More wins this season: Lakers or Clippers

[Caneman786]

Odds:
Lakers over or under 47.5 wins
Clippers over or under 48.5 wins

...

I think it's a coin toss, and the odds reflect this. Both teams have improved in the offseason as well, should be a fun rivalry this year. Ayton was a huge pickup for the Lakers due to need, Clippers made some nice smaller changes.

We can speculate on which team is less likely to have significant injuries, but neither team is bulletproof and has high potential for variance. Clippers won 50 games last season with Kawhi only playing 37, OTOH he's the most likely to get hurt on either team.

This is actually evidence that the Lakers are way outclassed by the Clippers. Odds people overrate the Lakers and underrate the Clippers. It's an iron law that needs to be remembered whenever ever looking at betting odds.

[Memories]

We doing this again with the Clippers? Seriously? It’s gonna be the same result EVERY year since 2019.

1. Clippers look great on paper.
2. Clippers even start out great.
3. Injuries happen.
4. They play middle of the road as a result. Top 5 or 6 West team.
5. 1st round happens, Kawhi gets injured.
7. Clippers give vague answers on Kawhi’s injuries.
8. Kawhi is out for playoffs.
9. And if by some miracle Kawhi doesn’t get injured, team chokes in the first or 2nd round anyway, especially with old Harden in the picture.

And if ALL THAT wasn’t enough: Clippers will go into this season as THE OLDEST TEAM IN NBA HISTORY! With an average age of 33.2 years. Them even holding it together for an entire season would be a miracle.

With all due respect to some people here, y'all have a memory of a goldfish with this team.

[Caneman786]

Clippers may be the nursing home, but their depth means they’re not as reliant on the oldest player in the league to stay healthy and available…

If LeBron goes down, it’s Luka and Reeves, and… Ayton? Smart?

If LeBron goes down it might help the team

That ball-hogging, empty-stats net negative player... He didn't even deserve an all-star spot last season.

Just another one of the reasons that the Clippers are better than the Lakers.

[Jedi32]

This poll is a great litmus test to tell if someone actually pays attention to what's going on in Los Angeles.

The Lakers 3 seed last year has a lot of people fooled, but if you dig deeper into net rating, you see that they just weren't on the same caliber as most other teams. Wins full of fake shooting and injury luck...

If you want a real gauge of how good the Lakers and Clippers were last year, you need to look at net rating and SRS.

Net rating:
+4.9 - Los Angeles Clippers (5th in the league)
+1.2 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league )

Simple rating system:
+4.84 - Los Angeles Clippers (6th in the league)
+1.45 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league)

This disparity in how good the two teams were got exposed in the playoff. When the Lakers had to meet the iron in the Timberwolves, they got utterly exposed in 5 games (and the Timberwolves went on to get crushed by the Thunder in 5). Meanwhile, the Clippers took the Nuggets to 7 (and that team took the Thunder to 7).

The two teams were never on the same level.

Now, the Clippers just got way, way better. They don't have three guards anymore; they have a cohesive unit with depth at every position, including Power Forward, which is going to unlock so, so many things. On top of this, Beal is superior to Powell. On top of this, the Clippers really were already better than you all think, because ever since Kawhi came back, they went on a crazy run showing how good Kawhi actually is. They went 31-17 with a +7.7 net rating (3rd in the league!). That is the team that's gonna be getting better.

A +10 net rating and 60 wins is not out of the question for Clippers. Way, way more likely than Lakers comeback season anyway.

The Lakers, they have a chance of an outlier Luka revenge season, but honestly, even that won't make them better than the Clippers. Luka isn't even that good, and at his best he was heavily overrated. Fit Luka has us shaking, but it still won't be that good. Ayton is a known bum. Dorian Finney-Smith, meanwhile, who left for Houston, was the Laker's leader in plus-minus. It's not even a given the Lakers are better. What's known, though, is the Clippers are better.

Let's be real. There's a small club of very good, contending teams in the Western conference that have real chances to make runs:

Oklahoma City (last season's champs and 1 seed, best net rating in the league, did not lose anyone)
Houston (Adding KD and Dorian Finney-Smith, we don't know how good they'll be really but they're in the conversation)
Denver (proven when they took OKC to 7)
Los Angeles C. (reasons already covered)
Golden State (Healthy Jimmy is unstoppable, the Warriors had a +9.2 net rating and went 23-8 (a 61-win pace) after Jimmy joined the team)

You know who's not in the club? The Fakers . Have fun watching your 8 seed team get bounced in the play-in!

maybe just maybe long rants like yours show why folks actually play the game and not just look at stats.

