| A Brutal Beginning Authored by Drew Decker - November 14, 2008 - 5:34 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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Although they are currently tied with Oklahoma City for the worst record in the league at 1-7, there is reason for optimism. The remainder of this article will briefly examine the Good, Bad and Ugly elements of the first eight games for the other NBA team in Los Angeles.
The Good
• Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman have actually been able to play on the same court together for the past few games. Baron and Marcus are banged up and battling nagging injuries, but it’s encouraging to see both of them playing through the pain.
• Picking up where he left off last year, Kaman is nearly averaging a double-double (12.5 ppg & 9.9 rpg) and remains one of the top low post threats in the game.
• Lightning quick point guard Mike Taylor has already supplanted Jason Hart as Baron’s primary backup at the point and should be a fixture in the league for the next decade.
• Before sustaining an ankle injury, Tim Thomas was averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds through the first five games of the year. Consistency has always been an issue for Thomas, but so far he has been a solid contributor in the front court.
The Bad
• The NBA schedule makers certainly didn’t do the Clippers any favors by forcing them to open the season against the cream of the Western Conference crop with games against the Lakers (2), Jazz (2), Nuggets, Rockets and Mavericks. The home loss to the Kings really hurt, because the Clips had a golden opportunity to reel off five wins in a row with games coming up against Golden State, injury ravaged San Antonio and Oklahoma City.
• The Clippers three-headed monster of shooting guards, Cutino Mobley, Ricky Davis and Eric Gordon, haven’t been able to throw it in the Pacific Ocean for the first eight games. At 39.6%, Mobley is the best of the bunch and consistent production from this position is crucial to the team’s success. After an abysmal start, Davis is finally showing signs of turning it around. Although still shooting 33% from the floor and averaging 5.1 ppg, Ricky hit four three-pointers and scored 16 points off the bench against Sacramento.
• In last month’s article I wrote that Eric Gordon’s ceiling is Vinnie Johnson with better range. Although he is only eight games into his NBA career, EG has done nothing to change that opinion. For the most part, Gordon looks lost when he’s on the court and displays about as much intensity as Benoit Benjamin on a good day. It’s still early, but it appears as though Gordon’s sizeable derrière is mostly going to be keeping the bench warm in his rookie season.
• Word on the street is that Baron and head coach Mike Dunleavy aren’t on the same page. Not surprisingly, Davis wants the freedom to freelance on the offensive end of the floor. Conversely, Dunleavy wants his point guard to run plays every time up the court. Baron achieved a great deal of success in Golden State with his frenetic style of play and Dunleavy needs to turn his thoroughbred point guard loose or the number in the loss column will continue to rise.
The Ugly
• Mike Dunleavy’s face when he stays outside too long and fails to wear any sun block. In the game against the Mavericks the other night, the hue of Dunleavy’s face was unlike any I’ve ever seen.
There are still 74 games to go in the season so it definitely isn’t necessary to push the panic button yet. The Clippers roster has enough talent to still win 45+ games, but vast improvement is needed immediately.
The buck stops with Mike Dunleavy and if he can’t figure out how to push the right buttons, then this hard luck franchise is looking at back to back 23-59 seasons. I believe the pieces are in place for a successful season, but it remains to be seen if Dunleavy can right the ship.
Drew covers the NBA and a wide range of other topics on his Shawn Kemp’s Kids blog at sandiegosportsguy.com. Comments and questions are encouraged and can be sent to drew@sandiegosportsguy.com. |
