DieMrBond
03-29-2006, 07:11 PM
As the NBA season enters the home stretch, the LA Clippers are still hanging with the favorites and hoping to finish in the money.
Prior to Tuesday's hosting of the Spurs, the Clips were clinging to the 5th seed and were therefore on course to commence the postseason competition against either Dallas, San Antonio, or Phoenix. (As the No. 6 seed, they would presumably face Denver in the first round.)
As ever, a face-off against the defending champs provided a litmus test that separated the contenders from the pretenders.
Accordingly, the Spurs' 98-87 victory revealed some serious flaws in the Clippers' game plan. Let's zoom in on the game and determine exactly how and why the Clippers are still a notch below the Spurs.
Offense
The Spurs' hustling offense-to-defense transitions simply prevented the Clippers from getting their running game in gear. On one erstwhile fast break, Sam Cassell found himself in a 1-on-5 disadvantage and was forced to pull the ball back out. Another attempt to run themselves into an easy score resulted in Shaun Livingston trying to force the ball to the hole in a 1-on-3 situation. Whereas the veteran Cassell read his situation correctly, young Livingston wound up getting his shot blocked.
Elton Brand's 20 points weren't nearly enough as the Spurs outclassed the Clippers Tuesday night (Danny Moloshok / Associated Press)
Elton Brand had his mojo working to start the game, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers, and blasting to the hoop in early offense — all of this accomplished against Nazr Mohammed. That's when the Spurs took measures to give Mohammed some help. For the duration, Brand was either doubled on the move or on the catch. Since the Clips could never quite figure out when and who would two-time Brand — sometimes another big, sometimes a guard, and sometimes a wing — the home team's high scorer never got into any kind of rhythm. He didn't part the net in the second half until the 8:02 mark in the fourth quarter.
Brand's numbers were respectable (7-18, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 20 points) but he was far from being the dominating presence the Clips need to overcome the NBA's elite teams.
Here's another strategy cooked up by Gregg Popovich that helped the Spurs discombobulate the Clips offense: Midway through the first quarter, San Antonio jumped into a 2-3 zone for five consecutive sequences. The result was two turnovers (which directly led to a pair of fast break buckets by the visitors), Chris Kaman had a shot blocked, Brand hoisted an air ball, and then, Cassell drew a foul on a drive and pull.
For the duration, the Clippers never developed any synchronicity in their half-court sets. (The Spurs also used the same zone in the third quarter and coaxed another turnover. You can bet that Pop will unveil his 2-3 zone again should the Clips and the Spurs meet in the playoffs.)
With their break unavailable and their half-court sets dysfunctional, the Clips mostly resorted to isos. Kaman was frequently effective with spin moves in the low post — 6-10, 8 rebounds, 18 points — although 7 of his points came on offensive rebounds. Livingston (5-9, 12 points) also had some productive sequences when he went one-on-one — mostly working against Brent Barry, who's never been accused of playing adequate defense.
Corey Maggette played hard and also put up good numbers — 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 16 points. But he shot only 3-11 from the field and shot 10-12 from the stripe, primarily due to some home cooking provided by the three blind mice (read: the officials).
Cutino Mobley was literally useless off the bench — 0-6, 0 points. Vladimir Radmanovic mostly shot blanks — 3-8, 10 points — but was unusually effective with his lumbering drives into the lane. Quinton Ross was another non-factor — 0-2, 0 points.
But the one player whom the Spurs focused on most was Sam Cassell — 3-8, 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 8 points. It's Cassell who motors the Clippers' offense, who takes the critical shots, who gets the ball to the right teammate in the right place at the right time.
Indeed, with Cassell rendered invisible, the Spurs led 71-61 after three quarters and seemed to have a death grip on the game. But Mike Dunleavy called Cassell's number three consecutive times to begin the fourth quarter and the Clips' wily point guard responded with three consecutive baskets against Beno Udrih.
(It should be noted that Tony Parker was down with a bruised shin, so the Spurs rotated Udrih, Nick Van Exel, and Barry in his place.)
Popovich immediately sicced Bowen on Cassell, and the move paid dividends on the very first possession when Cassell shot an air ball. With Bowen in his face for the duration, Cassell was totally shut down and the Clips were dead in the water.
For the game, the Clippers shot only 37.8% from the field. Give the Spurs credit for playing championship defense. Likewise, the LAC can be faulted for losing all semblance of team offense under this extreme pressure.
