ROUND 1: Clippers vs. Mavericks Preview Discussion

[RingColluder]

Here's a piece of Mr. Ringcolluder's post on the Mavs board...lol

Hello Mavs fans, good luck in the series against us!

On our board, there is an extremely heightened level of arrogance for the series that I feel is unwarranted. I am unconvinced. The series I am predicting to go 6 (for the Clippers) but would not be surprise at all if you guys manage to win it.

LMAOOO

i mean seriously LMAOOO this is some clown stuff

Dude... It's almost like he posted there to make Clipper fans on the forum look bad...lol There is no heightened level of arrogance

You must not be reading many posts here then.

Seeing posters here stalk through my posts in other forums to then bring it up in the GT preview thread is pretty amusing. I'd call that baiting..

[RingColluder]

Here's a piece of Mr. Ringcolluder's post on the Mavs board...lol

Hello Mavs fans, good luck in the series against us!

On our board, there is an extremely heightened level of arrogance for the series that I feel is unwarranted. I am unconvinced. The series I am predicting to go 6 (for the Clippers) but would not be surprise at all if you guys manage to win it.

LMAOOO

i mean seriously LMAOOO this is some clown stuff

I guess having an opinion is "clown stuff"

Hi "Nick"

[nickhx2]

personally my main issue with the resting is just that the team hasn't been healthy enough to build peak chemistry all year. so i felt like these last couple games where people sat out were taking away live reps at seeing the team at full strength. like, i'd rather have the team start to figure it out towards the end of the RS rather than in the middle of a playoff series. had the team already racked up 65 wins and clinched top seeding with the best point differential in the league i'd say, oh yeah sure, get those extra 5 games off for everybody.

that said i absolutely would have preferred the team fight for the right to face the lakers earlier, and i think there is risk of sending the wrong message to the team that they don't want to face the lakers right away. but certainly that was not all up to us.

[esqtvd]

Basically the odds are the Clippers won't face the Lakers until the WCF, if both make it that far.

But it means the Clippers chose to be in the winner of the Jazz/#8 bracket for the second round as opposed to the winner of the likely Phoenix/Lakers bracket.

Not a bad idea to avoid the Lakers until the last minute, maybe hope Lebron and AD are hobbled and they get upset. But they must be more confident in beating Utah in the second round than the Suns or Lakers?

Ro Parrish on NBA-TV thought it as great, lol. But he's not in the hot takes business.

Yeah, I don't know about Parrish's take. My main takeaway from him, in general, has been "stylish glasses."

In terms of the series—it’s a 4 seed vs. a 5 seed; anyone who expects a walkover is likely wrong. As for tanking and etc.--it’s not worth the time and effort to discuss. Said it before; I'll say it again. You can put in any reason you want to fit your narrative. We had no control over what Denver or the Lakers or Dallas or Portland did. None. Zero. They were doing what we did; focusing on their own team and players. The decision was to rest players. It's not some sort of new idea or strategy. Remember what happened last year when we got to games six and seven in the semis; remember how our players looked and acted? Our top 6 players in MP this year played something like 55 minutes in our final 2 games. Four of them are over 30; Kawhi is 29. I mean, did anyone expect us play all our guys in both games? Really?

If I'm Dallas, I'm concerned about two things--Porzingis's knees and, especially, Maxi Kleber's health. Kleber is their best interior/perimeter defender. He's got a bad achilles, and that's no fun. Kleber is also their best floor spreading big. Porzingis is a better player, but Kleber's a glue guy. If either or both of those guys misses time, Dallas could be in some trouble. Same is true with us; Ibaka's health is critical. We may have a little more breathing room than the Mavs, but not much.

Parrish did have another good point that Porzingis is a bad matchup for Zubac so were really gonna need Ibaka to chase him around the 3-point line.

And I do think we tanked. But so did Denver.

[TrueLAfan]

You must not be reading many posts here then.

Seeing posters here stalk through my posts in other forums to then bring it up in the GT preview thread is pretty amusing. I'd call that baiting..

Hardly. Public forums. I also go to opposing teams boards--but I usually don't run down the posters on my own board and/or pretend I'm better than they are (or at least better than the "heightened level of arrogance posters" are). If you don't want people to call you on your own statements, best avoid making the statements in the first place. Take your lumps for this one.

[RingColluder]

You must not be reading many posts here then.

Seeing posters here stalk through my posts in other forums to then bring it up in the GT preview thread is pretty amusing. I'd call that baiting..

