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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

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Records: Lakers 57-24 (1st in West, 3rd in NBA), Clippers 28-53 (12th in West, 29 games back)
Offensive ratings: Lakers 108.9 (11th in NBA), Clippers 103.1 (28th in NBA)
Defensive ratings: Lakers 103.6 (5th in NBA), Clippers 110.3 (23rd in NBA)
Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol
Clippers: Steve Blake, Rasual Butler, Travis Outlaw, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Kaman

The Lakers Coming in:  Despite the poor record down the stretch and the sub standard performances of late, there is optimism and excitement in the air.  The playoffs are about to begin and the Lakers are going to have the chance to defend their title.  Plus, things are starting to look up.  Gasol playing the best he has all season.  In last night’s game against the Kings, bench players stepped up their games and it turns out that Farmar is not as hurt as orignially thought.  Over the past two days, Andrew Bynum has been running on a treadmill, says that the pain is gone from his strained achilles, and plans to participate in today’s shootaround before the Clippers game.  And while Kobe is sitting out these last few games with his assortment of ailments, he’ll have ample rest before the Lakers next game (only playing the Portland game in the two weeks between the April 4th game vs. the Spurs and the likely Arpil 18th openener in the OKC series).  Whether or not it has actually showed in game performance, the Lakers are prepping for the post season and Phil was already talking about wrinkles that the team is working on in practice in preparation for the Thunder.  The time that the players and all us fans have been waiting for is finally here.  Game 82 is tonight, but the second season is set to begin.  I’m smiling just typing that.

The Clippers Coming in:  This is just a disappointing finish to an even more disappointing season.  The Clippers are 2-8 in their last ten games, are banged up, and aren’t playing with any sort of purpose or togetherness.  So rather than me sit here and explain what’s been going on with this team, I’ll let Kevin from TrueHoop and ClipperBlog do it for me.  In a post over at TrueHoop, Kevin explains (after quoting Clip’s coach Kim Hughes) that some of what’s been wrong with the Clips of late is the pending free agency of a lot of their players:

There are a bunch of guys on the Clippers roster who, at times, have acted as personal mercenaries, throwing up shots without even pretending to survey the floor for other opportunities. The substance of what Hughes and others around the team are saying is correct, but the underlying premise is problematic. The implication here is that a guy should play a losing brand of basketball in order to advance his career.

Consider that for a second.

In an effort to secure more money in the free agency market, players are jacking up shots with impunity, presumably to tally more points, irrespective of how efficiently those points are scored. The Clippers, who resided comfortably among the Top 5 teams in assist rate for much of the season, have plummeted in that category over the past few weeks.

Just a rough time for the Clippers.  Their organization is rudderless, their coach will likely not be retained, they’ll have a bunch of new players next year, and their fan base is just tired of it all.  I know you really can’t compare the two teams, but it’s crazy how different the fortunes of the Clippers and Lakers are.

Clippers Blogs:  ClipperBlog is the place to go.  You should go there now.  As you can see above, Kevin is one of the most insightful analysts of the game on the web and D.J. also does excellent work.  There’s no other place I go to get great insight on the Clips.

Keys to game:  When questioned about the approach to last night’s game Lamar Odom said:

“I look at it, honestly, like we’re practicing against the other team. You want to run all the sets and do everything the right way. We want to play almost how we play in practice. It’s just a practice in front of 20,000 people. ” (via Land O’ Lakers)

When looking at tonight’s game, I expect the same type of mentality.  The Lakers want to play well and they’d surely like to win, but more importantly is doing things the right way.  The Lakers need to execute their sets and hopefully have the supplementary players build on the Kings game.

So against the Clips, the Lakers should do what they did last night – go into Pau on the low block, cut, screen, move the ball, and try to get a good shot every time down.  This is a game where Pau is actually facing a quality big man, so it will be a good test to see how he does against a big front line of Kaman/Jordan.  In the last few games, Pau has really shown more confidence in his mid range jumpshot and using that weapon will be key tonight.  Both Kaman and Jordan are good shot blockers around the rim and are big bodies that can deny Pau the position that he likes.  So if Pau can knock down his 15 foot jumper it will help him in his overall attack.  I’d also like to see more interior screening to free Pau when moving through the lane.  Last night in the first period, there was a concerted effort to set more screens for Pau and they were effective in getting him that extra step of separation to establish his position.

On defense, the Lakers will need to be active on the their defensive glass to deny the Clippers second chance points.  The Clips are throwing out a pretty big line up tonight (even Blake is listed at 6’3″ and both Butler and Outlaw are in the 6’7″ range) so gang rebounding will be key.  The Lakers wings can’t leave all the rebounding duties to Gasol and Odom, they’ll need to close down the FT line and get their hands dirty in going for the basketball.

But really, this game is just about getting through healthy and unscathed in preparation for this weekend.  This game doesn’t mean anything for the standings (unless the Magic go down to the 76ers, and even then we’re talking about a potential Finals matchup – not exactly the most pressing situation), so the Lakers should only be looking to play solid basketball and see what comes of it.  Enjoy the last regular season game, everyone.

