Round 3 WCF Game 4 - at Los Angeles 6 p.m. PST ESPN

[Upperclass]

Imo lineup for tonight and moving forward should be:
Rondo
Reggie
Mann
PG
Zu -- minutes linked to Aytons
--
Batum
Morris at primary backup 5
Bev only for Rondo
Luke
Scrubb
Patpat just to bang with Saric
--
You cant lose a Kawhi and an Ibaka and not have someone soak up some of their backups minutes.. playing the starters MORE hasnt resulted in more baskets or less turnovers.. widen the bench so guys can execute and stay fresh.

Lue has been close to cracking the Suns code but he just needs someone who can create for others and to take the ball out of PG's hands, so he's fresher in the end half. So thats either starting and riding Rondo, or running Mann at PG and letting Scrubb get some minutes off the bench to keep Mann/PG rested

[clipperlover]

the refs not blatantly jobbing us with calls in the last couple mins of G2/G4. free throws.

The Refs didn't tell us to miss 4 straight 3 point shots in Game 2 when we were down 90-93 and had possession. The refs didn't tell us to fail to tie or take the lead on 12 opportunities in the 4th quarter of Game 4.

This team is currently lacking the killer instinct to take control of the situation in this series. This team sans Kawhi still could have swept the Suns in this series.

I expect this team, facing elimination, to find that killer instinct. The only ones holding this team back from winning this series are themselves. For example, the continued lack of situational awareness to make the right play or take the right shot (e.g. lazy behind the back passes, getting an early bonus and then settling for jumpers).

[nickhx2]

fantastic you seemed to have completely missed the point of my post

[Upperclass]

the refs not blatantly jobbing us with calls in the last couple mins of G2/G4. free throws.

The Refs didn't tell us to miss 4 straight 3 point shots in Game 2 when we were down 90-93 and had possession. The refs didn't tell us to fail to tie or take the lead on 12 opportunities in the 4th quarter of Game 4.

This team is currently lacking the killer instinct to take control of the situation in this series. This team sans Kawhi still could have swept the Suns in this series.

I expect this team, facing elimination, to find that killer instinct. The only ones holding this team back from winning this series are themselves. For example, the continued lack of situational awareness to make the right play or take the right shot (e.g. lazy behind the back passes, getting an early bonus and then settling for jumpers).

I think its players like (primarily) Mann not wanting to step on PG but he has to be the one the give them confidence. But also the refs absolutely took game 4 away. They have also allowed Ayton to foul, going over the back constantly, moving picks, swats at the hoop etc.. with no calls. you almost never see those type of no-calls going against big guys on players driving in the paint.

[clipperlover]

fantastic you seemed to have completely missed the point of my post

I agree with our sentiment about this team.

However, the shortcomings in this playoff series we can overcome this series. We just need these guys to get that killer instinct. We need someone that will look at his teammates and say sure Kawhi is out, but we are still better than this opponent, so let's prove it. If that means someone grabs Paul George and throws his @$$ on the bench when he settles for a jumper against Chris Paul, then so be it.

[clipperlover]

But also the refs absolutely took game 4 away. They have also allowed Ayton to foul, going over the back constantly, moving picks, swats at the hoop etc.. with no calls. you almost never see those type of no-calls going against big guys on players driving in the paint.

No they didn't.
At 10:07, PG got fouled with us trailing 68-71. He also drew a bogus technical on Booker to get an extra FT. PG missed 1 of the 3 FTs and we were at 70-71 (failed chance to tie or take lead #1)
Here is the sequence that follows:
9:38 - N. Batum misses 3-pt jump shot from 28 ft (failed chance to tie or take lead #2)
9:16 - T. Mann misses 2-pt layup from 3 ft (block by C. Payne)(failed chance to tie or take lead #3)
9:06 - P. George misses 3-pt jump shot from 27 ft (failed chance to tie or take lead #4) - Did we need the 3?
From 9:06 - 8:49 Phoenix missed multiple shots
8:45 - P. George misses 2-pt layup from 3 ft (block by M. Bridges) (failed chance to tie or take lead #5)
8:30 - P. George misses 2-pt jump shot from 7 ft (failed chance to tie or take lead #6)
8:15 - I. Zubac misses 2-pt jump shot from 18 ft (failed chance to tie or take lead #7)
7:39 - R. Jackson misses 3-pt jump shot from 27 ft Turnover by Team (shot clock) - (failed chance to tie or take lead #8)
7:18 - P. George misses 2-pt jump shot from 16 ft (failed chance to tie or take lead #9)
7:06 - 6:35 - Phoenix gets 3 possessions on 1 trip and don't score, but Zu doesn't secure rebound.
6:35 - LUE calls a timeout
6:23 - Ayton dunks to make score 70-73

So, in just 4 minutes of game time, we failed to tie or take the lead 9 times with 5 of those coming in just about 1 minute of game time (9:38-8:30).

The refs did not cost us the game that 4 minute sequence did. That was our chance to impose our will on a young team that was struggling to score and we matched them miss for miss.

[nickhx2]

fantastic you seemed to have completely missed the point of my post

I agree with our sentiment about this team.

However, the shortcomings in this playoff series we can overcome this series. We just need these guys to get that killer instinct. We need someone that will look at his teammates and say sure Kawhi is out, but we are still better than this opponent, so let's prove it. If that means someone grabs Paul George and throws his @$$ on the bench when he settles for a jumper against Chris Paul, then so be it.

i don't disagree, and that instinct/bball IQ would really have delivered for us in G4, such that all those factors going against us would have been nullified.

i do think now that zubac is out, it's probably all moot even if paul george was possessed by jordan himself.