Clippers try to get something going against Hornets (Feb 11, 2017)
Blake Griffin is getting healthy just in the nick of time for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Since All-Star point guard Chris Paul tore a ligament in his left thumb, the Clippers are 3-7. In the past five games, the Clippers are 2-3, having lost to three playoff-bound teams -- Toronto, Boston and Golden State. The two wins came against New York and Phoenix.
It's taken Griffin some time to get back into game shape after missing a month following of knee surgery, but it looks like he is rounding into form. In seven games since returning to the lineup, Griffin has averaged 24.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.
Against the Knicks on Wednesday, Griffin scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 119-115 victory that was overshadowed by trade talks involving New York's Carmelo Anthony and an incident involving former Knicks' player Charles Oakley, who was restrained and booted out of Madison Square Garden.
"I physically feel fine," Griffin said after the win. "It's still probably some correctable things, some mistakes. I can pick and choose spots a little bit better. I can always fine-tune those things.
"But I feel good. I feel confident physically, basketball-wise, mentally, all that."
If the focus hadn't been so much on Anthony and Oakley, more attention would have been paid to the Clippers (32-21) being down by 10 in the fourth quarter.
On Saturday, Griffin and the Clippers travel to North Carolina to face another team in a nosedive -- the Charlotte Hornets, losers of eight of their past nine games.
On Thursday, the Hornets committed a season-high 22 turnovers and lost 107-95 to the Houston Rockets. In the midst of a four-game homestand, the Hornets (24-29) have lost the first two games, and coach Steve Clifford knows exactly what his team needs to do to have a chance against the Clippers.
Take care of the ball.
"A lot of times I'd say you have to watch the film," Clifford told reporters after Thursday's game. "You don't have to watch the film tonight. It's pretty simple. If you're going to turn the ball over 22 times, you're going to lose every single time. There are certain things in this league that you can't do against certain teams, like a team that's as talented as (Houston). You give yourself no chance to win. That was it."
It also doesn't help that your All-Star guard is in a prolonged slump.
During his past four games, Kemba Walker is shooting just 17 of 56 from the field. Against Houston, Walker was indecisive and looked confused. He scored only 14 points while committing six of the team's 22 turnovers.
He also received his fifth technical foul of the season after he dribbled out of bounds against the Rockets' full-court press.
"Losing is tough, especially all those games in a row," Walker said. "Things haven't been going our way. We just need to come to practice every day and improve, and hope for the best. I love how our guys practice hard every day."
Clifford was hopeful that the return of center Cody Zeller would help stabilize the middle of the Hornets' defense. Zeller was reinserted into the starting lineup but was forced to leave the game late in the fourth quarter with soreness in his quad.
Los Angeles has won the last four meetings against the Hornets and had won seven in a row overall before their floor general was hurt. While they wait for Paul to return, coach Doc Rivers is preaching to his troops to maintain a fast style of play, which was the key in the comeback against the Knicks.
"We rebounded and ran," Rivers said. "The last five minutes we got quick. That's how we play, and we have to get back playing that way."