Where you can watch:  7:30pm start in the west on KCAL (the Lakers are the road team).  Also on ESPN Radio 710am.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Ryan says

    The main key to this game is no injuries.

    I’m ready for the post season to start. I just bought a new 40 inch Samsung LED HDTV (upgrading from a really outdated 27 inch tube TV). So I get to watch the play offs in HD.

  4. 3ThreeIII says

    If the Magic do lose tonight to the 76er’s, than I expect the Lakers to give just a bit more energy and effort to win.

    Be nice to have homecourt against Orlando once they get out of the east and we get out of the west.

  5. 3ThreeIII says

    (( Of course I think the Magic will beat the Cavaliers again. They beat them last year in six games even though James averaged 38.5 Points, 8.33 Rebounds and 8 Assists a game. Do you really think that LeBron is going to play BETTER than that? Really? ))

  6. DonFord says

    Is Odom saying that this game is not like a regular game, because:

    ODOM: “I look at it, honestly, like we’re practicing against the other team. **You want to run all the sets and do everything the right way. **We want to play almost how we play in practice. It’s just a practice in front of 20,000 people. ”

    Um, shouldn’t they “run all the sets and do everything the right way” in EVERY game? Just a rhetorical question, i guess. But I guess I read that and thought about how the (often non-triangular) offense has stopped up this season.

  8. Tra says

    Excellent news on Big Drew & Farmar regarding their respective injuries. Let’s just get through 2nite’s game without any calamities & then off to the 1st round match-up ‘gainst the young Thunder.

  9. Chownoir says

    #5, 3ThreeIII, it’s not if Bron can play better but the other guys. Last year, Mo had a horrendous first five games of the series. If he even shoots mediocre instead of atrocious, I think Cle wins.

    Even then Clev had double digit leads in the first four games before the role players started missing everything.

    The first three losses, Cle barely lost. I’m not so sure Orl is a lock to win this year. Last year they showed decided matchup advantages during the regular season and won the regular season series.

    This year the regular season games seem to indicate it’s a much more even matchup. Tonight’s game with no Shaq/Bron won’t reveal much.

  10. Joel B. says

    Good to hear the news about Andrew and Jordan. But It looks like they lakers won’t have home court if they make it to Finals as Orlando is up big in the second quarter. Oh well, if the lakers get back to playing laker ball and get healthy in the process, homecourt won’t matter.

  13. jeremyLA24 says

    Maic blowing out 76ers, That’s a shame. I never like depending on another game deciding the fate of my team so I really don’t feel that bad. If the Lakers just avoided some of those bone headed losses this year we wouldn’t be in this situation. Here’s to a ‘now’ truley meaningless game being taken care of with authority and NO INJURIES. Go Lakers!

  14. thisisweaksauce says

    Well, no home court against Orlando either. Let’s hope Boston wins the East (unlikely, but that’s the Finals match up I’ve wanted the whole year anyway).

  15. jeremyLA24 says

    anyone have a good link? thanks
    never mind atdhe is working.
    This suns/jazz game does not look like its going to disappoint

  16. Joey Jo-Jo Shabadoo says

    Off topic, but…

    Did Kevin Durant just have the best free throw shooting season of all time? 756 free throws in 840 attempts.

    He hit exactly 90% while leading the league in free throw attempts at over 10 a game while playing in every single game. His 756 free throws made is good for 6th all-time.

    90% free throw shooters sorted by most free throw attempts:
    http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/tiny.cgi?id=wmQkh

    He doesn’t show up on that list because entering today he was a 0.899, but he ended the day at a cool 0.900 (so he’ll be there when they update). That puts him at 144 attempts more than 2nd place.

  17. jeremyLA24 says

    Okay Phil, now that we got this commanding 5pt lead over the Clips, lets sit the starters for the remainder of the game and hope that Ammo and Powell take all the hard hits this game.

  21. jeremyLA24 says

    Sasha hurt his left ankle and had to be helped to the locker room (looked like he was in alot of pain.)

    Can’t we just run a two man zone with Ammo and Powell and let everyone else cherry pick?

  22. Don says

    notes from watching thunder grizz game

    Durant is an offensive force but his first step is not as explosive as other elite scorers it seems. must get in his grill and hope he tries to shoot over

    green will settle for the three but cannot give him all day

    wing defenders were excellent at helping on the of but part of this was just bad clearing out. Pau must go quick or repost or that advantage will be neutralized

    maynor is solid. I’m jealous. he almost seemed to have a more diverse and dangerous offensive game than westbrook. off the pick he can shoot the floater and does a great job of keeping the PG behind him. we’ll need to hedge hard and farmar needs to fight to recover back around

  24. Jane says

    Why do I feel like this year’s Lakers are like last years Celtics? It’s so hard to repeat and health is the biggest factor (see 2009 Kevin Garnett, or the lack of).

  25. Bobji says

    Damn not Sasha!
    Hope he’ll have a quick recovery.

    No DNPs for Farmar this season! Phil made a good choice by putting him in for the last 1.3 seconds so Farmar gets the stat without chance for aggravating the injury.