[Caneman786]

...

maybe just maybe long rants like yours show why folks actually play the game and not just look at stats.

Rant? Lol. Ain't nobody mad but you. In fact I'm real happy looking for this next season.

It's just pure facts. I know how trash the Lakers are and how good the Clippers are since I watched most of the games of both teams last year, unlike the average person who thinks the Lakers are good. Them playoffs Lakers hatewatches were glorious.

Here's a challenge I know you can't do - Name even one reason the Lakers aren't gonna be a play-in team or below. Or say the number of wins that you think either team will have, so we can come back next year and bump the thread to laugh at Lakers fans.

[xb3at band1tx]

Odds:
Lakers over or under 47.5 wins
Clippers over or under 48.5 wins

I think it's a coin toss, and the odds reflect this. Both teams have improved in the offseason as well, should be a fun rivalry this year. Ayton was a huge pickup for the Lakers due to need, Clippers made some nice smaller changes.

We can speculate on which team is less likely to have significant injuries, but neither team is bulletproof and has high potential for variance. Clippers won 50 games last season with Kawhi only playing 37, OTOH he's the most likely to get hurt on either team.

Yeah, I think's it more of a coin flip than people realize.

Luka is still young and is an offensive engine all by itself, I think people may underestimate how much of a workhorse he can truly be even with junkyard parts on the team.

For the clippers argument I think the depth and lue will be enough for atleast 47 wins if not more but I wouldn't be entirely shocked if they don't meet that threshold with the amount of old guys they have that could go out on any given night.

This poll is a great litmus test to tell if someone actually pays attention to what's going on in Los Angeles.

The Lakers 3 seed last year has a lot of people fooled, but if you dig deeper into net rating, you see that they just weren't on the same caliber as most other teams. Wins full of fake shooting and injury luck...

If you want a real gauge of how good the Lakers and Clippers were last year, you need to look at net rating and SRS.

Net rating:
+4.9 - Los Angeles Clippers (5th in the league)
+1.2 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league )

Simple rating system:
+4.84 - Los Angeles Clippers (6th in the league)
+1.45 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league)

This disparity in how good the two teams were got exposed in the playoff. When the Lakers had to meet the iron in the Timberwolves, they got utterly exposed in 5 games (and the Timberwolves went on to get crushed by the Thunder in 5). Meanwhile, the Clippers took the Nuggets to 7 (and that team took the Thunder to 7).

The two teams were never on the same level.

Now, the Clippers just got way, way better. They don't have three guards anymore; they have a cohesive unit with depth at every position, including Power Forward, which is going to unlock so, so many things. On top of this, Beal is superior to Powell. On top of this, the Clippers really were already better than you all think, because ever since Kawhi came back, they went on a crazy run showing how good Kawhi actually is. They went 31-17 with a +7.7 net rating (3rd in the league!). That is the team that's gonna be getting better.

A +10 net rating and 60 wins is not out of the question for Clippers. Way, way more likely than Lakers comeback season anyway.

The Lakers, they have a chance of an outlier Luka revenge season, but honestly, even that won't make them better than the Clippers. Luka isn't even that good, and at his best he was heavily overrated. Fit Luka has us shaking, but it still won't be that good. Ayton is a known bum. Dorian Finney-Smith, meanwhile, who left for Houston, was the Laker's leader in plus-minus. It's not even a given the Lakers are better. What's known, though, is the Clippers are better.

Let's be real. There's a small club of very good, contending teams in the Western conference that have real chances to make runs:

Oklahoma City (last season's champs and 1 seed, best net rating in the league, did not lose anyone)
Houston (Adding KD and Dorian Finney-Smith, we don't know how good they'll be really but they're in the conversation)
Denver (proven when they took OKC to 7)
Los Angeles C. (reasons already covered)
Golden State (Healthy Jimmy is unstoppable, the Warriors had a +9.2 net rating and went 23-8 (a 61-win pace) after Jimmy joined the team)

You know who's not in the club? The Fakers . Have fun watching your 8 seed team get bounced in the play-in!

maybe just maybe long rants like yours show why folks actually play the game and not just look at stats.

lmao

[Jedi32]

...

maybe just maybe long rants like yours show why folks actually play the game and not just look at stats.

