No Trade. No Playoffs

[Em1]

This team has won 2 straight games in almost 3 weeks. And even worse, besides Bledsoe, we have no desirable assets.

[krazyclipperfan]

We need to do something cause we need some help.

[og15]

Here's the consolation:

Home: 12-6 (18 games)
Road: 11-10 (21 games)

The Clippers have a pretty nice road record and have played more games on the road than at home. The last few weeks, the majority of the Clippers games have been on the road. When the home and road mixture balanced out more, things should look a little more hopeful.

February + March until now:
15 road games
5 home game
Record: 11-9

Below average defensive team with inconsistent offensive players are generally not the best road teams. I think people have lost sight of that in this difficult stretch. It's been a lot of road basketball.

Consider this, only the Clippers, Nuggets, Spurs and Thunder are over .500 on the road in the West, while the Timberwolves are right at .500.


Coming up in March:
5 Home: Bos, Atl, Pho, Hou, Det
3 Road: @Ind, @OKC, @NO
5 Home: Mem, NO, Pho, Por, Uth
(10/13 at home)
-Indiana and OKC will be tough road games. New Orleans is winnable of course
-could anticipate going 8-2 at home and 1-2 on the road
-9-4 for the month

Coming up in April:
@Dal
LAL
@Sac
Sac
@Mem
@OKC
@Min
GS
OKC
@Den
@Pho
NO
@Atl
@NY
(9 road, 5 away, 9/14 away)
-could possibly go 8-6 or 7-7 in these games
-17-10 or 16-11 to end the season is realistic
Total: 40-26 or 39-27

If the team is able to pull out some extra road wins, then a slightly higher record is possible, but one should not get carried away.

[apet8945]

It's not so much "No Trade. No Playoffs."

But rather, "No Trade. No getting far in playoffs."

Our starting five are horribly inconsistent save for Paul. Blake might get his usual averages a night, but he's become very inefficient lately, and his free throws make me vomit. Butler and DJ have become zeroes and Foye is playing like his usual self, which isn't always very good. Not to mention how our starting five doesn't know how to play defense.

I do like how our bench is playing though, but the fact that it's our starting five that don't seem to be putting forth the effort and production that we need is what's not going to allow us to go anywhere in the playoffs.

[LOJ]

We will make the playoffs, I just refuse to be first round fodder.

[og15]

We will make the playoffs, I just refuse to be first round fodder.

Yes, this is the larger worry. One would hope to at least make it to the second round

[Angel strike1]

always said will win 1st round and loose in 2nd .. but that looks like a ? now

[RiversideClips]

The WEST is so tough, we need to keep winning to make sure we make the playoffs! Even in a shortened season we could see an above .500 club not make the playoffs: that would be crazy!!
Our guys just need to gel a little better and come to play every game!

[Em1]

Outran by one of the oldest teams in league history. The ship is sinking.

[kombayn]

Randy Foye is an asset because he's an expiring contract. If we can make the Eric Bledsoe & Ryan Gomes for Jamal Crawford deal happen, then lets get it done! We need too or if they're willing to part with Wes Matthews, I would take him too.

[og15]

Matthews isn't going anywhere, well, not for the assets the Clippers have, so don't get your hopes up with that one. Crawford of course is an option.

[kombayn]

The Clippers do need to make a move. I'm willing to risk Eric Bledsoe right now, the Clippers have to be bold or risk losing Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. No bueno. I'm hoping we pull the trigger in the morning so we have Jamal Crawford for the Atlanta Hawks game, and you'll know he'll want to stick it to his former team.

[og15]

In the end though, even with a move made, the stagnant offense of running high screen and roll while everyone stands there and watches can only be so effective. Teams can basically play a box and 1 and prevent your PG from being able to attack the basket off the pick and roll, and all the play-making you can get out of these are wing three point shots if a defender sags down too low. Outside of that, the offense doesn't work for the players, they have to make everything happen themselves.

[Em1]

the offense was exactly the same with billups, the difference was teams knew he could make a few shots if left alone. That ounce of respect opened things up enough for the rest of the guys, no surprise Caron has gone into the tank since his injury.

[Angel strike1]

also teams learn. other teams can coach. so hence we dont get coached+loose billups so regress as time goes.

we need a move or we not making the playoffs. only 2 games ahead of 8th spot

[og15]

the offense was exactly the same with billups, the difference was teams knew he could make a few shots if left alone. That ounce of respect opened things up enough for the rest of the guys, no surprise Caron has gone into the tank since his injury.

You're actually right, it was the same, and it didn't look as inept (though still wasn't pleasing) because Billups can also isolate and can get to the line while not turning the ball over (this is the secret to the Clippers good offensive numbers). Overall on the season, the offense on a surface level looks pretty good, #4 in the league in offensive efficiency with short training camp and with new players, but when you watch it, obviously like you know, it's not as pleasing (and seeing it last season and when he was the Bulls coach, one knows there isn't much else to it anyways).

So even though it "worked", sorta, it still wasn't and isn't a good offensive system, just very low turnover players. Vinny is just lucky to have Paul, a top 5 isolation scorer/shooter in the league who has the ball on a string, Blake a good post player/passer and when Billups was around, a high volume good 3PT shooter who could draw fouls and doesn't cough it up.

The issue is not whether the team has individual guys who are high caliber players and can score on their own, but whether the offensive system is made to maximize the whole team. I think we can all agree that it isn't, that is even neglecting someone like Caron being cold.

In the post-season, the opponents will have scouted you more extensively as you are their only focus. An offense like this, as efficient as it can be in the regular season (more so against the poor to mediocre teams), in the post-season it becomes very average. Then for the Clippers there's no good defense to fall back on, and that's going to equal losses.

I do believe playoffs will happen, but I also believe they might be quite frustrating.

But like Vinny says (from Jan 9):

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro rejects the idea that the Clippers' playbook is decidedly less intricate than what the rest of the league is doing.

Del Negro said there's little variance in the schematics of NBA teams, with very few exceptions.

"Most of the stuff is very similar,” he said. “Angle pick-and-roll, high pick-and-roll. Everyone runs those. Other than probably the old Utah stuff -- the UCLA stuff, which we run, which other teams run -- or the triangle offense, which only the Lakers used to run, everyone runs pretty much very similar stuff."

Del Negro said he believes that execution far outweighs design on the basketball court. On Friday, he said he calls only about 50 percent of the Clippers' half-court sets from the sidelines. As a coach, he's not there to put his stylistic imprint on his team or to wow the league with his tactical prowess. He's in Los Angeles to inspire basketball players to play basketball. Give him quality players, and he'll give you a quality product. This is the Vinny Del Negro brand.

...and I don't disagree that execution is key, and that one should givie players freedom, but please, emphasize some cuts when a guy is posting up, some movement on angle pick and rolls, some better spacing on high pick and rolls. Please, have some out of bounds plays and some quick shot plays that aren't the throw into the post then kick out to 3PT shooter. Please, be able to manage a game and call the right sets when it get's close. No one is asking for anything crazy, or for him to be Tex Winter. The offense is only "good" because of limited turnovers, and that isn't related to Vinny.

Lastly, please, if you admit that you do little in terms of offensive innovation, you should be a defensive guru and have your team playing better than a well below average defensive team. Or get a better defensive assistant than Demopolous b/c he doesn't seem to be succeeding. (Mike Woodson did the exact same thing with the Hawks, super basic offense, but limit turnovers and get a shot up as many possessions as possible, so they were a "top" offensive team, though in the playoffs, not so much. They couldn't go too far, but they were able to win series' because he was also an excellent defensive coach)

Don't turn it over