Theories on why the Clippers have become such a tough matchup?

[midnightpulp]

We, theoretically, match up pretty well with them. LMA isn't as good as Blake, but he can equalize his production, like tonight, something Tiago wouldn't have a hope in hell of doing. Duncan=DeMonkey. JJ Redick is basically Danny Green without the defense (Redick is better offensively, but Danny, when he's good, is a more impactful player). Their bench is one of the worst in the league. And Leonard is better than their entire wing rotation combined (Crawful, Pierce, Johnson, the ghost of a Moute). CP3 is their only big advantage, a gap that has closed some since Parker's resurgence, but yet, they give us loads of trouble.

Quick theories are:

Pop coaches like an idiot against them, all too tempted to try and "exploit" hack-a-Jordan. I understand Pop's reasoning. Force it into a half court game where our size, post-game advantage, length, and defensive advantage should win out. Problem is, Chris Paul is the best half court PG in the league and can just spam pick-n-rolls. Hack-a also throws our offense out of rhythm.

Leonard struggles against them. I don't know why, but he does. He had that 1-11 game last year against them, and struggled in the playoffs after his 32 point coming out party. I have no explanation for this. Leonard isn't a penetrator, so DeMonkey's presence shouldn't bother him and the Clippers have no lockdown wings. He should crucify Crawful, Pierce, Johnson, etc in the post.

[RD2191]

My theory is that pop fucks around too much with defensive rotations. Kawhi guarded CP3, Griffin, Reddick and Crawford in our playoff match up against them last season. Too much imo. He needs to keep him on 1-2 players max to give him time to figure said player out. Once again Green was pretty trash on D tonight leaving Kawhi with even more responsibility.

[Agloco]

You nailed the bit about Leonard. It seems like his body language is totally different against this team. Like they're in his head for some reason.

[Mr. Body]

Their offense with Blake and Paul is ridiculous, plus Blake is just money against the Spurs. You also have to account for Jordan for the lobs. DJ gums up the middle so well, makes the threat of dribble drives and cuts much weaker. Then Pop coaches like a dumb asshole against them.

I don't see any games against them as easy. The bench broke this one a little and should be a factor going forward. We can't count on Parker being this good every game.

[SnakeBoy]

Well you can't completely leave the Clippers out of the discussion. They play their best ball against us.

[midnightpulp]

I'll also add that CP3 has gained confidence against the Spurs. Fittingly, we're like the only team he doesn't choke against. Figures.

[tmtcsc]

I wanted to bitch slap the ESPN commentator when he kept talking about how good the offense was. Fuck the offense, the Spurs D was terrible. How many open shots did the Clips get - especially Blake ? They were bad on D tonight.

[RD2191]

I'll also add that CP3 has gained confidence against the Spurs. Fittingly, we're like the only team he doesn't choke against. Figures.
DG used to own that nigga(defensively) . Now danny plays like a piece of shit against him.

[HarlemHeat37]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor IIRC, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..there's also Redick to defend, although that was easier with Mills on the floor tonight(since he's the quickest player on the team), which only worked because Mbah a Moute was on the court, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..the combination of both has become unguardable for the Spurs..

[RD2191]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend him, too..there's also Redick to defend, which was easier with Mills on the floor tonight, which only works when Mbah a Moute is on the floor, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..
Tbh, Blake's emergence as an elite offensive player is the biggest problem for the Spurs imo.

[loveforthegame]

They got Leonard in the post in the first half and he responded well. None of that in the second half though. That's not just a Clippers problem though.

I don't think having him chase Reddick all around and through multiple screens is smart either. That tires a guy. Especially one you depend on to carry a big chunk of the scoring load. Let Danny do that.

Funny thing about tonight is that he was 6-12 before missing two 3s. He actually shot well before that. And despite the struggles he made 4 clutch fts. That counts for something.

[Wildcat67]

Kawhi didn't play badly he just wasn't very aggressive in the second half.

[HarlemHeat37]

They got Leonard in the post in the first half and he responded well. None of that in the second half though. That's not just a Clippers problem though.

I don't think having him chase Reddick all around and through multiple screens is smart either. That tires a guy. Especially one you depend on to carry a big chunk of the scoring load. Let Danny do that.

Funny thing about tonight is that he was 6-12 before missing two 3s. He actually shot well before that. And despite the struggles he made 4 clutch fts. That counts for something.

Mills on Redick was a great adjustment, as his quickness is enough to keep up with Redick, but it only worked because Mbah a Moute is a terrible offensive player that Tony can hide against..hopefully Pierce and/or Stephenson doesn't emerge later in the season..losing Matt Barnes was a bigger blow than they thought it would be..

[Kawhitstorm]

The Spurs give up mid-range shots & Paul/Blake are the best mid-range shooters at their respective positions. Jarret Jack used to kill the Spurs b/c he was a very good mid-range shooter, same w/ David West in New Orleans.

[ILoveOranges]

Paul and Blake are absolute monsters, and Redick is a lights-out shooter. Redick looks like Belinelli did running around screens taking shots, and his defense is very underrated. He's a smart player and gives great effort. The Paul/Griffin pick-and-roll killed the Spurs, and they kept rotating too much, leaving Griffin open for all kinds of jumpers; the Spurs' pick-and-roll defense has been their achilles heel, but it will get better. The Spurs defense overall today was a mixed basket, and an off-night, but really, the Clippers are a very talented team. They just let tantrums get in their way.

Not to mention the refs. Paul literally pulled Kawhi's arm in and they called a foul. Diaw breathes on Griffin, foul. LMA looks menacingly at anybody, it's a foul. They showed some pretty silly replays in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Pop just went to the hack-a-Jordan out of disgust for the game the refs called.

Then there's the matter of Kawhi not being assertive against the Clips; I have no idea why. When he was aggressive, his shots were going down, but throughout the game he settled for 1-2 dribbles, stop, defender in the way, pass out. Like the defense, he'll adjust and I expect the next game vs. the Clippers to be more in the favor of the Spurs.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Kawhi turns into a quivering pink vagina against them, that's all

[james evans]

we pack the lane and give up open jumprs. Simple as that. Why in the FUCK are we doubling on jordan and others in the paint is beyond my knowledge. We're giving up open 3's to shut down the paint. Plus their screen well to get paul on weaker defenders

[Kawhitstorm]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor IIRC, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..there's also Redick to defend, although that was easier with Mills on the floor tonight(since he's the quickest player on the team), which only worked because Mbah a Moute was on the court, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..the combination of both has become unguardable for the Spurs..

The bottom line is that when Blake/Paul/Redick are healthy they can torch any team. There in no team that can stop the Blake/Paul PnP w/ Redick on the strongside ala the Amare/Nash PnR besides them missing shots or turning the ball over in crunch time out of exhaustion :lol. They had the top ranked offense last season over the Warriors for a reason. The best way to beat them is by having a deep bench to wear them down & a potent offense to expose their mediocre defense. They are basically the D'Antoni Suns w/ less shooters but a legit center.

