I'm predicting that the Clipps will have a combination of Evans Jordan guarding Tim and Splitter. Blake & Martin will be guarding Diaw, Blair, and Bonner. I hope Kenyon remembers what happened last time he tried guarding Timmy in the playoffs.
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I'm predicting that the Clipps will have a combination of Evans Jordan guarding Tim and Splitter. Blake & Martin will be guarding Diaw, Blair, and Bonner. I hope Kenyon remembers what happened last time he tried guarding Timmy in the playoffs.
I think the Spurs should throw in Patty Mills for stretches to guard cp3 just to take a few fouls and frustrate him and then throw in some Danny Green just to throw him off with some size.
In the 4th quarter you can add some kawhi and jax just for shits and giggles.
The beautiful thing about the Clips right now is how small they are outside of the 4 and 5 spots. Caron isn't overly large at the 3 spot and idiot Nick young is smaller yet. We can play TP/Neal or even TP/Mills back courts, and scavenge minutes at the three for Green and or Manu if necessary.
We've got options.
You can't take away CP3's abilities to be a scorer passer...
but I don't believe his complimentary players are skilled enough to get themselves open effectively if there is a concerted effort to keep them bottled up.
Therefore CP3 won't be able to utilize that part of his game.
I'm not sure if the Spurs are capable of that type of defense these days.
If the Clips get rolling Pop will go to the Bump-a-Blake to change up the game.
Everyone would have to watch this series . All eyes on us.
I can't wait for hack a Griffin/Jordan/Evans.
Prepare to see a lot of it!
"ballin in the fast lane, hustle til the mornin, never stopped until the cash came"
If we face the Clippers both teams will have to game plan differently than we did during the regular season because we never played the Clippers with our big acquisitions (SJAX, Diaw, and Mills).
4-1 Spurs
I'm not sure if Pop will hack Griffin. It's not like he's unstoppable in post isolations. Perhaps hack Jordan because he seems more like a loose canon that could less his composure and have to be removed from the game.
Obviously the key is at the PG matchup to begin with. If Parker can rise to the challenge and dominate that matchup I would think the advantage swings towards the Spurs. Their offense is somewhat one dimensional around Paul. You could argue that our offense revolves around Tony while he's out there but our bench thrives against whoever they play against.
Anyway, can't wait to see this get started.
Spurs 4 - 0. Thou hath proclaimed another sweeparoo. Will quote upon delivery.
Lionel Hollins backs Chris Paul
Updated: May 9, 2012, 3:23 PM ET
By Kevin Arnovitz | ESPNLosAngeles.com
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Memphis coach Lionel Hollins backed off a comment he made on Monday night, when he told a TNT sideline reporter that "Chris (Paul) does a good job of flopping."
"Flopping was the wrong word to use," Hollis said. "At that moment, I couldn't think of a better word. It was a first-quarter interview on national TV, but I retract that word. But he's good at drawing fouls and putting you in a position where he'll get you behind him and see you. He'll stop and make you run into him. Chris is just a great player."
“
Hollins Flopping was the wrong word to use. At that moment I couldn't think of a better word.
” -- Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins on Chris Paul
Told of Hollins' remark following the Clippers' 101-97 overtime victory, Paul brushed it off.
"I don't care what he's talking about," Paul said. "He's got a team over there he has to worry about."
Despite Hollins' about-face, Memphis guard O.J. Mayo persisted in his criticism of what he perceives as a trademark strategy of the Clippers, who lead the series 3-1 ahead of Wednesday night's Game 5 in Memphis.
"Both teams are trying to play physical, but one team is a little better at acting than the other team," Mayo said. "Those guys do flop. They're great players. It's working. They're getting to the free-throw line. They're able to put their opponent in foul trouble. If that's what it takes to get the job done, I guess we all need to start doing it."
Paul has maintained his steadfast denial that flopping exists as a tactic. Asked whether the Clippers had gotten into the Grizzlies' heads, Paul was dismissive.
"I don't know and I could care less,"Paul said. "We don't go out there with the objective or game plan to get in their heads. We want to win the game."
In contrast to Paul, Clippers forward Blake Griffin admitted that, in a playoff series especially, his team will more readily try to sell foul calls to officials.
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"I think so," Griffin said. "It's one of those things where every play means a lot. You never know what one play can do, so you're making sure you're getting every possession you can."
Griffin's teammate, big man Reggie Evans, was even more candid in his admission that posturing on foul calls plays a part in the postseason.
"If you can sell a call and get away with it, why not do it?" Evans said. "It's all a part of the game. It's always the one who it doesn't work out in their favor -- that's the one that's always complaining about it."
Evans disagreed with the characterization of Paul by critics.
"I don't think he's flopping," Evans said. "He's not the flopping type of guy, in my opinion. I think he really gets fouls. You think of a flop, you think of something like what (Pau) Gasol or (Danilo) Gallinari do. That's a flop. But Chris is getting fouled."
Evans has been cited as one of the Clippers' most egregious offenders, and he hardly deflected the accusation.
"People say I flop a lot," Evans said. "I pick my moments. One thing about these referees, they do a good job of knowing who's high on the radar when it comes to flops. They do a good job of making the right calls. They've been letting it be tough out there. It's been real tough, real physical, so they've been letting us play. A lot of times people have been flopping, but they haven't called the flops. They've been on-point with it."
Over the course of the series, the Clippers have been whistled for 25.3 personal fouls per game, while the Grizzlies have averaged 24.8. Memphis has attempted a playoff-leading 30.8 free throws per game to the Clippers' 27.8.
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...l-not-flopping
I'm loving the prospect of hack a Blake/Evans/Jordan.
The dancing bear will have some value this series. Maybe have James Anderson out there as a spot up shooter and 6 fouls
I agree. Pop's not going to go to Mills over Neal to start, but I wouldn't be shocked if he does as the series moves along. A lot of it depends on Green's success splitting the Paul duties with Parker.
This is a tough series for Neal. If Bledsoe defends him, he'll have difficulty just dribbling. If he defends Williams, he'll get torched. And obviously, he needs to be (and will be) kept as far away from Paul as possible. Presuming the Spurs advance, next series should be a much better fit for Neal, either way. He'll either be matched-up with Fisher or Blake.