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Non-issue. West is still gsw spurs okc
West vs Smith could be epic playoff nastiness, I wanna see that
I'll make an early prediction, if Clips/Spurs meet in playoffs Josh Smith gets thrown out of at least 1 game
probably suspended for a game, too
Good move for Clippers, though
Non-issue. West is still gsw spurs okc
Losing Matt Barnes was more significant than picking up Josh Smith. They have no toughness.
But they also have Pierce and Stephenson.
So you attack his City's teams but not the content of what he wrote? Again when did Spur fan (most) become Lakerfan (most)?Coming from a sorry ass Carolina franchise. Bobcats suck, Panthers suck, Cam Newton is the most overrated QB in the league, y'all paid $100+ mil for a below average QB, and the Bobcats still suck
My concern is that Spurs can't really shut them down unless Parker sits.
Best way to play Clippers is to shut down Chris Paul, but if Spurs do that, they have an issue with Pierce.
Spurs could have beaten Clippers last year but Doc figured out the problem, we was over extending his starting five. So when he started resting them, they had enough gas left to survive.
That's really the game now, teams should have enough fire power for 48 minutes.
I think the weakness of the Clippers may be that they have two players that Spurs are willing to hack-a-XXX. Jordan and Smith.
Though the second team is a lot more capable now with:
Aldridge
Smith
Stephenson
Crawford
Wesley Johnson
The worry is that Manu with his declining age isn't going to be able to cover Stephenson, Crawford or Wesley Johnson. Mills and McCallum are too small. Anderson is too slow.
Spurs need more athletic wings.
Last edited by ceperez; 07-17-2015 at 09:36 AM.
Pop might faint with all the possiblities.So they will at all times have someone on the floor to hack?
Hopefully Pop won't start hacking when we're up 10
Probably Simmons then should be groomed against athletic teams like the Clippers, Cavs, etc....
never underestimate hunger and passion, Simmons may be a gem in the making, who knows?
i think the front office will roll with the current roster, and then evaluate midseason if we need someone else
what do you think guys?
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im going for the veteran DWest in this one
(theres something wrong with Josh Smith's psyche, the guys is an incredible athlete but for some reason destroys team chem)
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and by the way, i thought Josh Smith was the best friend of Howard?? he coudnt prevent him from leaving? i dont get it
Actually I add the Clips to this list for a Four Horsemen of the West, as opposed to the East which is LBJ and then a bunch of inferior teams. Yet the Horsemen have issues of their own, will KD ever be the same again, did the stars align for the dubs or are they that good, how quickly will the Spurs integrate Aldridge and how good will our bench be? For the Clips I will question their hearts and brains until they prove otherwise.
However, i just realized it is imperative we have the number one seed this time.....just a gut feel....
all variables considering.
Spurs lost last season because their two primary play making guards were no shows. Pop had to choose between Parker/Mills or Ginobili/Beli. Mills and Beli were superior to Parker and Manu but neither can run an offense forcing Duncan, Diaw and Leonard to carry that responsibility.
The Clippers are much improved
Paul/Rivers
Red /Crawford
Stephenson/Pierce
Griffin/Smith
Jordan/Davis
Thats a solid ten man rotation, granted Rivers and Crawford are either good or awful depending on the game. They still have flaws. Lan has potential to be a big improvement over Barnes but is a proven nutcase and is coming off the worst 3pt shooting season in NBA history, Barnes at least was a 37% 3pt shooter. He could kill their spacing allowing Leonard to play a couple of steps off of him.
Griffin will either have to guard an top PF(If Griffin is 2nd behind Anthony Davis, Aldridge is probably 3rd on a PF power ranking) in Aldridge or Duncan who can exploit him in the post. Duncan dominated Jordan last season (18 ppg on 58% FG). Diaw should be able to post Smith and West can be a threat from outside of the paint.
Green had moments where he was very effective against Paul defensively. Green wasn't good offensively until that big time Game 7. Leonard shutdown Red , which was a great move by Pop. Clippers really only have to great 3pt shooters and shutting down one of them limits their explosiveness offensively (they draw ton of free throws but were 28th in percentage last season) Leonard was excellent in the first four games before disappearing. He figures to better the second time around.