[daslicer]

Blake and CP3 are great mid range shooters which defensively is a weakness for the Spurs. Also Reddick can hit 3's off the ball which makes him hard to defend. Factor in they are great at setting screens which takes away from Kawhi and Danny's defense.

[HarlemHeat37]

The bottom line is that when Blake/Paul/Redick are healthy they can torch any team. There in no team that can stop their PnP w/ Redick on the strongside ala the Amare/Nash PnR besides them missing shots or turning the ball over in crunch time out of exhaustion :lol. They had the top ranked offense last season over the Warriors for a reason. The best way to beat them is by having a deep bench to wear them down & a potent offense to expose their mediocre defense.

Definitely..I picked them to beat the Spurs, last year, people were sleeping on how dominant they could be, but at the end of the day, in regards to winning a title, they're still the Clippers franchise, and that will always hold them back from winning a title:lol

Blake is the best PF in the NBA and Paul is the best PG of my generation(pre-Curry), that's enough to make it tough on any team, tbh..

[YGWHI]

Leonard struggles against them. I don't know why, but he does. He had that 1-11 game last year against them, and struggled in the playoffs after his 32 point coming out party. I have no explanation for this. Leonard isn't a penetrator, so DeMonkey's presence shouldn't bother him and the Clippers have no lockdown wings. He should crucify Crawful, Pierce, Johnson, etc in the post.

Well, someone has to pass him the ball in the post, tbh.

This is pretty much on Pop and how he's using Leonard against them.

In the last playoffs, we saw that Kawhi was guarded by scrubs like Crawford and Rivers, and our guards ignored him in the post. Danny couldn't make a decent entry pass to him, and Parker preferred run PnRs with Tim and Boris instead of exploiting Kawhi's matchup.

The same thing this game, Kawhi was shooting well in the half time, then barely got the ball in the 3rd quarter, and was completely cold in the 4th.

He's one of the most efficient post up players in the league, why in the hell Pop doesn't call more plays for Kawhi in the post against the Clippers?

[sasaint]

Paul and Blake are absolute monsters, and Redick is a lights-out shooter. Redick looks like Belinelli did running around screens taking shots, and his defense is very underrated. He's a smart player and gives great effort. The Paul/Griffin pick-and-roll killed the Spurs, and they kept rotating too much, leaving Griffin open for all kinds of jumpers; the Spurs' pick-and-roll defense has been their achilles heel, but it will get better. The Spurs defense overall today was a mixed basket, and an off-night, but really, the Clippers are a very talented team. They just let tantrums get in their way.

Not to mention the refs. Paul literally pulled Kawhi's arm in and they called a foul. Diaw breathes on Griffin, foul. LMA looks menacingly at anybody, it's a foul. They showed some pretty silly replays in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Pop just went to the hack-a-Jordan out of disgust for the game the refs called.

Then there's the matter of Kawhi not being assertive against the Clips; I have no idea why. When he was aggressive, his shots were going down, but throughout the game he settled for 1-2 dribbles, stop, defender in the way, pass out. Like the defense, he'll adjust and I expect the next game vs. the Clippers to be more in the favor of the Spurs.

I really like your take, and I really hope that you are right about Kawhi.

[YGWHI]

They got Leonard in the post in the first half and he responded well. None of that in the second half though. That's not just a Clippers problem though.

[Nathan89]

Griffin seems to be able to score on anyone we throw at him and he's in the middle of their offense. This allows many bad mismatches throughout the game. Then you have Cp3 torching us. Reddick doing well or at the very least tiring out a major part of our offense while just being role playing extra benefit for theirs.

[SAGirl]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor IIRC, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..there's also Redick to defend, although that was easier with Mills on the floor tonight(since he's the quickest player on the team), which only worked because Mbah a Moute was on the court, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..the combination of both has become unguardable for the Spurs..

good assessment.
They also don't rely on a scoring wing which is where Leonard excels stopping. He's not great on PG or PF, so his defensive upside is nullified a bit. He hasn't had terrific defensive games lately against them. (Edit: They do have JJ Reddick, but you pointed out the screening issues. Kawhi not great running through screens, and Danny ... /sigh he should be better but has not been).

Also, CP is a smart player, he will do his thing to get a mismatch and exploit it. I remember the green light he gave to Josh Smith to go get that easy basket against Mills.

We definitely have trouble defending them, and all the times we have won lately it is because we have had a terrific night scoring ourselves. If we have a tough shooting night its going to be a tough game to win.

Pop hacking Jordan doesn't help our offensive rythm either and allows what is a still a shallow team too reliant on CP3 to rest.

[Kawhitstorm]

Blake is the best PF in the NBA and Paul is the best PG of my generation(pre-Curry), that's enough to make it tough on any team, tbh..

Good thing LMA happens to be Blake's nemesis & can go at him like Tim used to go at Amare on the block :toast. Let's just hope LMA doesn't have to face Z-Bo in the playoffs:lol.

[Kawhitstorm]

Griffin seems to be able to score on anyone we throw at him and he's in the middle of their offense. This allows many bad mismatches throughout the game. Then you have Cp3 torching us. Reddick doing well or at the very least tiring out a major part of our offense while just being role playing extra benefit for theirs.

Draymond is supposed to be the best matchup for Blake but he has had his way against him. A healthy Dwight is the only guy that can give him problems.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Good thing LMA happens to be Blake's nemesis & can go at him like Tim used to go at Amare on the block :toast. Let's just hope LMA doesn't have to face Z-Bo in the playoffs:lol.

the grizzlies will get squashed, they have no offense, just let trick or treat tony fill up on those 3's and you're golden

[SupremeGuy]

The Spurs give up mid-range shots & Paul/Blake are the best mid-range shooters at their respective positions. Jarret Jack used to kill the Spurs b/c he was a very good mid-range shooter, same w/ David West in New Orleans.This.

[siraulo23]

In a nutshell, since the Spurs swept the Clippers

- Addition of Redick, who the Spurs now have to chase around DJ and Griffin's screen
- Blake Griffin's improvement - more decisive and he takes and makes that mid range jumper the Spurs were willing to give up
- CP3 being closer to Hornets CP3 rather than 2012 CP3, he was not himself tbh

[Robz4000]

Pop just shits the bed coaching-wise against them. He's been doing it a lot more lately since 2014; usually it was just RC and Phil, but now mediocre coaches such as Uncle Tom and Dwayne Casey seem to own his soul.

It also doesn't help their scrubs love to have career games against the Spurs.

