Tag Archives: DeAndre Jordan

Four of five starters will not play in Clippers’ regular-season finale

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J.J. Redick

J.J. Redick has a bruised left heel/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Several Clippers will not play in the regular-season finale at Phoenix on Wednesday night. Resting will be starters Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick and sixth-man Jamal Crawford, who also rested in Tuesday’s 110-84 victory over Memphis at Staples Center.

Chances are Redick would not have played anyway because he sustained a bruised left heel during the second quarter Tuesday. Afterward, coach Doc Rivers said, “We hope that it is not that serious, but we do not really know.”

A team spokesman on Wednesday afternoon said there was still no word on Redick, who was to get checked out in the morning.

The starting lineup at Phoenix will feature forwards Luc Mbah a Moute and Jeff Green, center Cole Aldrich and guards Austin Rivers and Pablo Prigioni.

Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan likes what he’s seeing from the defense

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Chris Paul leads Clippers past Grizzlies 110-84

Clippers forward Luc Mbah a Moute, right, is one of the team’s top defenders. Here he battles with Memphis’ Vince Carter for a loose ball during the Clippers’ 110-84 victory over the Grizzlies on Tuesday at Staples Center/AP photo by Mark J. Terrill

 

The Clippers are allowing opponents 100 points per game. That’s seventh-best in the league. Over the past five games, they have allowed only 87.2 points.

Defense is what wins championships, make no mistake. The Clippers are playing it very well as they are about to enter the playoffs, which begin this weekend against either Portland or Dallas. Center DeAndre Jordan, the driving force behind the defense, likes what he’s been seeing.

“We have just been preparing for the postseason,” he said. “We need our defense to be as great as it can be, because we can control that. We cannot control if our shots are falling. If our offense is off, it is nice to know we can count on our defense to limit the opponent.”

Wednesday could be rest day for several Clippers in season finale

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Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin and others could be kept back in L.A. when the Clippers finish their regular season Wednesday at Phoenix/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Clippers have rested players here and there down the stretch of this regular season. They rested Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick on March 31 at Oklahoma City. They rested those three as well as Blake Griffin on Friday in Utah.

Coach Doc Rivers might have rested some or all of them Tuesday, but the game against the Memphis Grizzlies meant something to the playoff picture, so he only rested sixth-man Jamal Crawford. However, Rivers said Griffin almost certainly will be rested in Wednesday night’s regular-season finale at Phoenix; that game means nothing.

“I don’t know if he’ll play tomorrow,” Rivers said. “I doubt it, anyway.”

Griffin played in just his fifth game Tuesday after missing the previous 45 with injuries and a suspension.

As for the any other players who might sit out Wednesday, Rivers said that was still to be determined.

“We’ll figure it out after the game,” he said. “As group, we’ll talk about it. But there will be several guys missing, for sure. Maybe even some coaches.”

Five things to take from Clippers’ 98-91 victory over Mavericks

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The Clippers' Blake Griffin, left, passes the ball against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on Sunday. Stephen Carr - Staff Photographer

Blake Griffin passes the ball during the Clippers’ 98-91 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Staples Center/Staff photo by Stephen Carr

 

– It’s interesting to note that the Clippers won this game while shooting a horrendous 40.5 percent (15 of 37) from the free-throw line. Not surprisingly, DeAndre Jordan had a lot to do with that as he was just 6 of 23. Almost shockingly, Jamal Crawford was just 4 of 7. He’s shooting 90.4 percent this season.

– Chris Paul shot poorly in this one, making just 2 of 10 from the field, 0 of 4 from 3-point range in just over 35 minutes. He did dole out 11 assists and committed zero turnovers, so he was able to help while not having a good offensive game. He scored just five points.

– Blake Griffin started very slowly, making just two of his first 11 shots. But Griffin shot 5 of 7 in the second half to finish with 17 points on 7 of 18 from the field. He also had 11 rebounds and seven assists in his best game since returning from a 45-game absence. He played 33 minutes and 18 seconds, his longest stint since in four games since coming back. He also had two steals and four turnovers.

– Jamal Crawford had another nice game. The 36-year-old sixth-man scored a game-high 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting – 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

– The most proficient offensive performance of the night came from shooting guard J.J. Redick. He scored 20 points while making 8 of 10 from the field and all four of his shots from distance. Redick is now shooting a league-best 47.5 percent (197 of 415) from 3-point range.

Jamal Crawford, Cole Aldrich have big nights in Clippers’ win at Utah

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Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

Jamal Crawford scored 30 points, grabbed five rebounds and doled out four assists; Cole Aldrich scored 21, grabbed 18 rebounds and made five steals; and Paul Pierce scored 18 points as the Clippers won 102-99 in overtime Friday night at Utah.

The Clippers (51-28) did not have the services of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Wes Johnson – all rested. With Austin Rivers sidelined with an ankle injury, that left them with nine players, and they all played.

Pablo Prigioni joined Crawford, Aldrich, Pierce and Luc Mbah a Moute in the starting lineup and scored 13 points while doling out seven assists and grabbing seven rebounds.

Gordon Hayward led Utah (39-40) with 24 points. This loss hurts the Jazz because they are in the eighth and final playoff spot, just one game ahead of Houston (38-41).

As for the Clippers, they have clinched the No. 4 spot in the West and will stay there. They are waiting to see whether they will play Portland  or Memphis in the first round. The No. 5 Trail Blazers (43-37) moved a half-game ahead of the No. 6 Grizzlies (42-37) with the Grizzlies’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 91-81 victory over the Lakers

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Clippers center DeAndre Jordan dunks over Lakers center Roy Hibbert on Wednesday at Staples Center. (John McCoy/Staff Photographer)

DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers dunks over Lakers center Roy Hibbert during Wednesday’s game, won by the Clippers 91-81/Staff photo by John McCoy

 

– The first thing that stands out is that Blake Griffin played well in his third game back after missing the previous 45 with injuries and a suspension. Griffin came in having scored a total of just 10 points on 3 of 12 shooting in his first two games back. He scored 13 in this one on 5 of 10 from the field. He also had eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and only one turnover in just under 25 minutes. Griffin had four turnovers in under 17 minutes in Tuesday’s win over the Lakers.

– Cole Aldrich, who plays very hard, again made the most out of his time on the floor. In just under 18 minutes, the reserve post scored seven points on 2 of 3 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. He also had two assists, two steals and two blocks. He’s not perfect, though, because he did have two turnovers.

– After holding the Lakers to 31.3-percent shooting in Tuesday’s victory, the Clippers again were stingy on defense in this one as the Lakers shot just 35.6 percent, 21.1 percent (4 of 19) from 3-point range.

– The Clippers’ starters wanted to go back in the game in the fourth quarter because the retiring Kobe Bryant was in there until there were just under 30 seconds to play. Coach Doc Rivers nixed that idea. “Doc wasn’t having it,” DeAndre Jordan said. “We were like, ‘Come on, can we go back? Let’s go back.’ But he was like, ‘Nah.’ It was cool just to play against him for these past eight years. It was truly an honor.”

– This was another in a line of recent games where the Clippers’ starters didn’t have to play in the fourth quarter. “It’s becoming a nice trend,” Rivers said. “We like it.” Any rest this time of season is good, as the playoffs begin in about 10 days.