Chris Paul has been completely useless..

[Malik Hairston]

since Pop switched defensive assignments last game, tbh..

How do you guys think Paul and Tom Rivers will adjust to DG's length/the team D?

[Uriel]

This move has been obvious to every poster in this board since the regular season. Why it took Pop so long to implement it is beyond me.

[Robz4000]

since Pop switched defensive assignments last game, tbh..

How do you guys think Paul and Tom Rivers will adjust to DG's length/the team D?

More Tom Rivers Jr obviously

[K...]

I don't think they can. He's the offense. It's like the spurs with their limited ball handlers, except the drop off from parker to cojo is not nearly as bad as CP to ?

[Cry Havoc]

This move has been obvious to every poster in this board since the regular season. Why it took Pop so long to implement it is beyond me.

Because Pop doesn't pull out all the stops in Game 1. He gradually mixes in stuff throughout the series so coaches have to continually adjust.

[Malik Hairston]

It's true that they don't really have an alternative..Tom Rivers' has done one of the worst jobs I've ever seen as a GM, tbh..

Not to mention the toll it's taking on Paul, of course, he's not being aggressive, at all..

[Warlord23]

Tom's only viable move right now is to implore his starters + Crawford to "play harder", "compete", "make some shots". What else can he do with that roster? Start Hedo just for the lulz? Give more playing time to his scrub ass son?

[Mugen]

Complain more probably.

[Raven]

DANNY DOMINATION

[TXstbobcat]

Cliff Paul with 7 points. :lmao

[FkLA]

Crawford was like 1/10 tonight too. Wasn't LDN guarding him at some point as well?

[littlecoyotecoin]

This move has been obvious to every poster in this board since the regular season. Why it took Pop so long to implement it is beyond me.

I am going to go out on a limb and say: you don't reveal your best adjustments right out of the gate? We both seem confused. It seems pretty straight-forward and I am confused that so many arm-chair generals don't understand pretty basic tactics. It is difficult to spring a trap in reverse.

[midnightpulp]

The counter to your PG getting shutdown by a wing defender is to force that wing defender off him by having a capable shooting guard who can create his own shot. Reddick doesn't fit the bill nor do any other Clipper wings, except Crawford, who is terribly inefficient. Their wing rotation has been their fatal flaw all year.

Chris Paul is going to get exhausted in this series.

[Maddog]

He had a great "butt check" on Parker- but was fairly well contained.

How is that not a fine.... Not technically a flop but....

[freetiago]

The show all your cards in game 1 is a stupid argument
you can't adjust to someone with size defending you
its not an X and O strategy
CP0 isn't gonna run out on the court in platform shoes next game to match his size

[benstanfield]

The show all your cards in game 1 is a stupid argument
you can't adjust to someone with size defending you
its not an X and O strategy
CP0 isn't gonna run out on the court in platform shoes next game to match his size

He'll "get used to" our best wing defenders on him so we need to splice in some minutes guarding him with horrible defenders.

[Brazil]

All dominant scoring PGs in the league are struggling against teams that have long SGs that can defend and quick enough SFs tbh not really surprising he is struggling against one of best perimeter defender in today's nba.

[Brazil]

Btw fortunately for us if we win dat serie, Houston has no capable PG

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Dont forget he scotched us in game one. He plays like Rondo.. Hogs the ball way too much.

[Sean Cagney]

This move has been obvious to every poster in this board since the regular season. Why it took Pop so long to implement it is beyond me.

It's Pop and he is stubborn.

[Obstructed_View]

Not sure what defensive assignment changed. I saw four different guys covering Paul at different times. The Clippers just played bad. I hate Chris Paul as much as anyone does, but he's more likely to go for 27 in the next game than he is to go for 7.

[littlecoyotecoin]

The show all your cards in game 1 is a stupid argument
you can't adjust to someone with size defending you
its not an X and O strategy
CP0 isn't gonna run out on the court in platform shoes next game to match his size

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean that it is stupid. It MAY mean that YOU are stupid, however. I don't know.

Making Chris Paul taller is not the only adjustment that can be made. Implying such is an excluded middle fallacy. And, there is a cost to putting a wing on Paul, not just a benefit. No one on this board figured it out before Pop did. He was specifically asked about it post-game, and gave a "We tried/played hard." answer. He paused. He detected that that answer didn't come off well and added: "This isn't a strategy session, is it? No? OK." What did he mean? He meant: "Hey, dumbass, I know my wings can shut down Chris Paul much better than my guards, but I'm not going to come out in the post-game and tell you why I didn't have Green on Paul or whether or not I will in the next game. We have strategy sessions where we game-plan that shit and when and where and why to do that and this isn't a strategy session, but thanks for letting me know Danny is a better defender than Tony or Patty."

You weren't the guy, were you?

[Mr Bones]

Strange that the team with the much better PG is losing the series... maybe some people here exaggerate the value of the PG position.

[pgardn]

The show all your cards in game 1 is a stupid argument
you can't adjust to someone with size defending you
its not an X and O strategy
CP0 isn't gonna run out on the court in platform shoes next game to match his size

Then I guess we can use Bonner and Baynes on him as well.
Jesus...

[FkLA]

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean that it is stupid. It MAY mean that YOU are stupid, however. I don't know.

Making Chris Paul taller is not the only adjustment that can be made. Implying such is an excluded middle fallacy. And, there is a cost to putting a wing on Paul, not just a benefit. No one on this board figured it out before Pop did. He was specifically asked about it post-game, and gave a "We tried/played hard." answer. He paused. He detected that that answer didn't come off well and added: "This isn't a strategy session, is it? No? OK." What did he mean? He meant: "Hey, dumbass, I know my wings can shut down Chris Paul much better than my guards, but I'm not going to come out in the post-game and tell you why I didn't have Green on Paul or whether or not I will in the next game. We have strategy sessions where we game-plan that shit and when and where and why to do that and this isn't a strategy session, but thanks for letting me know Danny is a better defender than Tony or Patty."

You weren't the guy, were you?

Why doesn't Pop do that with Kawhi/LeBron then? Start off with a shit defender on Bron that way when he throws Kawhi on him he catches him off guard!

jesus christ...

[littlecoyotecoin]

Why doesn't Pop do that with Kawhi/LeBron then? Start off with a shit defender on Bron that way when he throws Kawhi on him he catches him off guard!

jesus christ...

Because all situations are the same? And, Belinelli, generally considered to be the shittiest of the shitty defenders, spent some time guarding James. So, there's that.

[FkLA]

Because all situations are the same? And, Belinelli, generally considered to be the shittiest of the shitty defenders, spent some time guarding James. So, there's that.

Nobody else spends time on LeBron when Kawhi is out there, unless he is in foul trouble.

Pop not putting Green on Paul from the get go has more to do with him constantly underrating Green's defensive impact than anything else. Has nothing to do with it being some genius strategy. Green on Paul/Curry and Kawhi on Reddick/Thompson is a no brainer.

[Mel_13]

.Tom Rivers' has done one of the worst jobs I've ever seen as a GM

Even if we're being generous, the Clippers have no more than six players on their roster who belong in the playoff rotation of any team that wants to consider itself a title contender, and that's only if Barnes makes the cut. Doc the HC hasn't been well served by Doc the GM.

For all the complaining we do about Marco here, Doc would, quite literally, give up one of his natural born sons to have an option like Beli on his bench.

[Chinook]

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean that it is stupid. It MAY mean that YOU are stupid, however. I don't know.

Making Chris Paul taller is not the only adjustment that can be made. Implying such is an excluded middle fallacy. And, there is a cost to putting a wing on Paul, not just a benefit. No one on this board figured it out before Pop did. He was specifically asked about it post-game, and gave a "We tried/played hard." answer. He paused. He detected that that answer didn't come off well and added: "This isn't a strategy session, is it? No? OK." What did he mean? He meant: "Hey, dumbass, I know my wings can shut down Chris Paul much better than my guards, but I'm not going to come out in the post-game and tell you why I didn't have Green on Paul or whether or not I will in the next game. We have strategy sessions where we game-plan that shit and when and where and why to do that and this isn't a strategy session, but thanks for letting me know Danny is a better defender than Tony or Patty."

You weren't the guy, were you?

I agree that Pop shouldn't put Green on Paul all the time. But that doesn't explain why in Game Two, he took so long to put Danny in the game. If Pop understood that Green is the best CP3 defender on the team, then he would have had him on Paul to close out regulation. A similar thing happened in Game Six versus Dallas last playoffs. Green shut Ellis down the whole game, and Pop put Leonard on his for the last few minutes. It led to Dallas stealing that game. Push comes to shove, I don't think Pop respects Green's talent as a defender. It's not just an act that only certain posters here are smart enough to get. He's lost the team games for it, and he almost lost them another on Wednesday.

[littlecoyotecoin]

Nobody else spends time on LeBron when Kawhi is out there, unless he is in foul trouble.

Pop not putting Green on Paul from the get go has more to do with him constantly underrating Green's defensive impact than anything else. Has nothing to do with it being some genius strategy. Green on Paul/Curry and Kawhi on Reddick/Thompson is a no brainer.

I'm comfortable with Pop's rating of Green's defensive impact.

[Chinook]

Even if we're being generous, the Clippers have no more than six players on their roster who belong in the playoff rotation of any team that wants to consider itself a title contender, and that's only if Barnes makes the cut. Doc the HC hasn't been well served by Doc the GM.

For all the complaining we do about Marco here, Doc would, quite literally, give up one of his natural born sons to have an option like Beli on his bench.

He may get that option next season. Word on the street is that Marco considers himself as good as gone in the off-season, and the Clippers will need to find wing scoring with their MLE/mMLE unless they're content with completely reworking their rotation.

[littlecoyotecoin]

I agree that Pop shouldn't put Green on Paul all the time. But that doesn't explain why in Game Two, he took so long to put Danny in the game. If Pop understood that Green is the best CP3 defender on the team, then he would have had him on Paul to close out regulation. A similar thing happened in Game Six versus Dallas last playoffs. Green shut Ellis down the whole game, and Pop put Leonard on his for the last few minutes. It led to Dallas stealing that game. Push comes to shove, I don't think Pop respects Green's talent as a defender. It's not just an act that only certain posters here are smart enough to get. He's lost the team games for it, and he almost lost them another on Wednesday.

I think Pop totally respects Danny as a defender. I also think he is afraid of Danny making some bone-headed plays sometimes. I don't think it has anything to do with Pop's belief in his abilities as a defender in general, though.

My issue is with posters that think Pop doesn't know Danny is a better defender than Tony and Patty, which is what most of them are complaining about. Saying Pop made a mistake switching him for Kawhi is far more nuanced. Pop has definitely made some mistakes. No one's perfect. And, hindsight is 20/20. Trusting Kawhi over Danny sometimes might be one of Pop's mistakes, but they are 1a and 1b defender options, so I don't see it as much of a slight toward Danny nor as egregious an error by Pop, even if it might have been an error and Danny might have been a better choice than Kawhi in your examples. However, we don't really know. Danny may have failed where Kawhi did as well.

My point is: Of course Pop knows Green is a better defender in these situations than Tony and Patty because Green is almost always, eventually, switched onto these players at some point. Pop doesn't rediscover the idea all over again every series and every year. The question is then why doesn't he make the switch immediately in game one. I suggest he has some well thought out reasons for it, and could maybe even posit a few myself. They claim, instead, that there is no reason to ever game-plan as Pop has, and Danny should start on Paul (insert other) from every tip of every game, in every series.

Minutes/rest in a single game, minutes/rest over multi-game time spans (travel time, # of days off between games), accounting for wear on us vs. them and our bench vs. theirs, attempting to bait a team into doing something you want them to do (maybe sometimes it works and other times it doesn't), referee/other gamesmanship, defensive rebounding (Danny being a good rebounder for his position), Danny being more useful as a help defender off of Barnes, et al more than off of Paul, injuries disclosed and undisclosed, there's just a plethora of reasons that Pop may not start off the series with Green on Paul, etc. I'm sure Pop has a longer and more specific list.

Whether the game-plan always comes to fruition is another story. However, I'm fairly confident that he's considered these options.

[Clipper Nation]

The counter to your PG getting shutdown by a wing defender is to force that wing defender off him by having a capable shooting guard who can create his own shot. Reddick doesn't fit the bill nor do any other Clipper wings, except Crawford, who is terribly inefficient. Their wing rotation has been their fatal flaw all year.

Chris Paul is going to get exhausted in this series.
Maybe if he didn't hog every single penny of the salary cap, we could afford a wing who actually makes an impact on the game. As it stands, Choke Paul is a loser who's content with playing a round or two in the playoffs and then going home to count his money all summer.

[TD 21]

Maybe if he didn't hog every single penny of the salary cap, we could afford a wing who actually makes an impact on the game. As it stands, Choke Paul is a loser who's content with playing a round or two in the playoffs and then going home to count his money all summer.

I understand the frustration, but I don't get the criticism of Paul. 1) The vast majority of players, particularly at their peak, take every last penny they can get. 2) When he signed, Rivers wasn't even brought in yet, so obviously there was no way of foreseeing all the dumb shit they've done the past few years. 3) He's clearly one of the fiercest competitors in the league. 4) He's never been on a team good enough to win it all and I don't recall a series he's lost where he was on the clear favorite.

