I'm looking for a little info on your team

[jazzfan1971]

I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

[Sofia]

It's all about the Don in terms of storyline, hopefully that we've been freed from him, not that we're still stuck with him.

Record wise, I think 2nd/3rd-5th depending on how the East plays out and if 2 straight finals runs are too much for the Spurs.

Someone else can provide the charts

[LACtdom]

Depth chart so far (I think)...

Chris Paul | Jordan Farmar |
JJ Redick | Jamal Crawford | CJ Wilcox
Matt Barnes | Jared Dudley | Reggie Bullock
Blake Griffin | Glen Davis |
DeAndre Jordan | Spencer Hawes |

so far it's looking as though Delonte West and Ryan Hollins will be added as third string players.
Also in theory, Dudley should start over Barnes but with how poor Dudley was last year I think Barnes may get the nod.

[Neddy]

#1 : LACtdom pretty much covered the depth chart, if i have a disagreement there, I see Bullock being 3rd in SG and Wilcox will be 4th. we won't have another SF other than Dudley and Barnes as of now. we will probably play more 3 guard formation rather than having a traditional SF if neither Barnes nor Dudley is on the floor.
and I don't see much playing time for Wilcox, unless he dominates Bullock in practice. I don't see it.

#2. what else? Donald Tokowitz Sterling. btw, did i mention that he is a POS? **** that guy. i wanted him dead for the last 25 years.

#3. if Ballmer is our owner? one of the top 4 teams in terms of the record. if Tokowitz is our owner still? bottom 4 teams guaranteed after CP3 and blake quits on them and force a trade. sad thing is, if this was to happen, Sterling will gladly let them go, sacrifice the tickets and merchandise revenue and still profit from the league's revenue sharing.

#4. there is no news about our coaching situation. if Ballmer is the owner, Doc is our everything. if Sterling, a grand wizard of the ku klux klan.

[Wammy Giveaway]

1. Depth Chart:

Code: Select all

1: Paul    | Farmar   | XXX
2: Redick  | Crawford | Bullock
3: Barnes  | Dudley   | XXX
4: Griffin | Davis    | XXX
5: Jordan  | Hawes    | XXX

The Clippers failed to address the small forward spot this off-season. No LeBron, no Melo, no Pierce. All the role playing small forwards have avoided the Clippers. The only way for them to get a proven small forward will have to come via trade, and even then, Doc does not want to risk ruining the chemistry the core have built together in the midst of the most scandalous events since the Malice At The Palace. Players in the 1, 2 and 4 spots will have to take turns assuming the 3. Griffin may be forced to transition to the 3 spot and, in his quest for improvement, become a dual forward. We will see some Griffin-Hawes-Jordan lineups this season.

2. Story Lines

Paul has lost in the second round three times. After 10 years and six playoff exits, CP3 has lost his superstar status. In the playoffs, games are won with big men and post play. Kawhi Leonard was NBA Finals MVP. Boris Diaw guarded King James. Every NBA championship team, save for the 2004 Detroit Pistons, featured a prominently dominant big man who is sometimes an All-Star. Point guard-driven teams are the easiest to exploit and defeat in the playoffs. The only way Paul can get out of the second round is if he gives up being a superstar and becomes a role player. Griffin must now become the big who leads the team and carries the Clippers deep into the playoffs, but he cannot do it alone.

It's been proven since Doc's Big 3 that a team must have at least three superstars to climb the playoff mountain. Their third superstar must come from one of their own. DeAndre Jordan must make the All-Star game this year if the Clippers want any chance of advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

And of course, there's the evil Donald Sterling and his nefarious plot to destroy not just his own team, but the whole league. We don't know how long the lawsuits will last; it might even last this 2014-15 NBA season. There will be doubts and obstacles along the way, players and coaches questioning their worth with this accursed team. Bill Simmons inadvertently roused the minds of Laker fans that Doc Rivers will bail and join the purple and gold. But if the Clippers can find a way to blaze through the season, enter the playoffs unscathed, and take care of business, stopping at nothing until they claim the Larry O'Brien trophy, the basketball gods will reward the team with the automatic banishment of Donald Sterling forever. The Clippers are still a Cinderella team in my eyes.

3. Record: I'll say they regress to 55 wins, but not because of the personnel, but of the competition. If the Warriors can get Kevin Love, the Clippers will lose the division this season, and will have to beat them in the playoffs to make up for that loss.

4. Coaching

Doc brought in Mike Woodson for one reason only. The Clippers have depended too much on Paul and Crawford to bail them out. What if the two best clutch players don't perform well, or are taken out of the game, whether it's fouling out, or ejection. In my recollection, Griffin has never had a buzzer-beating game winning basket. There will be games where the defense will deny everything, and it will be all up to Griffin to save the day. Woodson is going to teach Griffin some iso-ball.

Keep an eye out for Kevin Garnett. Doc needs somebody from his 2008 championship team just so that his defensive system works properly. They re-signed Big Baby Davis for this purpose, and now with a full training camp, Griffin, Jordan and newcomer Hawes will learn how to box out, rotate, and defend without fouling in Doc's system the way Doc wants them to play. If Griffin can master the 3 spot before the trading deadline, and Garnett gets bought out, we could have a Paul-Redick-Griffin-Garnett-Jordan lineup in the playoffs.

[mttwlsn16]

Klove will not put GS above us. Especially since they'll lose klay, dlee, etc
We lost nothing and added hawes (I consider dc and farmar a wash)

[og15]

I think we have one of the easiest depth charts to figure out, nothing really questionable going on.

[LACtdom]

My novice insight to the clippers 14/15 season:
1. Our starting 5 will continue to develop chemistry at both ends of the floor and we can expect to see improvements in Griffin & Jordan.
2. Our biggest improvement will come from our underrated bench:
2.1 Farmar will be a competent facilitator.
2.2 Crawford will be Crawford.
2.3 Barnes will provide some toughness on D, cuts to the basket & occasional 3pt hotness.
2.4 Glen Davis: improved pick n pop and post up game.
2.5 Spencer Hawes: provides consistency and versatility by spreading the floor.

If Dudley & Barnes play well I see us being a very complete team with a great coach.

[50CALguns]

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation..

Clippers Storyline of 2015: Western Conference Finals or Bust

The season begins in April. The Clips are a post-season team now. The only question is can Doc Rivers, Chris Paul, and Blake Griffin get themselves to the Conference Finals and beyond?

[illastrate]

so far it's looking as though Delonte West and Ryan Hollins will be added as third string players.
Also in theory, Dudley should start over Barnes but with how poor Dudley was last year I think Barnes may get the nod.

Oh god, I hope not. Clips can only add one more player and I hope Hollins is not even remotely considered. I understand wanting West, but I'd much rather take a flyer on a young SF like Justin Hamilton or the like.

[illastrate]

Jazz, here's an updated depth chart for your team previews:

C Jordan | Hawes
PF Griffin | Udoh | Davis | Turkoglu
SF Barnes | CDR | Ingles | Bullock
SG Redick | Crawford | Wilcox
PG Paul | Farmar

[mttwlsn16]

is delonte west still with us? he played pretty well in summer league if i remember correctly.

[Forte IV]

We have 15 players under contract, so I doubt it.

[mj_shoefanatic]

DWest is not a Clipper thank God!