Game #8: LAC (3-4) @ MAVS (6-2) FRI 11/10 5:30 PM

[MartinToVaught]

We don't really have four HOFers. We have one HOFer and three Hall of Pretty Gooders who will only get in because the standards are low. And all four are well past their prime and don't fit together.

[KL2]

Lue's personality appears to be "I don't care, I get paid either way." The only interpretation that makes sense for those comments, or other things like the Marcus Morris debacle last year, is outright contempt for the fans and possibly the FO.

Everyone is playing for their next contract. While some of the players might not net the extension or contract they want Lue will still get paid. Might not be here but he knows he’s got a job locked up.

Remember that thread that an insider supposedly dished all the dirt? Said there was a power struggle between Lue and the FO. Some of the things Lue says or does most definitely feels like giving the bird to the FO.

Lue boasts he’s the guy to lead this team where they want to go. That the players trust him. The things he says or does are not believable anymore though.

Every answer is we’ll be all right when …

[MartinToVaught]

Remember that thread that an insider supposedly dished all the dirt? Said there was a power struggle between Lue and the FO. Some of the things Lue says or does most definitely feels like giving the bird to the FO.

So not only is the on-court product a disaster, but we also have a tug-of-war behind the scenes between the worst coach in the NBA and the worst front office in the NBA. And of course, we can't forget the worst training/medical staff in the NBA lurking in the background.

In terms of just basketball, this might be the most dysfunctional the Clippers have ever been and that's quite the feat. Ballmer is a million times better than Sterling, of course, but I think it's safe to say he's still not a good owner. Good owners don't allow this much chaos for years without holding anyone accountable.

[KL2]

Sum up perfectly the board here.

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[og15]

There are different personalities in life. Some people have to openly express their anger and frustration and show everyone that they are mad, dissatisfied, etc.

Other people just move on because from their perspective, "crying" about it isn't going to change the past or make it better in the future.

Lue's personality appears to be "I don't care, I get paid either way." The only interpretation that makes sense for those comments, or other things like the Marcus Morris debacle last year, is outright contempt for the fans and possibly the FO.

I'm still pissed at him for this:

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I'm not psychoanalyzing anyone from comments to the media, one of the least reliable sources of actually understanding what a person is really thinking, it's simply a waste of my time, others can have fun with it though, I don't care, but just know I won't really put much care into that stuff.

Talking to the media gets tedious, it is part of the job, and it is the media's job to ask questions, it's part of the whole sports entertainment. Some are trying to instigate and get quotes, that's all good, whatever. If Lue didn't care, the people actually working intricately with him on a day to day basis would be well aware of it we would have heard about it.

Example of why coaches will give certain answers to the media:

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Sometimes you're just like I did it because I did it, that's all. This is what it is because it is what it is.

Different coaches come to the handling the media situation with different approaches, and it depends on how stressed they are and the situation what kind of answers they give. Lue doesn't generally care about the media's opinion; he doesn't care in the sense that he's not running his team or making roster or in game decisions with the thought of "oh no, what will the media say, what will the fans think?", instead, he's just going by, I work with my players day in and day out, we've worked on this stuff, they know what I'm doing, that's all I care about.

If it works, it works, if not, it doesn't, there's no magic in coaching, every time you make one decision, people can come up with another decision that will obviously have worked better. When you do what obviously would have worked better the last time this time, people will talk about how you should have known that it was the wrong decision this time because you have to be more versatile. Lue has taken the whole media thing as they have a job to do, I'll let them do it, but I won't get too stressed about their questions.

You would be surprised that there are coaches who don't do certain things because they are worried about what the media or the fans will say if it doesn't work, they are worried about the backlash of changing this or that, and it affects their decision making.

There could have been a stubbornness that developed with Lue and Marcus Morris, in that maybe he swung the pendulum too far in going against the grain to basically say "shut up, I'm the coach, you don't actually know what's going on inside the team". That's an opportunity to learn and grow and not get too into the battle with the media and outside opinions that always believe they have solutions to everything.

The idea that Lue is the worst coach in the league though and blaming everything on him is comically laughable.

