Clips 12-10 in the Russ Era

[Slava]

This is on track to be the greatest jinx thread of our time.

[Homer38]

Watch on YouTube

[Slava]

He set a ball screen!

It also feels like he's shooting 25% at the basket.

[slick_watts]

westbrook will have a random decent game or two but he's washed. the problem is he has a horde of devoted fans who go insane every time he performs remotely well. this is the westbrook cycle and it's been going on for years now. at the end of the day he's a primary ball handler who can't shoot and doesn't like to pay attention on defense. once in a while he'll make some layups. he should be coming off the bench- it's insane they are not starting mann over him.

[GeorgeSears]

Russ and Ben Simmons aren't NBA quality players anymore. They don't belong in the league. I think Ben is kinda salvageable just due to his size and age, but Russ is not. If anyone brings up that reality, especially with regards to Russ, they're inundated with all the charitable things Russ does off the court, how hard he plays on the court, etc.

[Crunch 99]

Russ got the playoff treatment last night. Aint no way he gets minutes in the postseason after Kawhi/ Ty Lue saw that first hand, right??

again,they could not make the playoffs....

Given stars Leonard and George suiting up for a majority of the games, the Clippers are my biggest underperformers relative to expectations.

[SeattleJazzFan]

how can it be a steal when the player makes any team he's on worse. and this comment has nothing to do with their 0-2 start. it's just a fact with Russ.

this comment aged well. of course. though i shouldn't be patting myself on the back - it would be like patting myself on the back for saying water is wet and being right about it. just stating the absolute obvious.

[lambchop]

westbrook will have a random decent game or two but he's washed. the problem is he has a horde of devoted fans who go insane every time he performs remotely well. this is the westbrook cycle and it's been going on for years now. at the end of the day he's a primary ball handler who can't shoot and doesn't like to pay attention on defense. once in a while he'll make some layups. he should be coming off the bench- it's insane they are not starting mann over him.

I expect those numbers to decrease significantly now that he's not on lebrons team.

[lambchop]

He set a ball screen!

It also feels like he's shooting 25% at the basket.

He simply doesn't have the lift he had years ago. He used to finish with his hand at the rim or at least at the same height as the rim even with defenders right there and guarding him well. Now he has to finish from below the rim and it's obvious that he doesn't have the touch to do it.

[lambchop]

Russ and Ben Simmons aren't NBA quality players anymore. They don't belong in the league. I think Ben is kinda salvageable just due to his size and age, but Russ is not. If anyone brings up that reality, especially with regards to Russ, they're inundated with all the charitable things Russ does off the court, how hard he plays on the court, etc.

Russ is still fine as a backup PG. The insanity begins when teams want him to start play heavy minutes. Have him play 10-12 mpg and he should be just fine.

[elchengue20]

Hes Allen Iverson all over again.

He was electric in his prime with this pace and relentless style. He was an icon. Once that strated to decline a bit his game really has fallen off.

His game just doesn't suit in a role player role. In Westbrook case at least hes trying but he has no jumper, he can't play off the ball efectively. He also has an below average IQ just like Iverson.

[Pharmcat]

how can it be a steal when the player makes any team he's on worse. and this comment has nothing to do with their 0-2 start. it's just a fact with Russ.

this comment aged well. of course. though i shouldn't be patting myself on the back - it would be like patting myself on the back for saying water is wet and being right about it. just stating the absolute obvious.

Apparently water isn’t actually wet

Because there are strong arguments on both sides, we're going straight to an impartial expert: Dr. Diana Glick, professor and director of the Undergraduate Studies Department of Chemistry at Georgetown University.

Glick answers the question how she thinks the scientific world would address it: “Technically,” she says, “water isn’t wet because water is a wetting agent.”

Glick says people can decide for themselves which definition of “wet” they prefer, but for scientific purposes, water is not wet.

[og15]

I mean OP going off 2 game stats was obviously going to be an issue, since with such a small sample, one bad game will totally change the averages.

Two more games later:
14 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 8.5 apg, 4.3 tpg, 50% eFG, 55.6% TS

Remember Mann is a role player, but he shoots 53/39/78 and has a 59.7% eFG and 62.1% TS.

It's not like George has had a significant decrease in turnovers either, he's averaging 2.8 tpg / 4.3 apg in those 4 games vs 3.3 tpg and 5.2 apg for the season, so all the team has now is another guy adding to the turnover problem.

Part of the problem with adding Westbrook is that it displaced other guys who were playing well and affected roles.

Now, we can say, "well, Westbrook isn't the main guy, so its not on him", true, but if you get a player that disrupts the rotations and roles that much, which can affect the psyche of other guys, then that player BETTER be able to have high impact to off-set the disappointment and disruption that his addition brings. And therein lies the problem, Westbrook at this stage does not have that impact, just like Wall didn't with this team, and even though Westbrook is better, he's not better enough.

I don't expect them to continue on a downward spiral, and of course Westbrook will have good games here and there, but overall, are we expecting Westbrook to be efficient or not turn it over too much or not affect spacing (Clippers play Zubac and Plumlee at C) or be good on defense? Hmm....

[ThunderBolt]

This turnover is so classic Russ.

[Thaddy]

Russ Vs FVV who's the worse player?

[Sedale Threatt]

This turnover is so classic Russ.

Spoiler:

As always with Westbrook, it comes down to decision-making. More specifically, really, really bad decision-making. There was a time he could have definitely overpowered two defenders on a 1-on-2 break. That time has long since passed. And yet there is a 100 pct chance he'd still try this in the final minute of a playoff game with a tie score. Or to hijack the offense late like he did the previous game against Minnesota resulting in a couple of terrible possessions in key moments.

As a coach, how can you possibly trust that?

[Liam_Gallagher]

You have no idea how much better it is watching the Lakers with Russ off the team. Having Russell, Beasley, and Vanderbilt is just a bonus.

[NCHeels2008]

westbrook will have a random decent game or two but he's washed. the problem is he has a horde of devoted fans who go insane every time he performs remotely well. this is the westbrook cycle and it's been going on for years now. at the end of the day he's a primary ball handler who can't shoot and doesn't like to pay attention on defense. once in a while he'll make some layups. he should be coming off the bench- it's insane they are not starting mann over him.

Last year was a lost cause anyways but I'll never forget how predictable and demoralizing it was when Russ was in the paint and Patty Mills got left wide open for a game winning 3. His defense is just beyond atrocious and it seems like he doesn't realize it.

[Jadoogar]

The clippers' struggles aren't all on Westbrook but it was clear from the start that he was a terrible fit on this team.

[HanzGruber]

the more they lose the funnier this title will become