The Clippers came out last night with Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson, and Keyon Dooling, while the Grizzlies had Shane Battier and Stromile Swift. By virtue of having 3 NBA-level talents on their team versus 2 for Memphis, the Clippers won easily, taking an early lead and never giving it up. Keyon Dooling has ability, but not much judgment yet. Had a few mustard's-off-the-hot-dog plays and botched drives. Quentin Richardson didn't show anything that he didn't already have last year -- good post-up game for a SG, made the occasional outside shot. The Grizzlies' PG, Will Solomon, can shoot (6-9 FGs, mostly jumpers) but had no ability to set up teammates. If he ever dribbled the ball into the paint, or passed to a teammate who was in the paint, I missed it. Shane Battier was more or less as advertised -- didn't win any footraces, but played harder and smarter than anyone else, and hit a decent number of outside shots. VERY quick reactions, and good at staying in front of his man in half-court plays. I was impressed by his passing, as he set up Swift for several easy shots (including an alley-oop and one gorgeous play where he grabbed an offensive rebound near the free-throw line & immediately went up for what looked like a shot -- but in one motion turned into a perfect bounce pass to Swift next to the rim). He definitely had more assists than the box score gave him credit for. Stromile Swift was really disappointing, shooting 3-11 in the first half before padding his numbers some in garbage time. I see that he apparently scored 31 points on 12-18 shooting in a game on Saturday, but it must have been against far-from-NBA-quality defenders, because guys like Zendon Hamilton and Nick Sheppard on the Clips' team had little trouble guarding him. Yes, Swift scored a lot of points, but only because the Grizzlies ran nearly every play for him. Take away the hoops Battier gift-wrapped for him, and he shot something like 4-16 on his one-on-one moves. That's just unacceptable -- if he's going to be a good pro next year, at this level (especially given his size) he should be dominant. Speaking of which ... Darius Miles. Yikes. By FAR the most talented player on the floor. Probably doesn't even do him any good to play these games, because it's too easy for him. Got to the rim just about whenever he wanted, disrupted the Grizzlies' offense whenever he wanted ... like I said, too easy for him. Case study: Why NBA teams shouldn't draft unproven raw talent -- Stromile Swift I can see why Swift's value soared during pre-draft workouts -- when he's not being contested, he's got great ballhandling ability and a nice shooting stroke for a big man. In contested situations where he had to make a move or play of some kind, though, he was consistently clueless. Several times last night, he got a rebound and effortlessly brought the ball upcourt by himself ... until someone met him at the free throw line, at which point he usually turned the ball over or narrowly avoided doing so. Case study: Why NBA teams should draft unproven raw talent -- Darius Miles The difference between Miles and Shane Battier was shown clearly in a single play: Miles gets the ball in the backcourt and starts a fast break. Battier is a couple of steps ahead, but sees how quickly Miles is closing the gap and decides to step up to draw a charge before Miles can pass him. A collision looks unavoidable -- but in the blink of an eye, Miles dribbles behind his back and sidesteps Battier with a sudden burst of speed. I think he finished with a dunk, but to be honest I was so floored by the move that I didn't notice. I really don't know if I can find the words to describe Miles' quickness accurately. When he accelerates (like against Battier, and on a few other occasions last night), it's like one of those movie special-effects where everyone is moving normally but the hero is suddenly running at fast-forward speed. Or, if you're a Spinal Tap fan, it's like his accelerator goes up to 11 (really, more like 12 or 13).
Here's some of the stats i found from the game: Los Angeles Clippers 100 - Memphis Grizzlies 93 Los Angeles Clippers 29 25 25 21 100 Memphis Grizzlies 23 27 13 30 93 Shane Battier:7-16FGs, 4-6 3pt., 20pts., 8 reb., 3 assists, 1 block, no steals Stromile Swift:10-26FGs, 29pts, 13 rebs, 1 assist, 3 blocks, 2 steals Darius Miles:12-22FGs, 5-12FTs, 29pts., 9 reb., 2 assists, 3 blks, 3 stls. Quentin Richardson:8-18FGs, 1-3 3pts., 20pts, 6 reb. Those 4 players stood out. Miles had an excellent game, but it looks like he needs to work on his free throws. Battier and Swift had real nice games as well. ------------------ "I look kind of dumpy. Look at my butt. And what kind of shoes do they have me wearing? At least they got the chinstrap beard right." -Kevin Garnett on the KG bobblehead dolls during KG bobblehead doll night at the Target Center [This message has been edited by LiLStevie3 (edited July 09, 2001).]
