Monday's 92-87 win at San Antonio was a good start to the first real test of the season for the Clippers - a four-game road trip vs. the Spurs, Oklahoma City, Brooklyn and Atlanta. Those four teams combined for a 27-12 start to the season - with the Clippers accounting for three of those losses, defeating San Antonio twice and the Hawks once.
The Clippers schedule thus far has been very friendly, with L.A. having played eight of their first 10 games at home - which helped with the team's blazing 8-2 start, tied for the best record in the Western Conference. How the Clippers do on this trip could be an indicator as to how the team will be playing on the road.
Last year, the Clippers went 16-17 (.484) on the road, and while most teams would be satisfied with a roughly .500 road record, the Clippers need to do better than that, as they consider themselves a championship-caliber contender. For comparison, the NBA Champion Heat and Western Conference Champion Thunder combined to go 39-27 (.590) on the road last season.
Good road teams are usually the elite teams in the league as there are much more challenges on the road.
Rest is always an issue. The travel conditions can be difficult at best, arriving many times in the middle of the night to the next city. Although the NBA plane rides and hotel rooms are great by any standard, it still is not home. Being seven foot in a airplane chair or hotel room bed is a recipe for a bad back. The bus rides to and from airports and arenas also can be extremely long. This does not include the typical travel and traffic delays.
Home court, especially for good teams, is always an advantage. The home team is on familiar territory and has first pick on all practice and shootaround times. They have a familiar home routine, that includes sleeping in their own bed and home cooked food. The average fan also underestimates the value to the home team of a packed arena. Loud home crowds give confidence to their team and can present a disruptive force to opponents. Confidence is the name of the game in the NBA and a little boost is huge for players at this level.
San Antonio and Oklahoma City are tough places to play, and it seems like the brand new Barclays Center in Brooklyn is an old-school building, giving the Nets a huge advantage.
This will be the first big test of the early-season for the Clippers, a team that has struck fear into all opponents that enter their building. Their defense will need to continue its upward trend. On the road, typically your fast-break points will go down. Coaches tend to be a bit more conservative in their game attack on the road. But, it is a defense that triggers the great Clipper attack and defense has always been paramount to road victories.
If the Clippers can come out with a winning record on their first four-game road trip, it will solidify them as one of the best teams in the NBA. Remember, this year is all about playoffs for the Clippers, and you can't be a great playoff team without winning tough games on the road.
Disappointing Starts
While the Lakers' Mike Brown has already lost his job, I would not be surprised to see another coach get the axe shortly. Wizards head coach Randy Wittman could be on the hot seat after his team's terrible 0-9 start. Certainly injuries to John Wall and Nene couldn't have helped, but Wittman has led a listless bunch. Wittman must be having flashbacks to his Cleveland days. If the team doesn't start winning games, he will follow his predecessor Flip Saunders to a quick exit. Change winds are blowing in the nation's capital.
Speaking of injuries...
Washington is not the only team to be decimated by injury. Danny Granger's loss in Indy has that team at 5-7 and trying to replace too much offensive production. With Granger out, Hill, Hibbert and the bench crew need to step up...Derrick Rose is still not back in Chicago and probably won't be back till the start of the new year. The Bulls have stayed close to .500 while he is out, but they're clearly not the same team. Joakim Noah and Luol Deng have been great, but Carlos Boozer needs to turn back the clock to his Utah days. Chicago should be in the race in the East, if the defensive minded coach Tom Thibodeau can work some magic on the offense end. With Andrew Bogut out and Klay Thompson in a slump, the Warriors must rely on hot shooting guard Steph Curry and double-double machine David Lee. Finally a bit of sad news, Minnesota's Brandon Roy is out again with arthroscopic surgery on his surgically repaired right knee. This could be the end for the superbly talented shooting guard.
Coaching Shout Outs
New Orleans coach Mike Dunlap has done a tremendous job with the Hornets. He has got them playing hard and looking like they care again...Vinny Del Negro's Clippers are playing the best basketball in the Clipper history...Lionel Hollins continues to give the Memphis Grizzlies a hard hat attitude that just wins games...Milwaukee's Scott Skiles has led the surprising Bucks to one of the best records in the NBA...The Knicks' Mike Woodson has got New York playing unselfish hard nosed defense, although I think the arrival of Jason Kidd has changed their whole mentality, especially Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith...Coach of the year so far goes to Mike D'Antoni, who changed the whole mentality of the team before he even coached a game.
Fantasy Tip of the Week
The Los Angeles Lakers have under gone a coaching change. With new Laker coach D'Antoni running wide open, run and gun style, the scoring averages of the Lakers should get a big boost. The Lakers are averaging north of 116 points a game already since he has been hired. Look for great value all the way around but especially for role players like Metta World Peace, Jodie Meeks and Darius Morris, whom should have open three-point looks from beyond the arc in this offense. The one exception could be Kobe Bryant. His minutes should go down as the Lakes win by bigger margins, affecting his overall numbers. Also with the return of Steve Nash, his assists may go down as well. My advice to trade high - his value won't be higher than it is right now all season long.
