GAME THREAD #70 at Charlotte 4 PM PST Ballys Sports

[madmaxmedia]

But I digress. I'll shut up about it and I hope he improves. On to the next one

That’s the bottom line for these last couple of games, for him to hopefully improve (not for you to shut up )

[RingColluder]

Hate to point to the obvious in your posts that you know he's going to give you garbage then why are you so upset at PG? Isn't expecting differently from the same thing over and over again a...

Why am I upset a max player refuses to change his style of play for the betterment of the team?

Yeah. PG is shooting 41.2% from deep this year and you want him to shoot less. Ok.

And Morris is #2 in the league shooting 47.1%. I'm fine with 3pt shots (esp in spot up) what I'm NOT FINE with is those ridiculous long contested 2's he takes or hogging up the entire shot clock to either pass it last second or shoot a bad shot.

In his last 9 games he's had 5 bad shooting games:

10-27 against the Rockets (3-10 from 3)
3-11, 1-6 from 3 a critical loss to the Pelicans
5-21, 3-9 from 3 another critical loss to the Nuggets (sensing a pattern)?
5-15 2-9 from 3 against the Raptors last game where the team bailed him out
and tonight 7-19 5-13 where again the team bailed him out and he was awful shooting wise till the game got out of hand.

5 BAD shooting games out of 9 will not cut in the playoffs, vs. if he has 6 decent shooting games that don't totally take the focus and spotlight towards him for better or worse.

This will NOT CUT IT in the playoffs. He needs less shots PERIOD. Focus on rebounding and playing defense and maybe stop fantasizing about him when the games mattered less early on in the season and more as we get closer to crunch time where he continues to play exactly how we DON'T need him to play come the playoffs..

You've seen how he looks lately and you want him to continue shooting like this? Ok.

[esqtvd]

Feel free to rip PG and his shooting but playing with an inadequate guard like Pat Bev as a fellow starter doesn't help anyone or anything team wise. His so called amazing defense is not negating how bad he is on offense. There's almost no threat of him scoring nor making an assist for the team at all on the offensive end. Mann looked better than him even in garbage time which is another crime all to itself. I trust Ty Lue and I hope Pat Bev proves me wrong but I have no clue as to why he's starting and getting the minutes he's receiving.

These games are not Game 7. Our record with him and his plus/minus [3rd best on the team] were excellent before Bev got hurt. He will get every chance to get back where he was. Not only that but we return last year's starting lineup now that Ibaka has fallen off and Zu has the job.

We are HURTING for continuity. At least the starting 5 has some. And despite Bev's struggles since the All-Star break, we are 7-1 in the games he's played in. He is NOT hurting us.

Don't underestimate Bev's effect on Kawhi and PG and the possibility that THEY play better with Bev out there doing his high-energy thing. There's something called chemistry, and it's real. Last year the KL-PG-Zubac-Morris-Beverley lineup was SECOND in net rating in the NBA!! That's reason enough to play this out with Beverley.


As a mid-second-rounder in his 2nd year, for T-Mann to even be at the fringe of a playoff rotation for a MAJOR contender is a helluvan accomplishment. But hasn't and probably never will match the player that Bev has been at his best--a 3-time All-Defensive Team [one 1st and two 2nds]. That's SPECIAL.


We know what Mann can do. The Clippers owe it to themselves to find out if Bev can recapture that special form--and admittedly, damn quick. But if not, we have Reggie at the top of his game as backup. Unless Ty needs to hit the panic button, Mann will pick up minutes at the back of the rotation, not the front.

Reggie had another ANOTHER excellent game tonight. Just keeping things in perspective.

. And you can't be serious with the "we're 7-1 in the games he's played in" when he's missed the majority of the season. He had 0 points and I assist on Tuesday and 2 points and 0 assist in tonight's game. That's unacceptable no matter how you slice it. Forget TMann that's just an unreal for a starting point guard in the league let alone a team trying to go for the ring. Trust me I'm rooting for Pat Bev to play well and shine on the court as it equates to wins for the team but I'm just not seeing it. Not to mention him leap-frogging more deserving players in the process. But I digress. I'll shut up about it and I hope he improves. On to the next one

Since I like facts to back up my opinions and "eye tests," NBA lets you break up the season Pre- and Post-All-star and that fits Bev's injuries and struggles.

