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The Clippers are at a crossroads. What could end up being the last year of the Paul-Griffin-Jordan triumvirate, this team must make the western conference finals to prevent a rebuild. With the Golden State Warriors as the reincarnation of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, there is no hope for a championship now. Even with the roster as currently constructed, they are destined to lose in the 2nd round. The only hope to stay competitive is to make the superstar farm trade for Carmelo Anthony. But at what cost? The bench, the coaches son, Blake Griffin?

The Big 3 have been together for 6 years, having established the Lob City era with hundreds of Sportscenter highlight reel plays. They've been a .600 basketball team for five seasons, winning two Pacific Division banners, and making the playoffs five years in a row, no lesser than a 5th seed. There was the Miracle in Memphis and the clutch shot over San Antonio. There was the overconfidence against Memphis and Houston, the screw job in Oklahoma, and the snake bites from Portland. They've survived the Donald Sterling scandal, the loss of DeAndre Jordan, and the Toronto punching incident. For every pain and suffering they endured, the Clippers, especially the Big 3 and J.J. Redick, bonded closer together than ever before, gradually evolving from teammates to friends, extended members of the family. And now, the only way to save the Clippers season and their era is to break up the family. Hence this poll.

Earlier this season, I had a hunch that Doc Rivers was going to do something he's never done before: no moves. No trades, no buyout acquisitions, no 10-day contracts, nothing. The last team to win a championship without making a single transaction mid-season was the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2009-10 season... the very team who Doc River's Celtics lost to in the NBA Finals. Doc has always gone after guys who defeated his teams in the past, plucking the brains of players who messed around and got career highs and hoping to use his services to his own benefit. Never did he even consider following a blueprint of another team, much less Boston's arch nemesis. And considering the close-knit ties within this current roster, Doc might decide that staying the course may be the only recourse to take.

What do you guys think? Should the Clippers make a trade, or follow the Lakers path and keep the roster as is and hope for the best, even if it means an inevitable loss to the Warriors no matter which round they see them in?

i think you care too much about forcing narratives

nickhx2 wrote:i think you care too much about forcing narratives

Do you really think sports is only about the numbers?

go ahead and find in those 9 words where i suggested such a thing

nickhx2 wrote:go ahead and find in those 9 words where i suggested such a thing

I don't have to, it's implied. Whenever I see a statement or response about narratives in a negative light, I interpret that as "they only care about the stats," the quantifiable, the stuff where psychology isn't needed. I hate that.

Sports isn't always about numbers. Effort, confidence and courage is important, too. Emotions can never be quantified, no matter what kind of stat to apply, even my personal Preventions metric is incapable of such a thing. Sometimes, the only hope to uncover a mystery between two teams is a narrative.

What I'm saying is this: do not disparage narratives.

i'll give you the straight answer since you can't seem to get what i'm saying in my response. it's not at all suggested, it's not at all implied. it's what you infer on your own. you even said so as much with what you say is interpreting it as caring about stats only.

but let's go back to the original comment. you should go ahead and re-read the part where i say "forcing narratives" and see if you can figure out what the point of contention is. bolded, underlined, and italicized for emphasis.

At this point, I no longer care. There's a reason why I put you on my Enemies list.

oh ok good. i'm just gonna say what i should have said in the first place. you keep making up false narratives. you are making stuff up. you are attaching fake and imagined things to real events because you seem to be unable to comprehend that reasons, other than the stuff you want to be true, could possibly be the actual case.

there's nothing wrong with providing background, context, and narrative to a situation when the facts are all there. what you provide are virtually anything but.

nickhx2 wrote:there's nothing wrong with providing background, context, and narrative to a situation when the facts are all there. what you provide are virtually anything but.

That does it. I hate you.