HoopsWorld: LA Clippers 2010-2011 Preview

Post #1 » by **mkwest** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 6:44 am

Eric Pincus and the HoopsWorld staff share their thoughts on the upcoming Clippers season.

In terms of flat-out talent, the Clippers are one of the most interesting teams in the league, at least on paper. With Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin, and Chris Kaman, L.A. has four guys with All-Star capabilities, and their bench—which includes Rasual Butler, Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, DeAndre Jordan, and rookies Eric Bledsoe and Al-Farouq Aminu—also has a lot of guys other teams would love to get their mitts on. Getting all that talent off the paper and onto the court, however, could be a challenge. New head coach Vinny Del Negro is still something of an enigma, and he's got a lot of talent to balance. This is a group that could win 45 games with relative ease, or they could slip into that embarrassing 30-win range. It all depends on how quickly the guys gel and what VDN is able to do with them.

Who We Like
1 - Blake Griffin – Franchise power forward, take two. The hope is that the knee injury is nothing but a bad memory. Griffin has a tremendous work-ethic. He'll add a dimension the Clippers haven't seen since Elton Brand's best days. LA's upside is tied to how quickly Griffin can ascend through the ranks in the West where many of the best fours make a living.

What Needs To Be Said On Opening Day....

Shh everyone. Just be quiet. Listen to that – listen to that silence. That's what everyone is saying about us as a team. They have no idea what we can be. We have a solid nucleus in place, and this year, everyone is healthy and ready to commit to building a winner. Blake, people may have forgotten how good you were in summer league last year. You have a chance to show them. The best part is we have pieces in more places than most – and no one really is talking about us. Our goal will be to pound teams with our front line early in games, which will soften them up for later so Baron and Eric can really take over. If we take it one game at a time, that silence you hear now will grow to whispers and full blown discussion. Let's make them recognize how good we are!

Eric Pincus, HoopsWorld

mike3 · Post #2 » by **mike3** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:18 am

Interesting, hearing that, there truely are 4 of our 5 starters who have all-star calibar, thats exciting. Not getting to carried away though.

RiversideClips · Post #3 » by **RiversideClips** » Fri Sep 17, 2010 3:48 am

I think the CLIPS success will be the bench and EJ. After this summer I am so stoked to see GORDON as a leader & a Gunslinger!
VDN plays his teams to his player's strengths & I can't wait to see Fast Break Basketball & hard core Hand check defense.
We win 25 games or 50, nothing in the middle. I am ordering my 2nd rd playoff tickets now!

Post #4 » by **mkwest** » Sat Sep 18, 2010 3:33 am

I'm very optimistic about the team, but I do think they need to take it one day at a time. I like our bench, but I liked our bench heading into last season :oops:

. Some of our free-agent signings (Foye & Gomes) are versatile on the court and good locker room guys. Smith and Butler are imperfect players, but both fill a need and can be valuable when given an opportunity to play.

The only thing that I miss between this season and last is Camby. Our bench would look really nice with him relieving of our bigs. Since he's not here, a lot of weight is going to be on DJ's shoulders. I think he has a lot to prove this season with the added responsibility, larger role, Sterling's comments and the fact that it will be a contract year for him.

I do like VInny's attitude. I like the fact that we're pretty much starting from scratch, but still a lot of potential. Everybody involved is looking to grow and has some points to prove. Obviously it all boils down to everybody buying in to playing the right way.