GAME #60: LAC (32-27) @ LAL (37-21) PART DEUX— SUN 3/2 6:30 PM

[wakelaunch1]

Waited too long to start playing.

Feel bad for Dunn. He’s been amazing but 3 straight missed open 3’s killed us.

if Harden and Kawhi would run without the ball we could get them better looks

[KL2]

Of course lol.

[Max Headrom]

That clearly hit the backboard first

[KL2]

Happy play in team everyone.

[Roscoe Sheed]

That clearly hit the backboard first

worse yet, it would have been much better if they didn't call it at all as Kawhi scored and Luka fouled him- so it would likely have been a 3 point play

[LamarWho]

Depending on how long Norm's gonna be out, I see us end up in the 9th or 10th spot. The good news is Phx is in an even bigger hot mess than us right now, I doubt they will make the play-in.

[Max Headrom]

That clearly hit the backboard first

worse yet, it would have been much better if they didn't call it at all as Kawhi scored and Luka fouled him- so it would likely have been a 3 point play

Refs been in the Lakers pockets for years now, nothing new...lol

[esqtvd]

it's always the guy who stands up that gets the arrows

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[Captain Ballmer]

I am starting to hate Harden. He is good against bad teams but any decent team hes bad. His shooting percentages are in the toilet.

He plays the game with its own tempo which is really slow. This makes some of our unathletic guys playable(or look dominant) against many teams like Zu and Powell and Batum. But downside is this slow tempo gives defenses time to adjust and recover easily. Great
defensive teams like Houston, OKC, Minny swept us for this reason. And Lakers also doing this too since defending our offense doesn't require quickness, high effort bur rather needs communication, size and IQ where Luka-Lebron could only excels.

This team will be an easy sweep for any of the top 5 western contenders( maybe except Nuggets) in a playoff matchup if we could get there.

[Clemenza]

So all of our trade deadline-buyout moves are all busts? Harden is beyond gassed and Simmons is supposedly day to day?? We traded KPJ for what now exactly? And they waived Beauchamp on top of it all. Norm is re-injured. One lone positive in Kawhi playing better but man this sh*t is ugly right now! Where is our backup point guard at? We can't shoot for sh*t, but Harden slowing the offense down to a crawl is making it ten times worse. Not one easy bucket to be found for miles and miles away. And now the Lakers were gifted Luka and are riding high atop the mountain top.

[MartinToVaught]

So all of our trade deadline-buyout moves are all busts?

They were busts when they were made. Simmons is Simmons and Bogi had been awful all season (and is on the wrong side of 30). We have the worst front office in the league.

[Bobbymcgee]

Clippers 1 and 5 post all-star break, Norm is hurt again, DJJ out with injury, losing two in a row to the Lakers, can it get any worse than this? Who am I kidding, it's the Clippers, of course it can!

[donemilio21]

Clippers 1 and 5 post all-star break, Norm is hurt again, DJJ out with injury, losing two in a row to the Lakers, can it get any worse than this? Who am I kidding, it's the Clippers, of course it can!

It sure can. We are only 0.5 game ahead of the 10th spot in standings while Lakers climbed to #2 after they beat us. Lou and Frank are playing us into a 1 game play-in exit again and all they will do is talk about how next year is gonna be better because we will have a full healthy team.

[Clemenza]

Norm is re-injured, Harden is beyond gassed, and it looks like all of our trade deadline-buyout moves are total and complete busts. Kawhi looking like the old Kawhi was the only positive last night. I don't know fellas. Are we still in "win now" mode with an aging injury prone core? My new theory is this, might be time to move on from Harden in the off season. He's been great for us and carried us a ton early in the season, but the slowed down-walk the ball up-dribble the shot clock out-hold on to the ball offense only benefits him, Norm, and Zu. There's no easy buckets, no fast breaks, no pace, no tempo.. a little bit of chaos even helps a little bit. Right now its just a slog of a grind. We can't even develop or gauge the progress or lack there of with the youth because its hard for them to show anything in "The System" offense. Mann couldn't play in it either. Houston Harden, on the other hand, was twice as fast, had a crazy first step, pushed the pace, and still put up 30-40 a night.

Kai Jones being waived but Eubanks staying is the prime example of this. Not saying Kai Jones had next, but Eubanks is a safe player who looks serviceable under Harden's system, but yet doesn't move the needle one bit for the team. Some might even say he's a bad player. Kai was definitely better than Eubanks and that's not saying much at all, but if we're going to just stay competitive until more money frees up or we get our picks back, go get a young uptempo point guard. A guard that pushes the pace, makes the extra pass, can hit the open three, and get other involved. Then I can see if Kobe, Miller, Cam Christie, Flowers, etc. have something or not. Miller & Kobe got a few minutes in last night but Harden just held/dribbled the ball the entire time and that was it.

Simmons is now supposedly day to day. Buyout players generally suck, lets move on from this Lawrence Frank. Bogdan is awful. Eubanks and Patty Mills are washed/not good. Beauchamp, who I thought had something to his game, waived. So we traded KPJ, Mann, and Bones for what exactly? Never seen every trade deadline move fall flat on its azz like this. The front office is cooked beyond belief. Everybody ripping Nico Harrison, but Lawrence Frank is right behind him. No direction, no plan, just throwing sh*t against the wall and praying something sticks. If we're going to be a play in team, get a point guard and start running up and down the floor. At worst its an entertaining team to watch.

[wakelaunch1]

Bogi has been worst then even I imagined. Granted I havent watched him except he did ok against us earlier in the season but having him and Harden shoot at such low percentages is impossible to overcome. Not having the juice of Norm makes it even worse. Losing 25 points per game and high shooting percentages has been brutal as no one is possible to fill the gap. Coffey is on a bad swing.

[MartinToVaught]

Lou and Frank are playing us into a 1 game play-in exit again and all they will do is talk about how next year is gonna be better because we will have a full healthy team.

Don't forget the postseason press conference where Frank blathers on about "getting younger and more athletic," a tradition like no other. On draft day, he'll reach for the oldest prospect available and claim it's because of their "toughness" and "character" (we're supposed to forget about him bringing in guys like Primo and KPJ as he gushes over "character"). And of course, by the trade deadline he'll be trading anyone under 30 for the next washed 35-year-old who can't play anymore. Rinse and repeat.

[MartinToVaught]

Everybody ripping Nico Harrison, but Lawrence Frank is right behind him. No direction, no plan, just throwing sh*t against the wall and praying something sticks.

Frank is unironically a lot worse than Nico. Nico built a Finals team, Frank peaked with the WCF. Lively alone is better than Frank's entire career in the draft (not counting SGA because of how quickly we gave up on him). Hell, even Hardy is better than most of the scrubs Frank drafts. Frank's big signing last offseason was Derrick Jones Jr., a player who Nico signed off the scrapheap and rehabilitated his value.

The Mavs wouldn't have even had the one Finals run with Luka if you replaced Nico with Frank. They would have been second-round exits at best like Frank's teams pretty much always are.

[HardenGoat]

Well. The positive thing is Kawhi is getting his old self back. There was no chance in hell if Kawhi stayed in 50 percent mode so this season was always doomed if that didn’t change. The new killer is Norm Powell. Bogi can’t replicate anything he does. Norm is critical and has to be 100 percent. Lakers would have lost if he played his game and thats even with the Kneckt crazy shooting and Hardens current slump. Dunn is great. Harden has to get younger somehow or find his energy. But with Kawhi rounding out there is still a chance here albeit a slim one. Arghh.

[esqtvd]

Norman smacks down a troll

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[MartinToVaught]

Norm shouldn't even dignify losers like that with a response.