Lance Stephenson | Possible FA | Can He Revive His Career?

gipper08 · Post #81 » by **gipper08** » Mon Mar 14, 2016 4:47 pm

Lance still has some mental issues on the court that he needs to get over. He was hitting threes like crazy in LAC and couldn't buy a midrange J there. In Memphis he is on fire on midrange yet seems to have lost confidence in his three...all the while he played ZERO defense the first few game s in Memphis. He can't seem to easily focus on multiple things .He won't stop interacting with the refs despite the fact that they obviously hate him like everyone else.

Joerger is a godsend compared to Clifford and Rivers but he still doesn't use Lance right.He plays lance two long shifts for his minutes...Stephenson needs several five to six game minutes stretches and not two long shifts. lance needs time to get in rhythm and frankly when he gets in his groove he blows himself up and needs rest. Joerger has him as 9th or tenth off the bench yet lance always ends up playing in crunch time. His 33 points the other day he wasn't even really dominant.

memphis players like carter,Allen, and Barnes tried hard to fit Stephenson in ...UNTIL he started to play REALLY well and then they started to try and freeze him out a little ala Chalmers/Crawford/Rivers.
Memphis has zero inside D. I can't believe they are winning. Hollins, Green, and Martin are incredibly low IQ help defenders.

Edrees · Post #82 » by **Edrees** » Mon Mar 14, 2016 6:52 pm

I'll tell you this if clippers face grizz in the playoffs, Lance is going to go NUTS it will definitely earn him a fat contract.

Nazrmohamed · Post #83 » by **Nazrmohamed** » Mon Mar 14, 2016 7:04 pm

Id love to have him in NY.

laploutocratie · Post #84 » by **laploutocratie** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:16 pm

After 13 games at 25.8 mpg.

Is this a surprise to anyone? Lance in an environment where he gets to be a playmaker and now he's thriving again like he did in Indiana. His 3-point shot is broken but the other aspects of his game seem to be back, including his vision, confidence, and flair.

It's a shame that Doc couldn't use him properly because I feel like he could have been put in a much better position for success there.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4EwuooXhxk[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik7ZmO2lEuI[/youtube]

Phureal · Post #85 » by **Phureal** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:23 pm

Unfortunately for the Clips, his name is not Lance Rivers

F N 11 · Post #86 » by **F N 11** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:25 pm

I know certain players have issues with attitude/personality. But the guy has the damn talent. im sure Doc didn't play him because of non basketball reasons.

Dan Z · Post #87 » by **Dan Z** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:37 pm

Did he ever have a 3 point shot? It's something he should work on in the offseason. At the end of the season will Memphis exercise their team option on his contract?

Bishop45 · Post #88 » by **Bishop45** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:40 pm

Only shot like 10 3's in Memphis. He's an average 3pt shooter at the very least

laploutocratie · Post #89 » by **laploutocratie** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:52 pm

Bishop45 wrote:Only shot like 10 3's in Memphis. He's an average 3pt shooter at the very least

Close, he's shot 15 3's in Memphis. As a 30.3% Career 3pt shooter though, I would say that is below average.

senel · Post #90 » by **senel** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:56 pm

Memphis is so decimated that they don't have any choice but to play him good minutes. Doc is an idiot. How many players has he had and not used properly? Lance was not going to get more minutes than Doc's son.

BJGOAT3 · Post #91 » by **BJGOAT3** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 4:57 pm

Lance thrives when given playmaking-ball handling responsibilities. He is basically useless when a team has someone else as the primary ball handler. He essentially has the tendencies of a star wing player, without the elite offence or talent, but can still be an effective all around threat in a much lesser scale.

Post #92 » by **QRich3** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:06 pm

laploutocratie wrote:It's a shame that Doc couldn't use him properly because I feel like he could have been put in a much better position for success there.

He's getting the ball all to himself now with all the Grizzlies injuries, the guy has a team-high 26% usage there. He would never have the chance to do that in the Clippers, under Doc or whoever else. He was just never a great fit for the Clippers, they traded for him cause he had a shorter contract than Hawes. He'll also come back to earth next season when there's better players around him who command the ball from him.

Bishop45 · Post #93 » by **Bishop45** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:07 pm

laploutocratie wrote:
Bishop45 wrote:Only shot like 10 3's in Memphis. He's an average 3pt shooter at the very least

Close, he's shot 15 3's in Memphis. As a 30.3% Career 3pt shooter though, I would say that is below average.

Career wise, where he barely played his first few seasons, he's been a lot better lately. Not a large enough sample size to say he's better tho, so yea'

Bishop45 · Post #94 » by **Bishop45** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:10 pm

Bishop45 wrote:
laploutocratie wrote:
Bishop45 wrote:Only shot like 10 3's in Memphis. He's an average 3pt shooter at the very least

Close, he's shot 15 3's in Memphis. As a 30.3% Career 3pt shooter though, I would say that is below average.

