Q&A with Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog

This week as the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Suns, I decided to attempt to reach out to Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog to see if he’d be willing to take part in a short Q&A regarding our respective teams.  With Ben’s Suns Blog being a vastly inferior site in comparison, I wasn’t sure what the response would be.  I’ve been a huge, huge fan of Kevin’s work for some time now and was elated that he agreed.

For those that aren’t as familiar with his work, Kevin is an NBA editor on ESPN and frequently fills in for Henry Abbott through True Hoop, one of the best and most influential NBA blogs around.  Kevin’s daily routine is covering Clippers nation through his widely followed site, ClipperBlog.  Kevin’s work is a must-read if you are a fan of blogging and the NBA, and one of the most respected NBA writers around. 

I have no doubt you’ll notice the clear difference in writing ability with Kevin’s thoughtful insights below, and my rambling nonsense to Kevin’s questions here.  Regardless, please give ClipperBlog a bookmark as I sincerely enjoyed putting this post together.

Ben:  Elton Brand -from a Clippers fans perspective, is he viewed as a traitor?

Arnovitz:  For most Clippers fans, he is considered a turncoat, not so much because he left the Clippers, but for the way he left.  
 
Ben:  Since you are much closer to the situation than Suns fans, can you clarify the recent report of Baron Davis wanting/not wanting to go back to Golden State?

Arnovitz:  My personal, largely uninformed take on the situation is this:  Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis are chewing the fat over the holidays.  Old friends, whether they’re former NBA teammates, or former college roommates, or sorority sisters, or Army pals, tend to speak in grandiose hypotheticals under the glow of Christmas lights and with a few holiday beverages in their systems.  “Let’s start a business together!  Let’s bike across China!  Let’s reunite in Golden State even though one of us is persona non grata among Warrior executives and there isn’t a trade machine in the world that can produce a scenario that makes sense!”  I don’t doubt that Baron Davis is unhappy as a Clipper, but that doesn’t mean he’s tradeable, especially since there isn’t much of a market for guys with 5 year/$65M contracts who are shooting 36% from the field.   
 
Ben:  I was a huge Al Thornton fan coming out of college and had hoped the Suns were in a position to draft him.  Since that didn’t happen for the Suns, talk about his progress so far in the NBA and his future in L.A.

Arnovitz:  Thornton is proving to be an impressive athlete with an ability to create shots for himself off the dribble.  Unfortunately, his 3-point shot has vanished.  He can’t pass the ball to save his life.  His defense is spotty, and his rebounding is off-and-on.  On balance this makes him a below-average wing.   
 
Ben:  Mike Dunleavy’s coaching has been questioned and scrutinized more this year, what is your general opinion/gauge on him as the Clippers coach?

Arnovitz:  I’m agnostic on Mike Dunleavy.  I don’t mean that as a cop-out.  Watching the league — and I spend far too much time in front of League Pass — I think there are about a dozen coaches in the league better than him, and about a dozen who are clearly less competent.  That’s a terribly long-winded way of saying that I believe he’s an average coach.  He has a knack for getting his teams to overachieve defensively, but he tends to produce static offenses, which is strange because he reportedly has the thickest playbook in the league. 

Ben:  This Clippers team has a talented core group of players with high expectations to start the season, are they a piece or two away from being a legit playoff team in the West?

Arnovitz:  The playoffs are an impossibility this season.  They still need some depth at the wings.  Ricky Davis was supposed to provide that, but between his injury and everything else, that seems like a bust.  Once the Clippers can field a lineup of Baron Davis-Eric Gordon-Thornton-Zach Randolph-Marcus Camby, with Kaman, a good wing, and a decent PG coming off the bench, we’ll know more.   But, again, this season is a lost cause so far as the playoffs.  The silver lining of 2008-09 will be the development of Eric Gordon into a well-rounded 2. 

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