Pick Your Poison For The 5th Seed

[Wammy Giveaway]

Memphis Grizzlies - Brutal, physical, taxing. Tony Allen will having J.J. Redick running circles to the point of exhaustion. Zach Randolph is a defensive rebounding beast in the paint. Memphis is also comprised of former Clippers Matt Barnes, Lance Stephenson, Jordan Farmar and Ryan Hollins, three of whom were exiled by Doc Rivers in exchange for his former Celtics and best friends. In the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the Grizzlies eliminated the Clippers in the 1st round and triggered the first ever career ejection of Chris Paul. Beating Memphis would close the chapter on the Grit-N-Grind era forever. Losing to Memphis would expose Doc Rivers as a bad GM with personal agendas, prompting Steve Ballmer to ax the GM role, or both in the form of a firing.

Portland Trailblazers - The preferred match-up, or a trap series? Damian Lillard was denied an All Star appearance, so he vowed revenge by forcing Portland into the playoffs, LaMarcus Aldridge or no LaMarcus Aldridge. A passionate Blazer fan base at the Moda Center will add more fuel for the flames. Last season, the Clippers were eliminated as a consequence for overlooking the Houston Rockets in the 2nd round, distracted by the allure of facing their arch nemesis the Golden State Warriors. Neil Olshey is the overseer of the Lillard Project, surrounding him with former Clippers Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu. Losing to the Trailblazers will mean the Clippers made a huge mistake in letting Neil Olshey go, and the reality that Doc Rivers needs a GM. (Utah Jazz also fits here due to the trap series concept.)

Dallas Mavericks - A 3-1 collapse caused the 3-1 curse to come alive, starting with the departure of DeAndre Jordan to the Dallas Mavericks. Of all of Mark Cuban's failures into attracting a free agent, he thought he reeled in a big fish in the form of a Clipper, translated as "The Clippers are the easiest targets because they so desperately want to escape from the evil Donald Sterling." Jordan's friendship with Griffin prompted the greatest off-season saving stunt of all time, staving off the breaking of a core and preventing a forced rebuild. Mark Cuban has done everything in his power to prevent the Clippers from making the playoffs. Now it will be up to the Mavericks to get revenge on the loss of a future star by waxing the Clippers out of the 1st round. Only by beating the Mavericks will the Clippers regain permanent possession of a member of the Big 3 and Griffin's best friend. A loss to the Mavericks could force Doc's hand into trading DJ to the team who wanted them the most.

Houston Rockets - They had a 3-1 lead against Houston, and they blew it. A 4-3 loss in the 2nd round followed, and the Clippers lost DJ to the Mavericks. Then they got him back. But the Clipper season was full of trials and tribulations that only a 3-1 curse could trigger. Unusual ejections to Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Austin Rivers. Being a lottery team twice at the start of the season. A 3-13 record against the top three seeded teams in each conference. Losing Blake Griffin to injury, followed by the punching incident, resulting in a less than 100% Flying Lion. An early decision to break up the core soon followed. It's all the Rockets fault. Clippers can end the 3-1 curse by defeating the same team they should have never allowed to take their place in the conference finals. Losing to the Rockets could spell the end of the Clippers core and the acknowledgement of a forced rebuild.

Any of these five teams can become the 5th seed for the Clippers to face in the first round. Who do you want the Clippers to face? Think about how this opponent can prepare them for the Warriors in the 2nd round. They have a 1.11% chance to defeat Golden State as a 4th seed.

[BlzMwt]

Good thread, though the narrative is a little extra.

I would say it goes in this order: Memphis, Dallas, Utah, Portland, Houston.

With the news that Conley is expected to miss the rest of the season since being evaluated last week, and Gasol already gone I would assume this would be the best choice. Clippers should have been the favourites if the Grizzlies were healthy IMO. Without their two best players? Definitely choose the Grizz.

I think you choose Portland and then Houston last based on the fact that you have Lillard who could get hot for multiple games which presents a problem even with his lack of D. Houston is in the same regards except Dwight usually comes to play in the playoffs and Harden has been having an underrated season

[nickhx2]

it's always extra.

i'm fine with memphis > dallas > houston > portland > utah.

had no idea about conley. that really sucks for him.

dallas i think is not playing well. houston comes 3rd. that team has struggled and been off and on all year. portland has some good players but i'd think this team would be heavily favored. utah has played us tough all year so i'd want to see them last.