Hardly. Public forums. I also go to opposing teams boards--but I usually don't run down the posters on my own board and/or pretend I'm better than they are (or at least better than the "heightened level of arrogance posters" are). If you don't want people to call you on your own statements, best avoid making the statements in the first place. Take your lumps for this one.

There IS a heightened level of arrogance on this board regarding the matchups. I've seen multiple posts here already say this will be a 4-5 game series for us. It could be, but given all we've seen from this team lately, the Mavericks matchups last year AND this year, that's arrogance. Just like the Clippers team last year in the bubble before the playoffs started. I don't mind being called out, but I can also defend myself on it. Nothing wrong here with either poster, but it's my belief they are going through my posts. That's my opinion. And I find it amusing to see.


And your OPINION that I am, "pretending I'm better than they are" is an inference you're making having no basis in reality. I'm just seeing things objectively. And I'm not going to blindly support everyone on this board given the nature of the past few weeks whatsoever. No way Jose. Why should that be the mentality given the decorum lately? As a recent poster said less than an hour ago, that''s "clown stuff".

I've literally been saying everything I said in the post for the last week or two, how could anyone be surprised

No issues here from either side. I don't need to take any lumps. Carry on.

[TrueLAfan]

Parrish did have another good point that Porzingis is a bad matchup for Zubac so were really gonna need Ibaka to chase him around the 3-point line.

And I do think we tanked. But so did Denver.

Actually, Zu defended Porzingis (very) well during the regular season meetings the last two years. Surprised me too. Porzingis had those two (really) good playoff games last year...but he was also guarded by Trezz for big chunks of time. I'm back to the importance of having Serge heathy. And, for Dallas, concern about Kleber. Kleber will (or would) probably guard Kawhi and/or Marcus, and he shot 41% from three. Interior/exterior defender--those are people you want healthy in the postseason. Losing a guy that can do those things would be a big setback.

When everyone's tanking ... nobody's tanking.

[donemilio21]

Why on earth wouldn't we play our full starting 5 when everyone is finally healthy if we want to build chemistry?

Is Ty Lue still taking orders from Lebron?

[Roscoe Sheed]

So- I see game 1 starts at 1:30 pm. Not ideal. The Clippers have a long history of sleep walking through early games. They better come ready to play from the tip off.

[RingColluder]

So- I see game 1 starts at 1:30 pm. Not ideal. The Clippers have a long history of sleep walking through early games. They better come ready to play from the tip off.

UH OH

[MartinToVaught]

So- I see game 1 starts at 1:30 pm.

Welp, we're already down 0-1.

[Quake Griffin]

As meh as I feel about this playoff run, I gotta remember that there's no Trezz here to stink it up and no coach to keep putting him out there to stink it up. That, in and of itself, is something that every Clipper fan should hang their hat on if looking for positives for this run.

[RingColluder]

As meh as I feel about this playoff run, I gotta remember that there's no Trezz here to stink it up and no coach to keep putting him out there to stink it up. That, in and of itself, is something that every Clipper fan should hang their hat on if looking for positives for this run.

I give Trezz a pass because of his personal issues last bubble. Before that point he was playing tremendous and we have to assume bc of the circumstances he didn't do a single workout whatsoever before getting to the bubble.

Doc is another story...

Because of Lue's refusal to play the best PG Mann off the bat, I am concerned but hopeful given his past history of course from the 3-1 Cavs ring. We will REALLY see the heart of this team if we get down 2-1 in a series or something because last year we just fell apart.

[LamarWho]

As meh as I feel about this playoff run, I gotta remember that there's no Trezz here to stink it up and no coach to keep putting him out there to stink it up. That, in and of itself, is something that every Clipper fan should hang their hat on if looking for positives for this run.

This, and playoff Rondo. Our 2 all stars have looked mediocre finishing off the regular season. Pat Bev and Ibaka are still big question marks on how they'll fit back into the rotation. T-Mann, who has the potential to be the x-factor for us, likely won't get much PT in the post season.

[Catchall]

I'm really curious to see who steps up as the Clippers' 3rd scorer in the absence of Lou Will. I know you guys needed to move on from him, but having someone other than PG and Kawhi who can go get a bucket is a big deal in the playoffs.

I'm guessing Reggie Jackson will try to be that guy.

[nickhx2]

not like lou williams was that guy to begin with, in the playoffs

either way reggie jackson is more than capable. but morris is probably going to have some games like that as well.