[MartinToVaught]

Lue should never, ever be compared to a real coach like Spoelstra. There's a difference between reporters nitpicking a real coach whose teams meet or exceed the standard every season and asking valid questions to Lue about why the team's worst player gets 30 guaranteed minutes all year regardless of his performance.

Lue is simply not justified in blowing off questions about the decisions he makes and the results he produces. He hasn't earned that privilege. He's running away from scrutiny because he can't defend any aspect of his coaching. He's not alone in this either, Frank is just as bad. And this isn't psychoanalysis, it's taking their words at face value.

[KL2]

There are times when I want to blame Lue and put it all on him. Then sanity sets in. I'm not saying Lue is not to blame. His substitutions are atrocious.
But, when you have 4 hall of famers in the game together, it's up to them to figure it out. I've seen 4 total strangers at pick up game figuring $hit out by the 5th possession. These 4 guys need to go to Lue and make suggestions. As a coach, I'd hate to be in that position to tell a HOFer he's coming off the bench.
Lue couldn't bring Sr off the bench and he's supposed to tell that to one of these guys?
Kawhi has to step up because it's his legacy on the line. He needs to be a leader or fade away into oblivion.

It’s not all his fault. The FO continues to make questionable moves. Players might need a players only meeting perhaps?

Having said that isn’t it the coaches job to put these guys in the best position to succeed? To have them ready each game? Have them on the same page? To make the tough decisions for the betterment of the team?

If he’s more worried about hurting player A, B, or C’s feelings than the team as a whole he’s not the right person for the job.

Players certainly need to get it together but none of them seem to know what their role is right now. That’s a coaches problem not a players one.

[KL2]

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Imagine a teams best player all ready low on touches going even lower.

[ERClips]

Ego’s aside I would think these professionals should recognize that the roster is not balanced well at all. Especially in the new current starting lineup. Russ & Harden are not complimentary to each other. PG is lost out there and you can see it on his face. Zu would look at lot better if there was a forward out there who could board with him, do some pick & rolls or hit some 3’s. We currently have some of those options on the team right now in Kobe & Moussa. Moussa being more of a backup center though but he could be asked to do both. I don’t think Tucker should be starting but he’s still got a rebounder mentality. That airball corner 3 he took last night was fugly. He should be coming off the bench.

If this is the team we’re rolling with then I’d bring Harden off the bench too. Yeah, I know he wouldn’t go for it or Lue to do it, but we gotta put this puzzle together a different way. Bones looked great running the 4th quarter unit last night & that’s what he is meant to do. Not a great off the ball guard. He would suffer in the Harden off the bench scenario though because he and James do the same things.
Mann definitely needs to have a bigger role either starting or bench because he does everything out there.

This is a tough situation to figure out now. I’d rather develop Bones more and give Kobe & Moussa time too.
I know all this has been said before just trying to see a way through.
Oh and I didn’t mention Norm. Not because he was horrible last but because he’s completely redundant on the team now.

[esqtvd]

It’s worse watching him say it.

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There are different personalities in life. Some people have to openly express their anger and frustration and show everyone that they are mad, dissatisfied, etc.

Other people just move on because from their perspective, "crying" about it isn't going to change the past or make it better in the future.

If you're the type who is more reactionary in the moment, you think the non reactionary people "don't care" or "aren't concerned" or don't have passion. On the other hand, people who are more, "it's over, no point crying over spilled milk, clean it up and let's move on and figure it out, life isn't over" might think that the dwellers are dramatic and excessive or just putting on show.

Pretty funny isn't it.

Powell isn't helping, but this isn't really about Powell. Clippers have scored 11 points in the 2nd. If you had another guard in there instead of Powell it wouldn't have made any significant difference to Kyrie being hot, Westbrook forcing plays and taking bad shots with the bench unit, the bench units bad defense, and then the units with the starting players coming back in not playing well. Powell is one piece in the puzzle, but a team doesn't go -30 in 8 minutes just because of one player lol

A few points either way in one game is statistical noise but when you're TWICE as bad in a game as everyone else and the worst game after game, it's probably YOU.

Here's the thing--Powell has been leaking points since last year's All-Star break. I've been calling him out since then.


