the shot. I would prefer Kobe at the 3, beacuse our other 3’s don’t play d, so I guess

    Fisher,Sasha,Kobe,Lamar,Pau

    I think we have a good shot tommorow, hope we come out of the gate with some intensity and defensive focus.

  30. harold says

    We’re officially in cruise control now, aren’t we? Nice to have that before the NO game…

    A LOT of baggage in the upcoming NO game… should be fun, and we’ll get to see how much Kobe actually cares about the MVP. Will he go personal again? Team?

  31. laughing hard says

    The lineup out right now is the best ever:

    Vujacic, Walton, Newble, Mihm, and Mbenga!

  33. j. d. hastings says

    Okay, at times tonight I thought the Lakers were playing good, aggressive defense. At other times I thought the Clippers were just missing shots. Especially layups.

    I trust a lot of your guys’ eyes better than my own- did we make the necessary defensive adjustments or were the Clippers just not that into the game (especially without a home crowd on their home court)?

    Regardless, I suppose I’ll find out tomorrow…

  34. hertagnism says

    The Clippers were just missing shots for the most part. The Lakers rotation was a little bit faster but if we were playing a team such as PHX or NO, who have their share of shooters on the outside, it would be a completely different ball game. The Clips don’t have the shooters to make the Lakers pay.

    Remaining 3 games are upon us. New Orleans, Spurs, and then the Kings (who will be on the 2nd night of a back to back). Do you guys see us going 2-1 or 1-2?

    The PG-less lineups are really effective, from what it has produced. I think Sasha is a good enough defender to bother the PGs but I think it’s best suited to keep this lineup until the late game stages. Kinda throw the opposition off with Sasha at the 1.

  35. pw says

    Have you guys noticed that LO hardly takes jumpers nowadays? I have seen him pass up numerous open jumpers. I think in his quest to go to the basket more often he has sort of lost confidence in his jumper. I would love for him to punish the defense once in a while by making jumpers so that they don’t sag off him.

    Btw, what has happened to Dirk? His last jumper in the Utah game was just sick. He is playing extremely well in clutch situations of late (see Phx game, last 2 LA games). When a guy that tall starts making jumpers with such efficiency it’s almost impossible to stop.

  36. Warren Wee Lim says

    Its still going to be a chess-game of matchups. Phil is known for this and could very well be the determining factor if we succeed or not. I think all teams (aside from Denver at 8th and Houston’s fluke) are legitimate contenders. That said, it would be easier if we could take one of them on the 1st round.

    Nevertheless, I think the Lakers will have a date with destiny as we are, by the day, looking more and more like we will be facing a tough 1st round opponent.

    If the current standing hold out, the Lakers will be #2 and the Spurs will be #3. I think the Suns will be extra motivated to try to avoid us and the Spurs on the 1st round as they try to make that push for #5 which Houston currently owns.

    In this scenario, NOH and Denver appear to be the consensus #1 and #8 with Utah appearing to be stuck at #4. Even if we go 3-0 on the last 3 games, NOH might still own the “easier” schedule to be comfortably #1 with the 2-loss advantage. Anyone want at least one of the Memphis and Charlotte games?

    Lakers will have a 3-game homestand vs. NOH, SAS and SAC. Best case scenario is we go 3-0 but its very possible we go 1-2. I think we will still be comfortably be the #2 or #3 as Phoenix might not be able to catch up.

    San Antonio will have 4 games left with Seattle, @Lak, @Sac and Utah. Hardly a cakewalk themselves and they can go 4-0 or 2-2 as well.

    Phoenix will have @Hou, GS and Por. Hardly a cakewalk but I think they can get 3-0 or at least 2-1. Its time to cheer for Phoenix guys…

    Dallas, regardless of how their last 3 games would turn out, looks like they will be the fixed 7th UNLESS they go 0-3 or Phoenix tumbles to 0-3. Not happening.

    Houston intrigues me the most. They will have Phoenix, @Den, @Utah and Clippers. What record do you think they will have with the last 4 games? My book has them for 2-2.

    Games to watch:

    Apr 11
    Phoenix @ Houston
    NOH @ Lakers
    Sea @ SAS

    If the Lakers win and the Spurs win, the Lakers will still be #2 and the Spurs will remain 1/2 game behind. If the Lakers lose, SA claims the #2 IMO.

    Phoenix and Houston’s seeding will also be determined tomorrow. With Tmac and his back AGAIN, with Phoenix high over their win against SA, looks like Phoenix will get it.

    Apr 12

    SAC @ NOH

    Of course, we all want them to lose some. #1 is our goal. But they probably won’t. The Kings hate us enough to give this game to NOH to placate them #1.