Rant? Lol. Ain't nobody mad but you. In fact I'm real happy looking for this next season.

It's just pure facts. I know how trash the Lakers are and how good the Clippers are since I watched most of the games of both teams last year, unlike the average person who thinks the Lakers are good. Them playoffs Lakers hatewatches were glorious.

Here's a challenge I know you can't do - Name even one reason the Lakers aren't gonna be a play-in team or below. Or say the number of wins that you think either team will have, so we can come back next year and bump the thread to laugh at Lakers fans.

Again you sound silly but I'm sure you know that, and you're just trolling. I'll entertain this time. For one all this talk about the clippers being better than Lakers has done what for them? Everyone was clowning when the clippers got kawhi and George and the Lakers still had a better stretch of success during that time. There's no reason for Lakers fans to be mad. We've won a chip, been to the conference finals and just signed a top 5 player in his prime to a contract extension all within the last 6 yesrs. mean while the Heat have what to look forward to exactly? I'll wait! I don't know how many wins they'll have but I'm confident that a team that finished 3rd and improved will be ok.

[Caneman786]

maybe just maybe long rants like yours show why folks actually play the game and not just look at stats.

Rant? Lol. Ain't nobody mad but you. In fact I'm real happy looking for this next season.

It's just pure facts. I know how trash the Lakers are and how good the Clippers are since I watched most of the games of both teams last year, unlike the average person who thinks the Lakers are good. Them playoffs Lakers hatewatches were glorious.

Here's a challenge I know you can't do - Name even one reason the Lakers aren't gonna be a play-in team or below. Or say the number of wins that you think either team will have, so we can come back next year and bump the thread to laugh at Lakers fans.

Again you sound silly but I'm sure you know that, and you're just trolling. I'll entertain this time. For one all this talk about the clippers being better than Lakers has done what for them? Everyone was clowning when the clippers got kawhi and George and the Lakers still had a better stretch of success during that time. There's no reason for Lakers fans to be mad. We've won a chip, been to the conference finals and just signed a top 5 player in his prime to a contract extension all within the last 6 yesrs. mean while the Heat have what to look forward to exactly? I'll wait! I don't know how many wins they'll have but I'm confident that a team that finished 3rd and improved will be ok.

I'm not trolling. It's what I believe. You'd believe it too if you actually read my post instead of scrolling past it, you'd see reasons for the Lakers to be very scared. They just aren't on the Clippers level.

By the way, you just said, "All the talk about Clippers being better than Lakers has done what?" This isn't a real argument or reason the Clippers are even on the same level as the Lakers. I'm talking about this year (and last year) so you need to keep things in the present. You didn't just not "entertain" my honest question, you didn't even read it. If you got something real to say, say it so we can all learn.

Also, the fact that you even think the 3rd seed was something impressive shows you aren't familiar with Laker basketball. I'll make it short and simple for you: it's meaningless. Statistically, it's the most overstated record in the league. Sort on cleaningtheglass.com and you'll be exposed to the reality.

https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/summary

It's not even a given the Lakers got better. Look at Ayton bro. Also, you lost DFS. When it comes to players that impact winning, DFS comes out on top.

The only maybe is Luka.

Imma be real when it comes to the Heat, we aren't getting far this year. We STILL might be better than the Lakers though lol. I'm taking a bigger chance on that than I am on the preposterous idea that the Lakers could be close to the Clippers.

[cupcakesnake]

Clippers will have more regular season wins but Lakers will go deeper in the playoffs.

Clippers will have more regular season wins but both will lose in the 1st round.

Maybe one of these teams gets a favorable first round matchup and wins a series, but neither of these teams are built to go deep. Clippers are old, and Lakers lack depth. OKC, Houston, Denver, Minnesota are all some combination of better, younger, deeper.

[Warspite]

The only way 1 of them makes the 2nd rd is if they meet in the 1st round.

The west is just very improved. I could see 10 teams win 45 games which would mean only 1 or 2 win 50 games. Really going to have to play .800 ball vs the east to win +50 games.

[DusterBuster]

It’s gonna be close. Vegas odds are baring that out.

Probably simply just comes down to health.