Defense
The game was close early (SA led by 25-19 after the first quarter) only because the Spurs were missing wide open shots. Indeed, their habit of making the extra pass on virtually every play generated clean looks for everybody — especially Bowen, Barry, and Michael Finley, who combined for 9 treys and 47 total points. The pattern was established early — the Clips would collapse on Tim Duncan, in the low post, but were unable to close-out the open perimeter shooters. San Antonio's unselfish passwork was reflected in the stat sheet ¹ 32 assists were recorded for their 36 field goals. And whenever L.A. tried confronting T.D. with a single defender — usually Kaman, but sometimes Brand — Duncan simply had his way.
Time and again, the Clippers' befuddled defense allowed the Spurs to cut unimpeded through the middle. Mohammed, Nesterovic, Udrih, Duncan, and Manu Ginobili all took advantage of this reprehensible lapse.
The Spurs only ran a pair of distinct screen/rolls in the entire game, creating free throws for Mohammed, and then a layup for Duncan. Instead, San Antonio's modus operandi was to spread the floor to create optimum cutting and passing angles.
The Spurs also had Udrih and Barry — neither of whom is noted for ball-handling prowess — attack Cassell's meager defense. Barry and Finley likewise took advantage of Radmanovic's inability to guard. Also, Mobley's penchant for turning his head provided an opportunity for Bowen to cut back-door, receive a perfect pass from Ginobili, and score an uncontested layup.
The final margin wasn't indicative of how easily the Spurs controlled the game. In truth, it took some blatant home cooking to keep the score even marginally respectable. The Clippers shot 36 free throws to the Spurs' 23.
So, the Spurs dissected the Clippers' defensive efforts by focusing on individual weaknesses, by creating workable spaces for their own scorers, and by unselfish ball movement. At the other end, the Spurs stifled the Clips' point-making abilities by jamming the home team's running opportunities, by confusing Brand with a variety of double-teams, by using a zone defense to undermine the Clips' confidence, and by locking up Cassell.
And they did all this without the injured Parker!
While the Clips are a good ballclub, the Spurs are a great ballclub — and over the course of a 7-game playoff series, the Clippers have no chance to match San Antonio's intensity, experience under pressure, teamwork, and resourcefulness.
Pop and his staff would enjoy a huge advantage over their counterparts.
From here on in, the Clips should be rooting for the Spurs to beat out Dallas for the West's top seed. In any case, it would seem that finishing as the No. 6 seed and opening the playoffs against the Nuggets might be the only circumstances that would allow the Clippers to survive into the second round.
Charley Rosen is FOXSports.com's NBA analyst and author of 13 books about hoops, the current one being "The pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA."
Prior to Tuesday's hosting of the Spurs, the Clips were clinging to the 5th seed and were therefore on course to commence the postseason competition against either Dallas, San Antonio, or Phoenix. (As the No. 6 seed, they would presumably face Denver in the first round.)
As ever, a face-off against the defending champs provided a litmus test that separated the contenders from the pretenders.
Accordingly, the Spurs' 98-87 victory revealed some serious flaws in the Clippers' game plan. Let's zoom in on the game and determine exactly how and why the Clippers are still a notch below the Spurs.
Offense
The Spurs' hustling offense-to-defense transitions simply prevented the Clippers from getting their running game in gear. On one erstwhile fast break, Sam Cassell found himself in a 1-on-5 disadvantage and was forced to pull the ball back out. Another attempt to run themselves into an easy score resulted in Shaun Livingston trying to force the ball to the hole in a 1-on-3 situation. Whereas the veteran Cassell read his situation correctly, young Livingston wound up getting his shot blocked.
Elton Brand's 20 points weren't nearly enough as the Spurs outclassed the Clippers Tuesday night (Danny Moloshok / Associated Press)
Elton Brand had his mojo working to start the game, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers, and blasting to the hoop in early offense — all of this accomplished against Nazr Mohammed. That's when the Spurs took measures to give Mohammed some help. For the duration, Brand was either doubled on the move or on the catch. Since the Clips could never quite figure out when and who would two-time Brand — sometimes another big, sometimes a guard, and sometimes a wing — the home team's high scorer never got into any kind of rhythm. He didn't part the net in the second half until the 8:02 mark in the fourth quarter.
Brand's numbers were respectable (7-18, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 20 points) but he was far from being the dominating presence the Clips need to overcome the NBA's elite teams.
Here's another strategy cooked up by Gregg Popovich that helped the Spurs discombobulate the Clips offense: Midway through the first quarter, San Antonio jumped into a 2-3 zone for five consecutive sequences. The result was two turnovers (which directly led to a pair of fast break buckets by the visitors), Chris Kaman had a shot blocked, Brand hoisted an air ball, and then, Cassell drew a foul on a drive and pull.
For the duration, the Clippers never developed any synchronicity in their half-court sets. (The Spurs also used the same zone in the third quarter and coaxed another turnover. You can bet that Pop will unveil his 2-3 zone again should the Clips and the Spurs meet in the playoffs.)