[Ranma]

The Clippers have a lot of demons to exorcise, so we may as well start with redeeming ourselves from the monumental collapse in the last postseason against the Rockets. Putting that failure behind us might be a catalyst to spark change in our mentality to go up against the more proven contenders like San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and/or Golden State. The key to mitigating the effects of our inconsistent bench and concerns with health and fatigue is to eliminate challengers as soon as possible. I felt Doc's in-game concerns about saving players by taking the foot off the gas at significant moments was a self-fulfilling prophecy that led to extending playoff series, which proved to be our downfall.

Memphis may be short-handed but they're motivated with ex-Clippers who would love nothing more than to give us a physical pounding. They may not believe they can win a series against us but they'll relish handing out constant punishment to wear us down for our next opponent. If they beat us, that would be the highlight of their season. In either case, we can't really afford to take on the physical and mental abuse they're gearing to dish out.

Dallas may also be motivated by the DJ slight but I don't really view them as a real threat in the postseason outside of Dirk. Likewise, Damian Lilliard is a one-man, gangbusting spoiler but they should be another team we get by convincingly in the playoffs.

I agree about Utah being an underrated and dangerous threat. They have nothing to lose and will come with everything they got. A loss to them could be the straw that breaks the camel's back in terms of breaking the spirits of this team's current roster and something the players, as a unit, cannot recover from.

We've discussed in the past about not being afraid of anyone and I still subscribe to that, but from a practical and motivational standpoint, I'd argue that playing against and beating the Houston Rockets would be the best opportunity to springboard into the 2016 NBA Playoffs with much needed momentum.

[Don Tommy]

I want nothing to do with the Jazz, the Trailblazers are just a little higher in the pecking order for me. If we could get the Grizzlies... man with our history, and the fact that it's normally us banged up in the playoffs... the Grizzlies then the Warriors? It would be the Chris Paul era rivalry tour!

[nickhx2]

grizzlies would be the best first round opponent by miles now with conley out.

[Roscoe Sheed]

Memphis seems like the logical choice, but I don't like the match up- you know Z Bo will play like he is 25 and both Barnes and Stephenson will look like they are all stars due to the extra motivation. Also, I wouldn't be surprise to see Farmar score 15-20 points in a game just to prove to Doc that he made a mistake. Also, Tony Allen seems to take Redick and Crawford out of their games.

I think the best match up is Dallas. Yes, they can catch fire and shoot from the perimeter, but they are a poor defensive team and also have a few injuries (Parsons, Williams)

[og15]

Beating the Grizzlies is always fun. A lot of former Clippers there, but that team also got so decimated that it isn't as rewarding as it could possibly be to beat them, but it would still be rewarding. Also they probably provide the best chance of sweeping because of their injury decimation which would be helpful for the Clippers.

[nickhx2]

after years and years of 7 game playoff series, i would really like a sweep to get the team some decent postseason rest.

[og15]

Vs Memphis 2012 - 7 games
Vs San Antonio 2012 - 4 games
Vs Memphis 2013 - 6 games
Vs Golden State 2014 - 7 games
Vs Oklahoma 2014 - 6 games
Vs. San Antonio 2015 - 7 games
Vs Houston 2015 - 7 games

Clippers have had four 7 game series' in the previous 4 seasons, sadly they were 3-0 until the Houston series. A sweep or at worst 5 game series in the first round would be nice.

[Wammy Giveaway]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/MattMooreCBS/status/718166072172544000[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/stros_bro/status/718167121016987648[/tweet]

What a better way to eliminate the very team who conjured the 3-1 collapse and initially brake up the core than to Popovich the Jazz game. This forces the Rockets to win ALL four of their games. One loss, and they're out of the playoffs completely. The Clippers will take that over having to exorcise the Rockets personally in the playoffs, but I'd rather see LAC face their fears and defeat them once and for all. And that's the part which worries me, in that I think they're "tanking" the game just so that they won't have to go through another round of drama.

For me, I like it best when players conquer drama head on, instead of running away from it.

[BlzMwt]

How do you expect the Clippers to face the "drama" with Houston head on this postseason? At which point were they going to play each other? After Houston beat Golden State? Or after they beat the Spurs?

[Wammy Giveaway]

How do you expect the Clippers to face the "drama" with Houston head on this postseason? At which point were they going to play each other? After Houston beat Golden State? Or after they beat the Spurs?

