Clippers Sail to Victory 94 – 83

By Jay Goodman

The Los Angeles Clippers sailed up the Delaware River and into the Wells Fargo Center tonight, and the story was all about Willie Green and his triumphant return to Philadelphia.  Just kidding.  Willie shot 3-for-11 from the field in 35 minutes, continuing his string of rough shooting games since taking over additional minutes with J.J. Redick out.  J.J. of course remains sidelined with every injury a human being can possibly sustain to an arm without there being a wild animal involved in some way.  No, tonight was all about Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan – who else – as the visiting Clippers nonchalantly worked their way to a 94 – 83 victory over the hometown Sixers.

The Paul-Griffin-Jordan trio combined to shoot 24-for-39 from the field on the way to scoring two-thirds of the team’s total points, with Paul assisting on 13 buckets, Jordan ripping down 21 boards, and Griffin swatting three Sixers shot attempts including a lazy four-footer from Brandon Davies that Griffin spiked into the fifth row.  Their efforts largely kept the Sixers out of the game for its duration, save for a brief span in the fourth quarter when the Sixers threatened to threaten the lead. 

On the Sixers’ end of the floor, Evan Turner led the way with 25 points and an otherwise stuffed stat sheet, Thad Young grinded out a nice all-around game despite playing through foul trouble, and Tony Wroten did Tony Wroten things and came within one point and three assists of another triple double (despite shooting 2-for-12 from the field).  Spencer Hawes was noticeably quiet in the matchup tonight, posting only two points in 23 minutes.  Michael-Carter Williams did not play, still recuperating from a knee infection that had him the hospital for three days last week.  It was nice to see him dressed for the game though and one has to expect a return to the starting lineup is near, hopefully with a few new tricks picked up from watching Chris Paul in action tonight.

Notable observations:

• The Clippers and Sixers combined to shoot 8-for-48 from beyond the arc tonight.  Multiple league sources have confirmed that this is not good.  Josh Smith could not be reached for comment.
• Antawn Jamison entered tonight five points away from reaching 20,000 points in his career, which would make him the 39^th NBA player to reach that milestone.  If one counts ABA players in that mix, which of course I do, he would be the 43rd player to reach the 20,000 point plateau.  Alas, Jamison mustered only two points tonight and will have to wait at least one more game to join the 20K club. 

Random Thoughts:

Add to the list of reasons why we here at Philly Fast Break love Tony Wroten his refreshing willingness to buck the ever-growing trend of NBA players “shooting” last-second shots just after the game clock expires.  Few things irk this particular NBA fan more than a player’s desire to preserve his personal field goal percentage at the expense of a zero-risk opportunity to put points on the board for his team.  Twice tonight Tony Wroten launched half-court heaves with time expiring, including one at the conclusion of the fourth quarter with the Sixers down 11 points and there being no competitive reason to chuck up a 50-footer.  Crowd pleasing entertainment – 1, Wroten’s FG% – 0.  Thank you, Tony, thank you.  

Tanking Implications:

A loss is a loss and brings the Sixers one step closer to euphoria at the 2014 NBA draft lottery, though a loss to a team like the L.A. Clippers should  be assumed if the Sixers are serious about their goals for this season.  For keeping the game semi-entertaining for the fans at home without seriously risking a victory, tonight’s effort earns: 3/5 tanks.