Reply With Quote
how did they get a lot better?
paul is better but older
cp3 is older and losing speed
barnes who is gone hurt the spurs
blake can not get in game shape and play 40 minutes a game in playoffs
I think spurs improved alot more then clippers
I'm excited about the season and everything, but I can't help but to think that we still fail to match up properly with the Clippers. Our weaknesses and our lack of athleticism were glaring in the 1st round last year especially against the pick & roll. They have also significantly improved their roster as well. Thoughts?
how did they get a lot better?
paul is better but older
cp3 is older and losing speed
barnes who is gone hurt the spurs
blake can not get in game shape and play 40 minutes a game in playoffs
I think spurs improved alot more then clippers
The same Clippers team that needed the Spurs to miss every wide open 3, or needed the refs to help them, or needed a godamn lucky Chris Paul prayer shot to go in, or needed a misbuzzer to show them the play, or needed Tiago Splitter hurt, or needed Tony Parker to play like absolutely dog ? And the Spurs still had a chance to close it out in six? Yeah, you right, cancer Lance and washed up Pierce is going to put them over the top.
Also, that biggest chokefest in NBA history might have done them in. I don't think they recover from that, especially with that mentally weak team.
Lol we got Aldridge. If we can't beat them now we probably never will
It was a really close match up with the clippers in first round. They have improved somewhat with the addition of paul pierce and stevenson. Paul is older and who knows how stevenson will jell with the clippers. We have improved quite a bit with addition of LMA and DWest. Plus cp3 hit that crazy shot in the finals seconds of game 7 to win it. That game could have gone either way. I think if we face the clippers again in 2016 playoffs, it will again be a close and fun match up.
Clippers lost Barnes... gained Pierce, Stephenson.
Clippers are clearly better than last year. I was also wondering how they'd deal with an epic choke job, but the stupid D. Jordan shenanigans rallied them back together (what a bunch of children!). Question is how the match-ups work now and whether almost all our players would suck again, and whether a dude like Austin Rivers plays out of his head again for two series in a row.
Clippers played well above their heads(Barnes and Rivers) and the Spurs played a horrible series(Parker had the worst series of his life, Green had his worst series in 3 years, Splitter couldn't move, etc), yet it went down to the final shot in game 7..not really worried about them as much as other teams IMO, Thunder and Warriors are a larger concern..
The West has improved, though, unfortunately..Clippers and Thunder will be better than last year, Memphis slightly improved(although they aren't a real contender), and GS/Houston are the same..
Had we been healthy last year, we beat the Clips in 5. Seriously.
Not a major worry..We still took them to 7 games having 3 of our starters scoring a woeful 12 PER or less.. i'm expecting decline to start kick in for Chris Paul..Last year he had an MVP-caliber year and played an injury-free campaign until the hamstring issues in G7.
I don't understand the OKC hype. Not even sure KD comes back as the same player.
because scott brooks was holding everyone back according to the media
be interesting to see how much freedom he give westbrook and durrant
Disagree. Having LMA on the court (and to an extent David West on the 2nd unit) to pull out one of DJ/Griffin out of the paint makes it much easier for us against the Clips. We lost that series mainly because of Parker and Splitter being injured, and Parker sucking. If Parker is healthy, running pick n roll/pop with LMA or David West will wreak havoc on the Clips D. They'll have to respect LMA/West midrange J, so the big will have to come out and not just sit back in the paint, making Parker's drives into the lane much easier with more space (if he's healthy). Or he can kick it back out to LMA/West for the J.
No way to know how good either team will be right now. Lots of games to play, potential injuries, etc. But on paper, Spurs are better. Not sure why the concern.
Spurs got better, but I still liked the idea of Deandre moving to Dallas because that would make the Clippers an average playoff team. Now they remain in the upper echolon of the West. The development of Stephenson will be crucial - if he fits with the Clippers they indeed look good enough to be a problem for the Spurs (again).
I'll believe OKC when I see Durant is still Durant. I'm skeptical.
If Leonard had problem with Barnes thoughness, what will happened against Pierce and Lance?
I believe the Clippers will have major chemistry issues. The rift between CA and Jordan didn't fix itself, Lance is a cancer, and Pierce has too much swag, especially with Doc Rivers coaching. Lance might not end the season with the team.
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 ( Red , 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
If Doc ever puts Lance Stephenson, Jamal Crawford, and Austin Rivers on the court together there is going to be a fistfight over the ball. Though I suspect they'll move Crawford eventually.
I'm not quite sure about OKC, I'll always respect them and throw them in as a contender but Durant's injury was more serious than people think. I'll be surprised if he ever regains his MVP (2012-2014) form considering the history of players who have dealt with his same injury.
I think Warriors and Rockets over-achieved last season and they didn't do anything to really move their needle. However, I still give Warriors the nod as contenders out of respect -- they had a great season last year ( still overachieved imo).
Grizzlies improved on the wing -- which was needed. They still lack a number 1 go to guy, or an elite player. I just don't think Zbo will ever regain his 2011 form and Gasol isn't dominant enough to get that team to a championship. To be honest, Conley is their best weapon offensively and that's not saying much. Solid team, solid roster with some solid players, but their top guys don't have enough.
They do concern me a bit for a few reasons.. Chris Paul has new confidence against us that he never had before (absolutely destroyed us with Jordan like performances all series). The editions of Pierce and Stevenson are pretty significant upgrades. I also fear that Pop will continue the Hack a Jordan strategy which I believe hurt us more than it helped.
We got Pop. They got Rivers. Rivers will never be allowed to whine himself to another championship.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