[Chinook]

The way the Clippers played tonight is unsustainable. Blake played 40 minutes, and Jordan would have played near that if they hadn't forced him out of the game by hacking. Josh Smith is a liability if you have a sound defense, and Pierce can't get away with playing the four against Diaw. The lack of bench bigs means two things. One, that the Spurs will have very little problem playing West and Diaw against them. Two, Blake's not going to last a long series -- especially if the two teams meet after the first round. He just won't have the legs to shoot all those jumpers or to explode to the rim after the first three or four matches.

[SpursforSix]

They've got more true blacks.

[DMC]

Theory: Blake Griffin's jump shot is much better than it appears at face value.
Theory 2: Chris Paul is still a top notch PG who is as good a passer as a shooter
Theory 3: Deandre Jordan is a big motherfucker, even against big guys he's big, and he's probably the most athletic big I've ever seen outside of David.
Theory 4: Jordan being a shitty FT shooter draws Pop into the "must hack...must... hack" mentality. Usually kills our rhythm.
Theory 5: Good 3pt shooters, not great but good.
Theory 6: We have a hard time with athletic, fast teams because our 1st unit isn't either.

[YGWHI]

The way the Clippers played tonight is unsustainable. Blake played 40 minutes...Blake's not going to last a long series -- especially if the two teams meet after the first round. He just won't have the legs to shoot all those jumpers or to explode to the rim after the first three or four matches
41 mpg 24 ppg 46.7 FG% 13.1 rpg against us, 38.4 mpg 26.9 ppg 55 FG% 12.1 rpg against Rockets in last playoffs...it doesn't seem a real problem for him.

[Solid D]

Two-man game with Paul at the helm is a great equalizer.

[SpurPadre]

The way the Clippers played tonight is unsustainable. Blake played 40 minutes, and Jordan would have played near that if they hadn't forced him out of the game by hacking. Josh Smith is a liability if you have a sound defense, and Pierce can't get away with playing the four against Diaw. The lack of bench bigs means two things. One, that the Spurs will have very little problem playing West and Diaw against them. Two, Blake's not going to last a long series -- especially if the two teams meet after the first round. He just won't have the legs to shoot all those jumpers or to explode to the rim after the first three or four matches.

But didn't we think their play was unsustainable last season, too? Blake played heavy minutes, Paul was winded every fourth quarter, and their bench was thinner last season. They're just going to be a tough match up any way you look at it. It's all on LMA and Kawhi elevating their game each series with Pop needing to reassess hack a jordan.

[Chinook]

41 mpg 24 ppg 46.7 FG% 13.1 rpg against us, 38.4 mpg 26.9 ppg 55 FG% 12.1 rpg against Rockets in last playoffs...it doesn't seem a real problem for him.

He struggled down the stretch in most of the games against the Spurs. Doc completely changed the way he made his rotations to try to get him rest. But his bigs are even worse this year. Now, Diaw is just straight going to feed on Pierce, and Smith is just as bad for hacking. I think Pop is holding off on fouling Smith because he wants Rivers to get caught unaware in the playoffs.

[YGWHI]

Smith is just as bad for hacking. I think Pop is holding off on fouling Smith because he wants Rivers to get caught unaware in the playoffs.
More hacking? :shootme

[Amuseddaysleeper]

People keep saying "The Clippers can't shoot this well forever" but the Spurs play crappier defense against the Clippers than any other team. If you gave the Sixers the open shots the Spurs give to the Clippers time and time again, the Sixers would look somewhat competent too.


Spurs are also scared to attack the rim with DeAndre there and are content being too jumpshot happy which is worrying me more and more as the season progresses. SA has to get their FT attempts up.

[100%duncan]

Cp3 blake reddick. And Pop's coaching against them

[Chinook]

But didn't we think their play was unsustainable last season, too? Blake played heavy minutes, Paul was winded every fourth quarter, and their bench was thinner last season. They're just going to be a tough match up any way you look at it. It's all on LMA and Kawhi elevating their game each series with Pop needing to reassess hack a jordan.

People forget that Davis had stretches were he dominated the Spurs' bigs in that series. And Hawes was at least seven feet tall. The Spurs' bigs have gotten better, and the Clips' bigs have gotten worse. That's going to force hard minutes by Blake and Jordan. And again, people forget that Blake gave away at least two games because he just didn't have it in the fourth quarter.

[Chinook]

More hacking? :shootme

The Spurs totally won that last game against the Rockets last season by hacking the hell out of Smith. The difference between him and Jordan is that DeAndre won't try to force shots to make up for his bad shooting. Smith will.

[itzsoweezee]

Clippers are kind of like this year's Spurs. They're good at scoring in ways that most defenses don't focus on.

[99 Problems]

Because CP3 plays so damn good against us every time.

[YGWHI]

The Spurs totally won that last game against the Rockets last season by hacking the hell out of Smith.
Not sure if this strategy will work against the Clips...however, I'll need a lot of patience when Pop decides to constantly send both, DJ and JS to the line, in turns.

[SpurPadre]

People forget that Davis had stretches were he dominated the Spurs' bigs in that series. And Hawes was at least seven feet tall. The Spurs' bigs have gotten better, and the Clips' bigs have gotten worse. That's going to force hard minutes by Blake and Jordan. And again, people forget that Blake gave away at least two games because he just didn't have it in the fourth quarter.

I'll concede about their bigs off the bench last year but their bench is still better than it was last season and will ultimately help spell some of their starters' minutes as the season goes on, thus meaning a fresher team heading into the playoffs. Davis nor Hawes played many minutes throughout last season. Of course, we'll likely avoid them in the first round this time around but a second round match up is very possible.

[UZER]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor IIRC, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..there's also Redick to defend, although that was easier with Mills on the floor tonight(since he's the quickest player on the team), which only worked because Mbah a Moute was on the court, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..the combination of both has become unguardable for the Spurs..

Kawhi finally started over playing high on Pauls right side forcing him left which disrupted their pick n roll rhythm in the 4th. Even when pick was set on Kawhi on Paul's right side, it forced Paul to go way out wide.

[BatManu20]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..

This

[HarlemHeat37]

The way the Clippers played tonight is unsustainable. Blake played 40 minutes, and Jordan would have played near that if they hadn't forced him out of the game by hacking. Josh Smith is a liability if you have a sound defense, and Pierce can't get away with playing the four against Diaw. The lack of bench bigs means two things. One, that the Spurs will have very little problem playing West and Diaw against them. Two, Blake's not going to last a long series -- especially if the two teams meet after the first round. He just won't have the legs to shoot all those jumpers or to explode to the rim after the first three or four matches.

I think they can sustain it for the 1st round, but as we saw last year, they're going to run out of gas in the subsequent series'..

Their bench is just as bad as ever, despite adding big names..it's boom or bust for that bench, every game:lol

[spursistan]

FWIW..Kawhi has 0 steals in his last 5 games vs the Clippers..

[Kuvai]

Not worried About the BLAKE IMO...
He is excellent player in 1st 2 quarters ... Ok player in 3rd quarter and will be aweful in 4th quarter...

