GAME #66: LAC (42-23) @ NOLA (39-26)—FRI 3/15 5 PM

[esqtvd]

I think the small ball philosophy sucks unless you have the greatest 3pt shooter in history: Stephen Curry. But GSW is the team that LAC has been trying to copy. They don't shoot like them and the switch everything defense regularly ends up in a bad match-up. I have never seen a team give up so many layups and dunks with fools looking around for help. The idea that Kawhi and PG are 2 way players should probably be forgotten. These guys are literally the only offensive threat and waste their energy on that side with nothing left on D. We refuse to develop any rebounding defensive players. The focus is constantly on guards and 3s and these guys suck on the defensive end and turnovers plague them. Big teams will own this team because it doesn't execute well enough to end up with easy shots despite being outsized. Let's not forget the Chiropractor's refusal to play 2 guys above 6'8 at any one time. A 1st round playoff exit seems unavoidable.

I like this post, but Ty only turns to small ball when nothing else is working. It is NEVER Plan A.

It's the panic button when we're getting beaten up and down the floor. Or when Zu is too slow to make his switches or close out on the 3-point line against bigs who can shoot it. Theis is a little better but Plumlee has been a disappointment on both sides of the ball.

Biggest error by the Front Office was letting Hartenstein go, over a few extra bucks. We've been paying for it since.

[LamarWho]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

[NickP]

Playoff Lue is the stuff of legends.

[Bobbymcgee]

I would be surprised to see the team play better than .500 ball the rest of the way.

The team also needs to figure out how to get a more mobile big man and/or another solid defensive player in the off-season to line-up with Leonard next year.

[KL2]

No team fears us. We’ve given them no reason to. They’ve beat us on both courts. They’re young athletic and hungry and/or have high IQ players with a coach who doesn’t wait 10 games to make adjustments.

Teams have cracked the code. They know you double/triple Leonard and no one else is good enough to step up. We’re old and slow. We have no size to match with length. And our coaches answer is PJ Tucker.

Fooling around when the 1st seed was right there. Now it’s not even a given they’ll keep home court advantage.

[donemilio21]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

That would assume Pelicans would take the 5th seed. Home court or not, we'll lose 4-1 to them in a playoff series. Need to climb to 3 or drop to 6. Whatever necessary to avoid Pelicans in playoffs

[og15]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

New Orleans is 40-26 and has the tie breaker. New Orleans just needs to go 10-6 to get to 50 wins themselves. New Orleans has the tie breaker, so they would get the 4th. If Clippers are 8-8 going into the playoffs, it's also a bad sign for how successful they will be in the playoffs.

No, what they should be doing is trying to pass Minnesota. They are also 3-3 in their last 6, KAT is out, and they have to play Denver THREE more times before the season is over. Clippers have 7/16 games against under .500 teams. Two of their games vs over .500 teams are against the Sixers who are 7-13 since Embiid got injured. So the Clippers basically have 9 games vs <.500 teams. They have no excuse but to win 10-12 of their remaining games.

Also let's stop looking at outliers. Championship teams are 90% of the time top 2-3 in their conference. If you don't show yourself to be strong enough during the regular season to be in the top 3, then unless a drastic change happened part way through the season (add a star via trade, a big star comes back from injury, etc), you're not likely to be a finalist.

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

That would assume Pelicans would take the 5th seed. Home court or not, we'll lose 4-1 to them in a playoff series. Need to climb to 3 or drop to 6. Whatever necessary to avoid Pelicans in playoffs

If you're trying to avoid the 5th seed team, then you're already doomed as a true contender, that's the reality.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

New Orleans is 40-26 and has the tie breaker. New Orleans just needs to go 10-6 to get to 50 wins themselves. New Orleans has the tie breaker, so they would get the 4th. If Clippers are 8-8 going into the playoffs, it's also a bad sign for how successful they will be in the playoffs.

No, what they should be doing is trying to pass Minnesota. They are also 3-3 in their last 6, KAT is out, and they have to play Denver THREE more times before the season is over. Clippers have 7/16 games against under .500 teams. Two of their games vs over .500 teams are against the Sixers who are 7-13 since Embiid got injured. So the Clippers basically have 9 games vs <.500 teams. They have no excuse but to win 10-12 of their remaining games.

Also let's stop looking at outliers. Championship teams are 90% of the time top 2-3 in their conference. If you don't show yourself to be strong enough during the regular season to be in the top 3, then unless a drastic change happened part way through the season (add a star via trade, a big star comes back from injury, etc), you're not likely to be a finalist.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

That would assume Pelicans would take the 5th seed. Home court or not, we'll lose 4-1 to them in a playoff series. Need to climb to 3 or drop to 6. Whatever necessary to avoid Pelicans in playoffs

If you're trying to avoid the 5th seed team, then you're already doomed as a true contender, that's the reality.

true, ideally the Clippers go 10-6 or 11-5, but they've been playing .500 ball for a while now.