[Clemenza]

I'm really curious to see who steps up as the Clippers' 3rd scorer in the absence of Lou Will. I know you guys needed to move on from him, but having someone other than PG and Kawhi who can go get a bucket is a big deal in the playoffs.

I'm guessing Reggie Jackson will try to be that guy.

For us that "Lou Will" the scoring machine hasn't been seen since 2020 pre covid before the league shut down. It certainly wasn't there in the bubble nor this season before we traded him. This is no slander on Lou Will btw. Now its a committee with Morris leading the way and Reggie, Batum, Rondo, Cousins, Ibaka, Zu, Mann, and Kennard helping out.

[Clemenza]

Screw the media and the Lakers for how we finished the season. This same media screamed out at the top of their lungs that the Lakers won free agency by a landslide and upgraded at every position but when Bron & AD went down they dropped faster than the stock market. Now its the Clipps fault and they're bringing it up more than the matchup the Lakers face against Golden State tonight. WTF is that all about?

And where is this Clipper arrogance at? Who's arrogant after our sh*tty paper bag wearing history, the Sterling incident, the 3-1 choke to Houston, and most recently the 3-1 bubble disaster choke job eight months ago? Every Clipper post season is pins & needles status.

[madmaxmedia]

It's not that hard to have a great message board regardless of difference of opinion- apologist, pessimist, cheerleader, whatever. What do I care if someone thinks Doc/PG/Kawhi/Amir Coffey is the best or worst in history.

Express your opinion but leave it at that. Discuss and respond to others, but ultimately let them form whatever opinion they want. If you don't like somebody else's posts then ignore their posts, put them on ignore list if they trigger you. If someone is over the top, report to mods and let them do their job. That's it.

I don't think any of the regular posters here are trolls- at all. But we're just not always doing the best job of getting along.

[madmaxmedia]

I don't remember the exact details, but by the last game where we pulled everyone it no longer mattered whether we won or lost. The game before was a bad loss to the Rockets, but it was the 2nd night of a back to back so we rest PG and Kawhi RIGHT before the playoffs- not a bad choice considering how Western stars have been dropping like flies this year. And all along, the Lakers were unlikely to get the #6 spot anyway. If anybody had an actual decision whether to tank or not to avoid the Lakers, it was Denver in their last game against Portland.

I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill here. 3rd or 4th seed is essentially the same, 1st round home series and 2nd round on the road. Now if it were up to me, we'd have tried harder to beat OKC and get Portland in the 1st round, but that's a totally different conversation. At the end of the day, we're pretty healthy heading into the playoffs and that feels pretty good.

If the Lakers make it to the 2nd round or WCF healthy, then yes they will be a formidable opponent. But right now I feel it's like a 50/50 chance Lebron or AD will go down with another injury again, if not they will still need a series to get rolling again IMO.

I just don't feel like we're in the right headspace or have the continuity or chemistry to feel confident going into the playoffs. Part of that is injuries, but a large part of that is bc some certain players just have looked worse the closer we get to the playoffs. And we all obviously know who that is.

The seeding and everything is irrelevant to me, it's just the message it sends. And I agree, I'd love to have seen Portland in comparison to Dallas in round 1.

I still feel we had the best odds of facing the Lakers in round 1 BEFORE everyone is healthy, but you may be right - if LBJ goes down or AD in the playoffs and then we face them, that will give us better odds a well. My biggest concern still remains the Suns, but the ideal scenario is them facing the Lakers round 1 and we get rid of a ginormous threat.

It is a shame we went into this recent swoon at the end of the season, after having a really great stretch right after ASB. But after seeing Murray, Mitchell, Lebron, AD all go down with significant injuries, I am pretty happy that we are pretty healthy going into the playoffs.

I think ultimately we really sat guys to rest and not to tank, because there just wasn't much to play for with regards to seeding. Now whether we should have rested guys as much as we did, I can see the counterargument to try to go into the playoffs with better continuity and already in 2nd/3rd gear (and perhaps to get Portland in the 1st round.)

I think most of us are optimistic if not actually really confident going into the playoffs. We have a really good team, but there are a lot of really good teams. By the time 1 through 8 seedings shake out, I'm not sure any upset would completely shock me. At this point it wouldn't shock me if we lost in the first round, or made it to the Finals. I am expecting the staff to get us into better shape heading in to the first series and lead us to a 1st round win, but it's more like 65/35 than 90/10.