It happens every fucxking night...

My worries are about POP's bad coaching and Choke paul playing good in closing minutes against Spurs..

[Nathan89]

Ugh, Diaw couldn't budge Davis last year.

[Chinook]

I'll concede about their bigs off the bench last year but their bench is still better than it was last season and will ultimately help spell some of their starters' minutes as the season goes on, thus meaning a fresher team heading into the playoffs. Davis nor Hawes played many minutes throughout last season. Of course, we'll likely avoid them in the first round this time around but a second round match up is very possible.

Pop seems completely against going small this year, so the fact that the Clippers have better smalls than last year (they actually don't, but whatever) won't change the fact that they're going to be overwhelmed inside. They can't even get by if Blake or Jordan get in foul trouble.

As far as hack-a-Clip goes, I think it's going to help the Spurs that they're now an iso/post/midrange team. It's probably easier to maintain offensive momentum when you can score with simple plays. Keeping up with that hacking game requires a methodical offense, and the Spurs certainly have that.

[Chinook]

Ugh, Diaw couldn't budge Davis last year.

Exactly. And Big Baby was getting away with a ton of physical defense. Boris went through Pierce like he was air. Doc just can't play Truth against the Spurs unless they put Anderson out there. And even that's a maybe. They're going to have to make a trade for a wing and one for a big, and they just have no assets to do anything.

[dbestpro]

30 fouls against Spurs, 22 against Clippers. When you are called for 8 more fouls at home, it does not matter who you play, it is a tough match up.

[BanditHiro]

30 fouls against Spurs, 22 against Clippers. When you are called for 8 more fouls at home, it does not matter who you play, it is a tough match up.

a good 10 of them where intentional

[Chinook]

30 fouls against Spurs, 22 against Clippers. When you are called for 8 more fouls at home, it does not matter who you play, it is a tough match up.

And think how many were intentional fouls. Pop may have started hacking in protest of the officiating. It was a decent success overall tonight, and JVG can gobble a whole buffet of dicks to tantruming about it. His complaints were much less enjoyable than the fouling was.

[GSH]

Young athletic bigs. Jordan takes almost 90% of his shots inside 3 feet, and shoots about .700 from close range. And Griffin is always a threat to be above the rim. Teams with young athletic bigs are going to give the Spurs trouble, and the Clippers are about as good as it gets inside.

One of the Clippers' big weaknesses is that they give up a lot of FTA's to their opponents. The Spurs are the second worst in the league about getting to the FT line, so they don't take advantage of that weakness like othe teams.

Chris Paul is still one of the best PG's in the league, and he is ALWAYS up for the Spurs.

[Kawhitstorm]

People forget that Davis had stretches were he dominated the Spurs' bigs in that series. And Hawes was at least seven feet tall. The Spurs' bigs have gotten better, and the Clips' bigs have gotten worse.

Coincidentally, they probably match-up better w/ the Warriors better this season b/c Josh/Pierce can play small-ball better than Fat Baby/Hawes.

[Spurtacular]

I think the Clips are basically more handsy with KL. He needs to learn how to brush it off and make his moves or otherwise anticipate contact and use their physical play against them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtcKQZwaPDk

[Kawhitstorm]

I think the Clips are basically more handsy with KL. He needs to learn how to brush it off and make his moves or otherwise anticipate contact and use their physical play against them.


Kawhi has to learn how to draw fouls from Mario Chalmers:lol

[ceperez]

People keep saying "The Clippers can't shoot this well forever" but the Spurs play crappier defense against the Clippers than any other team. If you gave the Sixers the open shots the Spurs give to the Clippers time and time again, the Sixers would look somewhat competent too.


Spurs are also scared to attack the rim with DeAndre there and are content being too jumpshot happy which is worrying me more and more as the season progresses. SA has to get their FT attempts up.

Spurs were giving a ton of open shots to the Clippers. No wonder they scored 107 points.

I'm disappointed with the defense, if this was GSW, Spurs would have been buried.

[ceperez]

Theory: Blake Griffin's jump shot is much better than it appears at face value.
Theory 2: Chris Paul is still a top notch PG who is as good a passer as a shooter
Theory 3: Deandre Jordan is a big motherfucker, even against big guys he's big, and he's probably the most athletic big I've ever seen outside of David.
Theory 4: Jordan being a shitty FT shooter draws Pop into the "must hack...must... hack" mentality. Usually kills our rhythm.
Theory 5: Good 3pt shooters, not great but good.
Theory 6: We have a hard time with athletic, fast teams because our 1st unit isn't either.

Spurs may have discovered the antidote in this game, play quick defenders like Mills and Simmons on JJ and Paul. Refs of course shouldn't be calling non-fouls on the Spurs.

I don't think you want Leonard chasing JJ and Paul around the court. His shot was off at the end of the game probably due to fatigue.

Spurs simply don't foul by grabbing and the refs are calling them when it is the opponent that is grabbing them!

[r0drig0lac]

I would like the Spurs tried to combat the double screens

[SouthernFried]

Some awesome takes on this game. Reminds me of the Spurstalk of old... :)



Not to mention the refs. Paul literally pulled Kawhi's arm in and they called a foul. Diaw breathes on Griffin, foul. LMA looks menacingly at anybody, it's a foul. They showed some pretty silly replays in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if Pop just went to the hack-a-Jordan out of disgust for the game the refs called.


This is what I saw too. Even tho I agree with what Pop saw, he probably needs to control his knee-jerk reactions to it a little better...lol


Kawhi finally started over playing high on Pauls right side forcing him left which disrupted their pick n roll rhythm in the 4th. Even when pick was set on Kawhi on Paul's right side, it forced Paul to go way out wide.

Great take. I was surprised how much this affected Paul, never noticed it before. I wonder if Kawhi saw this on his own, or the coaches did. I also noticed Kawhi decided to dish out some punishment on the screeners in the 2nd half. Liked that too.

And I have really come to love DIAW. In our run that got us a lead, I literally saw DIAW sprinting to get to his man on D. Our D in that run was great. Then we started hacking Jordan...sigh. lol. DIAW just keeps impressing.

Oh, yeah...and props to Parker, again. :lol

[ceperez]

Some awesome takes on this game. Reminds me of the Spurstalk of old... :)



This is what I saw too. Even tho I agree with what Pop saw, he probably needs to control his knee-jerk reactions to it a little better...lol



Great take. I was surprised how much this affected Paul, never noticed it before. I wonder if Kawhi saw this on his own, or the coaches did. I also noticed Kawhi decided to dish out some punishment on the screeners in the 2nd half. Liked that too.

And I have really come to love DIAW. In our run that got us a lead, I literally saw DIAW sprinting to get to his man on D. Our D in that run was great. Then we started hacking Jordan...sigh. lol. DIAW just keeps impressing.

Oh, yeah...and props to Parker, again. :lol

At this stage of their respective careers, I would rather see Diaw orchestrating the offense than Manu. There was a point in the game that almost every possession was going through Diaw. Diaw is a multi-pronged threat. Manu forces the issue to much against opposition that is too athletic for him to beat.

[BillMc]

The bottom line is that when Blake/Paul/Redick are healthy they can torch any team. There in no team that can stop the Blake/Paul PnP w/ Redick on the strongside ala the Amare/Nash PnR besides them missing shots or turning the ball over in crunch time out of exhaustion :lol. They had the top ranked offense last season over the Warriors for a reason. The best way to beat them is by having a deep bench to wear them down & a potent offense to expose their mediocre defense. They are basically the D'Antoni Suns w/ less shooters but a legit center.
This

[Mouth is Bleeding]

It's all Blake and Paul, tbh..even when Jordan went out in last year's series, they didn't lose anything with Big Baby on the floor IIRC, sadly..

Kawhi and Danny can't defend Paul, and their biggest defensive weakness is fighting through screens..Clippers just run Paul through screens to negate them and cause switches, and the Spurs bigs are too slow to defend, too, whether it's Duncan/Aldridge/Splitter/Diaw..there's also Redick to defend, although that was easier with Mills on the floor tonight(since he's the quickest player on the team), which only worked because Mbah a Moute was on the court, and wouldn't have worked vs. Matt Barnes(better shooter and great cutter)..

Griffin is an even bigger matchup nightmare than Paul, as he's a great passer, and he's too quick for the Spurs' bigs, not to mention that they can't close out on his mid-range jump shot..the combination of both has become unguardable for the Spurs..

Yeah, good post. I think those are the key things.


The way the Clippers played tonight is unsustainable. Blake played 40 minutes, and Jordan would have played near that if they hadn't forced him out of the game by hacking. Josh Smith is a liability if you have a sound defense, and Pierce can't get away with playing the four against Diaw. The lack of bench bigs means two things. One, that the Spurs will have very little problem playing West and Diaw against them. Two, Blake's not going to last a long series -- especially if the two teams meet after the first round. He just won't have the legs to shoot all those jumpers or to explode to the rim after the first three or four matches.


Theory 7: hack a Jordan gives clippers players so much rest they can afford to tighten rotation.

Yes, I've seen very knowledgeable analysts point to that. Our first and key separation in the game was also against a short stretch with their worst no hopers on the court. We want as much of them on the court as possible since we're much deeper.

[BillMc]

Best thread on here in a long time. Cheers to OP and so many contributors with interesting takes. :toast

[ceperez]

It was Van Gundy who pointed out that the hack a Jordan allowed the Spurs to rest in defense.

The Clippers are a hard cover given that you have to chase the guards around the court, work through screens and get called on fouls for flopping. The alternative Jordan on the line is so much better.

I hate the hack-a-Jordan, but when you see how much work Spurs have to put in defense, it is a better poison to take.

[Old School 44]

Theory 7: hack a Jordan gives clippers players so much rest they can afford to tighten rotation.
Particularly Paul and Griffin. Don't get me wrong, the Clips are good, but to me everything the Spurs do wrong is related to how the hack strategy is used... in game rest for Paul & Griffin, effects the Spurs rhythm on both offense and defense, psychologically, it makes players wonder if they can't beat them straight up. For once, I wish pop would just use it if we are behind, and more towards the end of the game.

[ceperez]

Particularly Paul and Griffin. Don't get me wrong, the Clips are good, but to me everything the Spurs do wrong is related to how the hack strategy is used... in game rest for Paul & Griffin, effects the Spurs rhythm on both offense and defense, psychologically, it makes players wonder if they can't beat them straight up. For once, I wish pop would just use it if we are behind, and more towards the end of the game.

I'm kind of disappointed that Spurs used the hack-a-jordan in a regular season game.

[cjw]

Defense was off last night because so distracted looking at JJ's new body ink. Pretty distracting.

Others hit the points on the head so not much else to say. Clips are a deadly shooting team and don't need to get into the paint to kill you. Blake has been an absolute stud this year, and CP3 is the same old guy.

[Raven]

The Spurs give up mid-range shots & Paul/Blake are the best mid-range shooters at their respective positions. Jarret Jack used to kill the Spurs b/c he was a very good mid-range shooter, same w/ David West in New Orleans.

exactly

[boutons_deux]

On avg, Spurs are a better shooting team than Clips, 48% vs 46%, but clips were very hot last night, nearly 60%, even "they can't miss" stuff in stretches, but their shooting failed, even open shots, in the 4th.

In the 4th, clips were 5 for 18, 28%, but still 50% for the game, indicating how hot they were for 1 - 3 qtrs.

[spurraider21]

the clips are a team where their individual players don't seem to be affected too much by leonard's defense, so that takes away one of our usual trump cards

[daslicer]

Another thing I would factor the refs were terrible in the game and disrupted the spurs defensive rhythm by calling a bunch defensive 3 second violations along with a lot bs touch fouls. On the offensive end the spurs were disrespected by the refs when Manu got hammered twice and no call, Duncan got hacked by Paul and there was no call, Parker also got hammered a few times. Pop did the hack a Jordan as mainly as a protest against bad officiating. Despite a terribly reffed game the Spurs still got the win. I would like to see what the spurs cans do against the clips in a normal officiated game.

[SpursBig3s]

Spurs were giving a ton of open shots to the Clippers. No wonder they scored 107 points.

I'm disappointed with the defense, if this was GSW, Spurs would have been buried.



Like others have repeatedly said, our D is designed to give up low percentage, long range 2s. It just so happens that cp3 and Blake are 2 of the best at their position at hitting the midrange Js. So yeah, obviously they're getting a lot of open looks. Sure maybe we can tighten it up a little bit but I'd rather that then Cp3 living in the paint or throwing lobs to Blake and DJ and them going to shelf for dunks over and over again. It's almost impossible to take every single thing away from a team, especially one as good offensively and athletic as the Clips. Thankfully, their bench is still atrocious and ours is much better so Blake and Cp3 are worn down in the 4th quarter

[dunkman]

They had the talent since some time, they got a great coach, few missing pieces and are an elite team now. But the Spurs are going to play much better by playoffs time.

[rmt]

Leonard's defense is kinda wasted vs the Clipps. There's no great iso player for him to guard - no Lebron, KD, Melo - this is when he shines - not running around screens after Paul. Pop should never put him on Paul - use Mills, Parker or DG.

Mid-range shots have always killed the Spurs - see Dallas. I would use the hack-a-Jordan at the end of every quarter. Don't agree with JVG - if Jordan can't improve his free throws after all this time - they deserve it - not a fan of DJ and what he did to Dallas - just rewards if they're stuck with his terrible free-throw shooting.

