Around the NBA

[spanishninja]

Marcus Morris 5-5 from 3...over 47% from 3 for the season. If we play the Clips, and I have a feeling we will, I hope he doesn't get hot.They shot over 41% from 3 this season..by far the best in the NBA, so we have to slow them down. Dallas and Utah shot phenomenally against them but they are withstanding it pretty good. They were the one team I feared coming into the playoffs, though we are playing a lot better than I expected. That would be a very tough series though. Utah would be tough but I think the Clippers would be a completely different beast.

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

well, if we get that matchup, will the league cast the Clippers as the definite villains in the WCF? If that means we get some calls it might be alright

[Slim Charless]

Marcus Morris 5-5 from 3...over 47% from 3 for the season. If we play the Clips, and I have a feeling we will, I hope he doesn't get hot.They shot over 41% from 3 this season..by far the best in the NBA, so we have to slow them down. Dallas and Utah shot phenomenally against them but they are withstanding it pretty good. They were the one team I feared coming into the playoffs, though we are playing a lot better than I expected. That would be a very tough series though. Utah would be tough but I think the Clippers would be a completely different beast.

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

well, if we get that matchup, will the league cast the Clippers as the definite villains in the WCF? If that means we get some calls it might be alright

I think we'll get calls. I mean in all honesty we got most of the calls in the last series....and that was against the MVP. I'm not worried about the refs. I also think that series could be a monster one for DA. The Clips have absolutely nothing for him. Monty and Chris seem to be very good about hunting for mismatches. I think Ayton on Zubac/Morris counts. They have good wings, we should punish them inside.

Ayton could average 30+ I honestly believe-if we focus on him as the PnR option and he focuses on catching the damn ball. I think his problem has been being too passive and thinking too much. That series against Joker had to have done wonders for his pysche.

Bridges vs Kawhi should be a good match-up too imo. I don't think Mikal can stop him, but he should make things very hard for KL. Ya, I want the Clips lol.

[spanishninja]

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

well, if we get that matchup, will the league cast the Clippers as the definite villains in the WCF? If that means we get some calls it might be alright

I think we'll get calls. I mean in all honesty we got most of the calls in the last series....and that was against the MVP. I'm not worried about the refs. I also think that series could be a monster one for DA. The Clips have absolutely nothing for him. Monty and Chris seem to be very good about hunting for mismatches. I think Ayton on Zubac/Morris counts. They have good wings, we should punish them inside.

Ayton could average 30+ I honestly believe-if we focus on him as the PnR option and he focuses on catching the damn ball. I think his problem has been being too passive and thinking too much. That series against Joker had to have done wonders for his pysche.

Bridges vs Kawhi should be a good match-up too imo. I don't think Mikal can stop him, but he should make things very hard for KL. Ya, I want the Clips lol.

DA should start preparing for the Clips targeting him for fouls. It is absolutely going to happen. Nuggets should have done this but they didn't have the personnel.

[suns12345]

Marcus Morris 5-5 from 3...over 47% from 3 for the season. If we play the Clips, and I have a feeling we will, I hope he doesn't get hot.They shot over 41% from 3 this season..by far the best in the NBA, so we have to slow them down. Dallas and Utah shot phenomenally against them but they are withstanding it pretty good. They were the one team I feared coming into the playoffs, though we are playing a lot better than I expected. That would be a very tough series though. Utah would be tough but I think the Clippers would be a completely different beast.

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

i didnt say try to injure, i just meant clips playing overly physical/aggressive leading to an accidental injury (e.g if jokic had broken Payne's nose yesterday)

[bwgood77]

Marcus Morris 5-5 from 3...over 47% from 3 for the season. If we play the Clips, and I have a feeling we will, I hope he doesn't get hot.They shot over 41% from 3 this season..by far the best in the NBA, so we have to slow them down. Dallas and Utah shot phenomenally against them but they are withstanding it pretty good. They were the one team I feared coming into the playoffs, though we are playing a lot better than I expected. That would be a very tough series though. Utah would be tough but I think the Clippers would be a completely different beast.

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

Yes, it would be nice for CP3 to go through the Clips on his way to a championship. I just think they will be a beast of an opponent and that we could handle the Jazz for sure. So as nice as it would be for him to go through the Clips, I'd rather face the team I am pretty sure we would beat. Now I am pretty sure we could beat the Clips, but if they get hot shooting, our chances might not be good, and they are over a 41% 3pt shooting team to begin with. Then they have a 2x finals MVP who in a graphic I saw a while back was the only guy who actually was more efficient/clutch in the playoffs than the regular season. It showed all the stars and he was the only one.

So for me it's mainly Kawhi, but he is surrounded by 3pt shooters too and seems to just will teams to win in the playoffs when it's needed.

They will have been super battle tested too when we haven't really had nearly as tough of opponents. Utah rolled over Memphis who wasn't all that great and while they are a very tough team, I am not sure they will pull it out against the Clips.

But I'm rooting first and foremost for a title, not the best story if we were to win the title, though if we win the title I'm all for that too.

