Were the Los Angeles Clippers Exposed after Beating the Milwaukee Bucks

A win is a win in the NBA but the Clippers 92-86 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night exposed some glaring weaknesses for Los Angeles head coach Vinny Del Negro’s “Lob City” team.

No one can argue the immense offensive talent of power forward Blake Griffin. Griffin is No. 6 in the NBA in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game. He provided four poster including dunks for the Bucks players- highlight plays Clipper fans will not soon forget.

But any NBA fan has to wonder when Griffin will develop and trust his 12-18 foot jump shot. Imagine how dominate he will be when he adds a Karl Malone jumper to his arsenal.

Saturday night Griffin repeatedly gave up wide open shots preferring to put the ball on the floor and drive into traffic. At the end of the night he led the team with five turnovers. A problem the Clippers will have to remedy to be successful in the playoffs.

Everyone has a bad day at the office. Saturday Chris Paul had perhaps his worst day at his new Clipper office finishing 3-6 from the floor for 9 points, seven assists, and one rebound with four turnovers.

The 6’0” point guard appeared to be bothered by the defense from the bigger 6’8” Stephen Jackson.

Paul dribbled through the heart of the Buck defense repeatedly but rarely looking for his own shot at the rim. He also picked up his dribble before his players were in place to receive the ball.

On defense Paul was ran ragged by the quick play of Buck’s point guard Brandon Jennings. Jennings finished with a team high 21 points, six rebounds, seven assists, with only two turnovers. The kind of night we have come to expect from Paul.

Clipper head coach Vinny Del Negro will have to find a way to better utilize Paul’s abilities in the half-court set on offense and limit his exposure on the defensive end.

The pairing of veteran point guard Chauncey Billups and Paul in the Clipper backcourt should make for interesting high-low picks and give and goes throughout the season, especially with the ability of Griffin as a third option of those plays.

Will Del Negro be able to maximize the offensive potential of this Clippers team?

Del Negro has obviously told Mo Williams to push the tempo of the second unit when he is in the game… Does the rest of the second team know this?

Williams looked for fast break opportunities and mismatches throughout the night. At the end of most outlet passes he was left on the offensive end by himself as the rest of the team labored up the court.

Who will step up to add instant offense while the starters are on the bench?

Reggie Evans has never been known for his free throw shooting. The career free throw average for the Clipper power forward/center is 52.2. Saturday night he was 1-6 from the line. DeAndre Jordan better not get hurt.

The Clippers are promoting four players on the starting roster for NBA All-Star consideration, Jordan is among them.

Jordan, a career 5.6 points per game scorer and 5.8 rebounder, blocked three Buck shots but was nowhere to be found on the defensive end or the offensive end in 29 plus minutes of play. He finished with three points, all on free throws, and five rebounds.

Jordan’s counterpart, backup center Drew Gooden, finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

The most troubling sign was the 2-5 Bucks exposed the now 4-2 Clippers weaknesses.

The Bucks were playing without Andrew Bogut, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Beno Udrih, and Luc Mbah a Moute. Milwaukee forward John Brockman left the game in the second quarter after bruising his eye.

The Clippers are No. 4 in the Western Conference and hold a half game lead over the Lakers in the Pacific Division. Over the next 14 days they play seven games. Four of those games are against winning teams (Portland, Heat, Lakers, and Utah) and one game against the Dallas Mavericks.

Can the Clippers right the offensive woes and fix the defensive problems?

An uninspired six point win over a short-handed Bucks team is worrisome but all aforementioned problems can be fixed with time and practice. 

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He’s no Jordan, he’s no Kobe maybe he’s a Dominique Wilkins?

He’s no Jordan, he’s no Kobe maybe he’s a Dominique Wilkins?

Much will be said about the abilities or lack thereof concerning LeBron James after his disappearing act in the 2011 NBA Championship. LeBron James and his Miami Heat teammates lost the NBA Championship in 6 games to the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night. Before the NBA Finals began, Hall of Fame basketball player and former Chicago Bulls teammate of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen said in an interview on ESPN radio show Mike and Mike that LeBron James was better than Michael Jordan. This statement sent the sports world in a tiff and Pippen has since back tracked from his original statement. Pippen has to be more than embarrassed with his statement after LeBron’s performance against the Dallas Mavericks.

