Five things to take from the LA Clippers-Dallas Mavericks beatdown

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 05: Eric Bledsoe#12 of the Los Angeles Clippers flips after doing a reverse dunk over Darren Collison #4 of the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center on December 5, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers won 112-90.

Dallas came in with a record of 8-9 and the Clippers were 11-6 coming in this one. The LA Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks in convincing fashion, winning it 112-90. There was a bad news at the beginning of this game for the Clippers as it was announced that Billups had a inflammation in a tendon in his left foot. But the win soothed the hopes of Clippers. There is a concern that their team is too deep to utilize everyone effectively and some players will grumble about minutes. With and without Billups this team is very effective on both ends. Billups’ primary contribution is said to be his leadership. Plenty of which can be offered from the sidelines too. Many in fact suspect that Billups is the one pulling Vinny Del Negro’s strings since the alternative means an end to the Dull Negro jokes.

Here are five things to take from this game:

Thievery

The Clippers came in as the only team averaging double figures in steals, with 10.5 And they totalled their season high in steals with 18 today. They had 26 points off their forced turnovers. They have long and athletic front court players, a tenacious wing set with Matt Barnes leading the way, and Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe who are notorious pickpockets. Lob City continues to thrive with crowd pleasing dunks because their defence fuels it,

Griffin pounds the Mavs

The Mavericks had no answer for Blake Griffin as he scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds in less than 27 minutes because the game was decided and he didn’t have to play 40. Otherwise he could have easily totalled 30 points. Neither Kaman nor Brand are athletic enough to stay in front of Griffin.

Jamaal Crawford is the X-factor

For this team, there is a reliable spark plug coming off the bench which is capable of lighting any team up in a instant. Jamaal Crawford continued to impress. He finished with 20 points and 4 assists. And he added to his impressively growing streak of four point plays with one more, bringing his career total up to 34.

Lack of offensive punch for the Mavs

Among the starters for the Mavericks, the highest scorer was old man Derek Fisher with 15. Their top scorer was Vince Carter off the bench with 16 points. OJ Mayo ended up playing as a playmaker more than a scorer as he had 11 points and 7 assists. Dirk Nowitzki can’t return soon enough. Six of the Clippers finished with double figures as opposed to five of the Mavericks.

Old teammates

Chris Kaman and Elton Brand who played for the Mavericks used to be Clippers. And Lamar Odom was a Maverick for a brief stint. There was a time when Dallas Mavericks were seen as the better team compared to the Clippers. As recent as two years ago. But today there’s no doubt which is the better team. Even if Dirk were back in the lineup the Mavericks would be hard pressed to beat the Clippers.

Here are the Clippers highlights from this game. If you’re confused by the lob city nickname, this video will leave no doubt how apt it is. Caron Butler has joined the club now too: