Staples Center experience- Heat @ Clippers 11/29/08
Posted by: TheCalmInsanity on Nov 30, 2008 - 04:40 PM
Clipper_Blog
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What a fun game to attend, guys.
Baron Davis shakes and bakes Dwayne Wade with a double crossover, runs in the paint and dishes it out to Zach Randolph for 3... BINGO!
Will we hear that often? Perhaps not.. But it was awesome anyways!
Zach Randolph played a solid game, with that 3 and the possession right before it (when Baron dished it to him and he got the foul and the bucket) were his biggest plays. His face up jumper looked great too. Randolph is a huge threat, and it's awesome to finally see another face up jump shooter since "what's his face".
Also, anyone can read the stats and see he had 6 offensive rebounds, but WOW! I love having a "garbage man" like that, to clean up all the boards and score when we miss easy shots. If this was any game 2 weeks ago, I would be yanking my hairs off watching the Clippers miss shots they should be making. At least this way when they do, Z-Bo is down there to clean it up.
The main thing about this game that stood out when I was at the game, MISSED FREE THROWS. Every missed free throw lead to a huge groan from the crowd, because just like me, they were all noticing it. Free throws are supposed to be easy points, hence the term "FREE throws". But I'm glad to see the Clippers went to the line frequently, I think Miami dodged a bullet when we were missing them all.
As for the most exciting plays of the game- of course the Randolph plays to take the lead were breathtaking, and of course the end of the game was loud and the whole crowd stood up for maybe the last 3 minutes- but I think the one moment that stood out for me was the alley oop from Baron to Thornton. I need to find a way to contact Mike Dunleavy and let him know that NOTHING energizes these fans more than alley oops like that. I remember in the past few games where they've attempted them, the crowd has gotten more sparked from a MISSED alley oop than a MADE 2 pointer, haha! Because every other team in the league does them, Clipper Nation has been waiting for so long to see them. We have the personnel- I don't know why we don't see it more often.
Anyone can say Baron Davis almost cost us the game. But would we be in it if it wasn't for him? He made some clutch shots, and some really clutch passes. One thing that really sucks for him is that most people don't notice his passing. His passing is what gets us the easy shots (that the shooter gets credit for all the time, and the shooter only... when it wouldn't be possible without Baron's pass). Remember, Baron caught the beautiful cut from Zach Randolph for the tie and the foul (he made the free throw afterwards to take the lead), and then he found him on the 3. Let's not forget the 3 he made in the clutch, and that amazing turnaround jumper. Now THAT was old school Baron, he has that bounce in his step again. So he looks like the old school Baron again, but maybe just a little off shooting-wise.
Now let's talk cliche, the stuff all of you have already been talking about. Al Thornton took it to the hole today- he was aggressive and fixed everything that he did wrong the other day. He got to the free throw line very well and can do this EVERY game. Looks like he really does watch his videos. I'm sorry, but Gerald Wallace does not/will not have the work ethic of Thornton. You're forgetting, legitimately, Al Thornton was not even a basketball player. The first time he got on the court he had his hands in his pocket, uninterested. So he doesn't have the prototypical NBA player story (Little Joe got a basketball for his second birthday.. and would shoot it into the hamper every day to practice his basketball skills, or something along those lines haha). Big Al actually used to play football. He picked up basketball very late, until he got a growth spurt. Now what made him so good? His work ethic!! Being as athletic as he is helps took, but he spends hours and hours and hours in the gym, and like he said stays up till 4 am after almost every game watching the tape to see what he did wrong. I'm happy to say that this year, almost every bad game he's had, he's bounced back. So it looks like it's paying off.
All in all, this was a good game, not a great game but a good game. The positives are that we didn't even have our starting center, Zach Randolph just got most fans' "seal of approval", and we didn't even need Gordon to play well (poor guy was in foul trouble then got injured, what a nightmare for him). I'm glad we won even though we missed so many free throws and almost gave it away at the end. But at 3-13, as long as it gives us a W, I'm fine with it. As it probably is with you guys, I'm sick of these moral victories. Let's get the real victories going!!
Feel free to discuss any of my points- that's what the "reply" button is for!
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