There’s no questioning the physical abilities that LeBron possesses. He is as gifted as any athlete on the planet. He’s fast and strong with great jumping ability. He has yet to hone his physical skills into basketball skills, a reoccurring theme in the NBA since the NBA began bypassing college talent for high school talent. Watching 26 year old LeBron James play is more reminiscent of Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins than the best of the best.

Comparing LeBron and Dominique

LeBron’s physical size is even on par with “The Human Highlight Film”. Wilkins was 6 foot 8 inches and played at 235 pounds. “King James” is listed at 6 foot 8 inches 250 pounds.

Dominique was the third pick of the 1982 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz out of the University of Georgia. LeBron was the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2003 NBA Draft out of St. Vincent High School in Akron, Ohio. Dominique was 23 years old when he entered the NBA, LeBron was 19 years old.

* Dominique was traded to the Atlanta Hawks before the beginning of the 1982-1983 NBA season.

Both men have won a NBA Scoring Title and are known more as scores and punishing dunkers than pure shooters. Wilkins averaged 30.3 points per game in 1985-1986 when he won his NBA Scoring Title, LeBron averaged 30.0 points per game in 2007-2008 to win his scoring title.

Wilkins is one of only six NBA players to average over 25 points per game in 10 consecutive years; Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson (Wilt Chamberlain went nine consecutive years). LeBron has averaged over 25 points per game in 7 consecutive years.

“Nique” was a nine time all-star.

LeBron is a seven time all-star.

Wilkins never developed a true consistent three-point shot; he wasn’t afraid to shoot a three but was never considered a good three point shooter. In Wilkins’ 10^th and 12^th seasons in the NBA he shot a higher 3 point percentage shooting .380 and .388. LeBron’s second season in the NBA, 2004-2005, he shot his highest percentage shooting .351. LeBron’s career average is .329. Kobe Bryant has four seasons shooting over .350 in his career.

Wilkins was a better free throw shooter than LeBron. Wilkins averaged .811 for his career. LeBron is averaging .759.

LeBron, to date, is a better rebounder than Wilkins. Analyzing the numbers both players averaged 7 rebounds per game. Wilkins rebounding numbers declined towards the end of his career. LeBron is averaging 7.1 rebounds per game to Wilkins career 6.7 rebounds per game.

LeBron is a better distributor of the ball. King James is averaging 7.0 assists per game through his career. Nique averaged 2.5.

Dominique averaged over 24 points per game in 11 NBA seasons. LeBron has averaged 24 or more points in 7 NBA seasons.

LeBron is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player winner, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Nique never won a NBA MVP Award.

Perhaps the most important comparison between both players is neither player has won a NBA Championship.

Winning a NBA MVP does not guarantee a NBA Championship.

Recent NBA Most Valuable Players that have not won a NBA Championship

1997 and 1999 Karl Malone

2001 Allen Iverson

2005 and 2006 Steve Nash

2009 and 2010 LeBron James

2011 Derrick Rose

Just to Clarify, LeBron will be 27 years old when the 2011-2012 NBA season begins. He appears to have 10 good seasons left in his Hall of Fame career. Who knows how many titles he will win, if any? But his future is wide open and the possibilities are there for him.

Dominique played off and on in the NBA until he was 39 years old and never won a NBA Championship. Nique had the unfortunate timing of being in the NBA East when Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were dominating. Nique never had a complimentary player in his prime to help over come The Celtics, Pistons, or Bulls. LeBron hopes that the pairing of Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade will help him achieve his ultimate goal of winning a NBA Championship. Time will tell. Until then, “King James” seems more like “The Human Highlight Film” than Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant. 

