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What if they were never meant to play the season? What if the purpose of keeping these players was to level the playing field?

Hear me out. Remember a long time ago when the Pacers signed Andrew Bynum for the sole purpose of defeating LeBron James and the Heatles in the playoffs? The Heat's weakness was a serviceable big man, so Spoestra resorted to small ball schemes, making Bynum the perfect backup to Roy Hibbert, but also to psyche-out the opposition. Heat will think that Bynum will be used in the series so they game plan for him, only for the Pacers to never really use him at all putting the coaching staff in panic mode, totally forgetting about the original game plan against Indiana. The Heat fall into the Pacers trap and end up eliminated while Pacers enjoy a second Finals berth. But that never happened.

Wilson Chandler and Luc Mbah A Moute are currently listed as out. Chandler hasn't played since January 31, suffering from a quad injury; Moute's is a knee issue going as far back as October 23 of last year. This year, Chandler has played 36 games, winning 25 of them; Moute is 2-2. I'm betting that Chandler will return first before Moute does, but even if both players return, I wouldn't be surprised if they never came back at all this season. Think about it:

1. If the Clippers are intending to tank, why play them? All it does is worsen their pick to dead last in the lottery and the trade for a superstar plan weakens. If those guys actually get them qualified for the playoffs, they lose the pick to the Celtics, and they'll get swept by the Warriors (end the rivalry), Nuggets (lost season series 3-1) or Rockets (Chris Paul's revenge). If there was a rebuilding plan in place, they would either have to scour the undrafted/G-League market or wait til next year for a true draft pick, and that might require a true tank job, even if Ballmer is against it.

If tanking is the reason Chandler and Moute have yet to play, then the Clippers endgame was weakening the Rockets, whose defense has fallen off a cliff with the departures of Moute and Trevor Ariza and reduced to picking up Austin Rivers from the buyout market. Houston was at one point in the lottery, and Chris Paul suffered the lowest point of his career by getting ejected for punching Rajon Rondo. Preventing the Rockets from making the playoffs or at least getting them eliminated early is a petty move by the Clippers, having felt betrayed after Paul's relationship with Blake Griffin went sour and the Clippers Secret Tunnel fiasco.

2. If the Clippers are making a push for the playoffs, then it's better to hold them off until the playoffs are within reach. "Clippers are tanking," "Same ol' Clippers," "Losers": opponents have circled them on the calendar as gimmes, but they were clearing underestimating them. Tobias Harris developed his game even further while adding wins to the Clippers record, never knowing he was being molded into a role starter for a championship winning team for Philadelphia, and in exchange brought back a rising shooter in "J.J. Redick 2.0 plus a few inches more" Landry Shamet. The dead weight of Marcin Gortat, Milos Teodosic and Avery Bradley became Garrett Temple, JaMychal Green, Wilson Chandler, and more playing time for Jonathan Motley, Sindarius Thornwell, Tyrone Wallace, Ivica Zubac and their rookies Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jerome Robinson. Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell and Danilo Gallinari are still here, meaning veteran leadership isn't lost.

The Clippers appear like a lottery-bound team given the Harris trade, but because of their current record, what this does is force opponents to take the Clippers seriously. The return of Chandler and Moute at just the right time could catapult Clippers into the next We-Believe-Warriors. With a 3-1 omen cursing the Clippers to a painful rebuild, pulling off a miracle run in the playoffs by defeating one of the top 3 seeds in the first round could go a long way into convincing superstars to come to the other team. They have the picks and assets to trade, they have the rookies, they have Jerry West, but they don't have the proof. All they have is a losing past - they need to win a series on their own, even if the odds are hugely stacked against them. For the Clippers, a playoff appearance means an improved resume, but winning a series could seal it for them. That would be one hell of a retirement gift to Ralph Lawler.

So what's your take: do you want Chandler and Moute to come back? The answer lies in the season.

Luc, I dunno what's up with Luc. Has he been traveling with the team and doing the veteran leadership rah-rah thing? I never see him.


And I still don't buy that Doc would be in on the tank. Chandler's only 31. I would think HE wants to come back to showcase himself to at least sign somewhere for next year. Would he shut up and sit if he's fit?



https://www.clipsnation.com/2019/2/23/18237187/wilson-chandler-and-danilo-gallinari-are-re-igniting-a-decade-old-friendship-in-la

“It’s great to play with him again,” Gallinari said. “To have him on our team is going to bring a lot of I.Q. offensively and defensively.”

After spending nine years together playing for the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets, the two were reunited when the Clippers acquired Chandler on Feb. 6 in the trade that sent Tobias Harris to Philadelphia.

Dealing with a new group of players after the deadline “is a challenge for everyone” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, especially in the midst of a playoff race. With a record of 33-27, the Clippers occupy the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but maintain a slim two-game margin over the Sacramento Kings.