[lilfishi22]

Going through Clippers would certainly be more satisfying seeing as half their playoff roster is genuinely unlikeable (PatBev, PG, Mook, Rondo) but they are without a doubt in my mind they are the team with the higher upside, more dynamic and have two elite shot creators in PG and Kawhi vs one Mitchell. Utah has shot more 3's this season than ever before but for the most part, they aren't significantly different than what they were a couple of seasons back. I don't think they can dial up their offense in the same way the Clippers can.

Clippers are certainly peaking at the right time whereas Utah may have already peaked and with the injury to Conley and a hampered Mitchell, it's going to be tough to get through a peaking LA team.

[bwgood77]

I really hope we get the Clips. Simmons brought up a good point on his podcast. He said it just feels like destiny that CP3 would need to go through the LAC in order to reach his 1st finals. I want that. Plus a chance for Booker-PG13 II to get going. They have Pat Bev and Morris but we have Carter and Crowder as far as tough minded "old school" players. I'm not worried about someone trying to injure 1 of our players. That's nonsense talk by the guys who have brought that up.

Give me the Clips in the WCF for a chance to beat the Nets in the Finals (CP3 can get even with Harden/Blake/Jordan). Please and Thank you.

well, if we get that matchup, will the league cast the Clippers as the definite villains in the WCF? If that means we get some calls it might be alright

I think we'll get calls. I mean in all honesty we got most of the calls in the last series....and that was against the MVP. I'm not worried about the refs. I also think that series could be a monster one for DA. The Clips have absolutely nothing for him. Monty and Chris seem to be very good about hunting for mismatches. I think Ayton on Zubac/Morris counts. They have good wings, we should punish them inside.

Ayton could average 30+ I honestly believe-if we focus on him as the PnR option and he focuses on catching the damn ball. I think his problem has been being too passive and thinking too much. That series against Joker had to have done wonders for his pysche.

Bridges vs Kawhi should be a good match-up too imo. I don't think Mikal can stop him, but he should make things very hard for KL. Ya, I want the Clips lol.

Kawhi's elevation is very high and he has a 7'3 wingspan. His shots are tough to contest, especially for non C's. I don't know if you remember his winning shot over Embiid in the playoffs, but Embiid jumped and Kawhi still got it barely over his hand..

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[RunDogGun]

Utah should have gotten more threes for Ingles. He was 5-7 for three while Mitchell shot 6-15 threes. Clackson shot 2-8 from three. The wrong guys shot, and shot poorly. Hopefully they come out strong again at home, take smart shots, and move the ball to the hot hand.

[spanishninja]

Utah should have gotten more threes for Ingles. He was 5-7 for three while Mitchell shot 6-15 threes. Clackson shot 2-8 from three. The wrong guys shot, and shot poorly. Hopefully they come out strong again at home, take smart shots, and move the ball to the hot hand.

in general, they shot way too many threes as it was, along with too many turnovers by Mitchell. It was clear as day to the Clips that neutralizing Mitchell was the plan and Utah did nothing to adjust. Being an undersized 2 hurts him here. I'm glad we have Booker.

[Slim Charless]

well, if we get that matchup, will the league cast the Clippers as the definite villains in the WCF? If that means we get some calls it might be alright

I think we'll get calls. I mean in all honesty we got most of the calls in the last series....and that was against the MVP. I'm not worried about the refs. I also think that series could be a monster one for DA. The Clips have absolutely nothing for him. Monty and Chris seem to be very good about hunting for mismatches. I think Ayton on Zubac/Morris counts. They have good wings, we should punish them inside.

Ayton could average 30+ I honestly believe-if we focus on him as the PnR option and he focuses on catching the damn ball. I think his problem has been being too passive and thinking too much. That series against Joker had to have done wonders for his pysche.

Bridges vs Kawhi should be a good match-up too imo. I don't think Mikal can stop him, but he should make things very hard for KL. Ya, I want the Clips lol.

Kawhi's elevation is very high and he has a 7'3 wingspan. His shots are tough to contest, especially for non C's. I don't know if you remember his winning shot over Embiid in the playoffs, but Embiid jumped and Kawhi still got it barely over his hand..

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

That shot was one of the greatest I've ever seen. But still they barely won....and likely would've lost to the KD dubs if they all were happy.

Regardless though, I agree that LAC wings are elite. That's why I think this needs to an Ayton centric series. Monty and Chris need to be telling him that his defense has helped get us and now his offense can push us the rest of the way.

Who do they have that can cover him? Who do they have that he's gonna need to cover? I think he can sit and wait till KL/PG come into the paint, and then alter their shots. He'll not need to use much energy guarding a big, there's no AD or Joker in LA.

I think he is our best weapon against the Clippers.

[Hitachi77]

On paper we really should match up well with the Clippers. We can guard Kawhi and PG with Bridges and Crowder, while on the other side the Clippers would almost certainly be forced to put Kawhi on Booker at some point, making him use energy on defense. Then you have CP3, who could force them to play Beverley more than Reggie Jackson, impacting their shooting overall. Then you have Ayton who should be a clear advantage for us.

