2013 Record Prediction/Team Expectations

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 5:14 am

It's that time again....

In the lockout shortened 2012 season, we had a record of 40-26 (.606) to finish in 5th place. The equivalent over an 82 game season would be 50 wins. In 2011, 50 wins was good for the 5th seed and it was good for the 6th seed in 2010. The obvious goal would be to finish the season with home court at least through the first round.

Provided that we are mostly healthy for the duration of the season, I'm going to say 55-27 and hopefully a top 3 seed. The West is going to be tough as usual. A lot of the teams got stronger or should remain quality teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see us a little higher than that or a little lower than that. It just all depends on who has least amount of speed bumps along the way. Aside from health, chemistry will be key. I think our guys will get along, but how will it translate on the court? Will everyone be satisfied with sacrificing minutes for the good of the team?

I love the additions to the team and think that they each have something to prove. Odom and Crawford will be both looking to rebound from down seasons and I think that this environment will be conducive to them achieving that goal.

For Odom, he had a lot of off-court issues in his personal life and then being sent to a situation he didn't really want to be in only added to his troubles. He's back in LA where he has spent the majority of his career and he has the opportunity to right some of the wrongs of his past. A lot of people are writing him off and I think all of those motivations pay off for him and this team.

Crawford has said that he now feels like he has a home, which is something he hasn't felt since being in New York. He had a disappointing 2012 campaign, but nothing went right for the Blazers (or the majority of their players) last season. He can be streaky, but can be pretty effective when he is on. Playing alongside someone like Paul should only optimize what he is able to do.

Hill and Billups are both long in the tooth, but can still bring it. Both have leadership qualities and the respect of their peers. A healthy Billups is an addition to the team since he did miss 2/3 of last season. Hill has become more of a defensive-minded player in his latter years, and is still is versatile on the court.

I'm excited to see what kind of growth the young players may show. Bledsoe proved his worth in the playoffs and hopefully adds to that. Blake had a setback with the injury, but has put in work on correcting his shot. He's a much more dangerous player if the mid-range game is more of an effective option and if his free-throws are falling. DJ is the player that I'm most concerned about. By most accounts, he's been putting in a lot of work during the offseason. Just how much that factors into his actual game remains to be seen. I don't want to say he's the x-factor for us, but the better he is, the better this team can be. He could stand to improve defensively, at the foul line and to expand his offensive game some. Howard, Gasol(s), Cousins, Aldridge, Bogut, Duncan, Jefferson, Gortat, etc. are all reasons that we need to DJ to step up. He knows his limitations and has aspirations of becoming that defensive anchor that we need and I hope that he's a step or 2 closer to becoming that this season.

Enough of my rambling, how do you all think the Clips will fare this season?

azncorruptedo17 · Post #2 » by **azncorruptedo17** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 6:49 pm

Probably lose a few early games as we get accustomed to the chemistry and play style.

i'd say 54-28

Sofia · Post #3 » by **Sofia** » Wed Sep 5, 2012 11:39 pm

53-29, 2nd in Pacific, 3/4 in West.

mike3 · Post #4 » by **mike3** » Thu Sep 6, 2012 3:16 am

I just can't wait to have Clipper Basketball back!!!

Post #5 » by **og15** » Thu Sep 6, 2012 4:11 pm

This one is really hard to predict with all the changes around the league. Golden State looks better, Lakers look better, and those are both Pacific division foes, but Phoenix is probably declined due to losing Nash and Hill, even though they did well for themselves otherwise, and Sacramento will still be poor IMO unless Cousins drastically improves on both ends of the floor.

I like 53-29, but 3rd in the West seems difficult based on how San Antonio has consistently done well in the regular season. They certainly did not get worse, actually should be better as Leonard improves, Splitter get's more PT, and they integrate their new players.

