Not only are the starting lineups that Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy writes out on a nightly basis far from the one he envisioned presenting each game night, but the reserves he beckons into the games, when the starters need a break, are not the individuals that he envisioned sending to the scorer's table.
That's what the Clippers' injury situation has done. It has placed a journeyman shooting guard, who was unemployed at the beginning of the season, in the starting point guard position. That's the role that Fred Jones currently has. It has taken a raw, underdeveloped rookie center and placed him in a starting role to be abused by a bevy of experienced and more physical post players. That's the situation that DeAndre Jordan finds himself in.
It has taken a much-traveled veteran, who was signed last summer to provide locker room guidance and backup frontcourt depth, into starting games at two positions, center and power forward. Brian Skinner, in his second go-round with the Clippers, is being cast in that role.
And it has put the onus of being the go-to player offensively on a rookie guard who has been force-fed on the fly, rather than learning under the guidance of a seasoned veteran. Eric Gordon, who just turned 20 years old on Christmas Day, is the Clippers' young star who is providing thrills and making mistakes at the same time.
This certainly was not what Dunleavy envisioned. But he probably also could not fathom that the Clippers only would have one player on the active squad that was on the team last season. That is forward Al Thornton, who can be excused if he is not exerting himself as a team leader. Thornton was a rookie last year.
CAVALIERS 112, CLIPPERS 95: It would be easy to simply say, the Clippers ran out of gas against one of the NBA's elite teams. The two teams were tied at the end of one quarter and tied at halftime. But the Cavaliers imposed their will, starting with outscoring the Clippers by 10 points in the third quarter. Cleveland guard Mo Williams, no doubt miffed because he wasn't named as a reserve to the East All-Star team, buried five of six three-point shots. He finished with 23 points to aid LeBron James' team-leading 25.