Can someone please explain why JVG kept saying that Clippers are a bad rebounding team - how can they be so with DJ and Blake?

[SpursIndonesia]

...............

Can someone please explain why JVG kept saying that Clippers are a bad rebounding team - how can they be so with DJ and Blake?

Griffin isn't exactly a stellar rebounder, and their bench bigs are atrocious this season. Their wings are also not much of help, perhaps the insertion of Mbah Mote as starting SF will help more. Only DJ is an above average rebounder on that team.

[Embedded]

The Spurs will figure it out against the Clippers, because Coach Popovich isn't a tyrant, he will take inputs from his coaches, collectively they will figure it out, just like they will find a cure to ADHD oh look something shiny.

[tbdog]

Not to mention the refs.


Honestly, this was so hard to watch. I also remember manu getting hold onto while he did a backdoor cut which ended up being a turn over. Parker could have gotten to the line a bit more. You cant touch Paul. Green picked up that bs foul on Reddick. And West was victim to phantom calls. This is by far the worst reffing i have seen against us this year. And it happened at home. Man, I cant imagine what would have happened in LA.

[Biggems]

Because the refs are too busy swallowing the cocks of the LA Floppers, especially Chris Fall. Just last night, on the Clippers end, we were getting called for touch fouls, all because Paul and Griff flail all over the court. Meanwhile, on the other end, Parker, Aldridge, etc. are getting hacked and can't buy a call, even in SA.

All season, the Clippers have struggled from 3, and we are dominant at defending the 3.....but last night, they couldn't miss, and we did a poor job of defending the 3.

[ceperez]

Because the refs are too busy swallowing the cocks of the LA Floppers, especially Chris Fall. Just last night, on the Clippers end, we were getting called for touch fouls, all because Paul and Griff flail all over the court. Meanwhile, on the other end, Parker, Aldridge, etc. are getting hacked and can't buy a call, even in SA.

All season, the Clippers have struggled from 3, and we are dominant at defending the 3.....but last night, they couldn't miss, and we did a poor job of defending the 3.

The league should fine Chris Paul for flopping. That game had several instances where Paul grabbed another player and was acting account. Those are flops and the league should look into them.

[wildbill2u]

They played great defense against us in this game. They were shooting 56% at one point in the second half. They have great coaching. They are considered as one of the top 10 teams in the league.

What is it that some ST fans don't understand?

[ceperez]

They played great defense against us in this game. They were shooting 56% at one point in the second half. They have great coaching. They are considered as one of the top 10 teams in the league.

What is it that some ST fans don't understand?

Yes, their defense was air-tight. Parker had no opportunities to score in the paint.

Leonard had to beat his man one-on-one.

[NameLess Scrub]

I think CP3's constant flopping and playing the refs is a hard part of this match up in itself.

Kawhi can't pick his pocket. As soon as Kawhi tried Paul was grabbing and getting the call.

I've lost respect to Paul due to this. I don't know why he's not fined and players like him are not punished by the refs.

In cases like this, I could see the refs turning against this kind of players and even starting to miss legit fouls on them.

[Sean Cagney]

You nailed the bit about Leonard. It seems like his body language is totally different against this team. Like they're in his head for some reason.

Not sure why that happened since the first 4 of 5 games against them last year his confidence seemed sky high and then all of the sudden he lost it the last few games and it continued some. I have no idea what caused it to be honest.

[YGWHI]

I think the Clips are basically more handsy with KL. He needs to learn how to brush it off and make his moves or otherwise anticipate contact and use their physical play against them.

678040892473663488
I'd like to see a lot more of this.

Kawhi's basically a post up player and mid range shooter, the few times Kawhi gets the ball in the post his fadeaway from that position is almost automatic but that isn't the way the Spurs play him.

He's getting less and less the ball in his favorite spots because with healthy Parker and LMA addition, the Spurs prioritize the PnR/pop between them, which makes sense since both excel in those situations.

That's why one of most efficient post up players in the league has a really low usage in the post, Kawhi's spot up Freq% almost double his post-up plays.

It would be nice to see Kawhi playing more minutes with Mills and West/Boris, that would solve their defensive problems and help to continue improving his offense.

[DMC]

Whatever it is, it was a shitty game because of the hacking. I think the Spurs win going away if they don't go that route.

[GSH]

Kawhi's basically a post up player and mid range shooter, the few times Kawhi gets the ball in the post his fadeaway from that position is almost automatic but that isn't the way the Spurs play him.

He's getting less and less the ball in his favorite spots because with healthy Parker and LMA addition, the Spurs prioritize the PnR/pop between them, which makes sense since both excel in those situations.

That's why one of most efficient post up players in the league has a really low usage in the post, Kawhi's spot up Freq% almost double his post-up plays.

It would be nice to see Kawhi playing more minutes with Mills and West/Boris, that would solve their defensive problems and help to continue improving his offense.


Not so fast. He's "basically a post up player and mid range shooter" who's leading the league in 3P percentage. And his FG% from 10-16 feet is actually higher than from 3-10 feet. (.463 vs .449) The fact is, LMA shoots about the same percentage as Kawhi from 0-3 feet, and from 3-10 feet.

Kawhi is shooting .490 from the 3P line, which is almost 1.5 points per attempt. That accounts for about 1/4 shots he takes, and you sure don't want to lose those.

From 0-3 feet, Kawhi is shooting .733 (but that includes fast break points too). Aldridge is shooting .700 from 0-3 feet. So who works in the post depends a lot more on who is defending. You may not like it, but the stats show that the two shoot about the same percentages there. It's a good problem to have.

It's really not a question of whether they are using Kawhi in the way that gets him the most PPG. There are a lot of guys who are scoring their max points, on losing teams. The real question is whether they are using Kawhi in the way that benefits the team the most. There's a lot to be said for balance and versatility. I just think there is too much made about not posting Kawhi enough. Some nights they will, some nights they won't. The great thing about Kawhi these days, is that he can get it done so many different ways.

[Spurtacular]

678040892473663488
I'd like to see a lot more of this.

Kawhi's basically a post up player and mid range shooter, the few times Kawhi gets the ball in the post his fadeaway from that position is almost automatic but that isn't the way the Spurs play him.

He's getting less and less the ball in his favorite spots because with healthy Parker and LMA addition, the Spurs prioritize the PnR/pop between them, which makes sense since both excel in those situations.

That's why one of most efficient post up players in the league has a really low usage in the post, Kawhi's spot up Freq% almost double his post-up plays.

It would be nice to see Kawhi playing more minutes with Mills and West/Boris, that would solve their defensive problems and help to continue improving his offense.

Too much of that and the offense stagnates. And I doubt KL would make those in volume on many nights, tbh.

[YGWHI]

Too much of that and the offense stagnates. And I doubt KL would make those in volume on many nights, tbh.

