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Tuesday, October 31, 2000
Clips: Whole lotta youth on this team
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Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason / 1999 | Roster
Last year: 15-67, seventh in Pacific, 14th in conference
Coach/VP: Alvin Gentry/Elgin Baylor
Arena, first game: Staples Center (18,964); Nov. 2, 1999
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 855-1,573/0
Notable: Anderson triple-double was club's first in 6 years
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THE TOP EIGHT
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Pos
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Player
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Key Stat
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Skinny
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PG
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Jeff McInnis
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3.6 apg
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Did well in 25 games, but ... Jeff McInnis?
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SG
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Corey Maggette
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8.4 ppg
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A vet at 20, Magic may regret this one
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SF
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Lamar Odom
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16.6 ppg
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Rebs, asts, blocks, steals, he does it all
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PF
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Derek Strong
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20 games
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Does have rebounding pedigree of sorts
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C
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M. Olowokandi
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8.2 rpg
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20 pts-rebs double-doubles doesn't stink
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6th
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Keyon Dooling
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--
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He, Richardson and Miles will play plenty
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7th
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Tyrone Nesby
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13.3 ppg
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All those free agents, and they keep him?
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8th
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Brian Skinner
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6.1 rpg
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Had some huge rebounding games
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The Clippers need everything to happen. They need Lamar Odom to be the player he was when he started his rookie year. They need Michael Olowokandi to reap the benefits of all the extra work he did this summer. Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson need the chemistry they've demonstrated in the preseason to carry through to the end. And Alvin Gentry needs to have the impact on the Clippers that he had on the Pistons when he first took the job. The Clippers' success isn't going to be counted by reaching a certain amount of wins. They have to still be playing hard in April and beating teams. Usually by the All-Star break the Clippers are done, teams are chalking them up as a win. If they are still a factor, a team that people are afraid to play in March and April, they will have made progress.
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By Frank Hughes
Special to ESPN.com
The Good
They have perhaps more raw talent here than ever
before, with promising second-year player Lamar Odom, as well as an entire
host of new faces that all seemed to come over on draft. The Clippers -- who,
believe it or not, do not have a bad draft history, only a bad history of
developing their draft picks -- chose high schooler Darius Miles with the
fourth overall pick, making the Chicago Bulls extremely angry. And they got
Quentin Richardson, a talented swingman, and they got Keyon Dooling, who
could develop into a nice guard. And in order to take Derek Strong off the
Orlando Magic's hands, they also got treated to a host of other young talent,
including Corey Maggette, who has a great NBA body that needs to be taught.
They still have center Michael Olowokandi, the first pick of the draft a few
years ago, who could turn into a good center if the Clippers finally decide
to develop him. He is 7-1 and has the fundamental skills necessary to become
a good player. And they kept bruiser Brian Skinner and Tyrone Nesby, who
almost escaped to San Antonio a few years back before the Clippers decided to
match the Spurs' offer. Poor Tyrone. And don't forget that the Clippers hired a new coach. Yes, yes, we've
heard that before, in fact just about every year. Word is, Donald Sterling
still is paying the guy that coached him when he was 8. But maybe Alvin
Gentry can help at least make the Clippers respectable, given that he decides
to teach some of these youngsters how to play the game.
The Bad
Well, that always has to start with Sterling, who cares more
about snaking somebody out of $3 then he does about winning. In fact, already
this preseason, Sterling tried to finagle Keith Closs out of the remainder of
his exorbitant contract by saying Closs was too skinny. Not that Closs
deserves the rest of his contract, but it is indicative of The Donald's
motives. Say this, at least he is creative. But more than running around trying to rip everybody off, Sterling
creates an atmosphere for his players that is conducive to losing. Nobody
wants to come back, and once one player gets down on the organization, it's
only a matter of time before the others join in. Especially young players. And these players are young. Not the youngest in NBA history; that is
reserved for the Chicago Bulls. But young, nonetheless. They have no idea how
to play the game, and even less of an idea how to win. They have no point
guard, which is why Odom will have to run the team from his small forward
position. And Odom got caught up in the negativity of last season and may not
be able to escape until he joins another franchise.
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THE BIG QUESTION |
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How long will it take so many rookies not only to learn
to play the NBA game, but to learn the NBA life. Especially in L.A., where
it's hard not to get caught up in the additional distractions. Also, after
some members of this team tuned out interim coach Jim Todd at the end of last year, will they
listen to Gentry? And will Olowokandi finally develop into a center worthy of
being the first pick in the draft?
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Whose team is this?
Despite being a rookie last season, Odom was the only
player on the court talented enough to assume the mantle of leadership,
despite missing part of the season to injuries. But really, the Clippers had
no leadership in their coaching staff, with Chris Ford being fired early on
and Jim Todd sitting on the bench essentially clueless about his team's
struggles. Now, Odom has almost more experience than anybody on the team.,
frighteningly.
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| Odom |
How they'll play
The offense will be run through Odom, who will play a
point forward role. That's basically what Gentry ran in Detroit, because
oftentimes Grant Hill would play the point forward. Jeff McInnis may be the
starting point guard, which means their backcourt is extremely weak. This
team will be more about learning this season than playing a certain way
because they are so young.
Projection
Certainly the Clips have talent, but more than likely it once again
is going to struggle, probably finishing last in the division. But the future
could be bright if Gentry gets them on the same page.
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