MM's all important first pre season game player analysis

[Mediocre Man]

So here is what I noticed last night as I watched the game

Lillard looked the same. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but he did. He also seemed a bit disinterested. (pre season I know, but still)

Matthews was meh. In fact maybe not that good. Poor shooting and poor defense

Batum looked aggressive, which I loved, but he didn't really seem to play within whatever semblance of an offense there was

Robinson was what the Kings and Rockets thought he was last night. What he was was alright, but he wasn't all that

Lopez is not a rim protector, but he works hard and has a bit of a nasty streak, so that's nice

Freeland was terrible

Claver made smart plays and should see the floor more

Bost looked fine, but it doesn't matter because he wont be on the opening day roster

Crabbe is the quintessential 3pt specialist who can't shoot

Barton looked like he may have improved slightly

Leonar_ was horrible. How many years do we need to wait for him?

I couldn't care less if the team won or lost, but I was really disappointed in the offense and defense. the offense looked stagnant (could be because LA was out) No flow at all. the defense was still pathetic. No rotation, no trapping


As for anyone why was against trading for DeAndre Jordan this summer, you should give yourself a self imposed 3 day suspension from the forum.

 

[BrianFromWA]

but he only plays 2 minutes per 4th quarter! :MARIS61:

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Who cares? We had 5 players out. It was the first pre season game. We'll get much better.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Maybe Freeland was terrible, but he was a lot better than last year. He blocked a Griffin dunk attempt, but got called for a foul. He has looked a good deal better than last year in all footage I've seen of him (except for bobbling balls on offense). He might even be worthy of around 5 mpg!

Sad to say, in this game, he looked better than Robinson.

Claver also looks improved - he should've got a lot more minutes, I think.

Jordan made Lopez look very slow and unathletic. It was rather painful (especially in the first quarter, where Jordan just seemed to stuff everything Robin was attempting). But part of that was us letting them play their game. Lopez can't be any more lumbering than Marc Gasol, we just have to know how to use him right.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

One note: the Clippers announcers were bragging about their depth, but they looked pretty bad as soon as the starters left. In particular, Darren Collison is just a shadow of what we thought he was after his rookie year. And I don't think Crawford is going to have half as much fun this year as he did last.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

As for anyone why was against trading for DeAndre Jordan this summer, you should give yourself a self imposed 3 day suspension from the forum.

As someone among that number, I will concede that he looked pretty amazing in this game (much better than Blake Griffin, in fact).
Here is my attempt at a defense:
First, the Clippers announcers were as amazed as we were. They kept talking about how he has changed completely, giving up soda (which he was apparently addicted to) and being in the best shape of his life. So us Jordan deniers were making the rational prediction based on his past. Would he have made this effort if he were traded to Portland? Hard to say. He strikes me as the sensitive type, and maybe it was wanting to stay in LA and/or Doc Rivers that lit a fire under him. It's sort of the reverse of the Jermaine O'Neal thing: everyone says now that we should've held on to him, but I think he would never have blossomed if he'd stayed. He went to a place where the guy who traded for him was essentially his coach and was ready to feed his ego and boost him 100%.

Finally: let's see if he can keep this up.
Finally finally: who says we COULD have traded for him? He makes over $10 mil. Who would we have given up? Was there ever an actual offer?

 

[illmatic99]

My notes:

-Claver getting a consistent 10mpg will be a serious positive for the team. Hard to see where he will get this, though unless there are injuries.

-Dame looked better to me at finishing at the rim (with contact) on a few drives. And his handle looked much tighter. Shots didn't fall for the most part, or he woulda seemed much better. And definitely more of a concerted effort on D. Unfortunately, CP has a way of destroying guys without dominating the box-- this was the case last night.

-Our backup frontcourt of Wright/TRob/Leonard is gonna be pretty decent when you put them up against other backups

-Lopez should not attempt anywhere close to 10 shots unless he's absolutely feeling it. Dude had so many layups go in and out. Awful touch.

-Shoot the ball, Nic. ugh

-Wes looks like his development has stagnated.

 

[Mediocre Man]

My notes:

-Claver getting a consistent 10mpg will be a serious positive for the team. Hard to see where he will get this, though unless there are injuries.

-Dame looked better to me at finishing at the rim (with contact) on a few drives. And his handle looked much tighter. Shots didn't fall for the most part, or he woulda seemed much better. And definitely more of a concerted effort on D. Unfortunately, CP has a way of destroying guys without dominating the box-- this was the case last night.

