Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES – The league’s active leader in consecutive games played saw his streak come to an end Wednesday night.
DeAndre Jordan played 360 straight games before pneumonia forced him out against the Heat, marking the first game he missed since March 2011, when he was also dealing with pneumonia.
“Playing without DJ tonight was probably the weirdest thing ever,” said Chris Paul, who had never played without Jordan since joining the Clippers.
Paul said he went over to see Jordan a couple of times. After all, when he heard Jordan wouldn’t play, he knew it was a big deal.
“He doesn’t miss games,” Paul said. “He just doesn’t. I talked to him earlier, he said he wasn’t going to be able to play, and it was odd.”
At first, it was bizarre because of the many rituals Jordan has with his teammates before the game. Jordan has a handshake with everyone, so even before the jump, Paul felt strange without Jordan on the court.
Then, obviously, his absence would be unmistakable once the game began. The Clippers still pulled together for a come-from-behind victory, but there were plenty of areas beyond lobs where Jordan affects the game in a rare way.
Austin Rivers noted what Jordan provides as a rebounder, rim protector and a big who can run the floor. Rivers said his presence alone meant the Clippers’ guards needed to keep their man in front of them more often.
“I know he wanted to play,” Rivers said. “I talked to him last night and he said, ‘I’m coming tomorrow.’ He really did say that.”
Paul went a step further explaining all Jordan provides.
“The screens that he sets with J.J. to get open, the times that he rolls and they have to tag and it gets guys open shots and stuff like that,” Paul said. “He’s so valuable to our team, and we really miss him. It was good guys stepped in and filled that void.”
Head coach Doc Rivers said Jordan’s felt sick the last few days, spending time at the hospital. Despite that, Jordan told Doc Rivers and his teammates he still wanted to play through the sickness until shortly before the game, when the starting center realized it would be impossible.
Doc Rivers said he could tell Jordan took pride in his ability to be accountable every night, regardless of how he was feeling. The last time Jordan was out with pneumonia, he only missed two games on March 20 and March 23, 2011, and despite the nightly demands at his position, he hadn’t missed a game since.
“I can tell you he was doing everything he could to try and play in this game,” Doc Rivers said. “I thought even the thought of it was ludicrous, but not him. We texted back and forth, ‘I’m going to play, I’m going to make it, I’ll be there,’ and then finally the last text was, ‘I can’t make it.’”
This marked the first game Doc Rivers has coached with the Clippers without Jordan, who also had another active NBA-long streak going with eight straight double-doubles dating back to Dec. 26.
Jordan’s averaging 11.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game this year, and his consecutive games played streak was the second-longest in Clippers franchise behind only Randy Smith, who played in 595 straight games. But the streak was the longest the Clippers have had since the team moved to Los Angeles.
Now, the active consecutive games played streak belongs to Tristan Thompson, who’s played in 324 straight games.
Cole Aldrich started in Jordan’s place, scoring a season-high 19 points and adding seven rebounds. Aldrich, who’s career high in games played for a season is 61, said what Jordan’s accomplished is unbelievable.
“We had a guy in New York last year, Jason Smith, who played 82 (games),” Aldrich said. “Just getting through a full season of 82 is a big deal. When you add four, five more years onto that, then it becomes in that really, really special area. He’s done a great job at keeping his body healthy, and unfortunately got a little sick. It happens.”