<a href="http://www.proexposure.com/stories/0709h.html">Here's the Link</a> ------------------ "I look kind of dumpy. Look at my butt. And what kind of shoes do they have me wearing? At least they got the chinstrap beard right." -Kevin Garnett on the KG bobblehead dolls during KG bobblehead doll night at the Target Center
Look more closely at Swift's numbers. 10-26 shooting is OK if you're Allen Iverson, but for a 6'11 NBA lottery pick playing against semipro competition, it's pathetic. Yes, Kingrene, I will be reporting on more games -- I'm in town through the 17th. Keep your eyes peeled for a thread entitled "Eddie Griffin Sucks!" ------------------
swopa: i don't know anything about "Eddie Griffin sucks" (!),(?), but yer write-up was sweet! keep 'em coming. ------------------
That was an excellent write-up. I thank you for the information, and the professional way in which it was displayed. I hope to see more of these in the future. Kudos. ------------------ Don't ask, I lost a bet.
Thanks Swopa!! I guess Pau Gasol didn't play. Anyone know why not?? Oh, and I see that Ansu Sesay is playing for the Clippers. He went 0-3 in 6 minutes. Man, when he came out, I wanted the Rockets to draft him so badly . . . shows why I shouldn't be a GM ------------------ CC.net's most courteous driver Oh yeah, and I'm looking for a job right now, so hire me please
Thx, Swopa. Stats are cool, but there's nothing like a 1st hand report. We're all waiting for more. ------------------ Raef to Rocks in '01-'02!
Swopa -- great insight.... just loved this post. You going to the Rockets-Warriors on Friday? ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
You betcha I'll be there; I'm hoping to catch all 6 Warriors games. I thought I'd be able to see all 3 Rockets games, too, but I'll probably have to leave at halftime of the Rockets-Clippers game on Thursday night. Thanks for all the compliments, everyone; I hope I can live up to the expectations I may have created for future reports. Oh, and for Vengeance -- the reason Gasol isn't playing is that he's not officially a Grizzly yet (the Shareef trade doesn't take effect until July 18th). Disappointed me, too. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Swopa (edited July 09, 2001).]
I saw Stromile on Saturday night, and he seriously disappointed me with his performance as well. It was obvious that the Grizzlies were running the majority of their plays for him, but he showed very little success with any of his post moves or facing the basket one-on-one moves. He ran the court well, but didn't always look like he knew where to be. Truthfully, I was one of Stro's biggest fans at draft time last year. But I'm really glad that we didn't give up the bank trying to move up the draft for the guy. He is extremely RAW, and doesn't look like he plays with any passion (even if it's just a summer league game...). Reminds me a little of C.Rogers... ------------------
How is Swift already a bust? The guy is what like 20 21 years old? Given some time I think he can actually turn out to be a pretty decent player. Also Miles might be good, but Odom is no slouch either. As for building around Miles instead of Odom, why cant you just build around both of em? I havent seen many Clipper games, but if there is someone to be compared to Magic Johnson its Lamar Odom. The boy can pass, shoot, reb and play defense. ------------------
What an enormous bust Swift turned out to be. I also think the Clippers should build around Miles, not Odom. Good post, Swopa. ------------------ If you have nothing nice to say, say it anyway.
You got it, Odom is a special talent. IMO, he is more special than Miles, because he can do so many different things on the court. He is extremely versatile. Do you think that once Miles develops, they'll move Odom to point so they can start Miles at SF? PF will already be taken by Brand. ------------------ "I look kind of dumpy. Look at my butt. And what kind of shoes do they have me wearing? At least they got the chinstrap beard right." -Kevin Garnett on the KG bobblehead dolls during KG bobblehead doll night at the Target Center
The problem with Odom at point is that I don't think he has the outside shot yet to effectively play PG. They will be a great running team, but if they ever want to develop a good half court game, they will have to develop some good shooters for Brand, Miles, and Kandi to pass out of the double-team to. I think that Miles has a better chance to make a transition to guard. So I see Kandi, Brand, Odom, Miles, and Dooling/McGinnis/Richardson being a more effective lineup. ------------------ The title will come to ClutchCity once again.