There was a mathematically possible way that the Clippers would have faced off with Houston in the first round. I don't know how that was to work, but I did ask Matt Moore if the Rockets, along with the Jazz and Mavericks, could draw the Clippers in the first round, and this is what he said at the time:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/716756383182364672[/tweet]

[BlzMwt]

There was a mathematically possible way that the Clippers would have faced off with Houston in the first round. I don't know how that was to work, but I did ask Matt Moore if the Rockets, along with the Jazz and Mavericks, could draw the Clippers in the first round, and this is what he said at the time:

So the tweet you linked was from April 3.

The report about Clippers resting players vs the Jazz came out today.

Your argument doesn't really work, the Clippers either way aren't playing the Rockets in the playoffs unless the Spurs or Warriors have a dramatic collapse.

[Dynamix]

Memphis has a tough schedule, so we're most likely going to get Portland. I have a feeling there will be several nailbiters during this series, judging by our recent history against them.

[og15]

Portland will certainly be a harder matchup. The games against them:

Nov 20th: L (-11)
Nov 30th: W (+15)
Jan 6th: W (+11)
Mar 24th: W (+2)

We'll see if Lillard can break through against the Clippers defensive strategy against him, and hopefully after a Clippers series win, it will be a good practice for attempting to defend Curry (not really since Lillard has struggled with the strategy).

[Wammy Giveaway]

My gut feeling tells me that the Clippers will end up facing the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. A lot of discussion will be focused on DeAndre Jordan reneging on the Mavericks to come back to the very team who drafted him and the place where he became best friends with their no. 1 draft pick. The friendship between Griffin and Jordan took a twist with the punching scandal, prompting sports analysts to speculate if the Clippers were better without Blake Griffin. The Clipper's love for Griffin was genuine beyond paramount, and felt best to keep him, even with the scandal. Mark Cuban could turn the first round series into a high stakes match, with DeAndre Jordan as the ultimate prize. If the Clippers beat the Mavs, DJ remains a Clipper. Lose, they must trade DeAndre to the Mavericks. The Indecision will have an epilogue in the playoffs, with one team's era coming to an end.

If the Clippers want to get out of the 2nd round, they need to draw the Trailblazers. Damian Lillard is, for all intents and purposes, a poor man's Stephen Curry. Chris Paul can use Lillard as his personal practice dummy before defending the real Curry. They can use all seven games if necessary, but the Clippers have to be careful in not taking seven games series for granted. The last time they did so, they had a 3-1 collapse, got eliminated in the 2nd round, and lost DeAndre Jordan to Dallas. If Doc plans to play the long game, he has to do so in preparation for guarding Curry, for Paul's and the Clipper's sake.

Starting next week, Griffin and Jordan's tenure with the Clippers is on the line.

[Dynamix]

So your gut feeling is telling you that Portland loses at home to Denver and the Mavs beat the Spurs? Sure, I guess it could happen.

But seriously, how can anyone actually type these words:

Mark Cuban could turn the first round series into a high stakes match, with DeAndre Jordan as the ultimate prize. If the Clippers beat the Mavs, DJ remains a Clipper. Lose, they must trade DeAndre to the Mavericks.

In what reality does Cuban want anything to do with DJ?

Jesus.

[Ranma]

Other than both teams pursuing DJ in the offseason, there is no connection whatsoever that the Clippers will have to deal DJ to the Mavericks dependent on the outcome of a possible series matchup between the two teams. As things stand, there is nary a possibility that Jordan will ever go to Dallas, much less get there in the offseason.

First, both teams have a lot of animosity between each other. Why would they make a deal to help out the other, especially when Dallas has nothing of value to offer the Clippers in exchange for DJ? An aging Dirk or ailing Parsons don't approach the same value at all. Second, why would DJ want to go there given how much hate he garnered in Big D on top of the embarrassment around the league with him switching allegiances? Jumping ship from a better team to go to the same team he spurned who is still on the way down would just further add to how stupid the consideration was to begin with. Third, even if DJ wanted to go back to Dallas, he has no say in the matter given that he signed a long-term extension when he re-signed this past summer. The Clippers certainly aren't inclined to deal him for Dallas's junk.

If the Clippers have to break up the team, they'll do so with the aim of improving our immediate or long-term future. What the Mavericks have to offer does neither of those things. They're a middling team squeaking into the postseason so their draft picks aren't all that attractive. Their best players are either injured, aging, or both.

[Wammy Giveaway]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/CBSSportsNBA/status/720439114789588993[/tweet]