Hornets.com’s 1-on-1: Los Angeles Clippers’ Cuttino Mobley, Matt Pinto
April 10, 2007
Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer interviewed Los Angeles Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley and Los Angeles Clippers radio play-by-play broadcaster Matt Pinto in conjunction with Tuesday’s game at the Ford Center.
In his ninth NBA season, Mobley signed with the Clippers as a free agent prior to the 2005-06 season and was a catalyst in Los Angeles’ run to the Western Conference semifinals. The Philadelphia native and Rhode Island product played his first six NBA seasons in Houston.
Pinto calls games on the Clippers’ radio network. He served as a Hornets radio broadcaster for six seasons, from 1990-91 through 1995-96.
Mobley
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Cuttino Mobley
Q: What was your opinion of what happened in tonight’s game (Mobley shot 4-for-15 from the field and 0-for-5 from three-point range)?
A: I should be shooting better than that. (Hornets guard) Bobby Jackson said to me toward the end of the game, ‘I’m glad you’re missing them today.’ Some days are like that, but this isn’t the time to have a game like I had. Right now is not the time.
I had some mismatches in the post that I tried to take advantage of in the first half, but in the second half I was missing my threes and a few (close-range shots). For me, I put a lot of pressure on myself because guys get me the ball. When that happens and you miss the shot, it’s frustrating.
Q: Are your backs against the wall now?
A: Definitely. We have to win out, but these are all winnable games coming up. We can’t do anything but play and try to win them. It’s tough, especially when you know that you’re the cause of (being in a situation where the Clippers have little margin for error).
Q: The Hornets have two players – Rasual Butler and Marc Jackson – who, like you, are from Philadelphia, and they also went to college there at La Salle and Temple. How well do you know those guys?
A: I grow up with them. We all played on the same team at times, as well as against each other. We are all very close.
Q: You became close friends with Steve Francis when you played together in Houston. What is your opinion of what has happened in your careers since you left the Rockets?
A: We’ve both moved on. I’m with other good guys now here and Steve’s with his team. We talk every other day, so it’s cool. Right now we’re living our lives and doing what we have to do. Everyone is growing up. We don’t really talk much about basketball too much; it’s mostly about life.
Pinto
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Los Angeles Clippers broadcaster Matt Pinto
Q: The Clippers experienced arguably the best season in franchise history in 2005-06, but have performed below expectations – including their own – this year. What do you think are the keys next season to the Clippers heading back in the right direction?
A: I think a lot has changed, especially after Shaun Livingston’s injury. In the minds of management, the key players who must continue to grow and improve were Livingston and Chris Kaman. Kaman has regressed a little bit and has been a disappointment, while Livingston’s knee injury could keep him out for all of next season. Who knows how he will come back from an injury like, where he tore three ligaments? That’s a big question.
I think Kaman this summer has to get back to his (previous) level of confidence and bring that on a game-to-game basis, and be the player the Clippers hoped he’d be after he signed that five-year contract extension. You know they’ll have Sam Cassell next season, and the hope is that he will get his body into condition to where he can be a factor.
I also think the Clippers will be a player in free agency, because some needs have surfaced, particularly at point guard. That will be an intriguing watch as well.
Q: How much of what has happened to the Clippers this season can be attributed directly to Sam Cassell’s health problems?
A: They had to completely reinvent what they do offensively in the halfcourt without Sam. They were primarily a high-screen, pick-and-pop team between him and Elton Brand last season. That worked very effectively. Now they are more of a share-the-ball, pass-and-cut team offensively. They lost the element that Sam brings.
More guys are touching the ball now, but they’re having to manufacture points. I think last season they were able to count on 20 points a night from Sam Cassell and another 25 from Elton Brand. It’s been a dramatic change, one that they’ve finally adjusted to, to keep themselves in the playoff hunt.
I think there will be a lot of thought to what role Sam will play next season at the point, or whether he is better off as a sixth or seventh man off the bench.
Q: Like many of the players who participated with USA Basketball last summer who’ve either been injured or seen their numbers drop, Elton Brand’s stats are down from 2005-06. Do you think USA Basketball participation is something that teams like the Clippers and Hornets should be concerned about in terms of its impact on players?
A: Well, in addition to the time Elton spent with Team USA, he had an extended run in the (2006) playoffs, and the club came within a win of reaching the Western Conference finals. After that, he played for Team USA and did some additional travel because the Clippers played in Russia in preseason. Business-wise, he started an entertainment company, and he also got married. He logged a ton of miles, and that took his legs away early in the season.
I think it’s been a number of different things combined, but his participation with Team USA was right in the middle of all of that.
Q: What is your favorite memory from your six seasons as a Hornets broadcaster?
A: It would have to be Alonzo Mourning’s last-second shot to beat the Celtics in the (1993) playoffs, the first playoffs that the Hornets made. That was a magical season, and to have 23,000-plus fans and sellouts every night was extraordinary. There was electricity in the air for the first playoff go. That team, with Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson, Kendall Gill, Muggsy Bogues and Dell Curry was very special.