-Our backup frontcourt of Wright/TRob/Leonard is gonna be pretty decent when you put them up against other backups

-Lopez should not attempt anywhere close to 10 shots unless he's absolutely feeling it. Dude had so many layups go in and out. Awful touch.

-Shoot the ball, Nic. ugh

-Wes looks like his development has stagnated.

I should have said this. Lillard did look like he was concentrating on defense much more than last year.

 

[Boise Blazer]

I was happy to be able to watch the game but if I had to see one more commercial with that stupid between the legs pass from Crawford to Griffin for the alley-oop I was going to scream and throw something at the TV.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think Lopez looked good. Let's be realistic, how many teams in the league have bigs that are as athletic as the Clippers? Not to mention the fact that there's only one Chris Paul, so I think Lopez will be fine. He played good defense, he rebounded, and he had some good putbacks. That's all I expected out of him.

Lillard looked good in the first half, but he looked tired later on, and the Clippers realized that he was our only real offensive threat. That will change when LMA and Mo Williams come back. Most encouraging is that he's getting calls and he's getting to the line. His shooting was off, but I don't think that will be a trend.

Biggest problem was that we had no depth at point guard last night, so Lillard ended up playing some pretty long stretches. No Watson and no Mo Williams was a pretty big factor.

Crabbe had some good stretches and I like the kid. I think he'll come around. His shooting was streaky, but he was active. He rebounded the ball very well for a guard (he had six boards).

I thought Leonard looked fine. Some people will never be happy with the kid, and that's their prerogative. He had 10 points and six boards off 3-7 shooting. Coming off the bench, I'm fine with that.

Matthews was horrible last night, but I have to think that will change as the preseason goes on. His shooting was off and he looked out of shape.

My biggest concern with Thomas Robinson is that the team is running him at the top of the key. He isn't Aldridge. We don't want him dribbling that much. He had five turnovers and most of them were from trying to dribble into the key. He had a few nice passes and he rebounded okay. I want to see him post up on the block. Or go to the baseline, which was Zach Randolph's bread and butter.

 

[BlazerBeav]

One note: the Clippers announcers were bragging about their depth, but they looked pretty bad as soon as the starters left. In particular, Darren Collison is just a shadow of what we thought he was after his rookie year. And I don't think Crawford is going to have half as much fun this year as he did last.

Completely agree with this - could not believe how bad Collison looks now.

 

[Natebishop3]

Completely agree with this - could not believe how bad Collison looks now.

He was sure getting his calls from the refs though. The NBA refs were in mid-season form.

 

[illmatic99]

My biggest concern with Thomas Robinson is that the team is running him at the top of the key. He isn't Aldridge. We don't want him dribbling that much. He had five turnovers and most of them were from trying to dribble into the key. He had a few nice passes and he rebounded okay. I want to see him post up on the block. Or go to the baseline, which was Zach Randolph's bread and butter.

I hope we figure out quickly that he isn't really much of an option on offense. Dude is better suited as a Chuck Hayes than a Carl Landry.

 

[Eastoff]

I hope we figure out quickly that he isn't really much of an option on offense. Dude is better suited as a Chuck Hayes than a Carl Landry.

The D to Meyers Leonard's O?

 

[Natebishop3]

I hope we figure out quickly that he isn't really much of an option on offense. Dude is better suited as a Chuck Hayes than a Carl Landry.

He's a garbage man right now. I mean, you can throw him lobs and such, but he's not Aldridge. He can't stand at the top of the key. He needs to be down in the paint where he can box out and rebound, which is what he's really good at.

 

[handiman]

As for anyone why was against trading for DeAndre Jordan this summer, you should give yourself a self imposed 3 day suspension from the forum.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...aims-want-deandre-jordan-traded-kevin-garnett

 

[magnifier661]

Yes let's declare deandre Jordan a savior off of one pre-season game! Lol

 

[Mediocre Man]

Yes let's declare deandre Jordan a savior off of one pre-season game! Lol

Hmm, I can't remember anyone saying savior until your post. He did look better than any center we have had on our roster since.......

 

[magnifier661]

Hmm, I can't remember anyone saying savior until your post. He did look better than any center we have had on our roster since.......

