The Los Angeles Clippers lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 102-78, moving to 4-21 on the road this season and 1-6 on the team's Grammies road trip. Blake Griffin scored 19 points and had 12 rebounds, but those 19 points came on 19 field goal attempts and seven free throws. That comes out to a True Shooting percentage of .431, pretty awful by any standard, including the one Griffin has set for himself.
Clippers Vs. Bucks: Blake Griffin Controlled Again, As Milwaukee Blasts L.A.
Have defenses figured out Blake? Or are the Bucks and L.A.'s other recent opponents uniquely suited to stopping Griffin? Milwaukee, after all, has Andrew Bogut; while the awful arm injury suffered last spring has seriously damaged Bogut's offense, his defense is still excellent. And it follows that Griffin's best games this trip have come against the Knicks (a lousy defensive squad), the Cavs (a lousy squad) and the Raptors (pretty lousy, too). Like any player, Griffin suffers against better defenders.
Getting Eric Gordon back would help significantly, too. The Clippers shot 4-17 on three-pointers against the Bucks; when Baron Davis and Randy Foye are taking all the threes, defenses don't exactly have to prioritize staying out on shooters. Milwaukee typically has no problem covering all areas of the court against balanced teams. A one-trick pony like the Clippers? No problem.
In other action:
Hawks 94, Pistons 79: Detroit led by as many as 16 points in the first half before Atlanta took over. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson took over late in the second quarter, and Smith was a killer in the fourth to keep the Pistons out of striking distance. He finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
Blazers 95, Wolves 81: Minnesota had no chance in this one; Portland led wire to wire, and usually by double digits. Kevin Love just eeked out his 41st straight double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). Yes, that's half of an NBA season of double-doubles. Consecutively.
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