I know the struggles in the reg season make us all worried, but the playoffs are often a different beast. We didn't expect to handle the Nuggets this easily either.

Also, I would still slightly favor Utah in that series.

[bwgood77]

Utah should have gotten more threes for Ingles. He was 5-7 for three while Mitchell shot 6-15 threes. Clackson shot 2-8 from three. The wrong guys shot, and shot poorly. Hopefully they come out strong again at home, take smart shots, and move the ball to the hot hand.

Sure, he's been shooting pretty well, but Clarkson was 16-29 so far against the Clips from 3 and Mitchell was around 50% on like 35 attempts before the game. Ingles had shot around 40% and was 1-14 in the 3 games before that. Guys will get hot. Unfortunately for them Clarkson just got cold and Mitchell didn't shoot as well from distance as he had. All those guys are very good 3 pt shooters overall...it's hard to know how long you will not hit them. After our first few playoff games many wouldn't have wanted Crowder to shoot any more of them.

[RunDogGun]

They keep leaving Suns off awards, hopefully lights a bigger fire under our guys. Bridges doesn't make any all defensive teams?

[RunDogGun]

Utah should have gotten more threes for Ingles. He was 5-7 for three while Mitchell shot 6-15 threes. Clackson shot 2-8 from three. The wrong guys shot, and shot poorly. Hopefully they come out strong again at home, take smart shots, and move the ball to the hot hand.

Sure, he's been shooting pretty well, but Clarkson was 16-29 so far against the Clips from 3 and Mitchell was around 50% on like 35 attempts before the game. Ingles had shot around 40% and was 1-14 in the 3 games before that. Guys will get hot. Unfortunately for them Clarkson just got cold and Mitchell didn't shoot as well from distance as he had. All those guys are very good 3 pt shooters overall...it's hard to know how long you will not hit them. After our first few playoff games many wouldn't have wanted Crowder to shoot any more of them.

They have to find the hot hand or they will lose this series. Mitchell just wasn't that guy, neither was Clarkson. Gobert only shooting 4 shots was a mistake. Hopefully they figure it out...and then forget again when they face us.

[Qwigglez]

I think we are going to end up facing the Clippers. The Jazz just don't have enough fire power to overcome the superstars of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. However, I guess if the Jazz just take care of business at home then they'll advance, but I am totally expecting the Clippers to win somehow.

Additionally I have the same worry as the rest of you when it comes to facing the Clippers. Rondo is pretty close to CP3 in terms of basketball IQ, he just can't shoot like CP3 because he has that broken jumper. But the Clippers have Reggie Jackson, Beverly, and Rondo to just pester CP3 all night, and I imagine they'll full court press him the entire series. Payne is going to have to step up big time, along with the rest of the bench. I'm hoping we can utilize Dario and Ayton of course especially when the Suns go through a lull shooting wise. This will be a tough series.

[Saberestar]

I think we are going to end up facing the Clippers. The Jazz just don't have enough fire power to overcome the superstars of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. However, I guess if the Jazz just take care of business at home then they'll advance, but I am totally expecting the Clippers to win somehow.

Conley being out is huge, they are not winning those series without him.

And it is a JOKE that Gobert is rewarded as a DPOY when teams are trying to isolate him on the perimeter to score over him or create an advantage in front of him to assist to a open teammate.

Who is for real a DPOY? It must be someone that is always a bad matchup on defense. Leonard, for example.

[King4Day]

[Jarlaxle0204]

The Clippers worry me. I hope Utah is able to pull it out.

[Barkley6]

I'm with the majority here that the Clippers worry me more than Utah.

That said....I do wonder how much fire power they really have. After Kawhi and PG their scoring (in the playoffs) falls off a cliff. Reggie Jackson has played well, but you have to wonder if the Clips will go to a more defensive minded guard like Rondo or Beverly to counter Paul and Payne, but those two in a combined 30mpg this playoffs are averaging 7.9ppg.

Mann and Zubac who are also part of their rotation are are averaging 4.9 and 3.8ppg respectively.

Batum is limited on offense as well, and while Kennard can score, he can be targeted and exploited on defense.

It makes me wonder if the superstars do it all playing 40+mpg approach is sustainable. The Clippers already have played more games in the playoffs than Phoenix has and still have at least two more to go before they face us.

[GoodBehavior]

WCF is going to be hard no matter what. You're fighting for a chance to be in the Finals, so it's not going to be an easy round like with the Nuggets. Having said that, the Jazz looks too depleted and Gobert (as usual) is being exposed in the playoff.

Regarding the Clippers, they're going to have a hard time running that small-ball lineup that has been working so well for them. Ayton is one of the best premier defender at the center position, unlike Gobert. Paul George has given Ayton problem on the switch, so Ayton need to be hitting the film room. But Paul George is the exactly the kind of forward, Ayton should be able to shut down completely. Ayton will obviously murdered them on the offense board on the other end.

Suns need to punish that small ball lineup. The Clippers have been pure garbage when they're not utilizing the small ball lineup.