Last years top 4 Western teams 82 season equivalents:
SA: 62-20
OKC: 58-24
LAL: 51-31
MEM: 51-31

I think Memphis stays at a similar level, but the Clippers move up. It's hard to convince me that LAL doesn't have a better winning percentage this season. The Suns won the equivalent of 42 games last season with Nash at the helm, I think they will do well for themselves.

I'd say the West ends up:
1) San Antonio (60-62 wins)
2) LA Lakers (58-60 wins)
3) OKC (57-59 wins)
4) LAC (53-55 wins)

The Lakers record will be dependent on how early they get Howard back. That prediction is with a chance of the Clippers going into 3rd if any of the other teams has injury struggles, but that can be said for every team, so I won't make it seem like it is more likely for them than for LAC to have injury issues. OKC's record will be down not because they are worse, but because other teams got better. For some reason, I don't trust Memphis, so if I continued, I would have Denver at 5th (50-52 wins), which would mean a LAC vs DEN first round, that's not a matchup to toy around with, they would probably stick Iguodala on CP and put Lawson on Billups (which does have a post-up options), but that's all far thinking from now.

The rest, I don't know, Minny has a good chance of being better, Memphis should be in the 48-50 win range, Utah and Dallas can be in the 47 win range. Someone will most likely miss the playoffs with a fairly decent record. Golden State is capable of 43-45 wins, and with a more proven coach than Jackson, even more if healthy. Minny's job is to knock one of those teams out since they were on the out looking in last season, and I realistically see them as capable of 6th (though I'd expect about 7th). Obviously could go higher, but predicting absolute best case scenario where all their players fit and everyone improves, etc isn't really realistic.

Seasons should be fun...

Quake Griffin · Post #6 » by **Quake Griffin** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 5:05 pm

i honestly think the Clips are gonna win 55-60 games and finish first or 2nd in the west.

dunno what that'll mean for the playoffs but I think this team is gonna kill it in the regular season.

donemilio21 · Post #7 » by **donemilio21** » Fri Sep 7, 2012 9:47 pm

54 Wins. will finish 4th behind Spurs, Thunder and lakers.

RiversideClips · Post #8 » by **RiversideClips** » Sat Sep 8, 2012 6:18 pm

The WEST is going to be tough and it seems like a lot of the teams have re-loaded. I think the SPURS will finally have "Injury" issues w/ some key players and they might not do as well as expected (51-31.) OKC still looks good and should finish w/ 58-63 Wins. The Lakers ( I HATE SAYING THIS!!!!!!!) scare me, even w/ D12 being out for a while, they could win any amount over 54 ! Minny & Dallas might surprise & I think they and Memphis will be right around 50 wins each. I think the last playoff spot could go to any number of teams, but they will have to win 46 games.
The Clippers? If we stay healthy, I wouldn't be surprised id we win at least 52 games and sneak by SA for the three seed in the conference.
Looking forward to a fun season

adiedanny · Post #9 » by **adiedanny** » Sun Sep 9, 2012 12:47 am

I'm totally optimistic about this season. 2nd in the west behind okc, 1st pacific and nba champs.

playaloc916 · Post #10 » by **playaloc916** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:58 am

As long as we don`t get off to a slow start and there are no freak injuries, I`m going to say we win 55 games, and end up 3rd in the West behind OKC and the Lakers.

JGlanton · Post #11 » by **JGlanton** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 6:47 pm

51-54 wins. Knocked out in the 2nd round again.

Post #12 » by **mkwest** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:07 pm

Every year people predict the Spurs to take a slide and they always prove their doubters wrong. Pop takes care of his guys with giving them the proper rest that they need, but their core players are still going to be another year older. Leonard softened the blow of Ginobili missing half of the season, but it's a little different if Parker or Duncan miss any substantial amount of time. They're a veteran team with the best coach in the league, but I just see them drifting back a little this year. Instead of being a top 2 team in the west, I'm expecting them to be in the 3-5 range, but I still wouldn't be surprised if they're one of the top 2 teams in the west again.

