Westbrook is here! How do we make this work?

[clipperlover]

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Lue's already screwed it up and Westbrook hasn't even played yet. This experiment only has a chance of working if Russ takes Morris' minutes.

Sad, it is going to take an injury to Morris to force Lue's hand. Give me Batum and/or RoCo in that position because they can actually do things other than stand and shoot threes. Unconventional things like rebounding.

[clipperlover]

Ballmer should have built the new arena in San Diego. Now, he can't build the team organically through the draft.

I hope Ballmer doesn't think that way, or else we'll never win anything unless he changes his mind. Trying to build a team on the fly by throwing money at aging stars has given us one WCF appearance and not much else. Punting on drafting and development because "we're in LA, we need stars" is not a strategy.

The teams that win in this league generally have at least one cornerstone from the draft who grew with the franchise and set the tone. LeBron in Cleveland, Duncan in San Antonio, Curry in the Bay, Giannis in Milwaukee, etc. We've never had that. The closest we've had was Blake and he wasn't quite on that level. Right now we're like the Chiefs when they used to trade for other teams' veteran backup QBs every few years. Eventually we're going to need to find our Mahomes.

Terrance Mann, Bones Hyland, Zu, Brandon Boston, Coffey, Diabate, Preston, and our 1st & 2nd round picks in this upcoming draft has us fully stocked and doing pretty good in the youth-development department. Next season I'm thinking Morris, RoCo, and maybe Batum is gone so maybe the logjam opens up a bit more next season. We're not really lacking at all in this area imo

If Hyland, Boston, Coffey and Preston were anything other than NBA bench players in waiting, they would be on the court consistently. I am not pinning the future of this team on those players. I remember people had high hopes on the futures of Jay Scrub and Kabengele.

[Ballings7]

Doc not making any adjustments and completing his second 3-1 choke job with two different cores is what did him in not PG. Horrible game 7 but PG and Kawhi still had good games against Denver in the bubble but they were ruined when Doc insisted on have Trez guard Jokic. Please don't do this.

nah that's the narrative
Kawhi and PG went 2-18 in the second half of a Game 7
one of the greatest choke jobs in NBA history

roleplayer Trez only played 17 mpg
JaMychal Green played more minutes than him
that's just more scapegoating

blame where it's due
games are won and lost by the players
no team survives their two "superstars" choking like that

It's all up to Paul George now



Russ better pray the right PG shows up

or we'll be blaming HIM

Clipps vs Nuggets in the bubble


Game 1: Kawhi 29 points -PG 19 points
Game 2: Kawhi 13 points- PG 22 points
Game 3: Kawhi 23 points- PG 32 points
Game 4: Kawhi 30 points- PG 10 points
Game 5 Kawhi 36 points- PG 26 points
Game 6 Kawhi 25 points- PG 33 points
Game 7 Kawhi 14 points- PG 10 points


Yes game 7 was a nightmare and the blame went to Kawhi & PG but Doc ruined and totally butchered games 5 and 6. And really PG's bad playoff performances with us were against the Mavs in the bubble and that game 7 against the Nuggets also in the bubble. He was good to stellar in the year we made the WCF when Kawhi went out.

Definitely echo this.

For the Denver series, people act like they had a mediocre series.. they did not. The game 7 loss is on the team and including PG/Kawhi. Clippers were just not as ready to play as Denver in Game 7, all other games aside, and either team was capable of winning the series. Nuggets were the better team in the end, had more energy and took better advantage of their matchups, and to me it doesn't diminish Kawhi/PG as players or define them, but does leave a small scar on both of them.

[esqtvd]

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Lue's already screwed it up and Westbrook hasn't even played yet. This experiment only has a chance of working if Russ takes Morris' minutes.

Sad, it is going to take an injury to Morris to force Lue's hand. Give me Batum and/or RoCo in that position because they can actually do things other than stand and shoot threes. Unconventional things like rebounding.

At plus+6.8 per 100, over the last 10 games Marcus is doing better than he has all year, and Batum [minus-7.2] and Covington [minus-12.0] are slumping badly. Every other Clipper regular except Powell [minus-5.6] and Mann [minus-1.8] is over 0.0.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=10&PerMode=Per100Possessions&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

Plus/minus isn't everything, but it's no coincidence that those 4 players are among the most vulnerable for PT. As a true 5, Plumlee is already ahead of Batum and Covington [we can go small at the 4 with MP in] and as a true 1, Westbrook looks to take minutes from Powell and Mann [and don't count EJ out either at the 1-2].
____________________________

ADD: Westbrook inspires [?] Senior to drain 30 threes in a row

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[ejftw]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

[Clemenza]

I hope Ballmer doesn't think that way, or else we'll never win anything unless he changes his mind. Trying to build a team on the fly by throwing money at aging stars has given us one WCF appearance and not much else. Punting on drafting and development because "we're in LA, we need stars" is not a strategy.