[MI21]

Paul's aggressiveness in looking for his own shot is virtually non-existent when LDN is on him... he isn't going to beat him if he doesn't actually fucking try. The Clippers can't beat the Spurs unless Paul scores heavily.

[Trainwreck2100]

should be running pick and rolls with matt barnes to force the switch

[mkurts]

I think Paul and Parker cancel each other out in the useless stakes.

Paul would flourish in SAS being a distributer to others who cannot create like DG, but in LAC he is forced to score a lot and play heavy minutes which is not his natural game.

[therealtruth]

DG is to CP3 what Bowen was to Nash. I think we got to stick with that. Cutting the head of the snake off.

[DMC]

The Clippers have a great point guard, but shit for a back up. They have a great paint defender, but shit for a scorer in the paint. They have a great athletic finisher but shit for a clutch player. They have a great 3pt shooter but shit for a defender. They have a great 6th man but shit for a 7th.

[buttsR4rebounding]

The Clippers have a great point guard, but shit for a back up. They have a great paint defender, but shit for a scorer in the paint. They have a great athletic finisher but shit for a clutch player. They have a great 3pt shooter but shit for a defender. They have a great 6th man but shit for a 7th.

So you are saying you can find some great shit in Los Angeles?

[Mugen]

The only thing the Clippers have going for them right now is that they play in a much better city than the Spurs do tbh.

:bobo

[EVAY]

Not sure what defensive assignment changed. I saw four different guys covering Paul at different times. The Clippers just played bad. I hate Chris Paul as much as anyone does, but he's more likely to go for 27 in the next game than he is to go for 7.

[Chinook]

Not sure what defensive assignment changed. I saw four different guys covering Paul at different times. The Clippers just played bad. I hate Chris Paul as much as anyone does, but he's more likely to go for 27 in the next game than he is to go for 7.

That's not really what happened. Danny was definitely the primary defender on Paul. Van Gundy made it sound like the Spurs were rotating defenders, but in reality, Kawhi only picked CP3 up if the Clips pushed the ball up when Danny wasn't in position. That type of switch is something the Spurs do often, especially when the opponent only has one dominant offensive wing. Parker spent time on Paul, of course, but only when Danny wasn't in the game. The rest were the result of switches.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Remindse of the Hornets series when pop didn't put Bowen on paul until later on as the games progressed.

[Malik Hairston]

Well, looks like they didn't even need to make an adjustment:lol..

Paul continued to struggle vs. Green, but Danny missing shots all game = Pop sitting him, Paul dominates against the smaller defenders and the defensive switches vs. bigs..smh..

[FkLA]

Pop valuing three point shooting over Danny's defense is idiotic. Goes against the entire defense first mentality he loves to preach about.

[timtonymanu]

LDN sucked today, no doubt. But you play him because of his defense. I would seriously root for another team if the starting backcourt next season is Enrique/Beli while Green plays for a contender.

[therealtruth]

Pop valuing three point shooting over Danny's defense is idiotic. Goes against the entire defense first mentality he loves to preach about.

This is what drives me nuts about Pop. Says one thing and then actions shows the other thing. We're not going to beat the Clippers by outscoring them but by playing good defense and executing on offense. That's the pounding the rock way. No need to panic if shots are not going. Just keep executing on offense and the defense will wear out the other team by the end of the game.

[FkLA]

Have Danny put up a donut but play good D on CP3 or give his minutes to Manu/Belli and let CP3 destroy you. Hmm tough choice.

[Texas_Ranger]

jup :lol

[spurraider21]

Have Danny put up a donut but play good D on CP3 or give his minutes to Manu/Belli and let CP3 destroy you. Hmm tough choice.
bruh. beli played 4 minutes before garbage time

[Malik Hairston]

There wasn't a problem with Pop benching Green today IMO..

The problem is with the personnel on the team:

-If you bench Parker, you bring in Mills, which also usually forces Pop to bring in Manu because Green isn't a playmaker
- When Kawhi is benched, Green has been replacing him to either defend Paul or Crawford, because the Spurs don't have a reliable 3rd defender

Patty's lack of playmaking ability is a problem, and the Spurs lack of a reliable wing defender outside of Green/Leonard is a problem, too..

[crc21209]

Pop needs to stop being stubborn on taking Green off of Paul. Danny would help his cause by making a shot or two but still, I live with Green's misses if he plays great D on Paul over watching Parker/Patty/Beli constantly getting torched by Paul...

[siraulo23]

Pop valuing three point shooting over Danny's defense is idiotic. Goes against the entire defense first mentality he loves to preach about.

This, got damn

But to be fair, CP3 was just patient and aggressive in game 4 and the bigs didnt do as well

To contain CP3 you need Green/Leonard but the spurs bigs need to do a better job. With the exception of game 3, this is as best Paul has looked since NO days

[FkLA]

bruh. beli played 4 minutes before garbage time

bruh. that's why i said manu/belli instead of just belli

[spurtech09]

This, got damn

But to be fair, CP3 was just patient and aggressive in game 4 and the bigs didnt do as well

To contain CP3 you need Green/Leonard but the spurs bigs need to do a better job. With the exception of game 3, this is as best Paul has looked since NO daysQuestion is can CP3 do it again.....

[Harry Callahan]

Question is can CP3 do it again.....

No.

[DMC]

CP3 has been getting star treatment since he came into the league. It's about time he at earned at least some of it. If the Clippers win this series, good for them, but it won't mean shit if they lose the next. 2nd round exits aren't what stars are made of.

[spurraider21]

Question is can CP3 do it again.....
why wouldn't he be able to? people are acting like he's some mediocre player who had a great game.

[Clipper Nation]

CP3 has been getting star treatment since he came into the league. It's about time he at earned at least some of it. If the Clippers win this series, good for them, but it won't mean shit if they lose the next. 2nd round exits aren't what stars are made of.

This. Assuming he doesn't still find a way to gag this series away (which is always possible), if he manages to choke to the faggot-ass Rockets next round, he and his unearned $107 million contract still need to be dumped as far as I'm concerned.

[TD 21]

They did make an adjustment, running 1-3 pick and rolls until (even if it took re-screening) they got the switch and getting Parker onto Paul. For some reason, the Spurs treated Barnes as if he were Nowitzki and hugged him, rather than either blitzing Paul or having Parker hedge and recover.

It also didn't hurt that Pop was determined to find minutes for Belinelli, including a stretch with Parker, where the former was on Redick, predictably couldn't stay with him, Leonard had to rotate and Paul had an all-the-time-in-the-world top of the key 3 that he luckily missed.

They don't have minutes to waste on Belinelli in this series. I want to see a strict three wing rotation from here on out. As far as the bigs, I don't give a shit how fatigued Splitter is in his limited minutes, he's got to be able to give Duncan and Diaw more rest.

[therealtruth]

Defense is the issue. We're not outscoring the Clippers. That means we have to defend better and take away more stuff.

[hater]

:lmao showt bus

[Obstructed_View]

That's not really what happened. Danny was definitely the primary defender on Paul. Van Gundy made it sound like the Spurs were rotating defenders, but in reality, Kawhi only picked CP3 up if the Clips pushed the ball up when Danny wasn't in position. That type of switch is something the Spurs do often, especially when the opponent only has one dominant offensive wing. Parker spent time on Paul, of course, but only when Danny wasn't in the game. The rest were the result of switches.
If it's a legitimate strategy that works, it should be repeatable. Otherwise it's just waiting for Paul to have an uninspired effort. All evidence since that game tells me that they just came out flat.

[therealtruth]

If it's a legitimate strategy that works, it should be repeatable. Otherwise it's just waiting for Paul to have an uninspired effort. All evidence since that game tells me that they just came out flat.

I think Pop's got to stick with DG on Paul and Leonard on Reddick. It's what's working. DG sucks at defending Reddick. I would only put Leonard on him in specific situations.

[hater]

:lmao showt bus

[Obstructed_View]

I think Pop's got to stick with DG on Paul and Leonard on Reddick. It's what's working. DG sucks at defending Reddick. I would only put Leonard on him in specific situations.
I agree with that. Frankly, nobody is going to keep Chris Paul in front of them; it's just a matter of how far he gets before help arrives. Many times it's been the third Spurs defender who doesn't rotate in time to prevent the bigs from just going to the front of the rim when someone meets Paul in the paint, so if there's an actual defensive adjustment to make, it's to pay attention to Jordan and Griffin when Paul goes toward the basket.

To simplify even further, at some point the Spurs need to hit free throws and stop intentionally fouling, because I think those have been the biggest keys for the Clips thus far.

[hooperflash]

Hopefully we're saying this in past tense after tonight.

[Budkin]

He completely torched us in Game 6. How many jumpers from the elbow did he hit in the 3rd/4th?