You are also right that it is a bad sign if you are trying to avoid teams in general, but Dallas might have won the 2007 championship if they didn't play GSW in the first round- that was a horrible match up and they for sure would have much rather played the Clippers that season. So, there are exceptions- sometimes teams are just a bad match up. I'm not even entirely sure that New Orleans is a terrible match up. I think if the Clippers are at the top of their game, they should beat New Orleans in 6 games.

[LamarWho]

I always find the Pels a very intriguing team. Great depth without having a HOF type of player. Tons of versatility in their roster. Herb Jones is my favorite 3 and D player in the league. Keep in mind Zion has never been to the playoff.

[esqtvd]

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[Wammy Giveaway]

Also let's stop looking at outliers. Championship teams are 90% of the time top 2-3 in their conference. If you don't show yourself to be strong enough during the regular season to be in the top 3, then unless a drastic change happened part way through the season (add a star via trade, a big star comes back from injury, etc), you're not likely to be a finalist.

The only reason why most of us (myself included) look at outliers is because Clippers have historically been a part of them. The fact that the worst 3-point shooters in the league have 3-point career nights against the Clippers, for example; Farbod had been tracking this on Twitter for years. Scrubs and rookies have career nights against the Clippers, this wasn't just a Doc Rivers thing, that's been in play going way back to the evil Donald Sterling days. The Warriors becoming champions, that's because the Clippers didn't take them seriously in the 2012-13 season, and it was only until Clippers lost Game 1 in the playoffs to finally acknowledge them as a threat, which in turn fueled Warriors to never look back after getting eliminated by them. Timberwolves became the first team since 2000 to pull a reversal by countering a 20+ point deficit with a 20+ point lead. Clippers may be the third team in NBA history to have a pair of 3-1 playoff collapses, but unlike 76ers and Suns, Clippers collapses were within 5 years, the quickest in NBA history.

See what I mean by outliers? Clippers are always in that category, mainly because they really don't believe in themselves unless it's done to the absolute perfect tee. One single, tiny, microscopic little thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong, hence their tendency to suffer the dreaded Corpse Bride syndrome.

Now, if you want to talk a good outlier, there's the title of first team to come back from down 2-0 twice in a playoff year. But that's only because they were afraid of going down 3-0 where it's a death sentence as we all know. Sometimes I feel the Clippers purposefully want to go down 3-0 just for the glory of it, to be loved, respected and worshiped like the Lakers. The sins of the father are still intact.

[og15]

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

New Orleans is 40-26 and has the tie breaker. New Orleans just needs to go 10-6 to get to 50 wins themselves. New Orleans has the tie breaker, so they would get the 4th. If Clippers are 8-8 going into the playoffs, it's also a bad sign for how successful they will be in the playoffs.

No, what they should be doing is trying to pass Minnesota. They are also 3-3 in their last 6, KAT is out, and they have to play Denver THREE more times before the season is over. Clippers have 7/16 games against under .500 teams. Two of their games vs over .500 teams are against the Sixers who are 7-13 since Embiid got injured. So the Clippers basically have 9 games vs <.500 teams. They have no excuse but to win 10-12 of their remaining games.

Also let's stop looking at outliers. Championship teams are 90% of the time top 2-3 in their conference. If you don't show yourself to be strong enough during the regular season to be in the top 3, then unless a drastic change happened part way through the season (add a star via trade, a big star comes back from injury, etc), you're not likely to be a finalist.

That would assume Pelicans would take the 5th seed. Home court or not, we'll lose 4-1 to them in a playoff series. Need to climb to 3 or drop to 6. Whatever necessary to avoid Pelicans in playoffs

If you're trying to avoid the 5th seed team, then you're already doomed as a true contender, that's the reality.

true, ideally the Clippers go 10-6 or 11-5, but they've been playing .500 ball for a while now.

You are also right that it is a bad sign if you are trying to avoid teams in general, but Dallas might have won the 2007 championship if they didn't play GSW in the first round- that was a horrible match up and they for sure would have much rather played the Clippers that season. So, there are exceptions- sometimes teams are just a bad match up. I'm not even entirely sure that New Orleans is a terrible match up. I think if the Clippers are at the top of their game, they should beat New Orleans in 6 games.

Yea, since the start of February, 20 games, Clippers are 11-9, averaging 114.0 ppg and giving up 114.8 ppg. Opponents are shooting 48/38. Defensive rating is a miserable 119.9 (they are at 115.5 Drtg for the season and were at 114.9 in the previous 46 games). The offense at 119.1 Ortg as been perfectly fine despite George having some low points in that stretch, but the defense has simply not been there.

Also let's stop looking at outliers. Championship teams are 90% of the time top 2-3 in their conference. If you don't show yourself to be strong enough during the regular season to be in the top 3, then unless a drastic change happened part way through the season (add a star via trade, a big star comes back from injury, etc), you're not likely to be a finalist.

