Los Angeles Clippers: Can’t kick the Spurs

San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Clippers

By Ryan Rodriguez

As the NBA returned to action after the All Star break, the Clippers and San Antonio Spurs engaged in a highly entertaining battle of the top teams in the Western Conference. The Spurs emerged with a 113-103 victory as they saw Patty Mills step up with a huge 4th quarter, complementing another stellar game by the ageless Tim Duncan, to allow the Spurs to pull away. For the Clippers, the game was largely the Blake show once again, as he tallied 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists to continue the phenomenal play he has exhibited since the turn of the calendar.

There isn’t one thing you can point to as to why Blake is dominating so much now. He has improved in every area of his game, and once Chris Paul went down, he was allowed to showcase all of the abilities he has been accumulating. I have touched before on the decisiveness that he has been displaying on offense when it comes to his mid-range shooting, but in actuality, this decisiveness has permeated throughout his entire game. Snare a rebound and no guard is in sight, Blake brings the ball up without hesitation, displaying the underrated handles he has. Catch the ball at the top of the key, he quickly swings it to the wing, follows the pass and sets up a quick hitting pick and roll that only opens the lane up more for his devastating role. Or maybe its when he caught the ball multiple times in the post last night, did a couple of back down dribbles before using a quick shoulder turn and dip to quickly get around the defender and lay the ball in.

I haven’t always been the biggest Blake fan, and have really been skeptical of his game translating to playoff wins, but this year I finally believe that he has turned the corner here. The diversification of his game, from posting to mid-range to passing from anywhere on the court has given him multiple ways to attack the defense, which in turn keeps the defense on their toes and allows him to use his insane athleticism even more. Last night just became another notch on the belt for Blake as he continues to lay to waste the rest of the league.

The only other Clip who really showed up last night was their other top performer of the 2014 calendar year, Jamal Crawford. As J. J. Redick has battled injuries this whole year (it was announced yesterday that he will be out 3-5 weeks with a bulging disc in his back, though Doc Rivers said he might not be out that long), Crawford has stepped up more and more, especially once CP3 went down in January. Yesterday was another example of Crawford stepping up big, as he provided the usual scoring but with an efficient flair to it yesterday (8-15 shooting for 25 points). Crawford has taken to the increased role, both starting and more minutes, about as perfectly as the Clips could hope, even providing some play making you would expect them to lose without Redick’s underrated passing.

Notes

• A little weird to see CP3 struggle yesterday when he was facing Cory Joseph and the no defense Patty Mills. It’s not so much that he shot 1-10, but rather he never fully seemed in control of this game. It could be because Blake was so dominant for the Clips, but I’ve seen Blake have big games and still fully feel Chris was in control of the game. Lets hope this isn’t anymore than a one game blip thanks to Chris playing his way back into full shape and not being fully Chris for another week or two.
• DeAndre Jordan has really played well in his expanded role this year, but last night, as he was matched up against Timmy D, it was readily apparent he’s still just a slightly above average shot blocker and nothing else on defense. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Duncan last night, who put on his big boy jacket and played 38 minutes because the Spurs were without Tony Parker and trying to work Manu Ginobili back into the lineup after not playing for three weeks. Duncan owned through a variety of quick duck ins, crafty spins, and little jump hooks to make it seem like DJ had no hope. Throw in 7 assists from the Grandpa in the game, and it was apparent how dominant Duncan can still be. He’s like a sweet old car, it’s not going to perform if you drive it long miles all the time, but if you pace the car, it will run just like it always has every time.
• My guy Patty Mills cannot go unmentioned either, as he completely owned the fourth quarter, getting so hot that he even got a couple improbable bounces off the rim to drop for him. With Cory Joseph struggling, especially on offense, the Spurs absolutely needed Mills to come up big and he did. He’s their new Gary Neal and I hope he finally finds himself meaningful playing time down the stretch and in the playoffs.
• I have two plays that stick out in my mind from last night, both from the Spurs. The first took place in the second quarter, when Timmy was trying to back down DJ only to find himself not getting anywhere. Instead of just passing the ball back out to Mills and letting him initiate a new set, Duncan immediately followed the pass, set a screen for Mills, who came off of it and hit a long two. It just showed how in tune Duncan is with everyone on the court because he knew that Mills only needs a little room to get off a shot, and since no one else from either team was on his side of the floor, it was going to create an easy opportunity.
• The other play was a reverse layup by the crafty Manu. A reverse layup sounds mundane, but Manu added his own flair to it by using a Euro step to slide past the defender to the other side of the rim for an uncontested layup. This play just greatly illustrated the genius that is Manu.

Next game for the Clips is Friday in Memphis.