NBA PLAYOFFS: GAME 1: (5) Los Angeles Clippers @ (4) Phoenix Suns l Sunday l 5:00 l TNT

[bwgood77]

I'm not typically paranoid, but a little concern in creeping into my brain that Clippers will keep saying that Paul George is not quite ready to play in the first round against the Suns, he's still rehabbing, is listed as a game time decision, then as the Clips are announcing their starters to the Phoenix crowd, Paul George comes running out of the tunnel and the home crowd is stunned into silence. This would be an all-time covert rope-a-dope to catch the Suns off guard.

Suns though still beat the Clippers 120-105 so all is good, yeah

I think teams have to release the injury report X amount of time before a game. Maybe I'm thinking football but I don't think a team can roll out a player last second without the other team being aware it's possible. Otherwise they get fined or something.

Yeah, but even if they say doubtful, questionable, DTD, etc, those don't shut the door on anything. I vaguely recall them saying they would look into the Suns because we said Book was doubtful last year when he came back but that was ridiculous. Doubtful means, unlikely, but possibly. I'd say 25/75, and questionable probably 50/50 an probable 75/25

[Saberestar]

I'm not typically paranoid, but a little concern in creeping into my brain that Clippers will keep saying that Paul George is not quite ready to play in the first round against the Suns, he's still rehabbing, is listed as a game time decision, then as the Clips are announcing their starters to the Phoenix crowd, Paul George comes running out of the tunnel and the home crowd is stunned into silence. This would be an all-time covert rope-a-dope to catch the Suns off guard.

Suns though still beat the Clippers 120-105 so all is good, yeah

This wouldn't surprise me either, but probably not for game 1. "No timetable for return" means nothing other than they are not sure. For all we know they are thinking maybe a week a few days ago when saying that. All the "expected to miss first round" is not coming from the Clippers, just like when people assumed Book was out 2 weeks against the Pels last year and missed 2 games....that was all media talk and assumptions...not Suns reports.

He needs to play 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 before playing any game, so we will know at least when will be possible for him to coming back from that knee injury.

He is just shooting stationary shots. No fadeaways, layups...he is not even close yet.

[bwgood77]

Maybe not. They said today they are encouraged he is practicing but wouldn't let him come back unless he was close to 100% without further chance of injury potentially making it worse.

And then there was this:

sources close to George tell The Athletic that he is targeting a return in the semifinals.

[Slim Charless]

I'm not typically paranoid, but a little concern in creeping into my brain that Clippers will keep saying that Paul George is not quite ready to play in the first round against the Suns, he's still rehabbing, is listed as a game time decision, then as the Clips are announcing their starters to the Phoenix crowd, Paul George comes running out of the tunnel and the home crowd is stunned into silence. This would be an all-time covert rope-a-dope to catch the Suns off guard.

Suns though still beat the Clippers 120-105 so all is good, yeah

I think teams have to release the injury report X amount of time before a game. Maybe I'm thinking football but I don't think a team can roll out a player last second without the other team being aware it's possible. Otherwise they get fined or something.

Yeah, but even if they say doubtful, questionable, DTD, etc, those don't shut the door on anything. I vaguely recall them saying they would look into the Suns because we said Book was doubtful last year when he came back but that was ridiculous. Doubtful means, unlikely, but possibly. I'd say 25/75, and questionable probably 50/50 an probable 75/25

If this goes 7, I think we have a shot at a pg13 appearance. Maybe 6. Otherwise I'd be surprised if he plays.

[bwgood77]

I think teams have to release the injury report X amount of time before a game. Maybe I'm thinking football but I don't think a team can roll out a player last second without the other team being aware it's possible. Otherwise they get fined or something.

Yeah, but even if they say doubtful, questionable, DTD, etc, those don't shut the door on anything. I vaguely recall them saying they would look into the Suns because we said Book was doubtful last year when he came back but that was ridiculous. Doubtful means, unlikely, but possibly. I'd say 25/75, and questionable probably 50/50 an probable 75/25

If this goes 7, I think we have a shot at a pg13 appearance. Maybe 6. Otherwise I'd be surprised if he plays.