Clipper Nation has had its scapegoats but Powell has slid under the radar. He is owed $50+ million over the next 3 years and is easily the worst Clipper under contract. Nobody wants him and he's LITERALLY unplayable, especially with 5 guards [PG/KL, Russ/Harden/Mann/Bones] ahead of him.

Code: Select all

11 minutes 0 points 0 rebounds 0 assists 0-1 shooting 0 blks 0 steals 2 TOs

This is called a "gazillion." This is one of the worst possible performances in NBA history. Dude is a basket case. And we have too many other basket cases to prioritize him.

I thought I'd get in on all the fun. I can't believe there are still trolls here blaming THE COACH??

Powell is what we call a neutral player. Overall on the average night he won't sink you and he won't be likely to carry you, his impact is generally directly correlated to the strength of the units he plays with and his fit within those units.

If Powell is that bad and there are 5 guards on the team better than him and the coach is still playing him, then you are actually also blaming the coach, just doing it indirectly.

Powell is QUANTIFIABLY the worst player on the team at the moment. And he has the worst contract, with 3 more years to run at $20M per.

Ty has been giving him time to dig himself out to restore his trade value but he keeps digging himself in deeper instead. His trade value is negative now. It would take a FRP just to dump him. Ty can't bench him and he can't play him.

This is Mook times ten. Morris never had a run this bad and his contract was never this burdensome. Unplayable and untradable. Ty is screwed.

[og15]

Lue should never, ever be compared to a real coach like Spoelstra. There's a difference between reporters nitpicking a real coach whose teams meet or exceed the standard every season and asking valid questions to Lue about why the team's worst player gets 30 guaranteed minutes all year regardless of his performance.

Lue is simply not justified in blowing off questions about the decisions he makes and the results he produces. He hasn't earned that privilege. He's running away from scrutiny because he can't defend any aspect of his coaching. He's not alone in this either, Frank is just as bad. And this isn't psychoanalysis, it's taking their words at face value.

The coaching accomplishment argument isn't really the issue. The questions are fine, but you ask the same question over and over, the coach is going to start giving you flippant answers. What do people expect?

Lue can do whatever he wants, that's the whole point, no one has to like it, but he's taken the position of I'm not stressing myself out about these things, I'm just doing what I need to do. Some coaches are overly worried about pleasing the media, he doesn't care, he just does what he does.

[NickP]

Sum up perfectly the

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Translation: They suck but I don't want to piss them off

[Roscoe Sheed]

Sum up perfectly the

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Translation: They suck but I don't want to piss them off

Dallas looked like they sucked last season when they got Kyrie and look at them now.

It takes time.

Having said that, adjustments are definitely needed in terms of rotations and roster balance. How exactly that can be accomplished, I'm not sure.

By the way, there is no excuse about not having a power forward in the starting line up because Kawhi is as strong as most power forwards and PG is as tall as most. Rebounding should not be a problem- especially because Westbrook and Harden are good rebounders for guards.

[NickP]

Sum up perfectly the

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Translation: They suck but I don't want to piss them off

Dallas looked like they sucked last season when they got Kyrie and look at them now.

It takes time.

Having said that, adjustments are definitely needed in terms of rotations and roster balance. How exactly that can be accomplished, I'm not sure.

By the way, there is no excuse about not having a power forward in the starting line up because Kawhi is as strong as most power forwards and PG is as tall as most. Rebounding should not be a problem- especially because Westbrook and Harden are good rebounders for guards.

I know. I'm with you on that. Just trying to have some fun. It'll take time and once they figure it out it'll be alright.

[esqtvd]

Translation: They suck but I don't want to piss them off

Dallas looked like they sucked last season when they got Kyrie and look at them now.

It takes time.

Having said that, adjustments are definitely needed in terms of rotations and roster balance. How exactly that can be accomplished, I'm not sure.

By the way, there is no excuse about not having a power forward in the starting line up because Kawhi is as strong as most power forwards and PG is as tall as most. Rebounding should not be a problem- especially because Westbrook and Harden are good rebounders for guards.

I know. I'm with you on that. Just trying to have some fun. It'll take time and once they figure it out it'll be alright.

There's really not much else to do but keep throwing combinations out there until a few of them start to click. You just can't mastermind chemistry from the top down.