  29. jeremyLA24 says

    Don, They said it in the commentary but I’m gonna bet they need to do an MRI for him to make sure nothing is torn or broken. Hopefully he can be back by the second round or better.

    We are getting a scary thin roster going in the post season especially backcourt.
    Kobe: playing injured
    Shannon: playing injured
    Farmar: Day to day
    Sasha: Hurt (to be determined)
    Ron: slumping possibly do to injury
    Lo: playing injured
    Luke: playing injured
    Bynum: not medically cleared

  30. Jane says

    I’m biting my lip to keep from cursing. There’s no excuse for being down double digits to the Clippers. A 25 win team under the curse of Sterling, seriously?!

  31. 3ThreeIII says

    Jane, did you not read the post directly above yours?

    We are getting a scary thin roster going in the post season especially in the backcourt.

    Kobe: playing injured
    Shannon: playing injured
    Farmar: Day to day
    Sasha: Hurt (to be determined)
    Ron: slumping possibly do to injury
    Odom: playing injured
    Luke: playing injured
    Bynum: not medically cleared

    Hard to play well when nearly everyone is walking wounded…

    And, why on earth would you play hard here? It literally DOES NOT MATTER, in any way. It can only hurt us (see Sasha…), and it cannot help us.

  32. jeremyLA24 says

    Jane, I could care less if we lost by 70! I’m just sacrificing a goat right now to keep our team healthy. Anybody know any good rain dances? Thanks.

  33. Darius says

    Take it easy Jane. The Lakers aren’t playing well, but they’re also playing hesitant due to (I think) wanting to avoid any further injuries. Sasha’s ankle roll was bad. Farmar is out. Artest hasn’t even played in the second half. I’m not excusing poor play, but there are reasons the game is like this. Oh, and by the way, the Clips are making a ton of shots.

  35. Jane says

    Darius, I know your right, but I’m just frustrated. This team is ridiculously talented but really beat up and it’s killing me. The thought of our boys getting ousted for health (& Shaq riding Lebron to no. 5) is keeping me up at night and making me prone to irrational outbursts.

    Forgive me.

  36. karl says

    yes, lakers just need to wrap it up and get the heck out of dodge without more injuries – get ready for the playoffs.

    Bad thing for Sasha – real bummer since he was picking up his game.

  37. jodial says

    Realistically, Sasha’s not a key component of a drive to a championship – the Lakers won last year with Sasha going 0-for-the-Finals – but he’s definitely a helpful intangible if playing well, so losing him is a real bummer. I was hoping he’d be able to come out of hiding, shoot well, and be a kind of Ariza-lite this postseason, it looked like his game was rounding into form. Here’s hoping he heals quickly, but he’s such a rhythm and confidence player that it’s hard to see him being able to give the team anything this postseason.

    It’s tough to repeat as champs.

  38. ken says

    I have been touting Steve Blake as the free agent the Lakers should pick up. Compared to Fisher offensive wise he would be a steal. Also smart and just had a triple double.

    Fish has not had a double double in 6 years,

    Sing Blake in the off season Mitch.

  39. Darius says

    #35. No issues Jane. I get it. The Lakers have been a one step forward, one step backward team for a few weeks now. It’s definitely frustrating to watch. However, this game (to me at least) was not indicative of the other recent games. I honestly do think that the Sasha injury spooked them for a while and then when Phil sat Artest it pretty much decided the game. Even when the Lakers started to play better, the Clips had already found their rhythm and that was that. In fact, this exact paragraph is probably going to appear in my recap.

  40. jeremyLA24 says

    Dear FB&G

    And the season is over. It has had its highs and lows but I’m blissful that I got to watch the whole season and experience the journey of this Championship team fighting to get to this point. Moving foward is arguably going to be alot more strenuous than the past 82 games but I wish the best of luck to this Laker squad that still has the potential to be defending champions despite all of the injuries getting in their way.

    Here’s to enjoying every moment of being a Laker for life.

    -Jeremy Green

  41. R says

    Maybe the Lakers should also tank the first round so they can get a head start on resting up for next season.

    I kid (I think).

  42. Dick Barnett says

    This just isn’t their year folks, I’m sorry to say. They will be lucky to get out of the first round – very lucky.

    I can’t see this team, with all the injuries, the pathetic defense, and the horrendous offense getting within spitting distance of the WC championship.

    Forget the NBA Championship.

    Not one Laker championship team since the 1972 squad won the whole thing losing more than they won during the last month of the season – not one!

    They need a lot of work over the offseason, and they need a lot of guys to rest up, get healthy, and be ready for next season.

  43. Joe says

    Finally an end to a painful end of the regular season. I am glad I didnt watch this last game.

  44. jeremyLA24 says

    This is just getting crazy! The Kamentzky Bro’s twittered that Ron didn’t play the second half because he roled his ankle. Luke’s back was also bothering him after the game.

    I’m Trying to stay positive due to the fact we should be happy we completed another season on top of our confrence BUT strangely the word “doomed” comes to mind every time I think about this team now.

  45. Aaron says

    Well… here we go. Its the playoffs!!!! My favorite time of the year. Lets sit back and enjoy another Lakers championship.