The LA Clippers hosted on open practice and scrimmage on Saturday, so we were there to check out the team and see how they’re coming together as the 2016-17 season approaches.
On Saturday, the LA Clippers opened their doors for the last day of training camp. They invited the fans to come and watch the team scrimmage, and get a sneak peek at what the team will look like this upcoming season. Fans started arriving at the beautiful UC Irvine campus more than two hours before the event started, lining up in the sun, hoping to be the first through the doors. The Bren Center opened up, and fans ran to snag the best seats in the intimate arena.
My wife and I took a more casual approach to finding seats, and had to “settle” for a pair in the third row behind the backboard. As we sat down, we looked up to realize that the entire Clipper team was already on the floor, putting up shots and joking with each other.
It felt incredibly personal. The players were looking into the stands, waving, and smiling back at awestruck young fans that have never seen these giants up close.
The Drills
First up were the drills. Once everyone had found a seat, the voice of the Clippers, the one and only Ralph Lawler, came out to get the crowd hyped. He talked about the excitement and optimism he felt around the organization during training camp. He then introduced Doc Rivers. Doc addressed the crowd with a noticeably hoarse voice, and told us what we were all in for.
A few drills, a team scrimmage, and a little playful rookie teasing.
At the end of the practice, rookies Brice Johnson and Diamond Stone would have to introduce everyone on the team by name, including the coaches, and any mistakes would result in the crowd getting to decide their punishment. Our fingers were crossed.
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The team launched into action. They started with a 5-on-0 drill, running a few basic offensive sets against an invisible defense. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute seems to have the starting small forward job almost locked up. He was running with the rest of the starters during the opening drills and the team scrimmage. The team then ran a few fast break 3-3, and 2-1 drills.
It was great to see our guys playing again, and a few things jumped out at me during the drills.
Blake Griffin looks healthy. During a 2-1 fast break drill, rookie Brice Johnson tried to dunk on Griffin. Griffin was having none of it, and emphatically blocked his shot.
Wesley Johnson was being very aggressive on offense. He was looking for his shot, and was hitting most of them.
Diamond Stone surprised me with his soft touch around the rim. He also had a few impressive rebounds with DeAndre Jordan all over his back.
Raymond Felton seems to be in good shape and moving well.
Next up, what we learned from the full team scrimmage.
The team scrimmage
The team scrimmage tipped off with the starters facing off against a second unit consisting of Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Wesley Johnson, Brandon Bass and Marreese Speights.
Paul Pierce came off the bench, as did Raymond Felton, Alan Anderson, Dorell Wright, the two rookies, and training camp invite Xavier Munford.
Here are some of the things that stood out to me during the scrimmage.
The starters’ defense was intense and smothering. Mbah a Moute has unbelievably quick feet for a man his size. According to the team, Mbah a Moute has been working on his outside shot all summer. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to see his newly improved three-point ball during the scrimmage, providing the shot is coming along.
Blake Griffin’s shot looks even better then it did last year. He was shooting the mid-range jumper with great confidence, and there was no hesitation if he had the space (a maddening habit of his last year).
Brandon Bass loves to shoot that little 10-15 foot baseline jump shot, and he hits it really consistently.
(Footage from last week in training camp, not Saturday’s practice).
Brice Johnson also has a really smooth mid-range jumper. When you add in Marreese Speights, you have the best collection of jump shooting big men the Clippers have had in a long time.
Chris Paul looked fantastic. He was hitting virtually every shot he put up, and had a nasty crossover that left Raymond Felton with sore ankles.
Austin Rivers looks hungry this year. He was getting after it on defense and was being very aggressive on the offensive end, something we started to see more last season. We could be in line for a breakout year from the young Rivers.
Paul Pierce didn’t play much in the scrimmage and missed the only shot he took. He was also running with the third team during the drills. A lot of fans, myself included, think Pierce will bounce back from his disappointing season last year. But it’ll be interesting to see how many minutes he gets in his final season on a stacked LA Clippers roster.
Now, let’s take a look at how the rookies got on.
The rookies
I was impressed with the play of the rookies. Diamond Stone has good size, can move well, and has a nice soft touch around the rim. Brice Johnson has a great looking shot and seems to be in the right spot all the time.
He does, however, need to gain some weight if he’s going to bang with the big boys in the NBA. This was made extremely obvious when Brice foolishly tried to block a Blake Griffin dunk. Blake went right through the rookie and hammered it down so hard it surely would have been the top play on Sports Center.
Posterization courtesy of @blakegriffin32. The @LAClippers rockin' the Bren!!! pic.twitter.com/9YlxVnM0qR
— Bren Events Center (@brencenter) October 1, 2016
The fans wanted to know if Blake was going to be healthy coming into this season. He answered that question emphatically with one dunk.
Blake’s dunk may have been the highlight of the scrimmage, but DJ was the star of the show. There’s a lot of excitement in the LA Clippers organization based around Jordan. He’s coming off his best season yet as a pro, and had a great summer playing for Team USA at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. An even better season in 2016-17 could be on the way.
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During the scrimmage, DJ took every opportunity he could to interact with the fans. After being called for a foul on a driving Raymond Felton, DJ turned to the crowd under the basket and yelled with a big smile, “was that a foul?” He would regularly pass the ball to the kids in the baseline seats before inbounding it. At least three of his sweat towels ended up in the stands.
DJ made the experience very special for a lot of the young fans at the Bren Center.
The scrimmage ended with Jordan hitting a free throw with just four seconds left to break the tie. That’s right. DeAndre Jordan won the game with a made free throw. A clutch free throw. If that isn’t a good omen for the upcoming Clipper season, I don’t know what is.
Finally, it’s time for some fun with the rookie dance off.
The Dance Off
The rookies introduced their teammates and coaches. Unfortunately for the fans, they got all the names right, and we didn’t get a chance to choose a punishment for them. DeAndre Jordan must have felt the fans’ disappointment. He wasn’t going to let the rookies off that easy. So, he instigated a dance battle.
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Brice Johnson was the clear winner with his lanky interpretation of the Dab. The veterans loved every second of Brice’s dancing. Blake and Alan Anderson were laughing together while Chris Paul seemed to be coaching the rookie on the proper way to do the dance.
The group is extremely close, and the new veteran additions seem to be fitting in seamlessly.
The LA Clippers and UC Irvine went above and beyond to provide a great experience for the Clipper faithful. I had a wonderful time and would like to thank both for gifting the fans this opportunity. The Clippers open their preseason schedule on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, and I could not be more excited for the upcoming season.
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After watching the team scrimmage on Saturday, my hopes are high. Go Clippers!