Errant shooting part of problem
So far this season, the rim has been less than half full for the Clippers.
They have yet to shoot 50% in 16 games. The Clippers are shooting 41.8%, sitting only above the New Jersey Nets and Chicago Bulls.
The Utah Jazz lead the league in shooting at 50%.
“It’s just letting us know we have to rely on each other to get each other better looks,” forward Tim Thomas said. “That’s pretty much what it comes down to.
“The last couple of games our spacing has been horrible. It’s been on top of each other. It just seems like everybody is out to score the basketball instead of playing the right way and worrying about the ultimate goal of winning games.”
Coach Mike Dunleavy echoed the same sentiments after a recent loss to the Nuggets in Denver, where he said the team needed to work on spacing and players were posting up too far from the basket.
“It is a concern,” Dunleavy said. “Some of our scorers that we rely on to be high-percentage scorers have been missing in action a lot of the time.
“Guys keep coming back from injury and working themselves in.”
Case in point: Cuttino Mobley.
Mobley started strongly, making 62% of his shots through his first four games.
He sustained a strained right groin Nov. 7 against the Indiana Pacers and developed bursitis in his shooting elbow shortly afterward, with the injuries clearly hindering him.
During the Clippers’ six-game losing streak, he is shooting 28% (17 of 60), seeing his overall percentage dip to 42.6%.
“Guys struggle trying to find their rhythm and some of it, at times, is shot selection,” Dunleavy said.
Center Chris Kaman leads the Clippers, making 50% of his shots. But other than Ruben Patterson, at 46.3%, no other Clippers regular is shooting above 45%.
About 3,000 tickets remain for Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. game against the Miami Heat.
TONIGHT
at Seattle, 7:30, FSN Prime
Site -- KeyArena.
Radio -- 710.
Records -- Clippers 6-10, SuperSonics 3-15.
Record vs. SuperSonics -- 1-0.
Update -- The SuperSonics, 115-101 losers to the Clippers in their third game, are 3-12 since.
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