The teams that win in this league generally have at least one cornerstone from the draft who grew with the franchise and set the tone. LeBron in Cleveland, Duncan in San Antonio, Curry in the Bay, Giannis in Milwaukee, etc. We've never had that. The closest we've had was Blake and he wasn't quite on that level. Right now we're like the Chiefs when they used to trade for other teams' veteran backup QBs every few years. Eventually we're going to need to find our Mahomes.

Terrance Mann, Bones Hyland, Zu, Brandon Boston, Coffey, Diabate, Preston, and our 1st & 2nd round picks in this upcoming draft has us fully stocked and doing pretty good in the youth-development department. Next season I'm thinking Morris, RoCo, and maybe Batum is gone so maybe the logjam opens up a bit more next season. We're not really lacking at all in this area imo

If Hyland, Boston, Coffey and Preston were anything other than NBA bench players in waiting, they would be on the court consistently. I am not pinning the future of this team on those players. I remember people had high hopes on the futures of Jay Scrub and Kabengele.

Hyland, Boston, Coffey, and Moussa would definitely get at least 15 minutes per game if not more if they were on different teams. Its not their fault the team had promised minutes to or was way to dependent on old players like Reggie, Wall, Kennard, Morris, Batum.. half who aren't even on the team anymore. And we all knew if was over for Jay Scrubb when he had an excellent chance to shine and get minutes when Kawhi was out the entire year and PG was out for a ton games. But dude couldn't even stay heathy even in that moment of time.

[esqtvd]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

Marcus Morris has been my Least Favorite Clipper for years but you can't argue with the good numbers--17.9 ppg and a plus/minus second only to Kawhi over the last 15. And neither Nico or RoCo is killing out there lately.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=15&PerMode=Per100Possessions&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

I see no harm in letting Mann [minus-1.8] continue as the placeholder starter for awhile but he has not earned those 25+ mpg. Those days are over. Westbrook and EJ will get a strong look for his minutes at the 1, and if Mann cuts into Marcus's [et al.] minutes at the 4, at a shade under 6'5" he's really pushing Kawhi over to PF to bump heads with bigger guys. It's not just an easy question of handing Senior's minutes to T-Mann straight up.

You're right about Russ' rebounding--9.8 per 100 possessions, better than Senior and Mann [7.8, 7.3] and even better than Kawhi and Batum [9.4, 9.2]. Could be an x-factor!

[Ballings7]

Watch on YouTube

Pretty fun stuff here

[clipperlover]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

Marcus Morris has been my Least Favorite Clipper for years but you can't argue with the good numbers--17.9 ppg and a plus/minus second only to Kawhi over the last 15. And neither Nico or RoCo is killing out there lately.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=15&PerMode=Per100Possessions&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

I see no harm in letting Mann [minus-1.8] continue as the placeholder starter for awhile but he has not earned those 25+ mpg. Those days are over. Westbrook and EJ will get a strong look for his minutes at the 1, and if Mann cuts into Marcus's [et al.] minutes at the 4, at a shade under 6'5" he's really pushing Kawhi over to PF to bump heads with bigger guys. It's not just an easy question of handing Senior's minutes to T-Mann straight up.

You're right about Russ' rebounding--9.8 per 100 possessions, better than Senior and Mann [7.8, 7.3] and even better than Kawhi and Batum [9.4, 9.2]. Could be an x-factor!

Less Morris is needed, not an equal amount or more. He is a one trick pony at this point.

[esqtvd]

Terrance Mann, Bones Hyland, Zu, Brandon Boston, Coffey, Diabate, Preston, and our 1st & 2nd round picks in this upcoming draft has us fully stocked and doing pretty good in the youth-development department. Next season I'm thinking Morris, RoCo, and maybe Batum is gone so maybe the logjam opens up a bit more next season. We're not really lacking at all in this area imo

If Hyland, Boston, Coffey and Preston were anything other than NBA bench players in waiting, they would be on the court consistently. I am not pinning the future of this team on those players. I remember people had high hopes on the futures of Jay Scrub and Kabengele.

Hyland, Boston, Coffey, and Moussa would definitely get at least 15 minutes per game if not more if they were on different teams. Its not their fault the team had promised minutes to or was way to dependent on old players like Reggie, Wall, Kennard, Morris, Batum.. half who aren't even on the team anymore. And we all knew if was over for Jay Scrubb when he had an excellent chance to shine and get minutes when Kawhi was out the entire year and PG was out for a ton games. But dude couldn't even stay heathy even in that moment of time.

Hyland is already ahead of Boston and Coffey, who have the absolute bottom numbers on the Clippers--at minus-7 per 100 possessions, they're borderline unplayable. Which is why they only play on the borderline. I mean, forget the other numbers, you just can't bleed points like that.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?PerMode=Per100Possessions&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

Coffey actually got a full shot last year--1500 minutes and 30 starts. This year he still got 570 minutes and 9 starts, and with 2700 career NBA minutes now, Amir has had plenty of time to break out of the pack. But at 26 in June, he's no longer a prospect.

