I get the feeling the Clips are going to go into "just happy to be here" mode and not put up the same fight they did against Memphis.
God, this is going to be a long day
Dude, that series was NOT about defense, except maybe on the Grizzlies part - and that was as long as their starting 5 were on the court. Everything else was just poor shot selection.
Inept offense on both sides has nothing to do with great defense. Sorry you can't tell the difference.
If Spurs have a let down in game 1 or 2 due to rest. This is going 6 games. If not, this is a 5 game series.
Spurs should come out with alot of energy, just hope they are able to shake off the rust early. I think it is important to come out of the gate quick and show them we control the series. If they come out strong and get some momentum and confidence we could be in for a longer series than we anticipated.
Spurs fans are taking the Clips too lightly…No way Stern allows the Clips to get swept…They could easily win one or two games in this series…
My biggest concern (Which is probably the Clipps) is trying to defend the P & R...
I can't put my finger on which game the Spurs will drop but I'm confident, as long as San Antonio stays healthy, it won't be more than one game.
game 4, Spurs will be up 3-0, Pop will rest TD and Manu
You're somewhat right. This goes back to the Spurs-Hornets series when CP3 played alongside 2 capable bigs in Chandler and West. They'll make us choose between letting CP3 have an open mid-range jumper and letting Jordan/Blake roll to the rim. The difference however, is that David West had an accurate mid-range jumper.
When the primary big (e.g. TD) defending the P&R stepped out, and the other big stayed in the lane to prevent the roll, CP3 could pass out to West for an open jumper. The Clippers' best big man jump-shooter is KMart, and he's nowhere in the same league as David West (or Channing Frye, the Suns' stretch 4 who helped open up things for Nash). So while the Spurs won't be as ineffective defending the P&R, the Clippers' bigs are a tough rebounding threat. That is where the Spurs will need their wings to get into the paint to fight for rebounds once a shot goes up.
Agreed. I could see K-Mart getting quality minutes. I'm fine with Blake shooting. Can't let them roll to the basket, cause that's usually an easy 2. Guys need to fight through screens, and as you said everyone has to go for the rebounds. Leonard/Jack can make a huge impact in that regard as our bigs will (should) be boxing and wrestling underneath keeping them off the boards
Replace the word Grizzlies with the word Spurs, and you should get my point.
Tough and physical defense can lead to inept offense. Sorry you can't realize that.
You are really thinking about this stuff timvp. Love that! I'm more aligned with this viewpoint than your last one, though I can see both sides. No guarantees.
Chris Paul runs an organized playground, but, Magic Johnson he is not and I don't see Kareem, Worthy, Scott or Cooper on this squad. I see some Rambises, Kupchaks, McAdoos and several discount versions of Jamaal Wilkes on this Clippers squad. Clips best chance is to make this a halfcourt dogfight and the Spurs will run them out of the gym in spurts. Flopping is not a viable playoff strategy, unfortunately, for flop city.
Looking forward to seeing some new Spurs defensive and offensive sets emerge in this series and even more cohesion. Spurs will be very tough for the Clips to prepare for. Pop will exploit this. Can't wait to see it, after the rust wears off.
Spurs in 5.
You must not watch a lot of basketball. Clippers and Grizzlies ball movement was so stagnant and slow, and it had nothing to do with great defense. I can't even count how many times in that series that a player from either team went 1 on 1 for the entire shot clock, it was really bad offense.
1) Don't blow 25 points leads with 8' to go by forcing shots/overdribbling/passing to photographers (G1).
2) Don't have Rudy Gay shoot the game winning, last second shot (G3).
3) Keep the bigs involved and distributing (G1 4th, G3, G4).
4) Don't play zone when Williams and/or Young are in (G7).
5) No Haddadi or Arenas in 4th of G7.
6) Advance to WC Finals.
You're right, only 30+ years as a fan and 10 seasons as a referee, so in retrospect, I guess I haven't watched a lot of basketball.![]()
Please (seriously), if you don't know what you're talking about, just![]()
damn now i want some taco cabana fajitas
You're a pretty ty ref then tbh if you don't see what is pretty obvious to everyone else about that Grizz/Clips series.
I agree!
Clippers-Spurs Key Notes
- The team that wins Game 1 of a seven-game series goes on to win 78.2 percent of the time (337-94, including the 1st Round this year).
- This is their first-ever meeting in the postseason.
- The Spurs are 26-2 at home against the Clippers since drafting Tim Duncan. The .929 win percentage is tied for their third-best at home against any team over that span (27-0 vs Golden State Warriors; 14-0 vs Atlanta Hawks).
- To say these teams have differing levels of success in the postseason would be a drastic understatement. Despite being in the NBA for six fewer seasons, the Spurs have more NBA les (four) than the Clippers have series wins (three). The Spurs have more than four times as many series wins (34) as the Clippers have playoff appearances (eight).
- Much of the focus will be on the matchup between Chris Paul (third in MVP voting) and Tony Parker (fifth in MVP voting). The two have faced off seven times in the postseason, with Parker winning four times. Paul has enjoyed the statistical advantage, averaging 23.7 points per game and 10.7 assists per game (19.4 PPG, 5.7 APG for Parker).
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/pos...-rest-out-west
Did you not read OPs take?
Clippers and Grizzlies was more like watching WWE Smackdown than BB. I really thought the Grizzlies would win that battle because they looked like the tougher of the two teams. It wa the great play of the Clipper bench in the last 4 minutes of game 7 that won the series for them.
But their bench was playing against the Memphis starters so you have to give the Clipper depth and quality some decent props and respect.
We play very smart basketball and should be able to prevail. In 6.
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