“It’s a playoff push for us, so every game right now counts,” Gallinari said.


Rivers is optimistic about Chandler’s impact when he returns. Gallinari and Chandler both enjoyed career-highs in points while sharing the court in Denver, which is why Rivers said he is hopeful the pair will tap into the chemistry that made them so effective as Nuggets.

“I know if you put those two together, that can’t hurt you,” Rivers said. “They have years together, so I know that should help us.”

Wilson is not great but he would be a step up for this team. They really need a legit starter added to the lineup. Too many starters are not producing at a starter level of play.

The ultimate sore knee

Galloisdaman wrote:Wilson is not great but he would be a step up for this team. They really need a legit starter added to the lineup. Too many starters are not producing at a starter level of play.

I agree ... sort of. I just wrote a little about this another in thread about our frontcourt. If Chandler gets minutes it would/should be at SF. He's not a better shooter or more efficient than Green, and I don't think he's a better defender. We need some size and rebounding at SF in the minutes that Gallo isn't at SF (which is a lot). Especially if Chandler can still score at a decent clip, he'll help us at SF--but don't know if we need a whole lot more at C and PF. Trezz, Zubac, Gallo, and Green and have been killing it there since the trade.

TrueLAfan wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:Wilson is not great but he would be a step up for this team. They really need a legit starter added to the lineup. Too many starters are not producing at a starter level of play.

I agree ... sort of. I just wrote a little about this another in thread about our frontcourt. If Chandler gets minutes it would/should be at PF. He's not a better shooter or more efficient than Green, and I don't think he's a better defender. We need some size and rebounding at SF in the minutes that Gallo isn't at SF (which is a lot). Especially if Chandler can still score at a decent clip, he'll help us at SF--but don't know if we need a whole lot more at C and PF. Trezz, Zubac, Gallo, and Green and have been killing it there since the trade.

I do not have the answer on this roster but looking at how many single digit scorers are in the starting lineup is a concern. SGA really needs to produce. Ditto Shamet for that starting lineup to compete. That starting lineup does not look like a playoff starting lineup. It already looked underpowered when Tobias was here. If I'm the other coach going in to an important game I would just tell them to shut down Gallo. The rest of the guys in that starting lineup are not scaring anyone lately.

Galloisdaman wrote:

TrueLAfan wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:Wilson is not great but he would be a step up for this team. They really need a legit starter added to the lineup. Too many starters are not producing at a starter level of play.

I agree ... sort of. I just wrote a little about this another in thread about our frontcourt. If Chandler gets minutes it would/should be at PF. He's not a better shooter or more efficient than Green, and I don't think he's a better defender. We need some size and rebounding at SF in the minutes that Gallo isn't at SF (which is a lot). Especially if Chandler can still score at a decent clip, he'll help us at SF--but don't know if we need a whole lot more at C and PF. Trezz, Zubac, Gallo, and Green and have been killing it there since the trade.

I do not have the answer on this roster but looking at how many single digit scorers are in the starting lineup is a concern. SGA really needs to produce. Ditto Shamet for that starting lineup to compete. That starting lineup does not look like a playoff starting lineup. It already looked underpowered when Tobias was here. If I'm the other coach going in to an important game I would just tell them to shut down Gallo. The rest of the guys in that starting lineup are not scaring anyone lately.

The strategy remains the same as when Tobias was here--try to stay close with your skeleton starter crew and get fat with the 2nd unit.

The closers are Trezz, Lou, Gallo, Beverley, and whoever's playing the best that night.

esqtvd wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:

TrueLAfan wrote:
I agree ... sort of. I just wrote a little about this another in thread about our frontcourt. If Chandler gets minutes it would/should be at SF. He's not a better shooter or more efficient than Green, and I don't think he's a better defender. We need some size and rebounding at SF in the minutes that Gallo isn't at SF (which is a lot). Especially if Chandler can still score at a decent clip, he'll help us at SF--but don't know if we need a whole lot more at C and PF. Trezz, Zubac, Gallo, and Green and have been killing it there since the trade.

I do not have the answer on this roster but looking at how many single digit scorers are in the starting lineup is a concern. SGA really needs to produce. Ditto Shamet for that starting lineup to compete. That starting lineup does not look like a playoff starting lineup. It already looked underpowered when Tobias was here. If I'm the other coach going in to an important game I would just tell them to shut down Gallo. The rest of the guys in that starting lineup are not scaring anyone lately.

The strategy remains the same as when Tobias was here--try to stay close with your skeleton starter crew and get fat with the 2nd unit.

The closers are Trezz, Lou, Gallo, Beverley, and whoever's playing the best that night.