I have no idea. Not a medical expert. Saberestar sounds like he might be more medically intelligent than me, so it sounds like he won't be back soon.

[SunsRback4Good]

Approximately 38 hours and 30 min until tip-off. Let the countdown begin.

[sunsbg]

Biz and Cam apparently back to practice. Suns will wear the black jerseys for home games, white on the road. Let's go and do it !!!

Watch on YouTube

[POLI]

All this play-in nonsense the league invented for money reasons is completely stupid, to say the less.
It is completely unbearable to wait a week or longer for your first PO game while you are 1-6 seeded while the teams that did not deserve to be there are playing stupid games that will take nobody nowhere.
While they play and keep their shape, the good ones are waiting and getting the risk of getting out of shape.
It could be beneficial in our case so KD has more time to recover perfectly and Paul gets his rest, but time runs in favour of Paul George, for example.
It is completely unfair to wait this long for winning teams.

I do not want to enter the moral victory discussion, as I believe that the Clippers are going to give us a hard time and while we have the best players in KD and Booker, their roster rises above ours in number of quality players.
Our bench is nothing compared to theirs, IMO.

My brother, you need to find a hobby

What I meant is that it is unfair for the winning teams to wait this long.
Regarding me, I can barely watch the games even during the 2-3 following days sometimes.

[SunsRback4Good]

All this play-in nonsense the league invented for money reasons is completely stupid, to say the less.
It is completely unbearable to wait a week or longer for your first PO game while you are 1-6 seeded while the teams that did not deserve to be there are playing stupid games that will take nobody nowhere.
While they play and keep their shape, the good ones are waiting and getting the risk of getting out of shape.
It could be beneficial in our case so KD has more time to recover perfectly and Paul gets his rest, but time runs in favour of Paul George, for example.
It is completely unfair to wait this long for winning teams.

I do not want to enter the moral victory discussion, as I believe that the Clippers are going to give us a hard time and while we have the best players in KD and Booker, their roster rises above ours in number of quality players.
Our bench is nothing compared to theirs, IMO.

My brother, you need to find a hobby

What I meant is that it is unfair for the winning teams to wait this long.
Regarding me, I can barely watch the games even during the 2-3 following days sometimes.

Feels like it’s more unfair for fans rather than players. After a long season the players are happy to get a week off which is their reward for finishing top 6 in their conference. From a players perspective it’s great to rest up will be helpful for guys like KD & Paul. But us fans want games right away which does kinda suck waiting a whole week. It used to be 3 days off before Saturday playoffs but now it’s 5 days off.

[Saberestar]

Maybe not. They said today they are encouraged he is practicing but wouldn't let him come back unless he was close to 100% without further chance of injury potentially making it worse.

And then there was this:

sources close to George tell The Athletic that he is targeting a return in the semifinals.

Are you suggesting that he probably will be back to play in the playoffs without playing any 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 before?

Look, this is an injury that it's not about pain tolerance, he can seriously damage more his knee if he comes back earlier than when is absolutely healthy.

[NapoleonII]

Hope the bench guys route the Clippers', which they have the capacity to do. TRoss, TJ Warren, even Biz and Payne can go off for 15+ points. And to shut up the dumb narrative about our 'depth' (completely ignoring our ability to stagger our guys to bring out our bench's strengths)

[Calvin Klein]

Biz and Cam apparently back to practice. Suns will wear the black jerseys for home games, white on the road. Let's go and do it !!!

Watch on YouTube

They should make teams wear whites at home and dark on the road, at least during the playoffs. I can't recognise any team's jerseys anymore besides our own.

You used to be able to recognise a team's season by looking at their jerseys. Not anymore. It's completely random now.

[bwgood77]

Maybe not. They said today they are encouraged he is practicing but wouldn't let him come back unless he was close to 100% without further chance of injury potentially making it worse.

And then there was this:

sources close to George tell The Athletic that he is targeting a return in the semifinals.

Are you suggesting that he probably will be back to play in the playoffs without playing any 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 before?