    Apr 13

    SAS @ Lakers
    Hou @ Den

    This is the last straw to determine if we will be #2 or #3. I wouldn’t mind either since that would mean either Houston or Dallas. Just keep the wins coming for Phoenix. Den will look to cement the #8 by a win against Hou anyway so that helps us…

    Apr 14

    Hou @ Utah
    GS @ Phoenix
    SAS @ Sacramento

    Utah would prefer Houston over Phoenix too. But if Phoenix wins against GSW, which they will, Utah will still get them. BTW, Phoenix wants to avoid us and the Spurs anyway…
    SA will look to solidify their own bid and to avoid a tiebreak with Phoenix which they would lose out on.

    Apr 15

    LAC @ NOH
    SAC @ Lakers

    The Kings will be extra motivated to beat us regardless of the playoff implications. They have to work hard on this game just to have a nice headstart going into the playoffs.

    NOH will not lose to LAC UNLESS they rest 4 starters.

    Apr 16

    I think the playoff bound teams will get a break. Safe to assume all 4 of them get the wins. UTA @ SAS will be most interesting as well as NOH @ DAL.

  37. Craig W. says

    pw,
    Be thankful Lamar doesn’t take jumpers. When he does he always follows with moving out the the 3pt line and trying to extend his range. That is a disaster waiting to happen.

    The guy who I worry has totally forgotten his jumper is Turiaf. He needs to have a good jumper because he only has one finish at the basket (other than a dunk) and this results in his getting his shot blocked more often – like Luke.

  38. Warren Wee Lim says

    IF the Lakers go 3-0, they will end up with 57-25.
    If we go 1-2, we will be 55-27.

    If the Hornets win every game except against ours, they will have 58-24.

    IF the Spurs win every game except against ours, they go 56-26. If they win all four, they will be 57-25. They have no chance of being #1 anymore, as do us.

    If Phoenix wins every game remaining, they will be 56-26. They can no longer catch us or San Antonio.

    If Houston wins every game aside from against Phoenix, they will end up with 56-26 and tied with Phoenix. They still lose the season series to them.

    NOH 58-24
    LAL 57-25
    SAS 56-26
    UTA 54-28
    PHX 56-26
    HOU 56-26
    DAL 52-30
    DEN 49-33

    NOH v DEN
    UTA v PHX
    ———-
    LA v DAL
    SA v HOU

    Nevertheless, LA should look to go 3-0 to hope against hope that NOH loses to DAL and the Lakers will win the tiebreak.

    Then again, as long as Phoenix keeps winning, we’re expecting Dallas or Houston. Ain’t too shabby.

  39. hertagnism says

    I don’t think anyone wants Lamar to take jumpers, pw. Only when it is absolutely needed but we’d rather have him take it to the hole since he can dominate that way.

    Agree with Craig, I don’t like how Turiaf is passing out dunks. It’s way too unselfish.

    As for Dirk, the guy is possessed. The playoffs are going to be REALLY interesting now. Does anyone know how I can set up to record all the western playoffs on to computer or is there a site that already has bittorrents available for that? I think this is one of the years you just have to record every game and watch it without the ESPN highlights.

  40. pw says

    There is a chance (and not too small) that Phoenix overtakes us in the Pacific. They play @Hou, GS, Por. They could very well go 3-0 in those games. With a 3-0 record they end up with a 56-26 record.

    We play NOR, SA, Sac. We could very well go 1-2 and end up with 55-27. If we win one of NOR, SA games, we will still win the Pacific because we have the tiebreaker against Phx.

    I hope we can close out this thing by winning against NOR tomorrow.

  41. Ryan.G says

    I would agree that Sasha has been playing some extremely great basketball as of late. Sometimes I do not like his shot selection but he never does terrible so I cant bash him too much. I cant wait for the game tomorrow tonight it is going to be crazy. I hope the fans at Staples center do all they can to help the Lakers and tear down the Hornets.

  42. Warren Wee Lim says

    pw, I have reason to believe that Kobe will bring extra beef on the NOH game tomorrow. Its the closest race for MVP in recent years and CP3 came uut only in the 2nd half of the season while Kobe did it whole year long, with the tirade and everything in between. Pau will be big on that game too but this will be Kobe’s defining moment.

  43. Travis Y. says

    Was at the game tonight. 3/4 lakers fans, 1/4 clip fans. Kobe looked like he was stagnant tonight and didn’t look to dominate. He must have been playing it safe b/c he’s looking towards tomorrow.

    If we don’t have another gear (better defense) than this there’s no way we get far in the playoffs.

    I really hope we have that extra push and blow everyone out of the water. Looks like part of our answers will be exposed tomorrow.

  45. 81 Witness says

    Reed and Kurt,

    The Lakers went to the PG-less lineup cause Smush is a big 1, at 6’4″. I also think they rested Farmar as insurance for Fisher’s foot.