Post #13 » by **thanumba2clippersfan** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:50 am

I'm just going to be very general. 50 plus wins and a spot in the playoffs. I'd be very satisfied with that

Neddy · Post #14 » by **Neddy** » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:16 am

i would like to say 60+ wins and the championship but judging by how my dodgers' season have gone so far and how my raiders have started off, I'm gonna lowball this and second #2's post.

50+ wins and play at least 6 games in second round of playoffs. hope we can save the fakers for the WCF and not before... 7 game series at staples against them is pretty much all 7 games away from home.

Kyle · Post #15 » by **Kyle** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:00 am

51 wins I proclaim.

Post #16 » by **og15** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:14 am

mkwest wrote:Every year people predict the Spurs to take a slide and they always prove their doubters wrong. Pop takes care of his guys with giving them the proper rest that they need, but their core players are still going to be another year older. Leonard softened the blow of Ginobili missing half of the season, but it's a little different if Parker or Duncan miss any substantial amount of time. They're a veteran team with the best coach in the league, but I just see them drifting back a little this year. Instead of being a top 2 team in the west, I'm expecting them to be in the 3-5 range, but I still wouldn't be surprised if they're one of the top 2 teams in the west again.

Yea, and Splitter has some really good advanced numbers, so the prospect of him playing more minutes would be really beneficial to them. They also got that De Colo guy who is a PG/SG I believe, and re-singed Diaw and Green, not to mention that they added Jackson last season who might play a little better this year.

They look primed to do well in the regular season again, post-season, well...

Quake Griffin · Post #17 » by **Quake Griffin** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:27 am

Neddy wrote:i would like to say 60+ wins and the championship but judging by how my dodgers' season have gone so far and how my raiders have started off, I'm gonna lowball this and second #2's post.

50+ wins and play at least 6 games in second round of playoffs. hope we can save the fakers for the WCF and not before... 7 game series at staples against them is pretty much all 7 games away from home.

funny...im raiders, dodgers clippers too.

sick

mj_shoefanatic · Post #18 » by **mj_shoefanatic** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:13 am

50+ w's no biggie now with Barnes on deck

Clips might win or tie the division and crack top 3 in the West.

Health is the only concern but it's like that for every contender.

Sofia · Post #19 » by **Sofia** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 1:09 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY6JP4cZRXc[/youtube]

:nonono:

Post #20 » by **og15** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 2:09 pm

Not super happy with minutes last season: Reggie Evans, Mo Williams, Ryan Gomes, Kenyon Martin, team had a pace for 49 wins. Disagree a good amount with these guys, especially Simmons, 44 wins, even lower? Pure talent alone, even with any "distractions" he's expecting gets this team at least 47 wins. Also, the young guys don't like playing with Paul? What a joke, please.

With that said, I don't disagree about their being too few minutes to go around, but guys will have to sacrifice. One SF needs to go, and one guard needs to go. Green is basically down to just being a practice and garbage time player when everyone is healthy, his agent probably will put pressure there because he's only on a one year.

There might be some unhappiness, but it won't be among the guys doing the majority of the winning of games, and guys who are here LNG term know that it is only fr a season as Hill is retiring, and Bilups might be too after this season.

-----------

Guys like Hollins and Turiaf won't play every night, but will have to be ready when called upon. Barnes will get some PF minutes, and Bledsoe will get some SG minutes.

Paul (35) / Bledsoe (13)
Billups (24) / Crawford (21) / Bledsoe (3)
Butler (25) / Hill (14) / Barnes (11)
Blake (35) / Odom (10) / Barnes (3)
Jordan (28) / Odom (10) / Turiaf or Hollins (9/DNP/Garbage Time)

Paul 35
Blake 35
Jordan 28
Butler 25
Billups 24
Crawford 24
Odom 20
Barnes 14
Hill 14
Hollins 9/DNP
Turiaf 9/DNP

Playoffs - Hollins and Turiaf's minutes decrease to only when needed.