Look, this is an injury that it's not about pain tolerance, he can seriously damage more his knee if he comes back earlier than when is absolutely healthy.

I have no idea. I am not an expert on such matters. I do think if it was Book or one of our players you would sing a different tune and say no big deal and they will be back soon. You already feel Paul and KD will be healthy and fine for years to come, yet the Clips can never stay healthy.

I don't really expect him back, but nothing would really surprise me.

[Saberestar]

Maybe not. They said today they are encouraged he is practicing but wouldn't let him come back unless he was close to 100% without further chance of injury potentially making it worse.

And then there was this:

Are you suggesting that he probably will be back to play in the playoffs without playing any 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 before?

Look, this is an injury that it's not about pain tolerance, he can seriously damage more his knee if he comes back earlier than when is absolutely healthy.

I have no idea. I am not an expert on such matters. I do think if it was Book or one of our players you would sing a different tune and say no big deal and they will be back soon. You already feel Paul and KD will be healthy and fine for years to come, yet the Clips can never stay healthy.

I don't really expect him back, but nothing would really surprise me.

I would say the same if it was Book or one of our players.

I think that PG is gonna be back soon, but 10 days out IN THE PLAYOFFS can make you to lose even a full round.

[bwgood77]

Are you suggesting that he probably will be back to play in the playoffs without playing any 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 before?

Look, this is an injury that it's not about pain tolerance, he can seriously damage more his knee if he comes back earlier than when is absolutely healthy.

I have no idea. I am not an expert on such matters. I do think if it was Book or one of our players you would sing a different tune and say no big deal and they will be back soon. You already feel Paul and KD will be healthy and fine for years to come, yet the Clips can never stay healthy.

I don't really expect him back, but nothing would really surprise me.

I would say the same if it was Book or one of our players.

I think that PG is gonna be back soon, but 10 days out IN THE PLAYOFFS can make you to lose even a full round.

Where did you get the 10 days? Hasn't he been out about a month?

[Saberestar]

I have no idea. I am not an expert on such matters. I do think if it was Book or one of our players you would sing a different tune and say no big deal and they will be back soon. You already feel Paul and KD will be healthy and fine for years to come, yet the Clips can never stay healthy.

I don't really expect him back, but nothing would really surprise me.

I would say the same if it was Book or one of our players.

I think that PG is gonna be back soon, but 10 days out IN THE PLAYOFFS can make you to lose even a full round.

Where did you get the 10 days? Hasn't he been out about a month?

10 days from tomorrow, from the start of the playoffs.

He is probably closer to a couple weeks for coming back, that’s why there are rumors about him targeting his return for semifinals.

[bwgood77]

I would say the same if it was Book or one of our players.

I think that PG is gonna be back soon, but 10 days out IN THE PLAYOFFS can make you to lose even a full round.

Where did you get the 10 days? Hasn't he been out about a month?

10 days from tomorrow, from the start of the playoffs.

He is probably closer to a couple weeks for coming back, that’s why there are rumors about him targeting his return for semifinals.

I didn't see anything about 10 days. Like I said, I don't expect him but it wouldn't totally surprise me. If it got to a game 6 if he's near full health 11 days from now, that would be a hell of a game.

Without him we should take care of them in 5..if we can stay healthy, which I know is rare considering Paul got injured in round 2 years ago and Book last year.

[spanishninja]

espn's BPI has the Clips at 57% to win g1. huh?

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[bwgood77]

espn's BPI has the Clips at 57% to win g1. huh?

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I saw that. And for the series, 80%. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36069090/nba-playoff-schedule-highlights-2023

I am unsure how the formula works but don't think it accounts for player injuries.

[spanishninja]

espn's BPI has the Clips at 57% to win g1. huh?

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I saw that. And for the series, 80%. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36069090/nba-playoff-schedule-highlights-2023

I am unsure how the formula works but don't think it accounts for player injuries.

even if it doesnt consider injuries, full strength clips against full strength suns is not an 80/20 split. not when our advanced team. stats are quite good too.

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