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The Big Aristotle quietly makes a Big Decision

During an era when every athlete screams for media attention and makes a spectacle of their careers, media loving Shaquille O’Neal shows a restrained class not often seen in today’s sports world. Shaq gracefully retired from a Hall of Fame career Wednesday afternoon without fan fair or media attention. A persistent Achilles tendon injury he suffered earlier this year would prove to be too difficult for him to overcome.

Shaquille could have announced a “Shaq Retirement Tour” for the 2011-2012 season, playing one last NBA season to soak up the attention and adoration of fans across the NBA and no one would’ve cared; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it. He could have placed himself in an ESPN retirement special (ala LeBron James) and captured one last moment of attention on his Hall of Fame career. Instead the charismatic center, arguably one of the most physically dominate players to ever play in the NBA, posted his retirement on Twitter. In a 16 second video tweet “The Diesel” said, “We did it. 19 years, baby. Thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first. I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

Shaquille’s accomplishments:

1992 1^st overall pick by the Orlando Magic

1992-1993 NBA Rookie of the Year

15 All-Star selections

8 All-NBA 1^st Team selections

2 NBA scoring titles

3 NBA All-Defensive Team selections

3 Finals MVP Awards

1 NBA MVP Award

4 time NBA Champion

5^th on the all-time scoring list (28,596 pts)

12^th on the all-time rebounding list (13,099)

2^nd on the career field goal percentage (.582)

Reading the list of accomplishments reads like a really impressive career. Looking back, did he have a great career or did he grossly underachieve? Perhaps a little bit of both?

How could anyone say Shaq Fu underachieved? His personal stats show his best consecutive years were his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Orlando Magic. During his 2000 MVP season with the Lakers, Shaq was a beast averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 3 blocks per game. The 1993-1994 season, his second in the NBA, was his second best season averaging 29.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.8 blocks per game… How much did he really improve over the course of his career?

Let’s give a little credit where credit is due. The early ‘90’s were a tough time in the paint for a NBA center. Legends like Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson protected the rim and his “Air-ness”, Michael Jordan, was unbeatable. Yet Shaq was able to carve a niche for himself as a dominate center, more due to his size (7’ 1”) and weight (325) than his basketball skills; Hakeem Olajuwon was listed at 7’ and 255 lbs. Once the Jordan era ended and the Hall of Fame centers retired, Shaq’s stats never vastly improved. Regardless of who was put on the floor against him, he was going to get 20 plus points and 10 rebounds per game, but that’s it. He never averaged over 30 points per game in any of his NBA seasons and only averaged over 13 rebounds per game three times. Missing from his career accomplishment list is a rebounding title.

“The Big Aristotle” benefited from Jordan’s retirement in 1998 (let’s not count MJ’s time with the Wizards through 2001-2003) by winning 3 straight NBA Championships from 2000-2003. But who was Shaq’s competition in the paint? The only other dominate “center” was power forward Tim Duncan. If Yao Ming could walk from the locker room to the scorer’s table without getting hurt, I would count him. There was no one his equal, and no dominate teams to challenge him. Yet it seems he still underachieved.

Tim Donaghy’s role as a referee during the Lakers’ 3 year run taints his accomplishments as well. The rings and trophies say Los Angeles Lakers but how much help did they get from the officiating crew? Anyone remember Kobe Bryant elbowing Sacramento Kings guard Doug Christie in the face and Doug Christie getting called for the foul?

By the 2003-2004 season, his 12^th season in the NBA, Shaq’s career was on a dramatic downslide. He would never average more than 23 points a game the rest of his career and only post 3 seasons above 20 points per game. He would also only post one more season (Heat 2004-2005) with 10 plus rebounds per game. The days of being a physically dominate center were gone. His role was that of promise and no delivery.

Once Shaq left Miami, it seemed he was chasing NBA titles as a gun for hire. He left Miami and joined the Phoenix Suns halfway through the 2007-2008 season but he could not push the Suns over the top being bested by Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. Then he played as a shadow of his former self with LeBron in Cleveland for one season in 2009-2010 to no avail. His last hope to get ring number five was with the Boston Celtics, which was an injury riddled season ended by his former teammates and team, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

One can argue that Shaq transitioned himself from dominate center to team player with the immergence and abilities of his teammates Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Steve Nash, and LeBron James. He allowed others to take on a larger scoring role within their given offense despite his abilities; a 7’ 1” Hall of Fame decoy standing in the paint?