The offense stagnates if nobody moves around but that wasn't the case lately...when Kawhi being double-teamed he has found open guys this season in those post up situations.

[Nathan89]

Kawhi needs to utilize LMA pump fake more often is what goes through my mind watching that vine vid.

[YGWHI]

Not so fast. He's "basically a post up player and mid range shooter" who's leading the league in 3P percentage....Kawhi is shooting .490 from the 3P line, which is almost 1.5 points per attempt. That accounts for about 1/4 shots he takes, and you sure don't want to lose those.

His .49 3FG% isn't sustainable, he probably will regress a bit, and when that occurs, Pop lost half season without developing Kawhi's main strength on offense.


From 0-3 feet, Kawhi is shooting .733 (but that includes fast break points too). Aldridge is shooting .700 from 0-3 feet. So who works in the post depends a lot more on who is defending. You may not like it, but the stats show that the two shoot about the same percentages there. It's a good problem to have.

I enjoy watching LMA getting more and more comfortable, but it isn't about who is defending. If so, Kawhi would probably have a lot of post up situations against the Clippers since they have shitty wing defenders...and we know that wasn't the case.


It's really not a question of whether they are using Kawhi in the way that gets him the most PPG. There are a lot of guys who are scoring their max points, on losing teams. The real question is whether they are using Kawhi in the way that benefits the team the most.
IMO getting Kawhi involved on offense instead of him just waiting in the corner is a good thing for the team.


I just think there is too much made about not posting Kawhi enough. Some nights they will, some nights they won't.
I put emphasis on the fact they don't post him enough now, if they will do it in the next months...or next seasons....I certainly hope so.

[GSH]

His .49 3FG% isn't sustainable, he probably will regress a bit, and when that occurs, Pop lost half season without developing Kawhi's main strength on offense.

I enjoy watching LMA getting more and more comfortable, but it isn't about who is defending. If so, Kawhi would probably have a lot of post up situations against the Clippers since they have shitty wing defenders...and we know that wasn't the case.

IMO getting Kawhi involved on offense instead of him waiting in the corner is a good thing for the team.

I put emphasis on the fact they don't posting him enough now, if they will do it in next months...or next seasons....I certainly hope so.


That was more of a general observation, and I shouldn't have directed it toward you like that. Careless and unnecessary.

I doubt that Kawhi's 3P% can stay this high, but then again I wouldn't bet against it. The game is coming easy for him now. The basket may be looking like a washtub to him, when he's got an open 3. I can see it staying pretty close to this, at least, for the season.

The point is, I'm not so sure you can plan to post Kawhi x number of times a night, or x percentage of the time. I think the Spurs are taking what the defense gives them. And the good news is that LMA makes just about the same percentage of shots from close range as Kawhi does. I don't think Kawhi's post skills are going to rust from under-use, so if it becomes necessary, I think he can post up more. If Aldridge gets injured, for instance, I think you'll see more of it.

That fade-away in the video? I don't think that's a near-automatic shot for anyone, including Kawhi. I'd much rather see the Spurs get better looks than that, than to see him make a lot of them.

[YGWHI]

I think the Spurs are taking what the defense gives them.
If so Kawhi would get the ball in the post when he's guarding by scrubs or small defenders like Neto, Sessions, sadly the list is extensive...and the Spurs would exploit his favorable matchups more often.

This season Pop said he wanted post Kawhi more and more, that has not happened. But at least I expect they exploit the mismatches he generates in the post.
http://www.hngn.com/articles/141067/20151016/san-antonio-spurs-rumors-kawhi-leonard-to-be-used-in-the-post-more.htm


i don't think Kawhi's post skills are going to rust from under-use
Hope not, but he can get better in those situations with the practice in real games.


That fade-away in the video? I don't think that's a near-automatic shot for anyone, including Kawhi. I'd much rather see the Spurs get better looks than that, than to see him make a lot of them.
Well, the greatest player in history of the game had that, and Kawhi looks so jordanesque with that shot.

[YGWHI]

Just that shot. Not comparing both...

[100%duncan]

the clips are a team where their individual players don't seem to be affected too much by leonard's defense, so that takes away one of our usual trump cards

This is a good point actually.

Kawhi cant guard Blake. And he is 50/50 on paul.

[100%duncan]

Kawhi was shooting 6/12 before 2 bricks tbh. He also had a big and 1 and carried the offense with lma before parker's 4th qtr won us the game. The criticism on him is quite reaching.

[TD 21]

Beyond them being the fourth or fifth best team in the league for the past four plus seasons, I don't find them to be a particularly difficult match-up and suspect this is nothing more than recency bias.

Too many have read too much into the (predictable) outcome of the playoff series. The Clippers won because Parker and Splitter were not right and the Spurs were clearly on fumes from three straight deep runs; not because they were better in the grand scheme of things.

When the Spurs have been physically right for the past four plus seasons, they've been the best team in the league, in the truest sense of the word. The only teams that have been able to beat them in a playoff series are the ones that can out star them. As great as they are, a slightly past prime Paul and prime Griffin, don't quite qualify.

[tholdren]

Beyond them being the fourth or fifth best team in the league for the past four plus seasons, I don't find them to be a particularly difficult match-up and suspect this is nothing more than recency bias.

Too many have read too much into the (predictable) outcome of the playoff series. The Clippers won because Parker and Splitter were not right and the Spurs were clearly on fumes from three straight deep runs; not because they were better in the grand scheme of things.

When the Spurs have been physically right for the past four plus seasons, they've been the best team in the league, in the truest sense of the word. The only teams that have been able to beat them in a playoff series are the ones that can out star them. As great as they are, a slightly past prime Paul and prime Griffin, don't quite qualify.

Im tired of the "3 straight runs" excuse. That's BS. They are pros. Anyone with a competitive bone in their body knows better than that. Parker was done, and that's okay. Spurs had a better bench, and Pop didnt utilize that. KL did not play well, and neither did green, but SA wasn't put in the best spot to win.

[TD 21]

Im tired of the "3 straight runs" excuse. That's BS. They are pros. Anyone with a competitive bone in their body knows better than that. Parker was done, and that's okay. Spurs had a better bench, and Pop didnt utilize that. KL did not play well, and neither did green, but SA wasn't put in the best spot to win.

:lol As if the rest of the league isn't pros, too. They're not machines; the mileage catches up to every team eventually. In the aughts alone, it happened to the '03 Lakers, '08 Spurs, '11 Lakers and '14 Heat. Duncan and Ginobili were close to ancient before the run began and Parker, Diaw and Bonner were close to old.

This team is so good, that even in their diminished state, there were only four or five teams capable of beating them in a series. Unfortunately, they just so happened to draw one in the 1st round.

[boutons_deux]

Clippers are underachieving, and they know it, but can they do something about it?