The only reason why most of us (myself included) look at outliers is because Clippers have historically been a part of them. The fact that the worst 3-point shooters in the league have 3-point career nights against the Clippers, for example; Farbod had been tracking this on Twitter for years. Scrubs and rookies have career nights against the Clippers, this wasn't just a Doc Rivers thing, that's been in play going way back to the evil Donald Sterling days. The Warriors becoming champions, that's because the Clippers didn't take them seriously in the 2012-13 season, and it was only until Clippers lost Game 1 in the playoffs to finally acknowledge them as a threat, which in turn fueled Warriors to never look back after getting eliminated by them. Timberwolves became the first team since 2000 to pull a reversal by countering a 20+ point deficit with a 20+ point lead. Clippers may be the third team in NBA history to have a pair of 3-1 playoff collapses, but unlike 76ers and Suns, Clippers collapses were within 5 years, the quickest in NBA history.

See what I mean by outliers? Clippers are always in that category, mainly because they really don't believe in themselves unless it's done to the absolute perfect tee. One single, tiny, microscopic little thing goes wrong, everything goes wrong, hence their tendency to suffer the dreaded Corpse Bride syndrome.

Now, if you want to talk a good outlier, there's the title of first team to come back from down 2-0 twice in a playoff year. But that's only because they were afraid of going down 3-0 where it's a death sentence as we all know. Sometimes I feel the Clippers purposefully want to go down 3-0 just for the glory of it, to be loved, respected and worshiped like the Lakers. The sins of the father are still intact.

Trusting in the outlier spirit sounds like a very bad plan

[madmaxmedia]

Not mad about this loss. Two point game going into the 4th. We had no answer for Zion, but did good with BI, McCollum and JV. PG had another solid game, Kawhi was a non factor in the 4th.

The schedule gets easier the next couple of weeks. We gotta stay at least 4th seed so we can have home court incase we play them in the 1st round.

If they go 8-8 the rest of the way they will finish with 50 wins and I think that should be good enough for 4th.

Our next 8 games are all very winnable with only 1 B2B, we need to make hay in this upcoming stretch. So let's get better fast...

[MartinToVaught]

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No amount of practice can make this old, slow, and small team more equipped to stop Zion. It's just an impossible matchup for the roster we have.

[MartinToVaught]

Dallas might have won the 2007 championship if they didn't play GSW in the first round

I'm not so sure about that. People forget that Utah won the season series against them and blew them out twice, one of those coming right before the playoffs. Get past them and they'd be up against the Spurs' well-oiled machine that was out for revenge from the year before. I think it was just too daunting a task for a team that was poorly coached and soft. I've always felt that team was a paper tiger in general.

[og15]

I think the small ball philosophy sucks unless you have the greatest 3pt shooter in history: Stephen Curry. But GSW is the team that LAC has been trying to copy. They don't shoot like them and the switch everything defense regularly ends up in a bad match-up. I have never seen a team give up so many layups and dunks with fools looking around for help. The idea that Kawhi and PG are 2 way players should probably be forgotten. These guys are literally the only offensive threat and waste their energy on that side with nothing left on D. We refuse to develop any rebounding defensive players. The focus is constantly on guards and 3s and these guys suck on the defensive end and turnovers plague them. Big teams will own this team because it doesn't execute well enough to end up with easy shots despite being outsized. Let's not forget the Chiropractor's refusal to play 2 guys above 6'8 at any one time. A 1st round playoff exit seems unavoidable.

It's actually not Steph that made small ball work so effectively, it's Draymond (and they had Iguodala), and similarly, they didn't do it as full game lineups.

The larger difficulty with small ball is defense and rebounding, having a 4 who is elite on defense and can switch everything playing the 5 makes a big difference.

Like if the Clippers had Lamar Odom and did small ball with him at the 5 it's a totally different situation.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Dallas might have won the 2007 championship if they didn't play GSW in the first round

I'm not so sure about that. People forget that Utah won the season series against them and blew them out twice, one of those coming right before the playoffs. Get past them and they'd be up against the Spurs' well-oiled machine that was out for revenge from the year before. I think it was just too daunting a task for a team that was poorly coached and soft. I've always felt that team was a paper tiger in general.

perhaps you are right- we'll never know!

it is amazing they won 67 games with a relatively flawed roster

[madmaxmedia]

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No amount of practice can make this old, slow, and small team more equipped to stop Zion. It's just an impossible matchup for the roster we have.

The less individually capable a team is of defending a certain player, the more coaching and schemes required to try to slow that opposing player down (to whatever extent we are capable of doing that.)

[donemilio21]

Kawhi-PG core Clippers are 4-11 against Zion-Ingram core Pelicans.

Playoff crash course against them will basically mean an early first round exit and lots of firings before we move to Intuit.