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E-News Sign Upby Eric Pincus - February 4, 2010
One thing has become clear over the past few weeks; the Clippers are a much better team when Chris Kaman is in the lineup. They’re 0-6 without him.Photo by: Gary Dineen (NBAE/Getty Images) |
Please note: Mr. Pincus' thoughts and opinions are his and his alone. In no way do they necessarily reflect those of the Los Angeles Clippers organization. (But we listen to him anyway because he's a citizen of Clipper Nation.)
| ABOUT ERIC PINCUS |
HoopsWorld Senior Writer Eric Pincus has been covering the Clippers on HoopsWorld.com since 2003.
Every Thursday throughout the 2009-10 season, Pincus will be answering your questions about the Clippers on myClipper NATION. To submit a question, use the form below. Follow Eric Pincus on Twitter @EricPincus or chat with him online every Tuesday afternoons online at HoopsWorld.com. |
How is the team morale? After blowout loses then a convincing win? What are Clipper fans supposed to feel?
De'Von, Los Angeles
Eric Pincus: De’Von, I’m sure you’re frustrated. So are the Clippers. About a month ago they were playing some of their best basketball of the season – looking forward to Blake Griffin’s return. Instead the team has slumped and Blake is out for the year.
It’s unfortunate that the most heralded player in June’s NBA Draft won’t play. I’m sure he would have made quite a difference but the Clippers have shown that they’re a capable team without him.
After the Clippers a tremendous stretch with five victories in six tries over teams like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami HEAT and Portland Trail Blazers… the team has really hit a rough patch.
In a few days I’ll get a chance to visit with the team in person to get a better feel for morale. They’ve been gone from LA a long time now.
At seven games below .500, I’m guessing they’re not too happy with their recent play.
As far as what the Clippers fans should feel – I’m not going to say don’t be disappointed.
But keep in mind that this season is already better than last year’s when they won just 19. At 21-28, they still have a shot at the playoffs but it’s going to take a significant effort to get there.
The future is bright once Blake gets healthy. Eric Gordon continues to develop and Kaman has proven he’s one of the league’s best big men.
The team has tremendous flexibility moving forward to improve – be it at the trade deadline of over the summer.
Hang in there…
With the news of Z-Bo making the All-Star team with the Grizzlies, should Clipper Nation have any regrets about trading him away for what we got back? Would keeping him have translated into more or less wins?
Andy, Torrance
EP: I get the question a lot. The Clippers drafted a future star at power forward which made Zach Randolph expendable. Then Blake gets hurt and Zach is named an All-Star.
What can you do? LA made the right move in the moment. Short-term it’s a bummer.
Long-term the team is better off without Randolph’s large contract and Griffin will be a significant contributor next season.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Clippers can do to improve specifically because they shed Zach’s deal. They’ve added on Rasual Butler, Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair directly as a result of the Randolph trade.
It still may prove to be one of General Manager Mike Dunleavy’s best moves.
Do you expect Clippers to be active before trade deadline?
Ryan, San Clemente
EP: The Clippers will have plenty of conversations leading up to the February 18th deadline. All teams do.
If an opportunity to improve comes up, I don’t think the team will hesitate to make a change – but it’s got to be a clear upgrade.
There’s no reason to give up financial flexibility this summer just to make a lateral move today – or even a good move today.
If a team is willing to give up a special player for economic reasons, the Clippers would be happy to be the beneficiary of another franchise’s misfortune.
I don’t think that’s something you can count on but Dunleavy and his staff will certainly listen.
Do you think Baron Davis can step it up to improve the Clippers’ playoff chances?
Jason, Steel City
EP: The whole team needs to step it up. The Clippers have 5-6 more losses than the group of teams fighting for playoff position in the Western Conference but they’re just eight games behind the fifth seeded San Antonio Spurs.
Some of those squads are going to drop off at some point. A small push to cut the gap in half would go a long way towards the stretch drive in March and April.
There’s still plenty of time left but Baron Davis – Eric Gordon – Chris Kaman – Marcus Camby – Rasual Butler – Al Thornton – etc. They need to get back to the level they were playing at a month ago.
Nine of the next 13 are at home. Now would be a great time to turn things around.
How do you view Baron Davis as the leader of this team? I know it takes talent to win a title but leadership is also important and curious on your view on whether Baron is a good enough leader (with the right pieces in place) to win a title.
Adolfo, Costa Mesa
EP: Obviously it takes more than just one player – more than one leader – to win a title. When Baron is at the top of his game, he’s one of the most dominant point guards in the league.
So far this season he’s averaged about 7.9 assists a game which is seventh best in the league. Baron can score, defend and as we saw against the Celtics – hit the game-winning shot.
What he needs is a healthy, focused roster. Unfortunately he hasn’t had that in two years with the Clippers.
Where Davis needs to improve is in shot selection. He’s been known to take shots with a high degree of difficulty which is why he’s at 40% from the field and about 28% from three.
It will be very interesting to see what the team looks like next season – and what Blake can do to improve their chances.
The first step is getting into the playoffs whether or not it happens time around for the Clippers – the team still has a lot of potential moving forward.
Do you think Eric Gordon will make it into the dunk contest? If so, what are his chances to win it all?
Matt, Silver Lake
EP: Eric is participating in the NBA’s new “Dunk-In” where he has to beat out the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan. He’ll certainly have his hand full with DeMar who is a tremendous athlete.
When I think of Gordon, I don’t really focus on his ability to dunk – but on his overall game which at this point is superior to DeRozan’s.
I’m curious to see what Eric has planned. I’ve seen him throw down his share of impressive dunks. He’s absolutely got a chance to get into the Saturday night dunk contest with Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson and Gerald Wallace.
Of the three, his biggest competition would be the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shannon Brown.
Nate is a fun dunker, especially at his size. Wallace is a fantastic athlete as well but has been nursing a sore hamstring.
If Eric can get the job done – he’ll be the Clippers first slam dunk champ since Brent Barry won it back in 1996.
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