Carrying on without their leading scorer, Eric Gordon, has been the norm for the Los Angeles Clippers in their past 14 road games. This includes muddling through the longest road trip in the NBA this season, 11 games, during the month of February.
The Clippers guard re-aggravated his wrist injury in the second quarter of last Saturday’s 100-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets. While X-ray results were negative, he did not travel with the team to Charlotte where a five-game road trip begins and will most likely be unavailable for the duration of the trip.
“I just re-aggravated it,” said Gordon after Saturday night’s win. “I just need to see what my pain tolerance is and how I can deal with it and work from there.”
Fortunately, rookie Eric Bledsoe upped his level of play against the Nuggets, particularly in the final quarter. He scored 15 of his 20 points in the last 12 minutes of regulation and pilfered Denver possessions, tallying seven steals.
A similar effort is necessary as the team looks ahead to a five-game stretch against the Bobcats, Celtics, Nets, Wizards and Grizzlies. The Clippers are well aware of the importance of getting concrete production from alternate sources while Gordon is out of the lineup.
“We’re going to need other guys to step up now with Eric (Gordon) being out,” said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro. “It’s gonna change things when you lose your leading scorer, but other guys are going to have to play and we’ll make it up somehow.”
Randy Foye has been one of those players who have given the Clippers steady production in place of the injured Gordon. Despite only scoring two points in Gordon’s return against the Houston Rockets, he answered the bell after Gordon went down against the Nuggets and scored eight of his 13 points in the third quarter.
“He was out before, that was the role I had to play; I had to be aggressive,” said Foye, who averaged 17.5 points during Gordon’s absence. “I had to continue to be aggressive, taking the right shots.
“My mindset (for the road trip) is to just be aggressive, in attack mode and be a playmaker for the team.”
On Monday night, a 92-87 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, the Clippers were definitely in attack mode with five players in double figures. Blake Griffin led the way with his standard double-double, 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Clippers bench outscored the Bobcats bench 40-27, which is exactly the type of performance they need from their reserves as they forge on without Gordon.
Bledsoe picked up where he left off on Saturday and scored 13 points off the bench. Chris Kaman continued his solid play off the pine with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Mo Williams added 17 points, seven assists and Foye rounded out the Clippers’ double figure scoring with 10 points.
The Clippers’ defense in the second half was a stark contrast from the first half. They held the Bobcats to 33 percent shooting in the second half after letting them hit 50 percent from the field in the first.
Getting alternate sources of production was paramount in achieving a rare road win and that’s exactly what the Clippers got despite missing Gordon.
“Unfortunately, Eric (Gordon) was injured again, so who knows what that situation there is, but we just wanted to come out and get everybody to gel together; get that chemistry built,” said Kaman.
Of course, the burning question still remained—will Gordon be back to finish the season and if so, when?
“Let’s just see how he responds to the therapy,” said Coach Del Negro. “It’s his shooting hand, so it might make it a little more difficult. But all signs point to him returning. But when? That’s another story.”
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