I think these two teams are going to go all out trying to win every game (unlike my Spurs who will likely take a few nights off to rest the old guys).
I would say they're pretty evenly matched. Who do you think will finish with the best record in the West between these two teams? Not an easy call to make, IMO.
I still have some doubts Dwight will have no lingering issues with his shoulder/back, so I'm gonna give the Clippers the nod.
Clippers. The Houston Rockets have more questions than the Clips have. The Clips also got a better coach and bolstered the bench. The key for both teams are the centers as well. Does DeAndre have any intelligence or is he just what he is? Is D-Howard all the way back from the painful 2012-2013 failed experiment in L.A.? After Harden and Howard, who is the standalone 3rd offensive weapon? Doc, Blake, and CP3 will give L.A. the better team.
Rockets are being vastly overrated, I may be wrong because I havent seen them function yet, but they are not a top 3 team in the WCF imo. Fake Kobe and Shaq duo will not win the west
So who's gonna have the better record out west when the season ends? Clippers or Houston?
I have Clippers, Spurs, or Grizz.
This. Rox still have questions. They are deep but coaching and reliable offense in halfcourt outside of Harden drawing fouls are legit concerns. Mchale also is no genius at coach ...
The best team in LA for sure
Clippers. More depth + they have CP3, arguably the best player outside of Lebron & KD, tbh.
To be fair, there's questions with the Clippers as well.... frontcourt depth is going to need to be addressed, as Hollins, Jamison, and Mullens aren't very good.... also, a lot depends on DeAndre Jordan keeping up the newfound communication and effort he showed on defense this preseason.... the offense also bogged down at times in the preseason, though that could be chalked up to injuries and getting accustomed to Gentry's system, tbh....
Clipps have benefit of playing in Pacific Patsy Division.
Plus travel time to *away* games vs the Gaykers.
McHale will be a better coach now that the Rox are frontline oriented.
I'm gonna say Clips due to pussy Pacific.
Clippers should win 60+ games this year. They're deeper and more experienced than last year - plus Doc is a better coach than Vinny was. Reality check: Did Blake's nuts descend over the summer...or will players like Z-Bo be waiting in the wings to take his cookie again? This variable cost them a playoff series victory and will likely do so again unless Doc The Motivator! gets thru to him. We'll see.
Rockets will win around 52 games if Howard is back 100% (no pun intended). Like others have said, I don't trust their team outside of their big 2 and Lurch is not exactly PJ or even Pop. Reality check: how neutered will Howard be in crunch time due to his inability to shoot freebies? This variable will cost them at least 5 Ws tbh. Like the Clipps, they'll be fun to watch.
should be close, probably injuries will tell.
It's not our fault that Magic replaced Jerry with Fredo and the Suns and Kings are tanking, tbh
Doc is an overrated greasy faced monster...he couldn't even control Rondo...he let a rift develop between Rondo and Allen...he couldn't even handle that
....he was gifted 3 HOF players + Rondo + Perkins and a slew of great defensive wings...and he only managed 1 NBA le
I'm not impressed with Doc...he's a Mike Brown is Sheep's clothing he's doing nothing but riding on the coattails of Boston's storied history and it's a shame TBH
the only reason he got that one le is because Bynum and Ariza were DNP's....other than that Kobe would have 3 peated again
They won 56 last year with Vinny as coach. Doc's not good for at least 4 additional wins?
I think many on this forum underrate Houston
Tankin' for Wiggins! I see the Rockets at maybe a low 50 game winning team while the Clippers can be upper 50's and maybe low 60's if Blake Griffin doesn't get hurt or CP3 either...
I have Houston winning 54-56 games with the Clippers breaking the 60 win mark.
Clippers will have a better regular season run, they will have more chemistry, a better coach and each player has a much more defined role, where Houston's rotation and roles are still mixed in the shuffle. I believe in the playoffs however that Houston may in fact be a much deadlier team as soon as they figure it out. Their defensive potential is quite scary to be quite honest.
But I believe Houston will go through a lot of adjustments which will hurt them in the long run. First, McHale still doesn't know how to properly use Asik and Dwight. Is he playing both together? How is this going to affect their offensive plan of attack? Defensively, they look ok against the Mavs, but obviously its a small sample and teams with quicker players will exploit them.
Next is Beverley and Lin, clearly both cannot have the same amount of playing time. I mean they could, but with a 3 guard rotation including Harden, one has to give. I think Beverley is better than Lin and he may eventually get more minutes than Lin, so how will Lin take this? I don't see Lin being happy with this situation although statistically, Harden and Lin produced better offensive numbers.
This year, Clippers will take the West no doubt. I'm pretty high on the new additions (Collison, Doc, Red ) and I believe DJ and Griffin will improve this year.
new coach, new system, lost their best perimeter defender in the offseason... I think they'll come together quicker than Houston, but for the Clippers this isn't a continuation of last season, in many ways, it's a new start.They won 56 last year with Vinny as coach. Doc's not good for at least 4 additional wins?
Clippers.
That's not saying much, our perimeter defense in general was horrible last year, tbh.... I think it was more of a problem with the system than the personnel, though, and some bad luck as well...
Not saying it's a deal-breaker, but the league is all about perimeter players right now...
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