Hickson had a 20 rebound game. Well shit man; he's better than Jordan. I mean we declare true value from one game.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Hickson had a 20 rebound game. Well shit man; he's better than Jordan. I mean we declare true value from one game.

Jordan played more defense last night than JJ has played his entire career.

 

[magnifier661]

Jordan played more defense last night than JJ has played his entire career.

And he's so valuable; that he hardly played in the 4th.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Leonard is still a work in progress, but what I saw last night was an improvement over last season. He still has a long way to go, but he didn't look totally lost last night. He seemed more aware of where he was at on the court and played with a little more confidence and aggression - at times.

As I said, he still has a long way to go, but as I've been saying since the day we drafted him, he is a long term project and we won't know how good, or bad, he will end up until he's played 3 or 4 years at the NBA level. Although we're in serious trouble if we ever have to play him 36 minutes, his per-36 numbers last night were more than adequate for a backup (17.1 pts/36, 10.3 rev/36, 3.4 ast/36). The two things that impressed me most last night were his rebounding, much improved, and the fact that he was aggressive enough to draw fouls and get to the free throw line.

I know some here will never be satisfied with him no matter what he does. To them, he will never be good enough soon enough, but Last night I saw forward progress and as long as that continues, I will be happy with him as our backup center.

BNM

 

[Mediocre Man]

And he's so valuable; that he hardly played in the 4th.

And what do you think is the cause for that? I think it is FT shooting. If you want to think Hickson is as good as DeAndre Jordan that's your prerogative, but I'm not sure you are looking at their entire game if that's the case.

 

[magnifier661]

And what do you think is the cause for that? I think it is FT shooting. If you want to think Hickson is as good as DeAndre Jordan that's your prerogative, but I'm not sure you are looking at their entire game if that's the case.

Oh no mm; I don't think that. I'm just giving an example of an idiotic post that claims that DeAndre Jordan haters better get a ban because of one pre-season game. That logic is like saying hickson plays the fourth and had a 20 rebound game; so he's better than Jordan.

Do you see the logic?

 

[Mediocre Man]

Oh no mm; I don't think that. I'm just giving an example of an idiotic post that claims that DeAndre Jordan haters better get a ban because of one pre-season game. That logic is like saying hickson plays the fourth and had a 20 rebound game; so he's better than Jordan.

Do you see the logic?

I said it tongue in cheek, and said they should suspend themselves, not be banned. Jordan played one game, I get that. He has also been building on his previous success each year it seems, while JJ was traded, waived, not offered a deal by anyone, not resigned by us with a lack of bigs and signed once again for average market value by the Nuggets. seems to me he has a low value across the NBA

 

[magnifier661]

I said it tongue in cheek, and said they should suspend themselves, not be banned. Jordan played one game, I get that. He has also been building on his previous success each year it seems, while JJ was traded, waived, not offered a deal by anyone, not resigned by us with a lack of bigs and signed once again for average market value by the Nuggets. seems to me he has a low value across the NBA

And? Look at my history and show me if I don't agree with you about hickson. What I don't do is use a one game logic to advocate a player being a savior because of one preseason game.

 

[Mediocre Man]

And? Look at my history and show me if I don't agree with you about hickson. What I don't do is use a one game logic to advocate a player being a savior because of one preseason game.

I never said you did disagree with me. Nor did I ever say Jordan was a savior. This all came from you

 

[Eastoff]

Leonar_ was horrible. How many years do we need to wait for him?

Just curious if you think he looked equally horrible to last season?

 

[magnifier661]

I never said you did disagree with me. Nor did I ever say Jordan was a savior. This all came from you

Claiming that "anyone against trading for DeAndre deserved to self suspension from one pre-season game". I stand corrected. You just want people to suspend themselves because you are soooooo right and they are wrong.

Got it

 

[Pinwheel1]

Thomas Robinson[/B] is that the team is running him at the top of the key. He isn't Aldridge. We don't want him dribbling that much. He had five turnovers and most of them were from trying to dribble into the key. He had a few nice passes and he rebounded okay. I want to see him post up on the block. Or go to the baseline, which was Zach Randolph's bread and butter.

I taped the game and have not had a chance to watch it, but I would agree that having him play at the high post is not best. However most PF/C lose the ball when they have to dribble more than a few times. I think Leonard and LMA are both suited to play out there as they can pass or shoot it from there. But none of them should put the ball on the floor.