GAME 6 Western Semis: NOTE TIME--10 AM Pacific ESPN

[TheNewEra]

The thing that made the Clippers dangerous was when the bench came in, they destroyed second units. If your two 6 man of the year candidates have been trash, where do you turn to? What rotations does everyone think would work honestly?

Facts but lets be honest here.. The Lou/Trez combo was never battle tested in the postseason. Its a sexy regular season dynamic that has worked for us but we never ever knew what it would look like when the lights were bright and the tension was cranked up to a thousand. Plus both of these guys were the ones out of the bubble and had to work their way back in and so far its been unsuccessful to say the least. Doc should've played this scenario out in his head a few times and had some different lineups. When Reggie Jackson, who was out of the rotation, came in that told us everything we needed to know about what was going on. Doc was scrambling. Throw Noah some minutes and throw him on Jokic. He's at the end of his career but you know he'll get us some rebounds at least and just maybe shows some emotion out there and gets us a little luck working on our side. We're going to need some emotion, hunger, and energy for game 7 or else its a wrap.

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

the points could be more manageable if the bench wasn’t complete garbage defensively.

Just swap the whole unit out for a different look and hope the guys that haven’t played catch a spark

[Clemenza]

The thing that made the Clippers dangerous was when the bench came in, they destroyed second units. If your two 6 man of the year candidates have been trash, where do you turn to? What rotations does everyone think would work honestly?

Facts but lets be honest here.. The Lou/Trez combo was never battle tested in the postseason. Its a sexy regular season dynamic that has worked for us but we never ever knew what it would look like when the lights were bright and the tension was cranked up to a thousand. Plus both of these guys were the ones out of the bubble and had to work their way back in and so far its been unsuccessful to say the least. Doc should've played this scenario out in his head a few times and had some different lineups. When Reggie Jackson, who was out of the rotation, came in that told us everything we needed to know about what was going on. Doc was scrambling. Throw Noah some minutes and throw him on Jokic. He's at the end of his career but you know he'll get us some rebounds at least and just maybe shows some emotion out there and gets us a little luck working on our side. We're going to need some emotion, hunger, and energy for game 7 or else its a wrap.

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

I hear you but our backs are against the wall right now. I just want to see a win next game. Trez can go for twenty and ten or he's still not there, or Zu is just doing the bare minimum, or whatever. The fact is we need something from somebody outside of PG and Kawhi in game 7 point blank. No favoritism or agendas here from me. I don't care who shines or who puts up the stats. I just want a WCF appearance. That's it.

[NickP]

Maybe play Patterson? At least we know he can stretch the floor and knock down some shots?

[MartinToVaught]

The thing that made the Clippers dangerous was when the bench came in, they destroyed second units. If your two 6 man of the year candidates have been trash, where do you turn to? What rotations does everyone think would work honestly?

Facts but lets be honest here.. The Lou/Trez combo was never battle tested in the postseason. Its a sexy regular season dynamic that has worked for us but we never ever knew what it would look like when the lights were bright and the tension was cranked up to a thousand. Plus both of these guys were the ones out of the bubble and had to work their way back in and so far its been unsuccessful to say the least. Doc should've played this scenario out in his head a few times and had some different lineups. When Reggie Jackson, who was out of the rotation, came in that told us everything we needed to know about what was going on. Doc was scrambling. Throw Noah some minutes and throw him on Jokic. He's at the end of his career but you know he'll get us some rebounds at least and just maybe shows some emotion out there and gets us a little luck working on our side. We're going to need some emotion, hunger, and energy for game 7 or else its a wrap.

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

Look, we all get that Trez has been dealing with a lot off the court and I don't want to diminish that. But you're naive if you think that's the only reason he's struggling. His game isn't built for the playoffs. He's undersized for his position, can't defend, can't rebound and is one-dimensional on offense. He can get by with hustle and energy in the regular season. It doesn't work in the playoffs when every coach (except for Doc) starts gameplanning and adjusting and every player is playing hard. It also doesn't help that Doc sets him up to fail by consistently putting him in the worst possible matchups.

[esqtvd]

Facts but lets be honest here.. The Lou/Trez combo was never battle tested in the postseason. Its a sexy regular season dynamic that has worked for us but we never ever knew what it would look like when the lights were bright and the tension was cranked up to a thousand. Plus both of these guys were the ones out of the bubble and had to work their way back in and so far its been unsuccessful to say the least. Doc should've played this scenario out in his head a few times and had some different lineups. When Reggie Jackson, who was out of the rotation, came in that told us everything we needed to know about what was going on. Doc was scrambling. Throw Noah some minutes and throw him on Jokic. He's at the end of his career but you know he'll get us some rebounds at least and just maybe shows some emotion out there and gets us a little luck working on our side. We're going to need some emotion, hunger, and energy for game 7 or else its a wrap.

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

the points could be more manageable if the bench wasn’t complete garbage defensively.

Just swap the whole unit out for a different look and hope the guys that haven’t played catch a spark

Bev has been ass too. Maybe start Shamet and let Bev D-up the horrible 2nd unit.

[playaloc916]

I'd give some additional minutes to Reggie and Green, or at least, give them more touches. Reggie shouldn't be the ball handler, but instead, should be the 2. Isn't he shooting over 50% from 3 or something? But get him off the floor if we need stops. Green can't possibly contribute any less than Trezz right now. Hell, even Patterson might hit a 3 or two, and might be a little more disciplined then Trezz, who loves to switch on guards, try to go for a Sportscentre highlight block, and then leaves Jokic wide open for 3's.

[NickP]

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

the points could be more manageable if the bench wasn’t complete garbage defensively.

Just swap the whole unit out for a different look and hope the guys that haven’t played catch a spark

Bev has been ass too. Maybe start Shamet and let Bev D-up the horrible 2nd unit.

Sham has really great numbers as a starter. His bench production is garbage.
I'm down with this move.

[TheNewEra]

Here's some simple math, if the role players show up, none of this matters. Kawhi and PG combined for 58 points and the team scored 98. You got 9 combined points from 3 starters in 78 minutes and Shamet scores 1 point in 20 minutes of play.

So someone tell me, outside of the others producing at close to or their normal rate, what would've won the game? And it's honestly not as simple as bench Trezz. What's the solution? Since there's so many coaching experts in here

Switch the lineups of the bench. Shamet/Lou/Trezz and even Green are rotated for guys who play defense and spark more energy. Surround Jackson with defenders and hope for the best but in a 7 games series you can see the bench has been complete garbage as constructed and still with the help of PG and Bev.


It’s simply not just about points it’s the not getting the points and currently getting poor defensive effort. Defensive effort is the reason guys like Morris/Zubac/Beverly are still sustainable even with poor scoring nights. Would it help if they did more ? Sure but it would also help if the guys replacing them did one thing well on either side of the ball.

What would of won the game is throwing a different look at the Nuggets besides reusing players on the bench giving you nothing on both ends. Green had a solid game scoring but he’s stuck in such a bad unit it rarely reflects any good he’s doing. Lou was ok shooting I guess but the drop off in defense isn’t helping his cause and again when paired with Harrell the issue is worse.

Not as simple as benching Harrell? It’s a hell of a start and it’s clear his head and effort isn’t in the game. His weakness in the regular season are being targeted and magnified at key points in the game. You absolutely bench Harrell and possibly Shamet and see what other opportunities just from a new look you get from new players. You don’t repeat the same mistakes over and over again hoping for a different result that’s insanity.


Ideally we should of tried a fresh look game 6 in case things did not work to readjust for a game 7. Was not the case the coaching staff did not adapt and we are in a all or nothing situation in which if experimenting fails we are done.


This has been a terrible post season run for Doc Rivers and I doubt he changes so it’s up to hope. All indications from history with his teams is that we will be blown out wire to wire game 7 but maybe the players can overcome his game plan. Not all that optimistic but the players could find a way

[playaloc916]

Did the camera show Cassell when Lou was called for 8 seconds? Lol, brings back some good memories when I was still a student.

[TheNewEra]

Sure we're in WTH mode now. Try anything.

We went from a bench that put up 50 points a game to under 20 now. After the death of his grandmother Trezz is complete ass and has left a 28 mpg/18 ppg hole. Zu is picking up half the minutes but none of the points. Neither is anyone else.

the points could be more manageable if the bench wasn’t complete garbage defensively.

Just swap the whole unit out for a different look and hope the guys that haven’t played catch a spark

Bev has been ass too. Maybe start Shamet and let Bev D-up the horrible 2nd unit.

Bev could be more assertive scoring like he was last game but he’s giving the energy and effort defensively we need. That’s the big part missed here is the bench guys are mostly paid to be scorers when we know they are bad at defense and they are currently bad a both.

Shamet has been terrible and even though he tires his effort isn’t making up for how bad he’s played on both ends. We could start Shamet but he’s also young and you have to hope he knows to be aggressive with his shot and at the same time you know Murray will target him

[Max Headrom]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to play defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

[Clemenza]

the points could be more manageable if the bench wasn’t complete garbage defensively.

Just swap the whole unit out for a different look and hope the guys that haven’t played catch a spark

Bev has been ass too. Maybe start Shamet and let Bev D-up the horrible 2nd unit.

Bev could be more assertive scoring like he was last game but he’s giving the energy and effort defensively we need. That’s the big part missed here is the bench guys are mostly paid to be scorers when we know they are bad at defense and they are currently bad a both.

Shamet has been terrible and even though he tires his effort isn’t making up for how bad he’s played on both ends. We could start Shamet but he’s also young and you have to hope he knows to be aggressive with his shot and at the same time you know Murray will target him

Pat Bev is a front runner. I love the emotion from the team and wasn't even mad at Morris Sr's tactics because at least he was suited up and playing but I didn't like all the Pat Bev sideline antics while he was in street clothes shtick on bit. Now he's suited up and what is he actually giving us besides technicals and minute restrictions?

[Clemenza]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

They got some calls but that was still on us. If one big lead comeback happens ever once in a while then maybe its the officials but we've been giving up big leads all bubble long and even before the league was shut down because of Corona. Its been an ongoing thing all season long. No excuses for giving up a 16 point lead in game 5 and now a 19 point lead in game 6. We gotta look in the mirror on this one

[TheNewEra]

Bev has been ass too. Maybe start Shamet and let Bev D-up the horrible 2nd unit.

Bev could be more assertive scoring like he was last game but he’s giving the energy and effort defensively we need. That’s the big part missed here is the bench guys are mostly paid to be scorers when we know they are bad at defense and they are currently bad a both.

Shamet has been terrible and even though he tires his effort isn’t making up for how bad he’s played on both ends. We could start Shamet but he’s also young and you have to hope he knows to be aggressive with his shot and at the same time you know Murray will target him

Pat Bev is a front runner. I love the emotion from the team and wasn't even mad at Morris Sr's tactics because at least he was suited up and playing but I didn't like all the Pat Bev sideline antics while he was in street clothes shtick on bit. Now he's suited up and what is he actually giving us besides technicals and minute restrictions?

I believe Pat and his style of play has been a big part of getting PG going. George seems to find off the energy and plays better with him and Pat has had some major defensive moments and it’s not like he played badly in game 5 we were saying he should play more at that. Morris antics irk me more because he seems to energize the other team with his stuff at least Pat it rallies our guys

[nickhx2]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

the refs did impact the game but if the game is managed better we also probably are fine.

[Max Headrom]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

They got some calls but that was still on us. If one big lead comeback happens ever once in a while then maybe its the officials but we've been giving up big leads all bubble long and even before the league was shut down because of Corona. Its been an ongoing thing all season long. No excuses for giving up a 16 point lead in game 5 and now a 19 point lead in game 6. We gotta look in the mirror on this one

But remember the last game what got the Nuggets going? It was that terrible flop that sent Jokic to the line

[Max Headrom]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

the refs did impact the game but if the game is managed better we also probably are fine.

But look at the numbers, up 16 at half, Denver gets 12 points from the line on 16 attempts, attempt 15 shots total in the 3rd and yet they score 30 points. That 3rd quarter swing was manufactured in my opinion

[TheNewEra]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

They got some calls but that was still on us. If one big lead comeback happens ever once in a while then maybe its the officials but we've been giving up big leads all bubble long and even before the league was shut down because of Corona. Its been an ongoing thing all season long. No excuses for giving up a 16 point lead in game 5 and now a 19 point lead in game 6. We gotta look in the mirror on this one

But remember the last game what got the Nuggets going? It was that terrible flop that sent Jokic to the line

That everyone clearly thought we should of challenged. Can’t get many excuses blowing 16+ point leads in the second half

[MartinToVaught]

But remember the last game what got the Nuggets going?

Same thing that got them going this game: Doc playing Trez. Blaming the refs for this is just cringe.

[Clemenza]

And seriously, the refs took control of that 3rd quarter and got Denver back in the game. The Clippers weren't allowed to park defense in the 3rd without a whistle. For a team like Denver who is a really low free throw shooting team to get 16 free throws in that quarter was laughable. The refs got the Clippers out rhythm offensively and defensively that quarter and they never recovered as they played tentatively on defense after that.

They got some calls but that was still on us. If one big lead comeback happens ever once in a while then maybe its the officials but we've been giving up big leads all bubble long and even before the league was shut down because of Corona. Its been an ongoing thing all season long. No excuses for giving up a 16 point lead in game 5 and now a 19 point lead in game 6. We gotta look in the mirror on this one

But remember the last game what got the Nuggets going? It was that terrible flop that sent Jokic to the line

That's still just two points. Us blowing leads has been a reoccurring theme all season long. Enough is enough. Today's performance in the 4th quarter was disgraceful for a team that's supposed to be in the mix for a championship. It is what it is. These blown leads are atrocious.