With their break unavailable and their half-court sets dysfunctional, the Clips mostly resorted to isos. Kaman was frequently effective with spin moves in the low post — 6-10, 8 rebounds, 18 points — although 7 of his points came on offensive rebounds. Livingston (5-9, 12 points) also had some productive sequences when he went one-on-one — mostly working against Brent Barry, who's never been accused of playing adequate defense.
Corey Maggette played hard and also put up good numbers — 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 16 points. But he shot only 3-11 from the field and shot 10-12 from the stripe, primarily due to some home cooking provided by the three blind mice (read: the officials).
Cutino Mobley was literally useless off the bench — 0-6, 0 points. Vladimir Radmanovic mostly shot blanks — 3-8, 10 points — but was unusually effective with his lumbering drives into the lane. Quinton Ross was another non-factor — 0-2, 0 points.
But the one player whom the Spurs focused on most was Sam Cassell — 3-8, 7 assists, 2 turnovers, 8 points. It's Cassell who motors the Clippers' offense, who takes the critical shots, who gets the ball to the right teammate in the right place at the right time.
Indeed, with Cassell rendered invisible, the Spurs led 71-61 after three quarters and seemed to have a death grip on the game. But Mike Dunleavy called Cassell's number three consecutive times to begin the fourth quarter and the Clips' wily point guard responded with three consecutive baskets against Beno Udrih.
(It should be noted that Tony Parker was down with a bruised shin, so the Spurs rotated Udrih, Nick Van Exel, and Barry in his place.)
Popovich immediately sicced Bowen on Cassell, and the move paid dividends on the very first possession when Cassell shot an air ball. With Bowen in his face for the duration, Cassell was totally shut down and the Clips were dead in the water.
For the game, the Clippers shot only 37.8% from the field. Give the Spurs credit for playing championship defense. Likewise, the LAC can be faulted for losing all semblance of team offense under this extreme pressure.
Defense
The game was close early (SA led by 25-19 after the first quarter) only because the Spurs were missing wide open shots. Indeed, their habit of making the extra pass on virtually every play generated clean looks for everybody — especially Bowen, Barry, and Michael Finley, who combined for 9 treys and 47 total points. The pattern was established early — the Clips would collapse on Tim Duncan, in the low post, but were unable to close-out the open perimeter shooters. San Antonio's unselfish passwork was reflected in the stat sheet ¹ 32 assists were recorded for their 36 field goals. And whenever L.A. tried confronting T.D. with a single defender — usually Kaman, but sometimes Brand — Duncan simply had his way.
Time and again, the Clippers' befuddled defense allowed the Spurs to cut unimpeded through the middle. Mohammed, Nesterovic, Udrih, Duncan, and Manu Ginobili all took advantage of this reprehensible lapse.
The Spurs only ran a pair of distinct screen/rolls in the entire game, creating free throws for Mohammed, and then a layup for Duncan. Instead, San Antonio's modus operandi was to spread the floor to create optimum cutting and passing angles.
The Spurs also had Udrih and Barry — neither of whom is noted for ball-handling prowess — attack Cassell's meager defense. Barry and Finley likewise took advantage of Radmanovic's inability to guard. Also, Mobley's penchant for turning his head provided an opportunity for Bowen to cut back-door, receive a perfect pass from Ginobili, and score an uncontested layup.
The final margin wasn't indicative of how easily the Spurs controlled the game. In truth, it took some blatant home cooking to keep the score even marginally respectable. The Clippers shot 36 free throws to the Spurs' 23.
So, the Spurs dissected the Clippers' defensive efforts by focusing on individual weaknesses, by creating workable spaces for their own scorers, and by unselfish ball movement. At the other end, the Spurs stifled the Clips' point-making abilities by jamming the home team's running opportunities, by confusing Brand with a variety of double-teams, by using a zone defense to undermine the Clips' confidence, and by locking up Cassell.
And they did all this without the injured Parker!
While the Clips are a good ballclub, the Spurs are a great ballclub — and over the course of a 7-game playoff series, the Clippers have no chance to match San Antonio's intensity, experience under pressure, teamwork, and resourcefulness.
Pop and his staff would enjoy a huge advantage over their counterparts.
From here on in, the Clips should be rooting for the Spurs to beat out Dallas for the West's top seed. In any case, it would seem that finishing as the No. 6 seed and opening the playoffs against the Nuggets might be the only circumstances that would allow the Clippers to survive into the second round.
Charley Rosen is FOXSports.com's NBA analyst and author of 13 books about hoops, the current one being "The pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA."