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This is what I think will be the depth chart:

PF Blake Griffin | Montrezl Harrell | Brice Johnson
SF Danilo Gallinari | Sam Dekker | Wes Johnson
C DeAndre Jordan | Willie Reed
SG Pat Beverley | Austin Rivers | Sindarius Thornwell
PG Milos Teodosic | Lou Williams | Jawun Evans

Agree? Disagree?

The PG/SG is the one that I have no clue. Training camp might decide that. The only thing I would think is that you need to separate Williams and Tedosic, so if Beverley is starting which he should, then you are correct.

Are we putting players as their offensive or defensive position? Teo would be SG based on defense.

This bench lineup is actually kinda nice:
PG Williams
SG Rivers
SF Dekker
PF Harrell
C Reed

For a bench that's pretty good and balanced, not old either. Maybe a guy like Thornwell breaks into the lineup and gets spot minutes.

Yup, I think Thornwell will be able to play and contribute right away

Without seeing these guys on the floor yet, I would think Doc starts Bev and Austin. The hope here is that you stagger DJ to cover the bench D and to run PNR with Milos.

Doc has to find a way to be able to stagger his lineups so Gallo gets time at the 4. I dont think running him at the 3 for 95% of his minutes makes much sense. Not certain how much he will stagger Blake and DJ, but that needs to happen as well. Blake can play with Reed, Harrell, and Dekker at the 4/5. DJ can play with Gallo/Dekker/Austin at the 3/4.

We solved our SF problem with the acquisition of Gallo and the price was losing a quality SG in JJ. Why can't we have it all???

I would start Milos and Austin and bring Bev and Lou from the bench, but yeah, og hits the nail as usual, the main thing is that Milos and Lou don't share any time on the court. Which I'm not sure Doc will agree by the way, seeing how he's handled Crawford and other bad defensive PG's in the past.

I like how Teodosic fits with the rest of the starters offensively, but hiding both him and Lou defensively can be a problem. Starting Bev with him would be optimal for Milos, but then you create another problem by bringin Lou and Austin together from the bench, so I'd go with Milos/Austin.

Just as Tucson says, Gallo and Blake need to be staggered a lot so both get the maximum time at PF that's possible, so I'd use Wes and Dekker as their interchangeable back ups. I'd only use Harrell whenever Reed can't play, as a DJ back up, but no time at the 4. Can't be having two of DJ/Reed/Harrell on the floor together. When Reed is available, Harrell and Brice should be glued to the bench. Well, unless he shows something unexpected, Brice should always be glued to the bench.

If Thornwell and Evans look good, would be nice to find some spot minutes for them, not sure when or how but probably mid 2nd quarter and go from there depending on how they perform. If Sindarius grows as expected he could be a staple in 3 guard line ups.

Milos and Bev make sense, but im not sure how you can put Bev on the bench. He is the one guy who should be on the floor as much as possible in the backcourt, IMO.

I wouldnt have a problem with Milos starting, but I think Doc would rather run with his best unit at least to start (if not as much as possible based on his rotation history). I think he would consider that with Austin at the 2 next to Bev, and right now at least, I dont disagree.

The other question is who finishes games?

Individual defense can be more prominent as games wind down, so how do we deal with the concern people have about Gallo at SF on defense? Offensively you don't want to sit Gallo obviously because he's also one of the teams top shot creators, too big for SF's, too quick for most PF's.

On the perimeter also who are the closers? I'd assume that one will be matchup dependent. Maybe even at the 3-5, depending on the matchup, Doc might go with Gallo/Blake at the 4/5, but late in games, despite what far too many people think, it's just as important to get stops as it is to score.

og15 wrote:The other question is who finishes games?

Individual defense can be more prominent as games wind down, so how do we deal with the concern people have about Gallo at SF on defense? Offensively you don't want to sit Gallo obviously because he's also one of the teams top shot creators, too big for SF's, too quick for most PF's.

On the perimeter also who are the closers? I'd assume that one will be matchup dependent. Maybe even at the 3-5, depending on the matchup, Doc might go with Gallo/Blake at the 4/5, but late in games, despite what far too many people think, it's just as important to get stops as it is to score.

Defensively, thats going to be difficult. My first thought is you have to work on those quick switches where Blake or DJ jump on Gallo's SF if they go 1-3 PNR. Its going to be a problem that we are going to have to try to solve before the set runs. If its in ISO, we will see a lot of scrambling rotations.

Closing I would imagine Doc sticks to his hot hand theory. Not sure how Bev isnt one of guys, with the other three rotating based on situation.

Doc is going to earn his pay check this season, because there are a lot of moving parts with this roster. While we have really good depth, we dont have the type of role players you can immediately slot into situations, because they are all in the same caliber/tier of player.

TucsonClip wrote:Milos and Bev make sense, but im not sure how you can put Bev on the bench. He is the one guy who should be on the floor as much as possible in the backcourt, IMO.

I wouldnt have a problem with Milos starting, but I think Doc would rather run with his best unit at least to start (if not as much as possible based on his rotation history). I think he would consider that with Austin at the 2 next to Bev, and right now at least, I dont disagree.

Milos and Lou together are scary because of defense; Bev and Lou is problematic in some matchups because they're both only 6'1". I agree with Jeff that you want Bev as on the floor as much as possible. We should work backwards from there. Whatever combinations work.

At the 4, unless Brice grows a pair, his game is just too soft and unfocused for me. But the real odd man out might be Montrezl, who has zero range and there's no minutes for him at the 5 if Willie Reed pans out. I have nothing to add to QRich

Can't be having two of DJ/Reed/Harrell on the floor together. When Reed is available, Harrell and Brice should be glued to the bench. Well, unless he shows something unexpected, Brice should always be glued to the bench.

Gallo can pick up any leftover minutes at PF, where he played over 60% of his minutes last year. But I'd still like to see what a Montrezl/BG/Gallo front line could do. I love Harrell's energy.

As for the rooks, Juwan could see some time as a speedy 3rd PG bringing the ball up and initiating the offense, but he and Sindarius need to spend their time in Ontario learning to shoot the 3. They're just not real NBAers without it.

The real coup would be if Dekker, who only just turned 23, can have that breakout season and make an impact as a 6'9" SF. A little improvement over last year's 32% from distance [and he shot a lot of them] and he's a weapon. If Paper Gallo stays true to form, Sam's the perfect fill-in starter, so he'll get his chance to shine one way or another.

og15 wrote:Individual defense can be more prominent as games wind down, so how do we deal with the concern people have about Gallo at SF on defense? Offensively you don't want to sit Gallo obviously because he's also one of the teams top shot creators, too big for SF's, too quick for most PF's.

And also because he's going to be the designated Sudden Death Shooter. Who else on the Clippers roster is going to take that final shot besides Gallinari? Griffin is better suited as a screen man, primary passer, or set-up man (hockey assist guy). Does the honor of the final shot get bestowed to Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers, Lou Williams, Wesley Johnson, Milos Teodosic? Hell, DeAndre Jordan? Really bad options here.

My game plan would be to keep things close by playing a nobody-wins strategy. If we aren't leading, then nobody leads; keep the game tied. If we aren't scoring, then nobody's scoring; prevent shots by any means necessary, even if it means drawing fouls and forcing free throws. Every opponent is going to have a boost in made free throw percentage against the Clippers this season. The Clipper defense has a lot of holes on the side of the holds that could cause the ship to capsize and sink at any given moment. DeAndre Jordan is the only defensive presence in addition to Beverley, but are they enough? I stand by my prediction about the Clippers being the worst defensive team in the league with 30th in points allowed and in overall defense: can they at least be tops in preventing game winning shots, if not making game winning shots?

illastrate wrote:This is what I think will be the depth chart:

PF Blake Griffin | Montrezl Harrell | Brice Johnson
SF Danilo Gallinari | Sam Dekker | Wes Johnson
C DeAndre Jordan | Willie Reed
SG Pat Beverley | Austin Rivers | Sindarius Thornwell
PG Milos Teodosic | Lou Williams | Jawun Evans

Agree? Disagree?

this pretty much sums it up. I can't wait to see what Milos and Pat can do together in the back court, and crossing my fingers for healthy season out of both Blake and Gallo.

but that second unit, oh my. who's gonna pass?

If Bev and Milos start, who is guarding Klay Thompson, Khris Middleton, Harden, Derozan, Booker???


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Quake Griffin wrote:If Bev and Milos start, who is guarding Klay Thompson, Khris Middleton, Harden, Derozan, Booker???


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In general, not sure the team has anyone to guard big SG's. Might have to start Austin those games.

og15 wrote:

Quake Griffin wrote:If Bev and Milos start, who is guarding Klay Thompson, Khris Middleton, Harden, Derozan, Booker???


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In general, not sure the team has anyone to guard big SG's. Might have to start Austin those games.

Dekker?

Might as well try him out, lol

TucsonClip wrote:Milos and Bev make sense, but im not sure how you can put Bev on the bench. He is the one guy who should be on the floor as much as possible in the backcourt, IMO.

I wouldnt have a problem with Milos starting, but I think Doc would rather run with his best unit at least to start (if not as much as possible based on his rotation history). I think he would consider that with Austin at the 2 next to Bev, and right now at least, I dont disagree.

Yeah, I hear that, but if you pair Lou and Milos together you're just getting another year where the bench gets outscored all the time by being only offense focused. I agree that playing Bev as much as possible should be the focus, but him coming off the bench doesn't have to clash with that. I'd say Bev/Lou should probably be the backcourt that finishes games, and the backcourt that plays the most. I just think them starting off the bench would help alleviate some of the other guys weaknesses.

two 6'1" guys and three 6'10" guys?

worth a try but I wouldn't even venture a prediction on how well it would work

terra incognita

I honestly think we have 4 guys locked to start. Beverly, Gallo, Blake and DJ. The 5th will depend on matchups and will be either Austin or Milos.

The uncertainty with our backcourt is why I'm still upset that we almost had Bradley. A Milos/Bradley/Bev/Austin rotation would've given us so much flexibility.