The pre-All-Star numbers are EXCELLENT. The question is whether he can get back. It's not that complicated. 3-time All-Defensive team including 2nd team just LAST YEAR. It was only a sore knee not a torn Achilles. This is not that big a reach.

Trust with your coach swings both ways. Pat knows he's underperforming and he also knows that Ty has his back.

And we ARE 7-1 with Pat even as he's underperformed trying to play injured and then come back from injury. I don't take that one back in the least. There's a LOT more to this game than shooting percentages. Otherwise, just let computers coach.

[NickP]

These games are not Game 7. Our record with him and his plus/minus [3rd best on the team] were excellent before Bev got hurt. He will get every chance to get back where he was. Not only that but we return last year's starting lineup now that Ibaka has fallen off and Zu has the job.

We are HURTING for continuity. At least the starting 5 has some. And despite Bev's struggles since the All-Star break, we are 7-1 in the games he's played in. He is NOT hurting us.

Don't underestimate Bev's effect on Kawhi and PG and the possibility that THEY play better with Bev out there doing his high-energy thing. There's something called chemistry, and it's real. Last year the KL-PG-Zubac-Morris-Beverley lineup was SECOND in net rating in the NBA!! That's reason enough to play this out with Beverley.


As a mid-second-rounder in his 2nd year, for T-Mann to even be at the fringe of a playoff rotation for a MAJOR contender is a helluvan accomplishment. But hasn't and probably never will match the player that Bev has been at his best--a 3-time All-Defensive Team [one 1st and two 2nds]. That's SPECIAL.


We know what Mann can do. The Clippers owe it to themselves to find out if Bev can recapture that special form--and admittedly, damn quick. But if not, we have Reggie at the top of his game as backup. Unless Ty needs to hit the panic button, Mann will pick up minutes at the back of the rotation, not the front.

Reggie had another ANOTHER excellent game tonight. Just keeping things in perspective.

. And you can't be serious with the "we're 7-1 in the games he's played in" when he's missed the majority of the season. He had 0 points and I assist on Tuesday and 2 points and 0 assist in tonight's game. That's unacceptable no matter how you slice it. Forget TMann that's just an unreal for a starting point guard in the league let alone a team trying to go for the ring. Trust me I'm rooting for Pat Bev to play well and shine on the court as it equates to wins for the team but I'm just not seeing it. Not to mention him leap-frogging more deserving players in the process. But I digress. I'll shut up about it and I hope he improves. On to the next one

Since I like facts to back up my opinions and "eye tests," NBA lets you break up the season Pre- and Post-All-star and that fits Bev's injuries and struggles.

The pre-All-Star numbers are EXCELLENT. The question is whether he can get back. It's not that complicated. 3-time All-Defensive team including 2nd team just LAST YEAR. It was only a sore knee not a torn Achilles. This is not that big a reach.

Trust with your coach swings both ways. Pat knows he's underperforming and he also knows that Ty has his back.

And we ARE 7-1 with Pat even as he's underperformed trying to play injured and then come back from injury. I don't take that one back in the least. There's a LOT more to this game than shooting percentages. Otherwise, just let computers coach.

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that. If Bev can focus and play solid defense and not commit silly fouls and knock down the open 3 then that's all we need from him. Mann is not ready for that pressure yet. But Mann will get some of that experience this year.
Playoffs are a whole different game where the game slows down. Players like Bev become valuable. This is Kawhi time. He knows what playoffs are. This is Rondo time. Everyone else including PG should just read the script and perform their parts as written. This is going to be exciting.
Winter is here!

[RingColluder]

. And you can't be serious with the "we're 7-1 in the games he's played in" when he's missed the majority of the season. He had 0 points and I assist on Tuesday and 2 points and 0 assist in tonight's game. That's unacceptable no matter how you slice it. Forget TMann that's just an unreal for a starting point guard in the league let alone a team trying to go for the ring. Trust me I'm rooting for Pat Bev to play well and shine on the court as it equates to wins for the team but I'm just not seeing it. Not to mention him leap-frogging more deserving players in the process. But I digress. I'll shut up about it and I hope he improves. On to the next one

Since I like facts to back up my opinions and "eye tests," NBA lets you break up the season Pre- and Post-All-star and that fits Bev's injuries and struggles.

