Clippers?

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Originally Posted by spursince#99

I don't understand the OKC hype. Not even sure KD comes back as the same player.

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:lol What's there to not understand? I hate that team as much as anyone, but the Spurs and them were 1A and 1B in the West from '12-'14 and injuries are the only logical explanation for them not being near the top last season.

It's impossible to know if Durant will come back the same player, but I'm going to do what I always do with good - great players and give him the benefit of the doubt.

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Originally Posted by MaNu4Tres

I actually think Clippers won't be as good w/ Pierce and Lance.

The value they bring to a team is on the offensive end and there's only so many offensive possessions in a game. Pierce and Stephenson will inevitably take away possessions from better players ( Reddick, CP3, Griffin) -- which won't make them as dangerous as it looks on paper. ( It will actually make them less efficient as a team -- especially if they keep Crawford and factor in his touches w/ the two additions.)

Defensively, they regress a ton replacing Barnes with a player who can't even move (Pierce). I'm surprised I haven't heard any big blogger or "expert" talk about this. tbh

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If Pierce was fine playing an ancillary role offensively with the likes of Lopez, Johnson, Williams, Wall and Beal, then why wouldn't he be with Paul and Griffin? Pierce is no fool; he's clearly accepted where he's at in his career and he's a clear upgrade on Barnes.

Stephenson could go either way obviously, but between his pathetic performance last season, the infrastructure they have in place and the fact that it's essentially a contract year, the odds are probably better than not that he upgrades Crawford.

They also added Johnson, who's mediocre, which makes him a clear upgrade on the fringe - non NBA players that comprised their deep bench wings in recent seasons.

One of the major things that isn't being accounted for is the familiarity gained by playing them as we did. Their additions don't change their overall dynamic much because its STILL nearly exclusively chris paul ran. Its just too evident that our shooting and injuries buried us...even WITH THAT we had control of the series. In contrast...our additions of Aldridge, West, and HOPEFULLY Simmons will introduce a problem LA didn't have to account for last year and thats the midrange game from our bigs. That is CRUCIAL in today's game. Also, Duncan's less efficient post game was a nightmare for them...we now have Aldridge's game they have to deal with. Also, Simmons could potentially be an additional creator off the dribble to help collapse the defense if he gets consistent at it over the year. Plus health alone with fair us well. NO ONE should dismiss the Clippers...but they have only ever proven to be a team that falls short...our entire history is re-tooling and getting better a year after failing. I'll take us in a 7 game series no question.

:lol Spurs added Aldridge, West on a friendly discount and brought back all their key players from last year including Duncan and Manu on a discount as well, but Spur fan is freaking out over the Clippers offseason. :lol

I stopped taking the Clips seriously after they choked away their best chance to win a championship.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

:lol What's there to not understand? I hate that team as much as anyone, but the Spurs and them were 1A and 1B in the West from '12-'14 and injuries are the only logical explanation for them not being near the top last season.

It's impossible to know if Durant will come back the same player, but I'm going to do what I always do with good - great players and give him the benefit of the doubt.




If Pierce was fine playing an ancillary role offensively with the likes of Lopez, Johnson, Williams, Wall and Beal, then why wouldn't he be with Paul and Griffin? Pierce is no fool; he's clearly accepted where he's at in his career and he's a clear upgrade on Barnes.

Stephenson could go either way obviously, but between his pathetic performance last season, the infrastructure they have in place and the fact that it's essentially a contract year, the odds are probably better than not that he upgrades Crawford.

They also added Johnson, who's mediocre, which makes him a clear upgrade on the fringe - non NBA players that comprised their deep bench wings in recent seasons.

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I still think Clippers are at their best w/ their SF not taking away possessions from CP3/Griffin/Reddick offensively and guarding the best perimeter player defensively. Pierce will garner more touches than Barnes did -- which decreases the touches for other starters and at the same time, Pierce can hardly defend anymore. Not sure how that is a net positive for the team compared to Barnes in the starting unit.

Do you agree though that the value Stephenson, Pierce, Smith bring to the table is their ability to create their own inefficient offense? Talented yes, but inefficient. Defensively, Pierce can't move anymore, and Stephenson/Smith are mentally disabled at times on that end -- however I'd say Smith is an upgrade over Hawes/Baby defensively.

I think Clippers did great with the limit assets they had to add players, I just don't see how it fits: I don't see how it makes them more efficient on offense as a whole and I don't see how it makes their starting unit or their best 5 to close games better defensively.

David Aldridge ‏@daldridgetnt · 27s28 seconds ago
However the starting three shakes out for Clips (Pierce, Lance, or Smith), they'll have a much deeper bench next season.

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Originally Posted by MaNu4Tres

I still think Clippers are at their best w/ their SF not taking away possessions from CP3/Griffin/Reddick offensively and guarding the best perimeter player defensively. Pierce will garner more touches than Barnes did -- which decreases the touches for other starters and at the same time, Pierce can hardly defend anymore. Not sure how that is a net positive for the team compared to Barnes in the starting unit.

Do you agree though that the value Stephenson, Pierce, Smith bring to the table is their ability to create their own inefficient offense? Talented yes, but inefficient. Defensively, Pierce can't move anymore, and Stephenson/Smith are mentally disabled at times on that end -- however I'd say Smith is an upgrade over Hawes/Baby defensively.

I think Clippers did great with the limit assets they had to add players, I just don't see how it fits: I don't see how it makes them more efficient on offense as a whole and I don't see how it makes their starting unit or their best 5 to close games better defensively.

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He won't though. As I alluded to, he'll playoff off of them and he's a better and far more respected three-point shooter than Barnes. As far as guarding the best perimeter player, it'll be an issue, but Barnes has always been more solid than lock down anyway. Pierce can barely move, but at least he can physically guard SF's, something Crawford/Redick can't do.

No. They'll need the respect Pierce garners to keep a team that's so combustible in line. Stephenson is a better creator and defender than Crawford/Rivers and Smith is a clear upgrade defensively from Hawes and Davis, as you said.

They've been the number 1 regular season offense 2 seasons running; they'll be fine.