Career wise, where he barely played his first few seasons, he's been a lot better lately. Not a large enough sample size to say he's better tho, so yea'

BJGOAT3 wrote:Lance thrives when given playmaking-ball handling responsibilities. He is basically useless when a team has someone else as the primary ball handler. He essentially has the tendencies of a star wing player, without the elite offence or talent, but can still be an effective all around threat in a much lesser scale.

He was playing well off the bench with Rio and Conley there, just more noticeable now

Post #95 » by **pacers33granger** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:12 pm

QRich3 wrote:
laploutocratie wrote:It's a shame that Doc couldn't use him properly because I feel like he could have been put in a much better position for success there.

He's getting the ball all to himself now with all the Grizzlies injuries, the guy has a team-high 26% usage there. He would never have the chance to do that in the Clippers, under Doc or whoever else. He was just never a great fit for the Clippers, they traded for him cause he had a shorter contract than Hawes. He'll also come back to earth next season when there's better players around him who command the ball from him.

He would never have the chance to get near 26% usage in big minutes, but in limited minutes I don't see why not. Crawford is at 25% for the year and Rivers is at 18%. Hell Josh Smith was at 23.5% when you guys had him. Aldrich, Wilcox, and Johnson all have a higher usage than Lance did in LA. I agree Lance wasn't a great fit, but Doc could have easily used him better.

Post #96 » by **QRich3** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:22 pm

pacers33granger wrote:
QRich3 wrote:
laploutocratie wrote:It's a shame that Doc couldn't use him properly because I feel like he could have been put in a much better position for success there.

He's getting the ball all to himself now with all the Grizzlies injuries, the guy has a team-high 26% usage there. He would never have the chance to do that in the Clippers, under Doc or whoever else. He was just never a great fit for the Clippers, they traded for him cause he had a shorter contract than Hawes. He'll also come back to earth next season when there's better players around him who command the ball from him.

He would never have the chance to get near 26% usage in big minutes, but in limited minutes I don't see why not. Crawford is at 25% for the year and Rivers is at 18%. Hell Josh Smith was at 23.5% when you guys had him. Aldrich, Wilcox, and Johnson all have a higher usage than Lance did in LA. I agree Lance wasn't a great fit, but Doc could have easily used him better.

Well, Smith was obviously not working out that's why he was dumped to Houston. Wilcox only plays garbage time so it's moot. Johnson and Aldrich are pretty decent finishers and they absolutely can have a higher usage than Lance. Crawford and Rivers are the teacher's pets and they should be nowhere near that, that is true. Best case scenario, Lance would take over Crawford's place as the 2nd unit ball handler, but he never showed a lot a potential for that to work out, even though some numbers might trick you into thinking he could.

I like Lance, he was a good soldier here and I wish him the best for his career, he should be able to find a niche in a bad/average team. But I just never envisioned how he could work out here.

76ciology · Post #97 » by **76ciology** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:22 pm

His game has inefficient/limited productivity relative to amount of ball time. Needs to adjust his game, preferably to more of an Iggy type player. Less Iso, transition player,3&D.

Post #98 » by **moocow007** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:40 pm

Well if Phil Jackson continues his insistence that he doesn't really need a top notch PG cause the Triangle doesn't place an emphasis on one, having someone like Stephenson who can do PG things might help. Then again, Jackson's current kick seems to be with "good character" guys so that obviously doesn't work in Lance's favor. Back home in NY could revive him or it could destroy him. Considering that the alternative is watching Jose Calderon, I'd say, let's take a chance and see what happens. Good or bad, it'll at least be more entertaining then having to watch Calderon (and, likely Vujavic again).

nickhx2 · Post #99 » by **nickhx2** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:46 pm

i think lance would do well in the triangle. i think it'd be unfortunate if jackson decided against lance because of "character issues" because lance was NOTHING but a good soldier in LA this season. he gets a bad rap for things out of his control and he was very rarely moody on the court.

honestly i think lance is really just one of those players who don't absorb things off the court the way the best players do, but the more play time, usage, and rhythm he gets the better he gets. up until this point i don't think he's truly had much opportunity to do that but maybe some day in the right scheme and on the right team he'll get it and begin to get a lot better.

- opinion coming from a guy who vilified and hated lance since his rookie year

TheNewEra · Post #100 » by **TheNewEra** » Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:15 pm

Never understood the "he didn't fit" line it felt like just buying Doc's ****.

Going into the season we needed another ball handler because teams would trap Paul or Griff and the offense would stop. You also have stretches when both guys can be very passive and allows guys like Jamal and Austin control the ball. The biggest add for Lance was having a ball handler that was a WILLING passer. That kept guys like DJ and JJ involved because oppose to Jamal and Austin can create own shot and get the ball to others.

The 3pt shooting argument didn't make sense because you don't need everyone on the team having the same role. You want guys to cover other weaknesses Lance bigger size helped with certain rebounding matchups.

The trade was purely preference instead of what was best for the team. Doc has had to shut down Green three times at least so far for poor play.

Can Lance Stephenson Revive His Career a la His Pacers Days?