The pre-All-Star numbers are EXCELLENT. The question is whether he can get back. It's not that complicated. 3-time All-Defensive team including 2nd team just LAST YEAR. It was only a sore knee not a torn Achilles. This is not that big a reach.

Trust with your coach swings both ways. Pat knows he's underperforming and he also knows that Ty has his back.

And we ARE 7-1 with Pat even as he's underperformed trying to play injured and then come back from injury. I don't take that one back in the least. There's a LOT more to this game than shooting percentages. Otherwise, just let computers coach.

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that. If Bev can focus and play solid defense and not commit silly fouls and knock down the open 3 then that's all we need from him. Mann is not ready for that pressure yet. But Mann will get some of that experience this year.
Playoffs are a whole different game where the game slows down. Players like Bev become valuable. This is Kawhi time. He knows what playoffs are. This is Rondo time. Everyone else including PG should just read the script and perform their parts as written. This is going to be exciting.
Winter is here!

This is 100% correct. That includes not committing silly fouls from Bev AND PG like last playoff series.

And yes, Mann IS ready for the playoffs. We're going to be kicking ourselves if it's game 5 and Bev/Reggie isn't performing and we throw TMann into the fire. We should have been preparing him since a month ago for this.

[esqtvd]

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that. If Bev can focus and play solid defense and not commit silly fouls and knock down the open 3 then that's all we need from him. Mann is not ready for that pressure yet. But Mann will get some of that experience this year.

Playoffs are a whole different game where the game slows down. Players like Bev become valuable. This is Kawhi time. He knows what playoffs are. This is Rondo time. Everyone else including PG should just read the script and perform their parts as written. This is going to be exciting.

Zxtamundo. And ex-coach [name deleted] gave Mann playoff minutes last year too. And Mann will get some this year too, as needed and as earned.

This is Bev time and this is Kawhi time and this is Rondo time. If those 3 come through, PG will not be on the spot and a double-double 20/10/6 performance like tonight's will be PRAISED not disrespected.

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that.

You got that right, bro. There are a million reasons why we'll lose and only a dozen why we'll win and we all know them. The time for whining is over--get in or get out. Save it for the offseason.

[RingColluder]

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that. If Bev can focus and play solid defense and not commit silly fouls and knock down the open 3 then that's all we need from him. Mann is not ready for that pressure yet. But Mann will get some of that experience this year.

Playoffs are a whole different game where the game slows down. Players like Bev become valuable. This is Kawhi time. He knows what playoffs are. This is Rondo time. Everyone else including PG should just read the script and perform their parts as written. This is going to be exciting.

Zxtamundo. And ex-coach [name deleted] gave Mann playoff minutes last year too. And Mann will get some this year too, as needed and as earned.

This is Bev time and this is Kawhi time and this is Rondo time. If those 3 come through, PG will not be on the spot and a double-double 20/10/6 performance like tonight's will be PRAISED not disrespected.

I said it before that we have what we have and we go to war with that.

You got that right, bro. There are a million reasons why we'll lose and only a dozen why we'll win and we all know them. The time for whining is over--get in or get out. Save it for the offseason.

You can't take a max slot up and shoot this poorly the closer it gets to the playoffs. You just can't. And 20 points on good shooting %'s is fine, but he isn't going to get any praise whatsoever shooting 5-14 on 20 points regardless of other stats. And if those 6 assists include 4 turnovers? No.


The lengths people will go to to defend an awful contract, my goodness..

--
And this playoffs will come down to if PG plays closer to how he looked for that brief fleeting stretch of games after Rondo came back and he STOPPED PLAYMAKING or he looks how he does now. It's not reliant on if Batum or Morris misses a few 3 pointers when we have a guy taking up the majority of our shots and ball usage. If that's how Ty Lue and the team has decided to play, then that's what it comes down to.