One can also argue that Shaq was constantly double and triple teamed; this is what happens when your only offensive move is a dunk. Shaq was the victim of “Hack-a-Shaq”, the strategy to foul Shaq sending him to the line due to his poor free throw shooting; he retired with a .527 career free throw percentage. All dominate centers have faced the same adversity with their careers in the NBA. Shaq is no different but he would lead you to believe differently. His other problems included poor conditioning, bad timing on his toe surgery, calling out his current (Kobe Bryant) or former teammates (Ricky Davis) and coaches (Phil Jackson and Pat Riley) in the media, and his lack of desire to play the game. His smile and playfulness was so effective that the media and fans constantly gave Shaq a pass on his short comings.

Shaq’s heart was in the spotlight, but only his wallet was in the game. If Shaq had dedicated himself to the being the best. It’s frustrating to think what would his career could have been, maybe better than Jordan’s? Many will remember him as one of the best players to ever play the game. Winning 4 NBA Championships says a lot about his career. However, knowing he cheated himself and the game, it’s hard to think of Shaq as anything else but a dominating physical force with little else to offer other than highlight dunks. His God given ability was enough to average 29 points and 10 rebounds a night while in his prime. That ability was enough for him to stroll through a 19-year Hall of Fame career. What will sports fans and NBA purist remember him as?

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NBA Thoughts

Performance Enhancing Drugs in the NBA? Not the NBA?!?!

How quickly will this story be swept under the rug? Derrick Rose was asked on a scale of 1-10 if there is a problem in the NBA with players using PEDs. Rose was quoted in the May 30^th issue of ESPN the Magazine as saying, “7. It’s huge and I think we need a level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person. Now Rose has a bad case of amnesia… he does not remember the question and has backed away from his previous statement.

There was a time when I heard the word steroids and I automatically thought about body builders and pro football players. I think MLB woke many of us up to the fact that steroids can be used in different sports to achieve different desired results. The NBA suspended OJ Mayo, guard for the Memphis Grizzlies, 10 games in January for an over the counter nutritional supplement. My skepticism makes me wonder how bad an over the counter supplement really is if that product can be purchased at a vitamin store? Conspiracy theory: could this be the NBA’s way of covering up a failed steroid test?

Just to clarify, not all PEDs are used to add muscle mass or for weight lifting. Many people take steroids to speed up recovery time or take a PED like EPO, which helps one with their endurance (Lance Armstrong). David Stern has been very crafty about the NBA’s public image and I’m sure he will do everything he can to make Rose’s statement a non-issue. But it seems that even individuals within the NBA don’t feel like everything is on the up and up (see NBA draft conspiracies and referee scandal). Rose’s statement reminds me “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire”.

More NBA thoughts:

Enough of the whining you big baby!

Too much talk in Los Angeles and around the nation has been centered on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s recent statement regarding him wanting a statue of his likeness to be placed in front of Staples. He’s pouting because Magic Johnson and Jerry West will have statues in front of The Staples Arena and he won’t. There’s been a reason the public has not embraced Kareem nor has the Los Angeles Lakers; he’s not a likeable guy.

I’ve got a solution for you Kareem. We’ll build a statue for you but place it in front of The Forum in Englewood; where the Lakers played in the ‘70’s, 80’s, and ‘90’s. The occasional concert goers will be able to see your statue but Lakers fans and sports fans will not have to be bothered with it.

Just to clarify, I’m so tired of hearing about the younger generations being self centered and being all about “me”. Kareem is a 7’ 2” tall reminder of how selfish and greedy the Baby Boomer generation has become and how bad they’ve been all along. Our nation is in economic despair and ruin thanks to the Baby Boomer generation’s greed and there’s a 65 year old “baby” crying in the corner because he’s not getting enough “love”. Give me a break!