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The CW (Clipper Weekly), 11th Edition
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Current Record: 24-23, 3rd Pacific, T-7th West
Last Week: The Clippers showed further signs of life, with a solid home performance over the Bulls, one of the stronger East teams, and a good win against the pathetic Celtics in Boston for their seventh victory in eight tries. However, Toronto torched the Clips defense for a season-worst 122 points, showing that the team still hasn’t quite learned how to bring a consistent effort every game. Elton Brand appears to be back in top form, averaging over 24 points and 13 rebounds last week. The Raptors game was the first time in ten games that EB didn’t lead the team in scoring; not surprisingly, the Clippers’ team success has been highly correlated to Brand’s excellence. Tim Thomas was also very active offensively, averaging 18 and 7 and shooting 8-18 from downtown. On the other hand, Chris Kaman scored a total of eight points and sixteen rebounds in 76 minutes, trying to single-handedly undermine the team’s success (maybe not, but it sure looks like it on TV).
Quick Take: Offensively, the Clippers are operating more proficiently, moving the ball and identifying open shooters or mismatches. Over the last ten games, the team is averaging 25.8 assists per game, far higher than the 21.1 that they are averaging over the course of the whole season. The Clipper guards have a tendency to overdribble which causes the offense to stagnate, but lately have been getting the ball into the post earlier in the shot clock, opening up the court for more opportunities. It’s a familiar tune, but Kaman and Shaun Livingston continue to play spotty. At least Livingston made some clutch plays down the stretch against Chicago on both sides of the ball to clinch the win; Kaman isn’t even getting minutes during crunch time now because of his ineptitude.
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This Week:
Tuesday: at New York (PRIME, 4:30 pm) – coach Isiah Thomas promised to turn around the team that he built when he took over at the start of the season. He’s delivered, sort of. The Knicks have nearly equaled their win total from last season (23-59), but at 21-28, Thomas hasn’t exactly gotten a lot out of the team’s $139 million payroll that he created. The team actually has some decent young talent, with leading scorer Eddy Curry at center and top rebounder David Lee at forward. Of course, the Knicks’ highest paid player Allan Houston hasn’t actually played in two seasons, and yet the club is still paying him almost $21 million this year. Yet despite all of those boos you will be hearing from a half-empty MSG, Isiah has somehow managed to keep both of his jobs.
Wednesday: at Cleveland (PRIME, 4:00 pm) - the Cavs have been in a 4-8 funk since they walloped the Clippers last month at Staples. LeBron has been slowed by an injury to his big toe, and the rest of his team is highly dependent on him to help them get their own shots. The Clips don't have a good defensive answer for LBJ (nor does anyone else in the league), but expect Mike Dunleavy to throw out body after body at him to disrupt his game. Corey Maggette may play a pivotal role to force James to expend significant energy on defense to reduce his effectiveness on offense.
Friday: at Philadelphia (PRIME, 4:00 pm) - since trading Allen Iverson in December, the Sixers have actually improved, going 10-15 after only 5-18 with the Answer, including 5-4 since waiving Chris Webber. The Sixers are heavily perimeter oriented, with newly acquired Andre Miller throwing lobs to the other A.I., Andre Iguodala, and kicking it out to sharpshooter Kyle Korver. The Clips should go to EB early and often, as Philly has a rotating bunch of stiffs manning the low post.
Sunday: at Indiana (no TV, 11:30 am) - like Philly, the Pacers seem to have benefited from a major midseason trade, having won six of eight since getting rid of the volatile Steven Jackson and the disappointing Al Harrington, who never quite seemed to live up to his enormous potential. The move seemed to clearly define all-star forward Jermaine O'Neal as the man in Indy, while adding a couple of complementary players (with bad contracts) in Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Troy Murphy. While the elder Dunleavy will undoubtedly know how to draw up some defenses to stop his son, he would also be prudent to contain point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who makes the Pacers extremely tough to stop when he is able to get into the key and distribute to the wing.
AP photo by Adrian Wyld
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