I’m putting my money on Clippers tho, they’re deeper and can withstand some injuries moreso than the Lakers. Ayton is near guaranteed to miss probably 20 games a year, and they got no one after that.

[jkvonny]

More wins?

The Clip Joint, if they stay healthy.

[BelgradeNugget]

There is one big question for the Lakers. There is a possibility LeBron becomes a distraction, and can we imagine how big of distraction he may become if he decides to?

[Lockdown504090]

Odds:
Lakers over or under 47.5 wins
Clippers over or under 48.5 wins

We won 50 games last year and we're definitely better this year imo.

luka ayton pnr with lebron ready to slash if his man tags the roller is pretty inhumane considering lebron is still the best straight line driver, luka is the best pnr handler, and ayton is one of the best roll men. Defense will be bad, but i mean making the other team take it out the hoop all the time helps the D a lot.

[sonic the laker]

This poll is a great litmus test to tell if someone actually pays attention to what's going on in Los Angeles.

The Lakers 3 seed last year has a lot of people fooled, but if you dig deeper into net rating, you see that they just weren't on the same caliber as most other teams. Wins full of fake shooting and injury luck...

If you want a real gauge of how good the Lakers and Clippers were last year, you need to look at net rating and SRS.

Net rating:
+4.9 - Los Angeles Clippers (5th in the league)
+1.2 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league )

Simple rating system:
+4.84 - Los Angeles Clippers (6th in the league)
+1.45 - Los Angeles Lakers (14th in the league)

This disparity in how good the two teams were got exposed in the playoff. When the Lakers had to meet the iron in the Timberwolves, they got utterly exposed in 5 games (and the Timberwolves went on to get crushed by the Thunder in 5). Meanwhile, the Clippers took the Nuggets to 7 (and that team took the Thunder to 7).

The two teams were never on the same level.

Now, the Clippers just got way, way better. They don't have three guards anymore; they have a cohesive unit with depth at every position, including Power Forward, which is going to unlock so, so many things. On top of this, Beal is superior to Powell. On top of this, the Clippers really were already better than you all think, because ever since Kawhi came back, they went on a crazy run showing how good Kawhi actually is. They went 31-17 with a +7.7 net rating (3rd in the league!). That is the team that's gonna be getting better.

A +10 net rating and 60 wins is not out of the question for Clippers. Way, way more likely than Lakers comeback season anyway.

The Lakers, they have a chance of an outlier Luka revenge season, but honestly, even that won't make them better than the Clippers. Luka isn't even that good, and at his best he was heavily overrated. Fit Luka has us shaking, but it still won't be that good. Ayton is a known bum. Dorian Finney-Smith, meanwhile, who left for Houston, was the Laker's leader in plus-minus. It's not even a given the Lakers are better. What's known, though, is the Clippers are better.

Let's be real. There's a small club of very good, contending teams in the Western conference that have real chances to make runs:

Oklahoma City (last season's champs and 1 seed, best net rating in the league, did not lose anyone)
Houston (Adding KD and Dorian Finney-Smith, we don't know how good they'll be really but they're in the conversation)
Denver (proven when they took OKC to 7)
Los Angeles C. (reasons already covered)
Golden State (Healthy Jimmy is unstoppable, the Warriors had a +9.2 net rating and went 23-8 (a 61-win pace) after Jimmy joined the team)

You know who's not in the club? The Fakers . Have fun watching your 8 seed team get bounced in the play-in!

That's a substantial read. And, honestly, there's probably a lot of nuggets of real information that would serve as credible debate. Unfortunately, when you sandwich your opine with..."Luka isn't even that good, and at his best was heavily overrated", and "Healthy Jimmy is unstoppable..."...these unhinged utterances entirely invalidate the rest of your argument.

[Caneman786]

...

...these unhinged utterances entirely invalidate the rest of your argument.

Lol

If you don't know about healthy Jimmy, you don't know about him. You're gonna find out sooner or later (if they're healthy). Maybe you won't. It's your loss (and probably everyone's loss, cuz it most likely means the Warriors weren't healthy).

And Luka was in fact heavily overrated. Jeremias Engelmann, a staffer on the Dallas Mavericks, had been talking about this, how Dallas's internal models showed he wasn't that good even when he was being thought of as being at his best (2023 to 2024?). It was real interesting.