I totally agree. The big plus with those four is that there's some scoring punch--and Gallisdaman is right; we don't have (enough of) that a lot of the time. The way I see it, Luc is the plus guy here; good defender, can guard most SFs. If the other team is going big, I kinda favor sliding Gallo to SF and letting Green play. Chandler is looking more like a fifth wheel here--although if someone is hurt or in foul trouble, Chandler could play some decent minutes. But I don't see that he's a better NBA player than JaMychal Green right now--at least not as a 20-25 mpg player.

esqtvd wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:

TrueLAfan wrote:
I agree ... sort of. I just wrote a little about this another in thread about our frontcourt. If Chandler gets minutes it would/should be at PF. He's not a better shooter or more efficient than Green, and I don't think he's a better defender. We need some size and rebounding at SF in the minutes that Gallo isn't at SF (which is a lot). Especially if Chandler can still score at a decent clip, he'll help us at SF--but don't know if we need a whole lot more at C and PF. Trezz, Zubac, Gallo, and Green and have been killing it there since the trade.

I do not have the answer on this roster but looking at how many single digit scorers are in the starting lineup is a concern. SGA really needs to produce. Ditto Shamet for that starting lineup to compete. That starting lineup does not look like a playoff starting lineup. It already looked underpowered when Tobias was here. If I'm the other coach going in to an important game I would just tell them to shut down Gallo. The rest of the guys in that starting lineup are not scaring anyone lately.

The strategy remains the same as when Tobias was here--try to stay close with your skeleton starter crew and get fat with the 2nd unit.

The closers are Trezz, Lou, Gallo, Beverley, and whoever's playing the best that night.

I understand the strategy but its not optimal because you don;t want to fall behind in games. Asking Gallo and 4 guys that would be on the bench in other places to hold off the leagues best players is asking a lot. They are not going to be able to do it much in the playoffs. Right now Lou and Trezz beat up on reserves but in the playoffs other teams will often shorten their benches so it will not be as easy. Since the starting guards do not get a lot of assists I would consider moving Lou to the starting unit. Is Doc trying to protect him on the defensive end by having him face second units? I'm not bashing Doc. There are no easy answers on this roster. Its not like Doc has a all-star player sitting on the bench. Best case scenario is SGA, Shamet and even Jerome make huge step ups in the last 20 games. Wilson in his prime could have helped but I have not seen him play in a while. I do not know what kind of player he is at this point.

Galloisdaman wrote:

esqtvd wrote:

Galloisdaman wrote:
I do not have the answer on this roster but looking at how many single digit scorers are in the starting lineup is a concern. SGA really needs to produce. Ditto Shamet for that starting lineup to compete. That starting lineup does not look like a playoff starting lineup. It already looked underpowered when Tobias was here. If I'm the other coach going in to an important game I would just tell them to shut down Gallo. The rest of the guys in that starting lineup are not scaring anyone lately.

The strategy remains the same as when Tobias was here--try to stay close with your skeleton starter crew and get fat with the 2nd unit.

The closers are Trezz, Lou, Gallo, Beverley, and whoever's playing the best that night.

I understand the strategy but its not optimal because you don;t want to fall behind in games. Asking Gallo and 4 guys that would be on the bench in other places to hold off the leagues best players is asking a lot. They are not going to be able to do it much in the playoffs. Right now Lou and Trezz beat up on reserves but in the playoffs other teams will often shorten their benches so it will not be as easy. Since the starting guards do not get a lot of assists I would consider moving Lou to the starting unit. Is Doc trying to protect him on the defensive end by having him face second units? I'm not bashing Doc. There are no easy answers on this roster. Its not like Doc has a all-star player sitting on the bench. Best case scenario is SGA, Shamet and even Jerome make huge step ups in the last 20 games. Wilson in his prime could have helped but I have not seen him play in a while. I do not know what kind of player he is at this point.

Trezz and Lou come in as soon as they're needed, the later the better. 6 minutes left in the 1st quarter is about right but if we're getting run out, you'll see them sooner. When we had Tobias, it was often later. Now, with 3 green starters, it's hairy until further notice. I certainly favor throwing a veteran out there, although the 6'5" Temple at SF was no cure for the problem when Doc tried it.

The biggest problem is that both Trezz and Lou are best at under 30 minutes, and you need them to play most of the 4th quarter. Working backwards, that leaves only 20 minutes for the rest of the game. You also don't want to cannibalize the 2nd unit, which is the best in the league. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is a zero-sum game.

I don't know if Chandler is the answer but he was ok as a placeholder starter for the Sixers earlier this year.

bad Luc

not to be a downer but I'm doubting the Clippers will still be playing come May 28

Was the Moute signing worth it, if only to prevent Rockets from winning it all?