I don't think Wes Johnson will be a rotation player come playoff time. Ginobili is still decent guarding off ball. Their bench is heavily dependent on two wildly inconsistent players. Smith, despite a red hot conference finals from 3 (5 3pt A per game, hitting 40% of them) he is still a poor three point shooter. For a PF he's decent there but takes two many of them.
Spurs have the better stating unit and bench in my opinion.
It will be interesting to see the Spurs closing unit next season.
Parker/Manu
Green
Leonard
Aldridge
Duncan
or
Parker/Manu
Green
Leonard
Diaw
Aldridge
that second unit would be scary, especially offensively, with five three point shooters and still capable of playing solid defense.
Smith could also play with Blake while Deandre resting, Smith make them more dynamic overall... but the biggest thing with the Clippers matchup is that Doc has Pop number, he know how to take control of the flow of the game against him...
It will be a great match up, but I really think the hi low that the spurs will be able to run with Duncan and Aldridge will just be to much to handle.
Main difference and advantage for us is Aldridge and West can score in the low post or hit contested shots from perimeter in one-on-one clutch situations. They can draw fouls and make opponent's bigs work hard defensively. With all respect to Timmy and Diaw - they could do it only at times against LAC. The same is with Chris Paul. I hope Tony will be healthy enough to make Paul puking in the defense...at last
Actually, I think Timmy scored just fine. Replacing Splitter/Baynes with Aldrige/Duncan/West will be huge. When Diaw left the floor, LA ignored Splitter/Baynes. Having 5 scorers will change the game. But LA now has a formidable bench and some depth at SF, so hard to tell as of yet which team is better.
Indeed odd that the worry here is about not the reigning champion, not the Thunder (always a hurdle for the Spurs) but the Clippers!
Jordan was a monster in that all the easy layups (actually Spitter's layups) were contested. I'm surprised that at Duncan's advanced age that he's still able to post him up.
Splitter, Bonner, Diaw were either too slow (injured) or too small to contest Griffin.
Pierce is an upgrade from Barnes from a half court game, but he could be a liability if the Spurs start running.
Red is an extremely hard cover in that you have to really cover him when gets a screen.
Paul needs to be covered by a long atheletic player, fortunately we have Leonard, Green and hopefull Simmons is up to the challenge.
Crawford and Stephenson could also be very problematic with their ability to create for themselves.
What scares me about the Clippers is that the Spurs had such a hard time creating separation. But maybe that's because Tony and Tiago were both playing injured.
More talented inefficiency added.
Pierce isn't a better fit than Barnes. IMO
Barnes was their best perimeter defender and played a Bowen role for that team. He was a big reason Leonard had a bad series. Pierce can't even move defensively anymore, and his role will be to spot up and play off CP3 and Griffin. If his role entails more responsibility than Barnes' was offensively, then Clippers are just doing the opposition a favor taking the ball out of the hands of Chris Paul and Griffin.
And that Clippers team that beat the Spurs maximized CP3 and Griffin's touches for 40+ minutes a game. That's why they were so hard to stop. They never sat and played with incredible efficiency. That is impossible to be the case if Clippers intend on giving Stephenson/Pierce and Josh Smith prominent roles offensively. Spurs can guard those guys just fine.
But I do agree, Stephenson and Smith are improvements over Hawes and Hedo. But here's the thing that people forget, Hawes and Hedo were never in the equation vs. the Spurs to begin with. They barely played and took zero touches/ shots away from CP3, Griffin, Re . The Clippers starters played almost the entire game and they could do that because of Pop's hack a Jordan during stints in games -- it allowed them to catch their wind and conserve their energy.
I think the moves will help Clippers throughout the regular season and it will help improve their record. But in the playoffs, when every possession counts and when teams have to be as efficient as possible every possession, I don't see Clippers improving that much if Stephenson and Smith have significant roles and take 10-12 shots each per game.
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 07-17-2015 at 05:10 PM.
His free throw shooting will be a great asset to the Spurs come playoffs (as well as the regular season). As will Deandre Jordans.
Funny how many clown posters knock this signing but, praise the David West signing. Smith is still only 29, and a pretty good defender who can come off the and contribute in a variety of different ways (scoring, rebounding, blocking shots, etc). He has all the incentive in the world to play well this season because of the rising cap. If he plays well, he could be in line for a big payday. This is an absolute steal for the Clippers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZhrwS5W2Xk
Favourite Josh Smith moment. Can't wait to see faces of CP3 and Doc when he doe's that
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