Clippers Give Motion Offense a Try--but These Days, Nothing Works

It wasn’t done in book-burning fashion, but Coach Don Chaney unexpectantly threw out the Clippers’ offensive playbook before Friday night’s game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

The plan, no doubt developed after Wednesday’s 39-point debacle in Denver, was to inject some motion into the Clippers’ plodding offense by letting the players improvise and fast break often, instead of resembling a row of mannequins in a department store.

Nothing else has worked lately for the Clippers, but this one actually did--for a short while. Eventually, though, the Clippers reverted to form and were handed their sixth blowout loss in the last 10 games.

This time, it was a rather mild rout. The SuperSonics coasted to a 114-95 win before 5,860 at the Coliseum after leading by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter.

“I wanted to try to run as much as we could, to get the easy shots,” said Chaney, who promised changes after the embarrassing loss to Denver. “My main thing now is to try to get them to sustain it. The reason we can’t, I think, is a combination of ability and concentration.”

No matter what Chaney does these days, he hasn’t been able to deter the Clippers’ nosedive that has seen their record drop to 8-16 after opening the season with five straight victories. Certainly, this loss was less brutal than the 40- and 39-point indignities the Clippers sustained earlier in the week.

That was one of the few positive things you could say about the Clippers Friday.

What distinguished this loss from others recently was the Clippers’ fast start. Compared to the way they have been playing, the Clippers were a blur on offense in the first quarter, opening a 12-point lead at one point. They converted SuperSonic misses into fast breaks and had more movement in their half-court offense than ever.

Soon, however, the Clippers’ tongues were hanging out and they couldn’t maintain their fast-paced game. So Chaney went back to calling plays for most of the second half, and another blowout loss was quick in coming.

Clipper players, heads hanging once again afterward, did perk up some when asked about Chaney’s change in strategy. All gave it positive reviews.

“It’s good,” Marques Johnson said. “It gives us movement and gets everyone involved in the offense. The things we did before (set-up offense) worked, but now teams have scouted us. So, now, we have to go to this.”

Kurt Nimphius, who came from a patterned offense at Dallas, agreed. “That’s where our problem is; we’re too stagnant,” Nimphius said. “We’ve got to get to a point where we can run the whole game, like Denver does.”

One problem, though: The Clippers obviously don’t have Denver’s talent. The last few games have shown that what talent the Clippers have is perhaps overestimated.

Cedric Maxwell continues to struggle. The Clippers’ power-less forward had only 7 points and 4 rebounds Friday. After making 2 of 6 shots, Maxwell is shooting just 42% from the field. Point guard Norm Nixon made only 6 of 15 shots and had 6 assists. He was yanked for a spell early in the second half after opening the game with three assists on the Clippers’ first three fast-break baskets.

“If we don’t get (good performances) from everyone, I’m in trouble,” Chaney said. “We’ve got to get an effort from all the guys. I feel we’ve got guys who can (play). I don’t want to put all the guilt on the players. I share the guilt.”

Give Seattle, which has the NBA’s second best defense, some credit, too, for grounding the Clippers. From the second quarter on, the SuperSonics started making their shots, which is a great way of snuffing out an opponent’s fast-break chances.

But Chaney, living quarter-by-quarter these days, was encouraged that his team was able to play the way he wanted for a significant period. He plans to have the Clippers run again tonight against Phoenix at the Sports Arena, and he no doubt hopes they can do it for longer than a quarter.

“I’m going to have to call some set plays,” Chaney said. “But we’ll try to run a lot. If we can sustain it, we will. But the one problem if you can’t sustain it is that you suffer defensively.”

The SuperSonics’ offense, ranked second to last in the NBA, made the Clippers suffer. As usual, former Clipper Tom Chambers had a big night. Chambers scored 14 of his game-high 31 points in the second quarter and also finished the game with 12 rebounds.

All five Seattle starters reached double figures, Tim McCormick especially hurting the Clippers with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Rookie sensation Xavier McDaniel, playing with a bruised right knee, added 13 points.

The Clippers, who shot 43.9% from the field and had 17 turnovers, were led by Johnson’s 25 points. His was the only noteworthy performance, but even Johnson tired in the second half.

At this point, the Clippers are more tired of losing than anything else.

“You get to a point so low, you feel there’s nothing else to say,” Nimphius said. “You get so low you figure you got to come back up because you can’t get lower. If we were just losing by a little, it wouldn’t be so bad. But losing by a lot every night is depressing.”

And, it seems, habit-forming.