2015-16 Record Predictions/Team Expectations

[nickhx2]

i think 55-27 or 56-26 seems pretty fair. that said i think the 538 analysis feels shallow.

[Ranma]

Zach Lowe, Grantland.com (10/23/15)

32. The Clippers Crack the Top 10 in Points Allowed per Possession

They’re changing their scheme in a way that should work, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are in their primes, and the Clips have a ton of roster continuity. This should be the best defensive team of the Chris Paul–Griffin–Jordan era.

35 Crazy Predictions for the 2015-16 NBA Season


Zach Lowe, Grantland.com (10/27/15)

Los Angeles Clippers: It looks like we will get an immediate answer to perhaps the biggest question about the revamped Clippers: whether Lance Stephenson, with his broken jumper and Dance Dance Revolution dribble moves, can fit into a starting lineup that already includes two big men who operate (mostly) from the elbows in. Starting Stephenson makes intuitive sense: He is the Clips’ best defensive option against Leonard, Durant, and Thompson, and his ballhandling was superfluous on bench units that include Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers.

This is the highest-upside route for the Clips: start Stephenson, bring Paul Pierce off the bench, and then finish games as need be with Pierce at small forward in shorter stretches. It will only work if Stephenson punishes defenses for ignoring him as the Matt Barnes Memorial Fifth Starter — by hitting just enough open 3s, cutting backdoor, and slicing into the paint on catch-and-go drives. He failed horribly on all three counts during a lost (and injury-riddled) season in Charlotte, and he has never been a smart mover off the ball.

Laugh at the Clips all you want, but the core four starters can compete with anyone. They belong in this tier. They just belong at the bottom of it for now. They’ve upgraded the bench with high-risk, medium-reward players, and it’s fair to question a team that so openly admits it lost focus and tightened up against Houston.

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