At least Bones is still only 22. But the Nuggets have already invested 2000 NBA minutes in him, and decided to pull the plug. If he were 25, he'd be where Coffey is, his career hanging by a thread. I like Bones, and at least he admits he screwed up in Denver. Coffey did the best he could and as an undrafted player did well to have an NBA career at all.

For Bones, 2023-24 and 2024-25 are team option--I'm sure the Clips with take him next year at $2M, but at $4M the year after, Bones' NBA future is far from assured.

[esqtvd]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

Marcus Morris has been my Least Favorite Clipper for years but you can't argue with the good numbers--17.9 ppg and a plus/minus second only to Kawhi over the last 15. And neither Nico or RoCo is killing out there lately.

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?LastNGames=15&PerMode=Per100Possessions&TeamID=1610612746&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS

I see no harm in letting Mann [minus-1.8] continue as the placeholder starter for awhile but he has not earned those 25+ mpg. Those days are over. Westbrook and EJ will get a strong look for his minutes at the 1, and if Mann cuts into Marcus's [et al.] minutes at the 4, at a shade under 6'5" he's really pushing Kawhi over to PF to bump heads with bigger guys. It's not just an easy question of handing Senior's minutes to T-Mann straight up.

You're right about Russ' rebounding--9.8 per 100 possessions, better than Senior and Mann [7.8, 7.3] and even better than Kawhi and Batum [9.4, 9.2]. Could be an x-factor!

Less Morris is needed, not an equal amount or more. He is a one trick pony at this point.

You're entitled to your opinions but I like mine better because they have facts in them.

Marcus Morris has been my Least Favorite Clipper for years but you can't argue with the good numbers--a plus/minus second only to Kawhi over the last 15. And neither Nico or RoCo is killing out there lately.

...[I]f Mann cuts into Marcus's [et al.] minutes at the 4, at a shade under 6'5" he's really pushing Kawhi over to PF to bump heads with bigger guys. It's not just an easy question of handing Senior's minutes to T-Mann straight up.

I like Batum more than either Senior or Mann but he's 34 and having a very up and down year. And I've been following RoCo since his Sixers days and he's frankly done nothing to break into the rotation. We have to get down to 8 or 9 and he's about 11th.

Kawhi
PG
Westbrook
Zu
Senior
Plumlee
Powell

Batum
Mann
Gordon
RoCo

I think the top 7 are locks for playoff PT and the bottom 4 will divvy up the rest--and Powell may slip into the bottom group.

[nickhx2]

russell westbrook you are wearing a SNOW CAP AND SHORT SHORTS in a GYM

at the SAME TIME

my god

[nickhx2]

omg and tie your shoelaces

can no one help this lost soul?

[esqtvd]

russell westbrook you are wearing a SNOW CAP AND SHORT SHORTS in a GYM

at the SAME TIME

my god

and a sweater for a cape

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[esqtvd]

T-Mann shellshocked

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[og15]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

Lue likes Morris because he's switchable on defense and offensively he's the only forward that can also create in addition to spotting up. This gives the team a non star outlet option to throw the ball to.

Whether Lue is right on this, that's a different question, but we can understand the reasoning.

[esqtvd]

Morris has been very underwhelming all year, but the truth is, we need him to get going. Understandably, his defense won't be good, never was to begin with but it was acceptable, and his rebounding is putrid. The Russ addition should help and those two should be on the court together as much as possible imo.

I'd love to see Nico take another week or two off, and let RoCo get those minutes, along with Moussa some burn as well.

I'd also rather see Russ start, giving Kawhi and PG early breathers, but not close games, unless he's having a great night.

Lue likes Morris because he's switchable on defense and offensively he's the only forward that can also create in addition to spotting up. This gives the team a non star outlet option to throw the ball to.

Whether Lue is right on this, that's a different question, but we can understand the reasoning.

Remember too that 2 years ago, Batum put up the same numbers whether starting or coming off the bench but Marcus was even crummier when he didn't start. And Batum is 34 now and struggling even at 21 mpg this year.

It's about maximizing the roster you have, not the one you wish you had. We'd all rather have a full-strength Batum starting and taking 30+ minutes, but that's just not feasible.

[og15]

I think this was fairly evident that they were convincing themselves of it. The presser seemed to suggest as much.

Statistically, Wall and Westbrook's production this season has been almost identical (TS%, AST%, TOV%, etc), so the difference will need to be in things like defense and other intangibles.

"The Clippers are pretty much admitting Paul George drove this decision," said Brian Windhorst on his podcast. "And from what I understand, they were internally against it at the start. Paul pushed for it publicly and privately. Kawhi supported it. And they looked more into it and they were like 'Well, you know, there are some things he can potentially help us with. One of the things that's a factor for us is we tend to kind of get a little loafy.

"They talked themselves into it is the long story short."

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/270615/Paul-George-Drove-Decision-For-Clippers-To-Sign-Russell-Westbrook-Front-Office-Talked-Themselves-Into-It

[MoneyMo]

Mann off the bench looks like

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[MartinToVaught]

More evidence that Lue needs to go. Any random fan from the stands could just favor veterans and big names for much cheaper.