The NBA on March 6th

This month, the NBA is honoring Hispanic Heritage. The New York Knicks become the Neuva York Knicks. The Heat and Suns become El Heat and Los Suns. I don’t doubt the integrity of the NBA but if their participation in something like this raises awareness for Hispanic Heritage while selling more merchandise then everyone wins.

In honoring Hispanic Heritage month, there was a lot of matador defense being played. Los Suns defeated the Thunder (who were not in Hispanic Heritage uniforms and I guess that’s why they lost) 128-122. Each team shot better than 50% from the field (.500 for the Thunder and .525 for Los Suns) but the key was 3point shooting. The Thunder was 13-33 from beyond the arc for 39%. This was actually better than their season average of 36%. Los Suns shot nearly 56% from three point range lighting up the Thunder to the tune of 15-27. Way to get a hand in their face guys!

This biggest defensive lapse of the night has to go the now hapless Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers took on their crosstown rivals the Clippers in a home game at the Staples Center, an arena both teams share. That means all the Laker banners were in the rafters and Jack Nicholson was in the front row.

The Lakers were playing without Kobe and Steve Nash and were woefully undermanned against the much younger, much healthier Clippers. Here’s the box score from the game...

LA Clippers

PLAYERS
Players	Min	FG	3pt	FT	+/-	Off	Def	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	BA	PF	Pts
Matt BarnesF	30:06	7-13	3-7	0-0	+43	2	10	12	5	1	3	0	0	2	17
Blake GriffinF	25:47	8-12	0-0	4-6	+34	2	9	11	7	5	2	0	0	3	20
DeAndre JordanC	22:02	6-9	0-0	2-4	+42	4	8	12	3	2	0	0	0	2	14
Darren CollisonG	29:33	9-16	1-3	5-5	+30	2	2	4	3	1	2	0	2	2	24
Chris PaulG	26:02	6-12	1-3	0-1	+36	1	3	4	11	3	4	1	0	1	13
Willie Green	27:34	3-9	1-3	2-2	+28	1	5	6	2	2	0	0	0	1	9
Hedo Turkoglu	22:13	3-6	3-5	0-0	+14	0	8	8	1	0	2	2	0	2	9
Glen Davis	18:32	5-7	0-0	0-0	+5	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	0	1	10
Danny Granger	17:54	4-8	0-2	2-2	+5	1	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	4	10
Reggie Bullock	12:51	4-7	3-3	0-0	+2	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	0	2	11
Ryan Hollins	7:26	2-4	0-0	1-2	+1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	5
Jamal Crawford	DNP - Strained Left Calf.
Jared Dudley	DNP - Mid- Back Spasms.
J.J. Redick	DNP - Inactive
Totals		57-103	12-26	16-22		16	48	64	34	17	16	5	2	21	142
Percentages		55.3%	46.2%	72.7%		Team Rebounds: 7

LA Lakers

PLAYERS
Players	Min	FG	3pt	FT	+/-	Off	Def	Reb	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	BA	PF	Pts
Kent BazemoreF	32:07	4-9	1-4	5-10	-29	1	1	2	6	5	1	1	1	3	14
Wesley JohnsonF	30:01	1-9	0-7	0-0	-40	1	3	4	1	2	4	1	0	4	2
Pau GasolC	25:13	8-15	0-0	5-6	-36	1	6	7	1	2	0	0	1	2	21
Jodie MeeksG	31:19	3-11	0-2	1-1	-45	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	7
Kendall MarshallG	23:41	3-8	1-4	0-0	-8	0	4	4	7	4	1	0	0	0	7
Robert Sacre	22:47	4-7	0-0	0-0	-12	1	2	3	1	2	0	0	1	2	8
Jordan Farmar	21:10	1-5	1-3	1-2	-39	0	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	2	4
Ryan Kelly	21:08	2-4	1-2	4-5	-10	0	6	6	0	0	1	0	1	0	9
Xavier Henry	19:19	5-10	3-3	2-2	-14	0	5	5	3	1	1	0	0	2	15
MarShon Brooks	13:15	3-8	1-5	0-0	-7	0	2	2	3	2	1	0	1	0	7
Jordan Hill	DNP - Sore Right Knee.
Chris Kaman	DNP - Coach's Decision
Nick Young	DNP - Sore Left Knee.
Kobe Bryant	DNP - Inactive
Steve Nash	DNP - Inactive
Totals		34-86	8-30	18-26		4	29	33	26	22	9	2	5	16	94
Percentages		39.5%	26.7%	69.2%		Team Rebounds: 8

They are few words that describe this kind of beat down on the NBA level. The Lakers were thoroughly dominated in every aspect of the game. Take a look at the shooting percentages, 55.3%, 46.2% and 72.7% for the Clippers while the Lakers managed 39.5%, 26.7% and 69.2%. The Clippers clobbered the Lakers on the boards, wiping the glass clean of 16 offensive rebounds to the Lakers 4 (DeAndre Jordan himself singlehandedly matched the Lakers in that regard). That led to a plus 31 rebounding margin! Did the Lakers play 5 on 4 again? To get pummeled that badly on the boards is just a lack of effort. The Clippers starting front line of Barnes, Griffin and Jordan combined for 35 rebounds, 2 more than the entire Laker team could manage.

It wasn’t anyone from the Clippers had a career performance either. Blake Griffin is averaging 24.1ppg on 16.9 shots/game. He only took 12 shots to get 20 points. Darren Collison led all scorers with 24 points on 16 shots. Collison averages 10.6 ppg on less than 8 shots/game. He just had a hot hand. Like everyone else on the Clippers. The Clippers had 8 players score in double figures including their entire starting five. The Lakers lone bright spot was Pau Gasol with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Other Gasol and Jordan Farmar, I don’t recognize any other name on the Laker roster that played in the game. 

There was a time when the Clippers were the laughing stock of Los Angeles Since moving to LA from San Diego for the 1984-85 season the Clippers have had only six winning seasons and they’re currently in their 3^rd straight winning season. Heck, the six seasons in San Diego produced 1 winning season (43-39 during the ’78-’79 campaign) and ZERO playoff appearances. So yeah, the west coast hasn’t been too kind to the Clippers. While the Clippers have been a punch line for the better part of the last 30 years, the Lakers have been to the NBA finals 12 times and have 7 championships.  Until recently, the Clippers haven’t been able to compete with the Lakers.

It was the worst defeat in the history of the Laker franchise. The sportstalk characters are calling for Laker coach Mike D'Antoni's head and they're saying that the franchise is going nowhere fast. Kobe is old and coming off another major injury. Steve Nash has had back problems since becoming a Laker and they keep trying to shop Gasol but no one is buying. At least they have a draft pick (unlike the Knicks). Right now, the Clippers are a fun team to watch and the Lakers are not. Here, watch some highlights...