Favorites vs. System - What's Up Doc?

[Wammy Giveaway]

Before facing the Wizards on Saturday, Dan Woike of OC Register reported that Doc is interested in signing Ray Allen, a member of the 2008 Celtics championship team and part of Doc's Big 3 Celtics. But Brad Turner wrote it like this:

[tweet]http://twitter.com/BA_Turner/status/543908079851798528[/tweet]

When Brad used the word "friend," it got me to think more about his approach. Lawrence Frank is friends with Doc. Big Baby Davis was also a part of the 2008 Celtics championship team. Jordan Farmar, Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick are on his team because each of them defeated Doc's Big 3 Celtics. For the past several games, he's trusted on his starters and superstars a lot. And now, Doc wants Ray Allen. You would consider these players "favorites." Unless you're a superstar, a player who defeated his Big 3 Celtics, or a member of his championship team, Doc will not play certain players at all, even if the X's and O's are as clear as day.

Then there's the system problem. The way Doc constructed this Clippers team, it feels like he's trying to replace his Big 3 Celtics system. What I mean is this:

Chris Paul = Rajon Rondo
J.J. Redick = Ray Allen
Matt Barnes = Paul Pierce
Blake Griffin = Kevin Garnett
DeAndre Jordan = Kendrick Perkins

Paul isn't a triple double like Rondo. Barnes is no Pierce. Redick is not a true Allen. Griffin may not even be Garnett. Jordan is the opposite of Perkins in terms of personality. Add to that the bench players, who are more offensive than defensive, this roster may not be suitable to play Doc's defensive system. They're more of the Mike D'Antoni, George Karl, Jerry Sloan ilk of basketball, the Seven Seconds Or Less system: all offense, little defense, 3-point shooting, transition scoring, highlight reels galore. The highlights are gone, now it's all serious. They miss the fun, and it's hurting the team's playing ability and possibly their chemistry. Doc is trying to change the Clipper's identity into his Big 3 Celtics, something this team just can never be. They are still chameleons.

Now it's your turn. What's wrong with Doc River's coaching? Is it playing his "friends" over the right matchups? Or is it trying out the wrong system?

[Forte IV]

Our problem is we aren't as deep as we used to be. It's clear as day. Outside of Crawford and maybe Hawes our bench is doodoo butter. Plus we have a major weakness at the SF spot.

[og15]

It's neither of those options really. The guys are great on offense, not really much to worry about there, system is great, it works, not really too much like the Celtics system, especially when Rondo took the helm. There are some sets that everyone in the league runs, but different pace, difference focus of attack.

Defensively, the problem isn't that they players don't fit into this defensive system, it is that the team just doesn't have enough good defensive players to fit into any defensive system in terms of making the defense more than average. There isn't some defensive system that the Clippers could run that would magically make them an elite defensive team. The players on the roster max out as an above average defense. The team needs length at SF, and also off the bench to compliment the current players and to help with matchups.

Paul is good, Barnes does well but is older, and DJ is above average overall at his position. Blake doesn't have interior length and when he gets tired slacks a lot on defense, Redick tries but struggles with having no length, Jamal will have his moments, but he's just not much of a defender, Hawes seems to try, but he's got some slow feet and he needs to be paired with a more mobile / athletic guy. Davis is above average but you need to pair him with someone who can do the shot blocking and rim protecting. We've seen little of CDR. Bullock can't seem to earn minutes or he gets injured. Farmar is below average. Cunningham has the tools but not the poise or control and he's kinda of a bad offensive player and is a SG, which is a position that has no minutes available.

Sure, Doc might have gotten some friends, but its really about how you are trying to narrate it. Let's remember Wammy, you do like to sort of turn things into certain narrations that sometimes are kind of out there . Davis was gotten because the backups bigs were Jamison and Mullens, and Davis became available. This team wasn't really working with a lot of money or options, so some of these were just grabs made with that was available. Davis was one of the best options out there for the money, ties with Doc or not, you weren't going to do much more with only the minimum available.

[Wammy Giveaway]

Let's remember Wammy, you do like to sort of turn things into certain narrations that sometimes are kind of out there

That's what I like to do: take numbers, history, and current happenings to create a story. The problem is that every time I do this, I get called a Laker fan, and it really irritates me. Fabricating stories helps maintain my interest in basketball, besides from the lob-jams and highlight reels play; otherwise, what am I doing with basketball?

Sure, I do rub fandoms the wrong way, but there are times where we have to question our team's success, or lack there of. We can't just be blinded by our love for the players that everything will be alright. Even though I love this team, I still have this feeling that the Clippers just aren't right. Besides the Spurs, when was the last time a team won a championship without messing up last year's roster? San Antonio is tempting this fate right now, having kept 14 of the 15 players from last year's title run. Clips have the core of Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Barnes, Redick, Crawford, Davis, Bullock and Turkoglu, but can we really trust that this core will be able to figure it out, or will the roster have to change to finally exceed expectations.

[LACtdom]

It all comes down to the roster. I'm not as concerned about our crappy bench since come play-off time, our starters will be 35 - 45 mins per game. CP is by far our best asset since he is an incredible defender and can run a steady offense no matter who is guarding him. Blake is a superstar with quick feet who can guard smaller PFs but sometimes struggles against taller players. DJ is a solid rim protector who is always worth his missed FTs if he is playing good D. Barnes provides energy and gritty D while being an inconsistent player. JJ and Jamal while different, are both purely offensive players who are sub-par defenders and possibly liabilities when shots aren't falling.

I'm hoping that we get some length/Defense at the wing spot since I believe that a stop is worth more than a bucket. I think we play our best basketball when we get a stop and push the ball up court during broken play. Most easy offense opportunites come from stops at the defensive end. What we need is consistency.

[Wammy Giveaway]

There's no bump button here, so I'm pushing this back up. With Doc going after his son, this is relevant.

[Clemenza]

It is sort of a favoritism, friendship, or lets say familiarity thing that Doc has and it is hurting us imo. The way things are with this guy is that there's no openings or any chance for a "X-factor" to emerge on this team or an unknown entity that could add something positive for us during the season. He's familiar with JJ, Hedo, Mullins, Jamison, Udoh, Big Baby, CDR, Farmar, etc. He's friends with Ray Allen, KG, Paul Pierce and his assistants. There's no trades cause he's loyal to JJ, Hawes, and Crawford. With this type of mode of operation a Cunningham, KG McDaniels, Joe Ingles, Kyle Anderson, Raduljica, Rudy Gobert, Jae Crowder, etc. can never become anything by joining a team like ours. And not saying these guys are game changers but we'll never know because Doc is only stuck on friendships and familiarity.

I'm still in amazement that Pat Riley polished up a forgotten gem in Hassan Whiteside and dude has literally turned into a beast!! Something like this could never happen with Doc in charge imo. Its disturbing