Familiarity brings comfort to Nate Robinson, newest member of Clippers

Former Husky Nate Robinson signs with Clippers

Nate Robinson played 33 games with the Denver Nuggets this season/Photo by David Zalubowski, Associated Press

 

The Clippers were not the only team courting free-agent point guard Nate Robinson. The Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the others, Robinson said.

But Robinson on Saturday signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers and had already joined the team at its practice facility in the morning. He will be reunited with Clippers coach Doc Rivers as well as with fellow Seattle native and Rainer Beach High alum Jamal Crawford.

Rivers coached Robinson for two seasons in Boston. Robinson also played four seasons with Crawford on the New York Knicks. Partly for this, he’s stoked to join the Clippers.

“I’ve played with Jamal since high school – I was a freshman, he was a senior,” Robinson said. “Played on the Knicks together, so this is going to be our third go-round and pretty cool just to have. You know, ‘Mal’s like my big brother. He’s a real Seattle guy. Our high school team is playing for its fourth state championship in a row tonight, so hopefully they can win it.

“But just beihg here and being under Doc’s system again, it’s definitely going to be comfortable for me. I know all the plays, so it won’t be hard for me to be able to come in and just help the team and run the team how he wants me to do.”
 

 

 

 

It’s highly doubtful Blake Griffin will return Sunday at Golden State

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin will likely not return Sunday at Golden State/Photo by Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Although there seemed a possibility Blake Griffin could be back Sunday for the game at Golden State, Clippers coach Doc Rivers on Saturday indicated that is doubtful.

Rivers said before practice that Griffin did not practice Friday and he did not expect him to practice Saturday. Asked if Griffin might return Sunday, Rivers said, “No, I don’t think so.”

Griffin has missed the past 11 games with a staph infection in his right elbow, which was surgically removed Feb. 9. The Clippers (40-22) are 7-4 without Griffin with five of the victories coming against playoff-bound teams.

 

Doc Rivers would have preferred his team quickly play again after Wednesday’s crushing loss to Portland

Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, right, tries to block a shot by Portland’s Chris Kaman in Wednesday’s game at Staples Center won 98-93 by the Trail Blazers in overtime/Photo courtesy of Jae C. Hong, Associated Press

 

The Clippers on Wednesday night suffered one of their toughest losses of the season – 98-93 to visiting Portland in overtime. There was that crazy play at the end of regulation that saw DeAndre Jordan rebound a missed Chris Paul shot with 0.7 seconds left and instead of trying to tip it in for the game-winner, Jordan just held the ball over his head because he heard the shot-clock buzzer go off.

It was much more than that. The Clippers held a 10-point lead with 2:53 to play in regulation before falling apart and allowing the Trail Blazers to take them to overtime.

It would have been nice if the Clippers (40-22) had been able to get right back out there and play another game so as to more quickly erase that pain. As it stands, they will not play again until Sunday at Golden State (47-12).

“We didn’t have that luxury this time, so you know, this is one you have to sit with for a while,” coach Doc Rivers said Friday at practice in Playa Vista. “Listen, at the end of the day you lose some tough ones during the year and you win probably a couple of them. … It would have been a really nice win for us, more than losing it, when you factor in you have 40, 45 points out of your offense and yet you could have won that game and you should have won it. But you didn’t, so you shouldn’t have.”

That said, Rivers believes a loss of that magnitude could help his team moving forward.

“If we’re in the Finals, if things work out and we get through this West, I guarantee you that game will have something to do with it in a positive way,” Rivers said.

The Clippers were without Blake Griffin (elbow), Matt Barnes (hamstring) and Jamal Crawford (calf) on Wednesday. They average a combined 48.5 points.

Doc Rivers applauds another fine game by DeAndre Jordan in win over Bulls

DeAndre Jordan

DeAndre Jordan/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers, NBA.com

 

Every time you turn around, DeAndre Jordan is having another fine game. The 6-foot-11 post who again was not selected to the Western Conference All-Star team, on Sunday scored only nine points but he pulled down a whopping 26 rebounds, blocked two shots and made two steals in the Clippers’ 96-86 victory over the Chicago Bulls at United Center in Chicago.

Not only that, Jordan played solid defense on Chicago’s Pau Gasol, who was reportedly sick and made just 2 of 13 from the field for four points; he averages 18.4 points. Gasol did have 15 rebounds and four assists, so he apparently wasn’t too sick to rebound and pass well.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers applauded yet another in a long line of games Jordan has dominated with his rebounding and defense. Jordan averaged 17.2 rebounds in the month of February and had five games with at least 20 rebounds with a high of 27 on on Feb. 9 in a win at Dallas.

“Our defense was good all day,” Rivers said. “DJ was great.  When you have a big who can guard another big one on one and you don’t have to double team, it takes other things they can do away because there is no double team.  DJ was huge on Gasol all day.”

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gave credit to Jordan, but not without telling everyone how under the weather Gasol was during the game.

“I want to give Pau a lot of credit,” Thibodeau said. “Pau is sick, very sick. He knows we are shorthanded and he got out there and gave us everything he had. DeAndre Jordan has had an unbelievable year and an incredible run, particularly with Blake Griffin being out for them. He is playing at an unbelievable high level. When you look at their team and scoring margin, it tells you how good they are.”

Blake Griffin (elbow) missed his ninth consecutive game, but the Clippers (39-21) have won six of them. Five of them have come against playoff-bound teams.

This game was tied 69-69 after three quarters.

Chicago is now 37-23 and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Clippers began the day in sixth in the Western Conference, but leapfrogged Dallas into fifth place, a half-game ahead of the now-sixth Mavericks and a game behind fourth-place Portland (39-19).

Chris Paul led the Clippers in scoring with 28 points; he also had 12 assists. Jamal Crawford scored 16 and Spencer Hawes had 14 points and nine rebounds. J.J. Redick had 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Bulls were without point guard Derrick Rose (knee) and power forward Taj Gibson (ankle).

Doc Rivers: DeAndre Jordan was ‘a one-man wrecking crew’

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The Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan #6 is fouled by the Suns’ Markieff Morris #11 during their game at the Staples Center Saturday, November 15, 2014.  (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

DeAndre Jordan is fouled by the Suns’ Markieff Morris on Saturday night/Staff photo by Hans Gutknecht

 

Coach Doc Rivers late Saturday night gave DeAndre Jordan the ultimate compliment when he referred to him as the “star of the game.” Jordan had 12 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks in a 120-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center. He helped the Clippers hold the Suns to a 38.4 shooting percentage for the game.

“He was everywhere,” Rivers said. “His energy tonight was amazing. He was a one-man wrecking crew. It felt like he had 30 blocked shots. Even the shots that he didn’t block, he changed.”

The Clippers (5-3) host the Chicago Bulls (7-3) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. (on Prime Ticket).