    TNTs feed is inconsistent at best. Glad to hear I am not the only one complaining.

    One thing I’ve really noticed about PJ, he teaches the centers how to move without the ball. Look how terrible Brown is in Memphis now. Even worse than in LA. Bynum, Gasol, Turiaf, move very well without the ball too. I think Shaq struggled in Miami cause he forgot how to do this as well.

  46. CTDeLude says

    @42 He’s supposed to be evaluated today as to whether he can return to full time practice. He said his conditioning isn’t where he’d like it to be but believes that it would take too long to get back in the groove.

  47. adb says

    I believe the winner of Sunday’s game vs. Spurs will decide who will be seeded #2 and face the Mavs.

    If we lose 2 out of 3 (and assuming PHX sweeps and goes 3-0 which is most likely), then we drop to #5 and face the Jazz.

  48. pw says

    37, 39 – By no means am I suggesting that he should stop going to the hole. But, over the last few months, I have seen him pass opportunities where he has an absolutely open 10-15 ft jumper to someone like Sasha or Fish who then has to take a tough 3-point attempt. In my view we would get much better floor spacing if he would at least attempt some of these jumpers. He is a fairly good shooter from mid-range.

  50. phineas says

    47, 49: I actually wouldn’t mind playing Dallas in the first round, not that it’d be a cake walk and Dirk is suddenly Mr. Clutch, but we’ve found ways to beat them in tough spots. Last night aside, I’m not sure we can beat PHX in round 1 the way we’ve been playing (assuming we’re 3 and they’re 6). Denver — bring them on, but I’m not overly optimistic about capturing No. 1.

  52. Craig W. says

    Me, I just want to know who we will face, so we can start practicing. With all the lineup changes the only teams that have the same lineup are SA, NO, and Denver. Everything else is so altered we will have to play them to find out how we fare.

  53. the other Stephen says

    i predict a win against the hornets. the starters got a good amount of rest and didn’t have to play this one to exhaustion or anything, and the bench players got some good burn time. let’s get hyped.

  54. J.D. Hastings says

    Non sequiter:

    I’m not the type of idiot that would ever rule out San Antonio for the championship until they are on a fishing boat for the summer (I’m a different type of idiot), but they are definitely not what they were. Most people say they’ve been coasting, and have turned it on in time for the playoffs, but I don’t think that’s the case.

    The reality is, they’ve taken care of business- winning at home and beating lesser teams- but they have struggled with good teams. They are only 19-21 against +.500 teams. If you look at their complete schedule, the only good teams they’ve beaten the last month are GSW, Houston and Dallas in the game Dirk went down. None of those are THAT impressive.

    Again, I’m not saying the Spurs suck or that I’d want to see them in the playoffs, but I don’t think this team has been putting in half effort all season and is just waking up. Rather, I think they’ve put in full effort, are defending incredibly well and can take advantage of other teams’ mistakes. But I think they need good teams to make mistakes in order to win.

    What does this mean for the Lakers? I think we should beat them, but I worry because we are a good team that definitely makes mistakes (look at how we’ve let Bowen go off on us this season). Overall, though, the Spurs actually scare me less in the playoffs than the Hornets, Phoenix and even Dallas.

  55. Reed says

    Ideal bracket #1

    1-LA
    2-NO
    3-SA
    4-UT
    5-Houston
    6-Phoenix
    7-Dallas
    8-Denver

    Ideal bracket #2

    1-NO
    2-SA
    3-LA
    4-UT
    5-PH
    6-Hou
    7-Dall
    8-Den

    Ideal Bracket #3

    1-NO
    2-SA
    3-PH
    4-UT
    5-LA
    6-Hou
    7-Dal
    8-Den

  56. Reed says

    My priorities are:

    (1) Easy first round (give Bynum more time)
    (2) Avoid San Antonio and Phoenix
    (3) Home court

  57. RT says

    After the losses to Portland, Memphis, and Charlotte, this game was far from a ‘gimme,’ so it was nice to see the Lakers show up and dominate an inferior opponent.

    It was also nice, however, to see Elton Brand back playing well. It’s kind of sad: Brand, Maggette, Thornton, and Kaman make a pretty decent core; with Livingston coming back next season and the upcoming early first rounder they’ll have, the Clippers could be good next season. Of course, Maggette looks like he’s going to opt out, as may Brand, and I have no expectation that Sterling will okay the funds to retain them or to get suitable replacements.

    http://artofthesport.blogspot.com

  58. Ryan.G says

    As far as those brackets go I would say the first two are good but I would not want to face Utah if they have home court advantage. That would not turn out good.

  59. kwame a says

    55-totally agree, Denver, Houston or Utah. Too much history with Phoenix, too much potential for role-reversal for Dallas.