Baron finding life not so Golden with Clips

LOS ANGELES – Seven seconds into the clock, brazen and fearless as ever, Stephen Jackson pulled up from 26 feet and fired. Even Baron Davis had to smile. Oh, the memories.

They had run and gunned together, Jackson and Davis, spiriting the Golden State Warriors to that historic playoff upset of the Dallas Mavericks, and now they stood opposite each other, separated by the color of their jerseys. Jackson pulled up again, and soon enough, Davis knew he needed some of that himself. He rushed the ball upcourt and launched his own 26-foot bomb. The ball settled into the net, but that was beside the point.

This is how Davis had won with the Warriors. Fire away. Live with the consequences.

The problem, of course, is that Davis no longer plays for the Warriors. He plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, and his current coach adheres to a more disciplined philosophy. After watching Davis and the rest of the Clippers futilely try to outshoot the Warriors in a 121-103 loss, Mike Dunleavy made that perfectly clear Saturday afternoon.

"Teams that win, teams that go far in the playoffs, teams that win championships, they defend and they rebound," Dunleavy said. "… There hasn't been a run-and-gun team yet to get deep. It's great for selling popcorn and watching it on ESPN highlights. But as far as really legitimately winning it? Never. Never has it happened."

Dunleavy is right. Yes, his Clippers lost to the Seven-Seconds-Or-Less Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals three seasons ago. But the Suns could never run-and-fun their way past the San Antonio Spurs, and Don Nelson's Warriors will never be more than NBA eye candy unless they improve defensively.

For better or worse, though, Dunleavy has aligned himself with Davis and trying to de-Nellie his new point guard won't be easy. Much like Steve Nash is doing with Terry Porter in Phoenix, player and coach must blend style and system to strike a balance that benefits the team. If not, the Clippers, who have lost eight of their first nine games, will continue to suffer.

“It’s kind of difficult for him,” Jackson said of Davis. “He likes playing fast and he likes having the ball a lot. They run a lot of [isolation plays], with the two and three guards and he doesn’t really get a chance to do his thing.”

Neither Davis nor the Clippers deserve blame for forming their partnership. After the Warriors didn't come through with an extension for him, Davis would have been stupid not to take the Clippers' $65 million offer to come home. Nor should the Clippers, forever caught in the shadow of the neighboring Lakers, be faulted for spending heavily on the local star.

If anyone deserves to be questioned, it's the Warriors. Their increasingly dysfunctional front office couldn't agree on a new deal for Davis – who Nelson continues to fondly call "our best player" – then spent $50 million to bring in Corey Maggette. On Saturday, the 30-year-old Jackson talked excitedly about how his own extension is forthcoming "in a few days" after he negotiated directly with team president Robert Rowell. The Warriors could have a promising young nucleus, further evidenced by Saturday's 37-point performance from undrafted rookie Anthony Morrow. Still, the franchise needs stability within its management ranks.

"Just imagine how good we'll be if we still had [Davis]," Jackson said.

The Clippers could say the same about Elton Brand. When the Clippers and Davis reached agreement, it was under the assumption Brand would be sharing the locker room. Dunleavy was in New York courting Sacramento Kings point guard Beno Udrih when Brand called to tell him Davis had opted out of his contract with the Warriors.

"Elton said, 'He wants to come,' " Dunleavy said. "I'm like, 'OK, great, but we have … $27 million. I give you 15 of it and then we have to fill in after that. I said, 'Does he want 12?' He came back and said, 'No, he doesn't want 12, he wants 14.' I was like, 'OK, see you later.'

"Elton called me back later and said, 'OK, look, I'll take 14 and he'll take 13.' "

The agreement never came to fruition. Brand's agent, David Falk, solicited a more lucrative offer from the Philadelphia 76ers. Dunleavy, who said he still has a text message from Brand saying he planned to return, hasn't heard from his former All-Star forward since. They'll see each other for the first time Friday when the Clippers visit Philadelphia.

"I'm sure he had his reasons," Dunleavy said, "but there's nothing I can do about that."

Brand, who spent seven seasons in Los Angeles, brought stability to the Clippers, something they now lack. Davis suddenly found himself as the leader of a team with 10 new players. Earlier this week, he told the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke of a "disconnect" between he and Dunleavy. Incredulously, Davis said he was so excited about returning to Los Angeles that he had neglected to learn that Dunleavy was far more rigid with his play-calling than Nelson.

On the first day of training camp, Maggette, who frequently butted heads with Dunleavy, issued a public warning to Davis, saying he would likely endure some frustration with his new team. "I know he goes through a lot here," Maggette said Saturday. "Everyone knows what the situation is. You just have to weather the storm."

Davis and Dunleavy have since met and both described the talk as productive. Still, as Saturday showed, there will continue to be growing pains. The Clippers took 26 3-pointers against the Warriors, making just six.

"I guarantee you I can shoot better than that," Dunleavy said. "Now. Crippled."

What frustrated Dunleavy most was the Clippers' shot selection. All too often, they settled for long jumpers instead of putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket.

"You're wide open, that's a good shot," Dunleavy said. "In your range, that's a good shot. With board coverage, that's a good shot. That's been my philosophy and the philosophy of most good coaches, I think. The caveat to that is if you got somebody that is a big-time shooter or a hot hand where you give the guy the proverbial green light."

With the Warriors, Davis never saw a yellow light, let alone red. His confidence makes him great and he's accustomed to being able to shoot himself out of a slump. On some nights, Dunleavy will have to learn to live with that.

What the Clippers can't have is Al Thornton rushing shots as he did Saturday or Ricky Davis, who missed all but one of his six 3-pointers, also firing away at will. "The best thing they can do,”one scout said, “is call the nearest cab and put Ricky Davis in it."

Baron Davis sounded a bit wistful of the Warriors afterward. "Their style," he said, "just kind of took over." But he also admitted the Clippers seemed too content to attack the game one-on-one and didn't try to exploit their size advantage.

"We just have to find out how to win together," he said. "Every time we get down, someone takes it upon themselves."

Dunleavy remains optimistic. Injuries to Davis and Marcus Camby have lengthened the learning curve. And the Clippers are far from alone in their struggles; the Lakers and Suns are the only West teams with fewer than four losses. The season is young. Early impressions can change.

"There's always better things to come," Davis said.

Looking ahead is smarter than clinging to the past. For whatever nostalgia Davis stills holds about his running-and-gunning days, he's married to the Clippers now. For better or worse.