The Clippers (http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/los-angeles-clippers-ORSPT000103-topic.html) have lots of problems. Being in denial isn't one of them.They are acutely aware they have underachieved and are no longer willing to trot out the easy excuses to soothe the sting of being only four games over .500 as Christmas approaches.

It's true that the Clippers have eight new players. It's also true that learning each other's tendencies and finding which players best fit together takes time.

Another truth: It's 28 games into the season and the breaking-in phase should be over.

"This is the point in the season where it's too late to keep saying, 'OK, well, we've got to figure it out,'" forward Blake Griffin (http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/blake-griffin-PESPT000009068-topic.html) said late Saturday after the Clippers took another Texas misstep with a 107-97 loss to the Houston Rockets (http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/houston-rockets-ORSPT000101-topic.html) that followed a defeat against theSan Antonio Spurs (http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/san-antonio-spurs-ORSPT000116-topic.html) the previous night. "We've got to be better than this. We are better than this and we're not showing it, so we've got to figure something out."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/clippers/la-sp-clippers-20151221-story.html

[spursistan]

bump..

this team has been a pain in the ass for the past 3 years.Spurs just can't stop them..

[Mr. Body]

Blake lives to eat up the Spurs. Paul is awesome against the Spurs. Their role players are like gods. Meanwhile they are mental cases, all of them, against everybody else.

[TheDoctor]

Blake lives to eat up the Spurs. Paul is awesome against the Spurs. Their role players are like gods. Meanwhile they are mental cases, all of them, against everybody else.

:lol Mbah a Moute transform into Big Shot Bob every time tbh. Just incredible.

[RD2191]

The Clips just have our number tbh.

[spursistan]

It is has coincided with the severe decline of Parker.. Allowing Choke Paul to rest on D and then carve us up on the other end has been killing us in this matchup ever since..TP used to take some of his legs with constant attacks (something like what Westbrook does to him more physically so)

[NameLess Scrub]

1. They have enough mid range chuckers.
2. Spurs think leaving an NBA player painfully wide open is a good idea


:lol

[PublicOption]

Because the spurs were tired

[cd98]

Spurs were beating them last year.

[HarlemHeat37]

Didn't Griffin miss all 3 games vs. the Spurs, last season?

[Joseph Kony]

it's really Paul imo. He sets the table for their entire offense and Spurs have no answer for him, no one to make him work on D, and Pop likes using Green to guard him but they just set high screens for him above the 3pt line and he rubs him off and is such a maestro with the ball all he needs is that little screen to find someone. Really hope Spurs set their sights on CP3 in the offseason, he is still the best pure PG in the league easily

[Clipper Nation]

Because the spurs were tired
We were the road team, on the second night of a back-to-back.

[Clipper Nation]

Didn't Griffin miss all 3 games vs. the Spurs, last season?
He played in our first game against the Spurs last year, which we lost - mainly because it was one of the rare times that LaMarsha held his own against Blake. He missed the other two, though.

[sasaint]

it's really Paul imo. He sets the table for their entire offense and Spurs have no answer for him, no one to make him work on D, and Pop likes using Green to guard him but they just set high screens for him above the 3pt line and he rubs him off and is such a maestro with the ball all he needs is that little screen to find someone. Really hope Spurs set their sights on CP3 in the offseason, he is still the best pure PG in the league easily

Last game may distort things a bit, but I cannot see CP3 jumping from this Clips team to this Spurs team.

[Phenomanul]

Both Kawhi and Danny Green need to be defensive locks when playing the Clippers... Green, when focused is about as good of a Chris Paul defender as one can get... HE was sorely missed on that side of the ball in the last game...

[Arcadian]

Last game may distort things a bit, but I cannot see CP3 jumping from this Clips team to this Spurs team.

:lol Just in general, it's not a wise strategy to point to the other team's best player when they beat you and say, "we just need that guy to join our team, and we'll be fine!"

[sasaint]

:lol Just in general, it's not a wise strategy to point to the other team's best player when they beat you and say, "we just need that guy to join our team, and we'll be fine!"

:lol Delusional, too.

[Joseph Kony]

Last game may distort things a bit, but I cannot see CP3 jumping from this Clips team to this Spurs team.

disagree, tbh. The Clippers, while a "contender" for the last 5 years or so, have never really been that close. they were a game away from the WCF and still choked it away. imho their team peaked. i think depending on how the season shapes out for the Spurs, they may be able to lure him away because Paul seems like the kind of person who wants to get over the hump, and he has to know that shit ain't happening in LAC. they may look godly against the Spurs but overall they're what they always are, a solid team that COULD make the WCF but probably won't and certainly ain't a favorite to win a title. just gotta hope Paul is tired of playing with shit for brains Jordan and Blake. i don't think it's likely he leaves, he most likely stays in LAC, but if there's one team I can see him jumping to for contention, it's SA. no other team is even close to contention and CLE and GSW already have all star PGs. Spurs PG spot is a huge hole, it makes sense tbh. This is my pipedream though, admittedly. fingers crossed

[sasaint]

disagree, tbh. The Clippers, while a "contender" for the last 5 years or so, have never really been that close. they were a game away from the WCF and still choked it away. imho their team peaked. i think depending on how the season shapes out for the Spurs, they may be able to lure him away because Paul seems like the kind of person who wants to get over the hump, and he has to know that shit ain't happening in LAC. they may look godly against the Spurs but overall they're what they always are, a solid team that COULD make the WCF but probably won't and certainly ain't a favorite to win a title. just gotta hope Paul is tired of playing with shit for brains Jordan and Blake. i don't think it's likely he leaves, he most likely stays in LAC, but if there's one team I can see him jumping to for contention, it's SA. no other team is even close to contention and CLE and GSW already have all star PGs. Spurs PG spot is a huge hole, it makes sense tbh. This is my pipedream though, admittedly. fingers crossed

I am not talking about history, and you and I obviously have very different views about a season that has just begun. Unless the Spurs do something radically un-Spursy before next pre-season, I expect that the Clippers will be a better team with a better record this season. Paul won't jump from a better team to a lesser team. I hope your crystal ball is clearer than mine.

[Kawhitstorm]

Didn't Griffin miss all 3 games vs. the Spurs, last season?

The Spurs got blown out by the Cripples even sans Blake b/c Choke-P3 tore Porker another one.:lol

7dwJiGXjlVw

[TheGreatYacht]

Because they turn Kawhi into the terrible selfish chucker he is. They know he'll shoot the ball even when double teamed because the guy is an awful passer.

:lol Getting clamped up by Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

[Arcadian]

Because they turn Kawhi into the terrible selfish chucker he is. They know he'll shoot the ball even when double teamed because the guy is an awful passer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm5p3lvThYM

[MI21]

Pop/players have no answer for the high screens set way out on the floor and have even less of an answer to the double high screens. I swear to god the Clipper don't annihilate any team like they do the Spurs with that action.